Musical Discoveries in Touhou Fandom

[Ken Hisuag]

Another year's end tradition that I've been somewhat less established in is featuring some arrangements I'd otherwise reserved for use in remix tournaments. I've collected quite a list of these, and as things stand now they're not likely to see their intended use, so it's a good thing I have this way of utilizing them. Then again, they probably won't stand out as much as they otherwise would have. Just consider these special features as being a look into what I found noteworthy enough to hold onto for a special occasion.

Karasu - Entrusting the World to Idols ~ Idolatrize World
I haven't yet found piano arrangements that quite match up to Dean Nguyen's work, but this is heading in the right direction; playing with the melody and progression to create something almost-but-not-quite unrecognizable, playing to the strengths of the instrument over the piece itself.

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Sosop - Millennium Fantasy ~ Dance of the Monster
I've had this one so long that it's gone unlisted. Before I discovered GET IN THE RING, this was my ideal mashup arrangement. The key is integrating the motifs into each other, not simply overlapping them or lining them up next to each other.

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maritumix - Memorabilia
Maritumix has continued to be a favorite artist of mine. The large quantity of productions therefrom tend to dampen the novelty of his style, but once in a while an arrangement sticks out to me, and I save it away for later. I still wish he'd compile and sell albums of his remixes, but at least he's publishing his original material more often now.

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I won't be here tomorrow, being Sunday, but I'll try and stop in on Monday. Happy New Year!

[Ken Hisuag]

In commemoration of the New Year, I have saved this beast of a medley which incorporates motifs from across the series, plus a wide range of fangames, into a base-template of the best Zunish piece I know of:

Kirbio & Tokiko Tatsunagi - Jewel of the Sky-Ruling Dragon Deity ~ Quintessential Fragments (Destroy Star MIX)

Here's to this year, whatever may be brought in it; shalom.

[Ken Hisuag]

Mascarpone - Loose Flowers
I can't think of another character besides the two primaries who has so many unique themes. IMO, this one's harder to arrange due to the structure of its melody, which doesn't seem like it would lend itself to progression. Despite this, I have heard several remixes that manage it well, usually by turning into jazz.

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Cerotte - Dream Bubble
The warning will go unheeded, but for my own conscience's sake I must advise against looking at the video; just listen to the music. Normally inappropriate art is enough for me to scrap a feature, but this tone of folk was exactly what I was looking for, and I couldn't find anything else that fit.

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Bullet IX - Equinox Sky - 2019 Demo
I'm not happy with this feature either, but for a different reason. As the title implies, this is an early version of a later more fully realized remix, which is itself unavailable on Youtube despite existing for some time. I couldn't bring myself to buy it just for this feature, but it is essentially that version that secured this spot.

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Various Colors - Eastern Judgement in the Sixtieth Year ~ Fate of Sixty Years / Piano Arranged
As something of a consolation to myself, I'm including this as well. Exceptional piano solos are not as easy to come buy as one might expect, requiring a degree of technique either in the player or the programmer to pull off. I can't claim to be able to tell the difference, but I can appreciate the effort.

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[Ken Hisuag]

marasy - Mound Where the Flowers Reflect
This seems to be a sparsely represented one. Granted that it's primarily reliant on atmosphere with technically little motif unique to itself, it's also one of my favorites, and I had hoped for a bit more. A lot of musicians seem to prefer pairing it up with its counterpart pre-conversation theme.

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show-jow nico - Reunion
See, this is more what I was looking for; the mood is retained, but the whole piece is overhauled for a uniquely enhanced experience. The more I listen to it, the more impressed I am; definitely a hidden gem.

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TKB0111A3 - The Flowers Remain in Fantasy
Have I featured this artist before? I've alluded in the past to the not-so-fine line between a musical "cover" and a remix or "rearrangement." Most PC-98 adaptations I come across are more covers than remixes, but the technical aspect makes them a bit more impressive than the same thing done for piano. This is one of the few tracks I can think of that I can properly call a PC-98 remix; the artist goes beyond merely recreating the piece and adds interpretive flair.

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Raccoon Factory - Sagittarius
An extra, both to make up for the hiatus and because it's the only track left in Touhou 9. After arrangements of piano, folk and chiptune, respectively, it seems only fair to finish with something high-energy and intense, though perhaps maintaining a similar mood. This one is probably as ideal as I could have asked for in all respects.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Windbreaker - Tengu's Notebook ~ Mysterious Note
It was really tempting to use the Genso Wanderer theme, but I ultimately decided to go for something more low energy. This remix is short, but successfully recreates the atmosphere of the original track.

