Full Circle DJs – Live at NRGetic Romancer, February 2008

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 30, 2008
Posted in: Japanese, Mixes, Releases. 1 comment

Much much later than intended, but here is the fantastic Full Circle DJs Live PA from the NRGetic- Romancer-before-last. Strangely, the original link seems to have disappeared, so I’ve fallen back on trusty old Mediafire for now. There are a couple of newer tunes here (as I mentioned back in the original post), but this is the live PA itself, without Buzzmasta’s percussion or Yousuke’s guitar. Still, a great set – and if you haven’t heard it before, look out for Edge, it’s still one of my favourite Full Circle tunes. There could well be some more news to come soon re. the new Full Circle album, the brilliantly titled Psychadelic New Rose – it’s definitely a release to look out for.

Anyway, here’s the Live PA tracklist:

  1. Full Circle DJs – Ouroboros
  2. Full Circle DJs – Gate Crasher
  3. Buzzmasta – For Action (Full Circle DJs remix)
  4. Full Circle DJs – Edge
  5. DJ Rx – Hellfire (Full Circle DJs remix)
  6. Full Circle DJs – Halcyon
  7. Full Circle DJs – Things Past

http://www.mediafire.com/?cn3ovxmn5c7

Proteus – The Nature of the Beast / New webstore open

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 30, 2008
Posted in: Finnish, Releases. Leave a Comment

先月FinrgホームページでProteusの新アルバムのことを発表しましたが、日本でまだ知らない人がいるかなと思っていました。トラックリストはまだですが、もしかしたらVenla Part 2やIlluminatiなどが入ってますね。そういえば、Proteusのオンラインストアは営業中ですね！

This is old news, but thought I’d mention the announcement of Proteus’ new album, just in case folk here in Japan missed it – although Guld has already mentioned it (of course), post-NRGetic Romancer. There’s also a YouTube link up there for Venla Part 2 – a nice tune, but doesn’t quite match up to the original, in my opinion – and the link for the new Proteus webstore, where you can find some tidy t-shirt/vest designs, all available in a wide variety of black.

X-Treme Hard, 31st May / X-Treme Hard Compilation Vol.1

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 29, 2008
Posted in: Events, Japanese, Releases. 1 comment

Plenty of time before this one, but the second X-Treme event of the year has just been announced. To be held at Shibuya’s DESEO, the event is also a launch party for the first X-Treme Hard compilation CD. I’m not sure about the tracklist yet, but it should be of at least some interest to freeform fans – I’d guess that a few tracks from Full Circle DJs, Betwixt & Between and Sharpnel will be included.

Back to the event, and the UK’s Happy/J-Hardcore master, JAKAZiD, will be playing this time – his first set in Japan since last year, as far as I know. I’ve recently been recommended to check some of his tunes out, and so I’m quite looking forward to catching this set if I can. Add live PAs from Buzzmasta, Betwixt & Between, DJ Shimamura, Sharpnel, Technorch and a DJ set from Chucky, and this should definitely be worth a look.

An evening with Zio

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 29, 2008
Posted in: Japanese, Mixes. Leave a Comment

                                            

Zio was busy mixing last night, once again on the Stickam networking site – but this time he invited anyone interested to join him for a chat while he mixed. In the end, a decent little group gathered – including yours truly, DJ Silver and Nightforce, among others. Although the chat mostly consisted of oohs and ahhs every time Zio mixed in an Alek track, it was very good fun, and great to be talking to other freeform fans and the DJ himself while listening to a very very nice set.

Zio could well be busy for the next week or so, and sets might be slightly thin on the ground until after Golden Week (next week). Be sure to check out his profile now and then – and if he happens to be playing live, try clicking on the ‘magnifying-glass-with-a-plus-in-it’ icon to start chatting. Of course, as it’s a Japanese site, English might not be spoken by everyone, so it might be worth dusting off the Japanese phrase book if you fancy paying a visit.

NRGetic Romancer, 19th April

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 27, 2008
Posted in: Events, Japanese. Leave a Comment

Things have been pretty busy this week, so the report from last weekend is a little later than intended – sorry about that. Thankfully (in a way, at least) not a lot seems to have happened in the scene this week, so there’s not too much catching up to do.

