Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

movie Speed

Release Date: 8/6/03 Unreleased!
Price: 1905 yen

After the apparent success of classical Speed, the second themed Dancemania Speed spinoff was supposed to be movie Speed. Originally scheduled for release on 2003-08-06 with the catalog #, TOCP-64226, it was eventually canceled and reworked into Speed SFX, which came out on 2003-09-18.

The first tentative track list sent to retailers shows just how many of the tracks on Speed SFX were originally intended for movie Speed. And did you ever wonder why Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution had random movie themes on it? It turns out they were originally made for movie Speed!

But perhaps most shocking is “Moero Dragon Theme,” aka “Theme from Enter the Dragon,” which at the time everyone assumed wasn’t actually produced. Imagine our surprise when it finally showed up on Speed Buyuuden three years later in 2006! If you wondered why Speed Buyuuden had a single new track from Runaway Productions/CJ Crew, it’s because it was likely made for movie Speed.

Two tracks, “Beverly Hills Cop Theme” and “Speed Theme,” have never been released as far we know.. It’s unknown if they were ever actually made. They don’t appear in the Saifam or LED catalogs, and I believe Runaway told me they don’t recall producing them.

1. My Heart Will Go On (Titanic) [from Dancemania Speed 2] -> Speed SFX
2. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Armageddon) [from Dancemania Speed 2] -> Speed SFX
3. There You’ll Be (Pearl Harbor) [from Dancemania Speed 8]
4. Star Wars Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
5. I Will Always Love You (Bodyguard) [from Dancemania Speed 2]
6. Soul Bossa Nova (Austin Powers) [from Dancemania Speed 9]
7. Mission Impossible Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
8. 007 Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
9. Beverly Hills Cop Theme -> Unreleased?
10. Speed Theme -> Unreleased?
11. Spider-Man Theme [New Track] -> Speed Giga 4 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
12. Batman Theme [New Track] -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
13. Jaws Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
14. Indiana Jones Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
15. Moero Dragon Theme [New Track] -> Speed Buyuuden
16. Unchained Melody (Ghost) [New Track] -> Speed SFX
17. Pretty Woman [New Track] -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
18. Godfather Theme -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution

A second tentative track list was sent to retailers which subtracted tracks 9 and 10 from the original list while adding four new tracks. “Flashdance” was probably a repeat from Dancemania Speed 3/9. Meanwhile, “Gonna Fly Now” and “Up Where We Belong” ended up being used on Speed Giga 2 instead.

That brings us to “A Man and a Woman.” For years it was thought that the song was never produced, until Luigi Stanga surprised us in 2008 by releasing the full song for purchase on Juno Download. It is also available to stream/buy on Apple Music as part of Coverland 2.

1. “Titanic” ~ My Heart Will Go On
2. “Armageddon” ~ Miss a Thing
3. “Pearl Harbor” ~ There You’ll Be
4. Star Wars no Theme
5. “Body Guard” ~ I Will Always Love You
6. “Austin Powers” ~ Soul Bossa Nova
7. Mission Impossible no Theme
8. 007 no Theme
9. Spider-Man no Theme
10. Batman no Theme
11. Jaws no Theme
12. Indy Jones no Theme
13. Moero Dragon no Theme
14. “Ghost” ~ Unchained Melody
15. Pretty Woman
16. Godfather no Theme
17. Rocky no Theme -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
18. A Man and a Woman Theme -> Unreleased*
19. An Officer and a Gentleman -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
20. Flash Dance [from Dancemania Speed 3/9]

The final tentative list was even more different than the previous ones. It was at this point where you can see how it eventually became Speed SFX, as 16 of the tracks on this list ended up on SFX. No, I don’t know why Star Wars was listed twice.

The “Gojira/Godzilla Theme” never did end up on a Speed album. Again, we don’t know if it was ever even made.

1. Star Wars Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
2. Matrix Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
3. Terminator Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
4. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Armageddon Theme) [from Dancemania Speed 2] -> Speed SFX
5. Lord of the Rings Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
6. Harry Potter Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
7. ET Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
8. Jurassic Park Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
9. Indiana Jones Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
10. Ghostbusters Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
11. Men in Black Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
12. 007 Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
13. Gojira Theme -> Unreleased?
14. Neverending Story [New Track] -> Speed SFX
15. Soul Bossa Nova (Austin Powers Theme) [from Dancemania Speed 8]
16. 2001 A Space Odyssey Theme [New Track] -> Speed SFX
17. Batman Theme [New Track] -> Speed Giga 2 ~ Dancemania Speed Evolution
18. Ghost (Unchained Melody) [New Track] -> Speed SFX
19. Star Wars
20. Charlie’s Angels [New Track] -> Speed SFX

Toho Speed 03
Release Date: 12/29/14
Price: 1429 yen

The third release in the Toho Speed series from Lila’c Records. Mostly speed trance and drum ‘n’ bass, but it sounds like there’s some Eurobeat in there as well, which makes sense since I see sumijun from Akiba Koubou listed in the credits. Released during Comiket 87.

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Toho Speed 02
Release Date: 8/16/14
Price: 1500 yen

Sequel to Toho Speed 01, a speed/trance/drum’n’bass Toho compilation from the doujin label, Lila’c Records. Released during Comiket 86.