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rythmique - Wind Circulation ~ Wind Tour
For immediate contrast, saxophone and violin over electronic rock! I can't help but get excited about rarer instrumentation combos, and this piece has pretty good range to justify the interest.

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EdelSounds - Eyes of the Wind
Finally, something else high energy but with slightly more grounding, accomplished through a surprisingly balanced vocal duet performance.

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[Ken Hisuag]

I forgot to post on Saturday, and I'm a bit embarrassed about it because I definitely had the time.

Unionest.NET - Sleepless Night of the Eastern Country
I'm rather fond of the original, so I hoped to find something especially good for this. I'm beginning to think any arrangement that could be classified as hybrid will immediately appeal to me; obviously this is a rock remix, but the light elements of jazz really help bring the whole thing together.

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HAPPY I SCREAM!! - Rainbow-colored Rain
Again, this is technically just a rock remix, but how often does one hear a harp riff incorporated into such a piece? Then again, I suppose a lot of rock looks for one-off gimmicks to give it character; maybe that's part of what rock is?

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Assaultdoor - Hiroshige No. 36 ～ Neo Super-Express
Part of the charm the original is known for comes from its instrumentation and presentation; as such, a remix often must forgo recapturing that charm. I was surprised by this piano arrangement, because it manages to recapture the original's character simply by pausing at the right moments, and otherwise being as straightforward as possible.

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Since I was late, I'll add something else to this feature, though it may be more to my benefit then anyone else's.

Sometimes while I'm seeking out remixes to feature, I come across videos that lack proper documentation and without citation of sources. This essentially renders the accompanying piece useless to me, no matter how much I appreciate it, so I'll often endeavor to hunt down alternative uploads in hopes of getting the metadata I require. Sometimes this hunt is successful, but other times I'm left wondering if I've stumbled upon lost media with no way to know for sure.

This is another remix of Sleepless Night of the Eastern Country, favoring funk; that is the only thing I know about it.

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[Ken Hisuag]

greenscarf - Synthetic Shore
Piano would be too obvious; here's a synthwave remix instead! This motif lends itself to almost any low-energy style, so it's no surprise it works so well in this form.

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ti - Song of the Secret Sealing Club Meeting a Dangerous Cult
Iffy on the translation here, but it definitely matches the song. Something this unique only turns up in my searchings once in a blue moon (as they say), and I'm always excited by the discovery. Maybe using strange sounds as instrumentation to achieve the weird atmosphere could be considered "cheap," but then again it doesn't seem very common, and one can't deny it works.

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Irohaya - Izanami
Reversing the approach from the previous feature, we have a soothing acoustic remix of a weirder ZUN composition. This is the ideal guitar performance, too, with enough improv to keep unique without losing the mood.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Groovy Trancer - Spacefaring
Magical Astronomy is among ZUN's best work, imo. I picked this arrangement to start out with because it fits the theme of space. It's a tad bit long and lacks sufficient progression to justify it, but there is variance between parts if you wait long enough, and that keeps it interesting.

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AKANEIROTOWN - Labyrinth of the Starry Skies feat. Sarah_
I've heard so many Greenwich remixes that I wasn't expecting to find anything too interesting. This, however, impressed me; by intentionally contrasting the melody with a discordant vocaloid, the arrangement cultivates a disturbing mood, which both compliments the melody and enhances the impact of the drop later on.

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Yayayayayaa - The Wheelchair's Future in Space
Far less refined a remix than I usually favor, but perfect for showcasing what I consider to be the most defining attribute of the original piece: the major key intro. I was surprised to find most remixes failing to incorporate this aspect into themselves; it sets the tone for the rest of the piece, and provides an uncommon contrast of mood. Being so unique in Touhou music, why not use that?

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[Ken Hisuag]

minimum electric design - Gutenberg's Scientific Century
I have my doubts over the title translation. The arrangement itself has excellent energy; a lot of Music Collection vocal remixes will feature duets as a thematic gimmick, but only a few will sound like it's a part of the arrangement itself.

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Macco-ya - Winding Spacewalk
The problem with finding a G Free remix is that I'm inevitably going to compare it to Final Dream, and subsequently find it lacking. So instead of choosing something expanding upon the original's tone, I've gone with something more experimental. There's a commitment to atmosphere that keeps the piece going, even if it takes awhile to get anywhere particular.

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Unprepared Orchestra - Magical Astronomy
To make up for the lack in the previous remix, I've found a nicely realized orchestral arrangement for this spot. Too many similar pieces have bad mastering, usually featuring poor instrument balancing or amplification problems; so I'm always impressed to find another artist that seems to know what they're doing.