Last weekend’s NRGetic Romancer started off in slightly worrying style, as almost nobody was present for Horny’s schranz set..! I must admit that I missed the first half, but he played a very nice selection, including a few mashed up vocal remixes in typical schranz fashion. A few of Betwixt & Between’s older tracks would have fitted in nicely, it was that kind of set – and a nice introduction for me of Horny’s play style. Just a shame that he has to somehow conjure up an atmosphere from an empty dancefloor…

Next up was Cogi, who pre-set was insisting that he didn’t have a clue what tunes to use this time around, but ended up playing an absolute blinder. The selection ranged from slower psychadelic NRG to Alek Szahala Freeform, and he hit upon some absolutely killer combinations this time. His mixing style leans towards longer/complex connections between tunes, which I whole-heartedly agree with, and the highlight for me might have been his mix from Rx’s original Hellfire into Tlaloc, going on for a good couple of minutes and really sounding like a new tune altogether. Other top choices included Hase and Psyfix’s Void of Farthest and a nice range of Finnish classics. Granted, this set was slightly similar to his last performance at NRGetic Romancer, but this really is freeform Djing at its finest.

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Zio plays live online/Hell’s Gate at Studio Cube

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 17, 2008
Posted in: Events, Japanese, Mixes. Leave a Comment

Here’s some very exciting news for folk living outside Japan (or outside Tokyo, even) – Zio has started to DJ live online! For various reasons he has been forced to pull out of NRGetic Romancer for a few months now, and so aside from the mid-week (until now!) Hell’s Gate it has been increasingly difficult to hear his sets.

Tuesday saw the first of his practice sets, using the Stickam social networking site. If Zio happens to be playing, the sound should be broadcast immediately, so no need to randomly click on Japanese options, thankfully. Of course, as it’s live, it might be slightly hit-and-miss whether you catch a set/practice session or not (Tuesday saw him play an hour or so, from about 1.30am Japan time), but if he has something more concrete planned, I’ll be sure to post the times up here.

Recently Zio has morphed from the Alek Szahala of Japan into something of a Hardstyle-head, but his practice mix still managed to fit in some dark NRG and freeform (including The Sanctuary and Lagas). He even mixed from Lagas into a Hardstyle tune (!) – and ridiculously it sounded quite good, believe it or not. So, keep an eye on Zio’s profile (and here, too) – hopefully there’ll be some more interesting sets on the way before too long at all.

Some other great Zio-related news is that the next Hell’s Gate is to be held on a Saturday! I was gearing up for a Wednesday event in Shibuya, but the 24th of next month (the day after your writer turns 27, distressingly) will be held at the home of NRGetic Romancer, Studio Cube. No news on the line-up (aside from Zio, hence the tidy new logo above), but plenty of time for that yet.

Nightforce – Vienna Core Beats

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 17, 2008
Posted in: Mixes, Releases. Leave a Comment

I got sidetracked last night, listening to some old Nookie tunes – but here’s something else I was definitely meaning to mention. Nightforce has been pulling out all the stops lately, and is soon to have a few new tunes released on Nu-Energy. Here he has combined his older releases on Electronica Exposed and Kreatrix with the newer tracks, in a really nice showcase of his producing range.

Look out for the first two tunes, both Japanese-inspired (the second by anime mech-fest Gundam), although if you haven’t heard them before the seamless (seamless, I tell you) mix between the two might make distinguishing them tricky. The other tracks are more familiar, but work really well together in a set. Also worth a mention is the fabulous ‘cover’ design and mix title. Highly recommended all round, then.

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Sleep Paralysis/Winter Solstice

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 16, 2008
Posted in: Finnish, Releases. Leave a Comment

As I’m not fully online again until next week, I’ve resorted to telepathically uploading my posts for the time being (or something along those lines, at least). Anyway, there have been some very interesting bits and pieces happening in the last week or so, and I’ll attempt to note a couple of them this evening.