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Let’s Go! Champagne-Man – EP
Release Date: 8/11/14
Price: 500 yen

Another new Funkot EP from DJ Jet Baron. Includes a new 2014 remix of “Summer Rising.” Visit Universal’s official website for more info

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Enaker’s High – EP
Release Date: 7/11/14
Price: 500 yen

New EP from DJ Jet Baron, known for bringing the Funkot (Indonesian happy hardcore) sound to Japan. Also features a track from KazuyaP. Visit Universal’s official website for more info

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Toho Speed 01
Release Date: 12/30/13
Price: 1500 yen

A speed/trance/drum’n’bass Toho compilation from the doujin label, Lila’c Records. The crossfade demo sounds pretty good, though their definition of “Speed” seems to be ~155-180 BPM. The main CD is a non-stop mix, but it looks like they were offering a bonus CD-R labeled “Toho Speed Extended 01” that included full versions of some of the tracks. I think the bonus CD was only available during Comiket 85, however.

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Update (10/4/13): Finished extracting data from Saifam’s site for the SPE catalogue. I’ve placed the raw data in some spreadsheets if anyone is interested in them. From 1-171, the only ones missing from Saifam’s catalogue were SPE 147 and 150. Next I’ll write the code to extract data from Juno.

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Saifam Speed – September 2013
Artist: Various Artists

Quite a few new Speed tracks in September, which is nice to see after the relatively light output during July and August. One of the tracks, “Kryptonite,” is almost 200 BPM, while the others range from 156-168.

SPE230 – [4:47] Kryptonite (Speed remix) / Speedogang
SPE231 – [4:49] Mr Jones (The Factory Speed remix) / Speedmaster
SPE232 – [4:58] Who Are You (The Factory Speedo-Rock remix) / Speedmaster
SPE233 – [4:34] American Woman (The Factory speed mix) / Speedmaster
SPE234 – [4:19] Our Song (The Factory Speedo Mix) / Speedogang
SPE235 – [4:20] I Will Follow (The Factory Team speed mix) / Speedmaster

Saifam Speed – June/July/August 2013
Artist: Various Artists

The past 3 months have brought quite a few new Speed tracks, with June in particular being very prolific.

SPE222 – [4:10] Cruise (The Factory Speedo remix) / Speedmaster
SPE223 – [3:48] Hava Nagila 2 0 (Alternative Sound remix) / Don Pablos Animals
SPE224 – [4:17] Here’s To Never Growing Up (Speed version) / Speedmaster
SPE225 – [4:14] Happening / Speedmaster
SPE226 – [4:25] One Day (Speed remix) / Speedmaster
SPE227 – [4:16] Gangsta’s Paradise (Alternative Sound Planet remix) / Speedogang
SPE228 – [3:50] Old Time Rock & Roll / Speedmaster
SPE229 – [4:08] The Other Side (AR speed mix) / Speedmaster

Hyper Funkot ~ Mega Speed Dance Traxx
Release Date: 6/19/13
Price: 1886 yen

EMI’s first foray into the world of Funkot. One can only wonder why Enka Speed couldn’t be this fast. -_-

Update (6/27/13): Interesting article on DJ Jet Baron and the Funkot movement: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/06/27/music/sincerity-is-the-new-ecstasy-in-funkots-summer-of-love/ He lost me when he said “Scatman” was objectively awful. -_-

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Saifam Speed – April/May 2013
Artist: Various Artists

Whoa, Saifam have been oddly prolific over the last two months, with a whopping 7 Speed tracks produced in April and May. Still no rhyme or reason to their song selection, however, with the latest batch ranging from “Heat Is On” (previously covered by CJ Crew) to “Children” by Robert Miles.

SPE215 – [4:11] Hall of Fame / Speedmaster
SPE216 – [4:49] Heat Is On (The Factory Speedo mix) / Speedogang
SPE217 – [3:45] Your Mama Don’t Dance (Speedo version) / Speedogang
SPE218 – [4:06] Mama Do the Hump (The Factory Speedo mix) / Speedmaster
SPE219 – [5:22] Battle Scars (Speedo remix) / Speedmaster
SPE220 – [4:01] One Way or Another / Speedmaster
SPE221 – [3:56] Madness (Factory Team Speed remix) / Speedmaster

Enka Speed
Release Date: 5/29/13
Price: 1905 yen

The album is out, and samples are now up on CDJapan. I’m starting to think that no one at Akiba Koubou knows what “Speed” means. As with the disappointingly slow Utattemita Speed albums, Enka Speed never reaches the highs of a traditional Dancemania Speed album, appearing to peak at only 160 BPM. They would’ve been better off calling this Utattemita Enka instead of linking it to the Dancemania Speed series. -_-

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Summer Rising – Mini Album Funkot Panas
Release Date: 6/5/13
Price: 800 yen

Yet another Funkot album from EMI. This one is a physical release exclusive to HMV/Lawson.

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Summer Rising EP
Release Date: 5/6/13
Price: 800 yen

Wow, EMI are really pushing this Funkot thing hard, with another digital Funkot EP released this May, following January’s Funkot Anthem EP. Both releases tie into the upcoming CD, Hyper Funkot.

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Enka Speed
Release Date: 5/29/13
Price: 1905 yen

Update (5/7/13): Cover art is out! I have no idea what a bus (RV?) has to do with Enka. The cover does look like it’s by Mega Graphics, though it’s disappointing they’re not using the old, familiar SPEED logo.

I’ve also listed the original BPMs of the presumed 3 repeats on the album. The repeats originally ranged from 144-160 BPM. Needless to say, I really hope they rearrange them. Hell, I’ll settle for just increasing the tempo, but no way in hell should the last song on a Speed album be only 160 BPM.

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