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CHRONOS RECORD - Legacy of my Grand Father
Y'all get four this week; don't question it. Obviously my love for folk is showing, but it helps that this is an appropriately reflective remix in tone, thereby capturing the theme of retrospective ending.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Pot Still Records - Japanese・Lofi・Saga
This same artist did two more remixes of the same piece, and I have to respect it. Out of the three, this was the one I appreciated best. The strength of lofi lies in its atmosphere and mood rather than its progression; this is a "chill" arrangement, perfect for background listening.

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aocha - Child of Are
The marking of progression checkpoints is a nice touch, but it can be distracting, so I recommend listening without looking at least once. The original piece catches attention with its initial discordance, so I was intrigued by how the motifs sounded in a different setting.

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NIZI-RINGO - Child of Are (ginkiha house remix)
I couldn't initially decide between this and the previous feature, so I decided to do both of them (it also transitions better into the high-energy piece that comes next). This is pleasantly bouncy while also having a smooth oriental folk feel; a happy sound, to be sure.

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VAGUEDGE - Girlish Aspiration
High-energy vocal to balance out the post. Proper remixes of this piece seemed scarce, most simply adapting the original PC-98 sound into modern Zunish. While there's nothing wrong with that, there's also plenty of strength in the motifs for more standard use.

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[Ken Hisuag]

MTK - sunset stage groovin'
I'm not really a fan of funkot, but that hasn't stopped me before. Given the context of the original, the tonal conflict embodied in this arrangement style is almost thematic.

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IZMIZM - Night Daydream
This may initially seem like a direct contrast to the previous piece, but as it progresses I think it starts to resemble the other a bit; more like the other side of the coin, perhaps.

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Grimoire Technlogy - Fairly Brilliant
To complete the trifecta, I've settled on a simple and straightforward arrangement for this track. Overall I'm very pleased with my findings this round.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Higashino Seizon Penguin - Fragments
Admittedly I was more impressed with the circle name than the remix itself, but it's still a fine arrangement (I ran out of time this week, found all of these literally within the past half-hour).

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SUMIty Piano - Touhou Fuujinroku Stage1 Theme
This is a really great piece, and I was continually finding arrangements that didn't quite live up to what I wanted for it. So instead of going big, I've gone simple. While I wish the sound quality was better, there's no denying the impressive skill in the performance.

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Minazuki - Autumn Zwei
This track has always suffered from having too little to work with. Most remixes I've heard use explosive high energy to keep things going, and it works, but I still feel bad that such effective motifs are so tightly regulated to these styles.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Oshio Kuimu - Road of the Mistfortune Deity
Touhou 10 is full of great pieces, and it's a joy going through them for these features. This is a methodically paced arrangement, strong in the melody and deliberate in its accompaniment. It's also a bit louder then typical, so maybe adjust your volume before listening. I don't really understand the visuals, but I appreciate the effort put into them.

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Jerico's Law - Dark Enchantment
A remix that puts the "dark" in Dark Side of Fate. This is similarly paced to the previous piece, but has moments of higher energy due to the instrumentation. I know a couple of exceptional arrangements of these pieces, so I'm impressed to have found something comparably unique.

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Zawapee - Moist Gensokyo Beloved
Translation subject to adjustment. Another piece I've heard a lot of great renditions of, but this one stood out for being notably more relaxed while maintaining the tone of the melody.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Sawawa / Maria - Akutagawa Ryuunosuke's Kappa ~ High Speed Cucumber
Given the character, I wanted something techno or otherwise electronic. The original being 3/4 timing may incentivize artists toward more classical-sounding styles (or maybe I was fighting the algorithms), but I eventually found this one, which was exactly what I wanted.

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nori - Autumnal Waterfall
I've searched enough for this piece around Thanksgiving that I didn't expect to find much this time around, but this one pleasantly surprised me. It feels a bit short, but the instrumentation is excellently arranged for the melody; folk really suits this track, doesn't it?

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Mikkie - Youkai Mountain ~ Mysterious Mountain
Expectations were to contrast the previous pieces, and I had to search quite a while to find something satisfactory. I don't personally listen to the original much, but I didn't think it was that unpopular; yet I struggled to find many remixes that weren't from the big circles, and I was determined to use something more obscure. I'm glad I stuck it out.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Ryuichi Kaminogi - The Primal Scene of Japan the Girl Saw
Orchestral arrangements are usually focused on consistent atmosphere or building intensity. Rarely do I come across a remix that features internal variance to the degree that this does, much less in such a thematic way. I hope I got the correct artist name; there seems to be other options, so I'm defaulting to the channel name.

