2 June 2013

Chiaki Ishikawa - Sayonara Tteiu


Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince ED

Tracklist:

1. Sayonara Tteiu
2. Sono Gyaku
3. Sayonara Tteiu (Off Vocal)
4. Sono Gyaku (Off Vocal)

1. Sayonara Tteiu

I haven't watched Majestic Prince past the first episode, but for a seemingly shounen-like and childish anime, Chiaki's new work is surprisingly dark and depressing. An irregular rhythm, just like in jazz and blues sets in with dragging, drawn out guitars, laying the ground for her deep vocals, on par with those of Kalafina. The arrangement can get quite strange and slow, even with the usual Western ballad melodies in the chorus, but I guess that some experimentation is due in such a long career. Accordingly, ambiental, playful tones stop in the middle eight sequences for some genuinely haunting chanting repeats of "miss, miss, miss", bringing the theme of the song in question, which restarts for a final chorus that isn't even slightly more optimistic than the ones before it, and strips to bare vocals slowly fading out. This isn't exactly my cup of tea, but acknowledgement must be where it's due, for a good track.
Rating: 8

2. Sono Gyaku

Continuing on with the experimental and progressive atmosphere, dysharmonic synths and filtered vocals chanting in another language (Kajiuran? Or at least a dialect of Japanese) open the track, never really settling for a tonality, until they unravel in several touching guitar riffs. This B-side retains the blues tint in it, but with added energy and tempo, while even sometimes managing to sound uplifting, although falling in the trap of cliche. Nevertheless, Chiaki's vocals are always something worth looking forward to, even when filtered and make for scary transitions within different sections of the track. When you have an artist do something unforgettable, then their every other piece is probably going to be compared with it, and so is this one; therefore, I must say that this does remind of "Uninstall", at least a little bit. That's a great compliment.
Rating: 9

There's not really a point in discussing the future an artist might hold when it's an anison veteran like Chiaki Ishikawa. I know I'm rarely ever going to be disappointed by her work, so Sayonara Ttieu is just another addition to the list. My overall rating is: 8 ½

The comment box doesn't bite; be careful when feeding it, though.

11 comments:

  1. Might have to check this out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Start listening to Chiaki if you haven't already! She's great (^▽^)

      Delete
    2. Can you recommend me a few songs of hers?

      Delete
    3. Of course! Uninstall, Fukanzen Neshou, Prototype, Gyakkou, and The Giving Tree are all great songs. If you want newer stuff, besides this single, you can get her latest album.

      Delete
    4. I'll admit that when it comes to Chiaki Ishikawa's music, there's this tendency for me to want to compare everything she does to Uninstall, so the danger is that if you listen to Uninstall, you may never be satisfied by her music ever again! ;D

      Delete
    5. Uninstall is more of a one-time thing, despite it being pretty easy to replicate the success of it (very standard but always effective melody + composition in own regime). She does have many songs that come very close to it, though.

      Delete
    6. At one point I thought as well that her future singles will never come close to the success she had with Uninstall, but after listening to her 10th single, Fukanzen Nensho, I realized that being who she is as an artist she will not aim to replicate that success by making a song similar to Uninstall (there are so many examples where artists just keep making songs that sound the same over and over). Fukanzen nensho does not sound like any of her previous songs and as a result she has defined her style of song-writing, backup vocals (her chants) and arrangement. People will refer her as the person who sang Uninstall, but she continues to amaze fans with her unique style (it's hard to find anison artist achieve that kind of level).

      Delete
  2. Quality over quantity describes Chiaki Ishikawa. It is worth recommending her songs with See-Saw, and a 6-track CD called Magnolia under the name Somali, as well as her contribution on Another Sound of 009 Re:Cyborg. Youtube has the audio of a lot of the material which will encourage you to get hold of the CD's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. She's had only 11 singles, although being one of the most well-known anime singers.

      Delete
  3. What I liked about your review is that it is descriptive and detailed. One aspect of a song that you left out that may be useful for reviewing Chiaki's songs is the lyrics. First impression of sayonara tte iu for me didn't go quiet well, I thought it was dragging and dull. But I attempted to interpret the lyrics and was amazed by the depth of the lyrics, and slowly the song grew in me. It does take a lot of effort if you don't understand Japanese though..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, that's the main obstacle right now. My knowledge of Japanese is limited to things I hear in anime, or other songs etc. But, I am starting a course in September, so that should help my understanding of the lyrics, and the song in whole.