First of all, as you can see (or perhaps already know), Epyx & Cyrez’s new album Sleep Paralysis has finally been released. The first CD is very very exciting, with all the previously unreleased tunes – but I’m really looking forward to hearing the mixed second CD too. I’ve heard a good few of the included tracks before, and there should be plenty of variety, despite it being an artist mix (which sometimes get a bit samey, it must be said). Hearty congrats to Epyx & Cyrez, and let’s hope that it’s the first of many. Without them churning out (excellent) tunes so regularly, the European release schedules would be looking a little bare, that’s for sure.

Of course, Electronica Exposed are also going beyond the call of duty these days, and Winter Solstice is the newest release (number 9!) in the Electronic Exclusives series. As tends to be the case with EE, the tunes markedly lean towards UK Hardcore, but there are some blinding efforts on here that would fit nicely into darker sets too. From the previews and couple of tracks that I’ve already heard, highlights for me include Epyx & Cyrez’s I C U, and Substanced’s Vampires and Wistful, while Firefly’s Dangerous deserves a gold star for an absolutely inspired use of mashed-up Jungle amens.

March Top 10

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 6, 2008
Posted in: Top Tens. Leave a Comment

                               

Apologies for the extended absence (if anyone noticed), I’m now safely ensconced in Tokyo – but not entirely back to internet-using capability yet. While I get myself sorted out, I’m sure you’ll be thrilled (?) to spend all of 30 seconds looking at my Top 10 for last month.

  1. Cyrez and Nightforce – Endstille
  2. Substanced and Grimsoul – Harder Than U Think
  3. Betwixt & Between – Kamsheen
  4. Alabaster – Santuario
  5. Substanced – Right Now (Sam One remix)
  6. Alek Szahala – Voices of Babylon
  7. Rank 1 – Airwave (Betwixt & Between remix)
  8. Die Braut – Ohne Herz
  9. Full Circle DJs – Edge
  10. Guld vs Betwixt & Between – Hatral

(By the way, although it’s cherry blossom season here, I’ve cheated with the photo – it was taken 3 years ago in Kagoshima…better than nothing, eh?)

Kreatrix Volume 5: Japanese Edition

Posted by PlasmaDancer on March 22, 2008
Posted in: Canadian, Finnish, Releases. Leave a Comment

Here’s a very interesting next release in the Kreatrix series, the ‘Japanese Edition’. This time a few of the newer artists on the Finnish scene are featured, as well as Twisted Freq himself. Although some might conceivably complain about the number of remixes and originals on one CD, I actually think this isn’t a bad idea at all – it’s always interesting to hear how an artist has messed around with/improved on the original, and my experiences of freeform remixes so far are that most artists are creative enough not to simply slap a breakbeat on top of everything, and then call it a day.

One of the tracks here is effectively a ‘remix of a remix’, Exaltation Reborn (Cyrez and Sam One remix). The original Exaltation (by Level 13) is an absolute classic, so this and Twisted Freq’s new version are probably the tunes I’m looking forward to most. Having said that, I’ve been waiting for Usurper for a very long while now, and Reboot the System and Acid World are also great tracks… An honourable mention to Horzi too, what with Still Alive and Life For Freedom (with Alchemiist) being his first Kreatrix releases.
Better Tomorrow is being absolutely caned by freeform DJs at the moment, so I’ve got high hopes for these, too.

  1. Cyrez and Sam One – Reboot The System
  2. Cyrez and Sam One – Reboot The System (Twisted Freq remix)
  3. Epyx & Cyrez – Warcry
  4. Epyx & Cyrez vs Tyranoid & Strongstream – Usurper
  5. Horzi – Still Alive
  6. Horzi feat. Alchemiist – Life For Freedom
  7. Substanced – Acid World
  8. Substanced – Acid World (Twisted Freq remix)
  9. Twisted Freq – Exaltation Reborn
  10. Twisted Freq – Exaltation Reborn (Cyrez and Sam One remix)
  11. Twisted Freq – 90LD3N 5f34R
  12. Twisted Freq – 90LD3N 5f34R (Substanced remix)