      Delete

2 June 2013

Chiaki Ishikawa - Sayonara Tteiu


Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince ED

Tracklist:

1. Sayonara Tteiu
2. Sono Gyaku
3. Sayonara Tteiu (Off Vocal)
4. Sono Gyaku (Off Vocal)

1. Sayonara Tteiu

I haven't watched Majestic Prince past the first episode, but for a seemingly shounen-like and childish anime, Chiaki's new work is surprisingly dark and depressing. An irregular rhythm, just like in jazz and blues sets in with dragging, drawn out guitars, laying the ground for her deep vocals, on par with those of Kalafina. The arrangement can get quite strange and slow, even with the usual Western ballad melodies in the chorus, but I guess that some experimentation is due in such a long career. Accordingly, ambiental, playful tones stop in the middle eight sequences for some genuinely haunting chanting repeats of "miss, miss, miss", bringing the theme of the song in question, which restarts for a final chorus that isn't even slightly more optimistic than the ones before it, and strips to bare vocals slowly fading out. This isn't exactly my cup of tea, but acknowledgement must be where it's due, for a good track.
Rating: 8

2. Sono Gyaku

Continuing on with the experimental and progressive atmosphere, dysharmonic synths and filtered vocals chanting in another language (Kajiuran? Or at least a dialect of Japanese) open the track, never really settling for a tonality, until they unravel in several touching guitar riffs. This B-side retains the blues tint in it, but with added energy and tempo, while even sometimes managing to sound uplifting, although falling in the trap of cliche. Nevertheless, Chiaki's vocals are always something worth looking forward to, even when filtered and make for scary transitions within different sections of the track. When you have an artist do something unforgettable, then their every other piece is probably going to be compared with it, and so is this one; therefore, I must say that this does remind of "Uninstall", at least a little bit. That's a great compliment.
Rating: 9

There's not really a point in discussing the future an artist might hold when it's an anison veteran like Chiaki Ishikawa. I know I'm rarely ever going to be disappointed by her work, so Sayonara Ttieu is just another addition to the list. My overall rating is: 8 ½

The comment box doesn't bite; be careful when feeding it, though.

11 comments:

  1. Might have to check this out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Start listening to Chiaki if you haven't already! She's great (^▽^)

      Delete
    2. Can you recommend me a few songs of hers?

      Delete
    3. Of course! Uninstall, Fukanzen Neshou, Prototype, Gyakkou, and The Giving Tree are all great songs. If you want newer stuff, besides this single, you can get her latest album.

      Delete
    4. I'll admit that when it comes to Chiaki Ishikawa's music, there's this tendency for me to want to compare everything she does to Uninstall, so the danger is that if you listen to Uninstall, you may never be satisfied by her music ever again! ;D

      Delete
    5. Uninstall is more of a one-time thing, despite it being pretty easy to replicate the success of it (very standard but always effective melody + composition in own regime). She does have many songs that come very close to it, though.

      Delete
    6. At one point I thought as well that her future singles will never come close to the success she had with Uninstall, but after listening to her 10th single, Fukanzen Nensho, I realized that being who she is as an artist she will not aim to replicate that success by making a song similar to Uninstall (there are so many examples where artists just keep making songs that sound the same over and over). Fukanzen nensho does not sound like any of her previous songs and as a result she has defined her style of song-writing, backup vocals (her chants) and arrangement. People will refer her as the person who sang Uninstall, but she continues to amaze fans with her unique style (it's hard to find anison artist achieve that kind of level).

      Delete
  2. Quality over quantity describes Chiaki Ishikawa. It is worth recommending her songs with See-Saw, and a 6-track CD called Magnolia under the name Somali, as well as her contribution on Another Sound of 009 Re:Cyborg. Youtube has the audio of a lot of the material which will encourage you to get hold of the CD's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. She's had only 11 singles, although being one of the most well-known anime singers.

      Delete
  3. What I liked about your review is that it is descriptive and detailed. One aspect of a song that you left out that may be useful for reviewing Chiaki's songs is the lyrics. First impression of sayonara tte iu for me didn't go quiet well, I thought it was dragging and dull. But I attempted to interpret the lyrics and was amazed by the depth of the lyrics, and slowly the song grew in me. It does take a lot of effort if you don't understand Japanese though..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, that's the main obstacle right now. My knowledge of Japanese is limited to things I hear in anime, or other songs etc. But, I am starting a course in September, so that should help my understanding of the lyrics, and the song in whole.

      Delete