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Kibo - Faith is for the Transient People
I deliberated a bit on this one, mainly for contrast with the previous piece. This may lack the intensity I usually look for, but it carries the melody and progression through excellent instrumentation. Also . . .
ZUN-artstyle-accurate-3D-rendered-Reimu is too oddly specific to be real and therefore can't hurt you.
Meanwhile:

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Chuck Dietz - Cemetery of Onbashira ~ Grave of Being
I was not expecting to settle on a rock remix for this track, but finding such a competent performance that wasn't RichaadEB or YaboiMatoi was to much a novelty to let slide. He's also performing outside, which makes it even more unique.

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[Jaz:3]

hello, my first time posting here, Vanyk posted a very interesting topic that I didn't even know about! And it kinda inspired me to do something, which is checking out reddit and see how it was doing (I don't browse there very often). THEN, i found an upcoming album very very recently,... like today, like before now (lol). It seems like a an album of arreangements? I'm not sure tho...

It just sounds pretty cool to me, and the artwork is beautiful. Also, I'm posting this to remind myself to check out the album, if I can..

"【秘封】"ふたり銀河鉄道の夜に" XFD【例大祭21】" by TUMENECO&ShoyuSound

 

Title in English, and Katakana (Japanese language) I think:    (I forgot this)

TUMENECO - Futari Gingatetsudou no Yoru ni -Secret Milky Way Train- (Reitaisai 21 Crossfade sample)

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Link to the post: https://www.reddit.com/r/touhou/comments/1cbb5t0/tumeneco_futari_gingatetsudou_no_yoru_ni_secret/

Oh and the date for the release is on the top left if you didn't catch it.

Edited April 24, 2024 by Jaz:3
no way im telling u lol { the 2nd time}

[ChiliconValley]

I really like this Touhou EP I found. Not really much Touhou music with a garage/psychadelic rock sound to em. Can't really find the band anywhere else. Their Heian Alien remix is one of my favorites 

 

[Jaz:3]

19 hours ago, ChiliconValley said:

I really like this Touhou EP I found. Not really much Touhou music with a garage/psychadelic rock sound to em. Can't really find the band anywhere else. Their Heian Alien remix is one of my favorites 

 

 

The third song almost sounds like The Oral Cigarettes 

[Ken Hisuag]

Hatagoya Spring - The Venerable Ancient Battlefield ~ Suwa Foughten Field -Sengoku Arr.-
Hoping that's a sufficient translation. I firmly believe this piece works best with strong, hard-hitting instrumentation, so my focus was on rock and symphonic metal. Initially I kept finding artists I've already featured, but thankfully before settling for one I came across this gem, which is everything I could have asked for; clear melody, strong consistent progression, and exactly the desired tone. I wish it had a proper ending, though . . .

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Mitei - Tomorrow Will Be Special, Yesterday Was Not.
Period. I've had this one ready for a while, actually; folk in general, and especially this folk, is simply perfect for this piece imo. I've heard plenty of good arrangements for this piece already, so I'm not too concerned about missing out.

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kyomarron_li - Native Faith
I thought for sure I'd settle on a piano solo, but I really appreciated this mid-energy jazz take on the piece. The motifs are adapted well to the style (although it seems the iconic intro/bridge is sacrificed), and it contrasts well with the other parts of this feature.

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Yomii - Native Faith 2023 ver.
Actually, losing that bridge is a bit too much; here's that piano remix to compensate.

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[Ken Hisuag]

It occurred to me recently that I haven't taken opportunity to post original Zunish compositions in a while; thankfully an injustice easily rectified. I'll prioritize some names I don't think I've drawn attention to before (so no Wanwan or Aka Kyuketsuki this time around).

Melody Harmonia & Roka Enzaki - House of Hidden Horrors ~ Jumpscare Manor
Apparently this album isn't in distribution anymore, which is surprising to me since I considered it one of the best. This track was composed by the two primary people of the project. Zunish doesn't really lend itself to "horror" sound, but I appreciate what they went for here.

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Ocha & Plazzap - An Okeanid-Sylph's Sky Embodiment
The chord identification in the video is an amazing feature; it lends to appreciating the deeper complexity of the piece. It's very jazzy, but maintains the tone and progression of an early stage theme; a bit odd, since this is supposed to be a mid-game boss theme, but the music holds up nonetheless.

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Benji Tunez - In The Birthplace of A New Deity ~ False Salvation, True Hopes
The most recently released track here, and the reason I felt a need to do this feature. Compositions like this remind me of what I love about Touhou music; because it isn't just Touhou, but a unique genre of music that can be experimented with in all sorts of creative ways. I find the loop especially impressive here; it may sound like it starts shortly after the climax ends, but it's actually preceded by a mimicking percussion focused bridge with additional melody (mainly the Eastern Story leitmotif, which features prominently throughout this album).

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I've favored artist names over circle titles due to a tendency amongst these western musicians to collaborate in a variety of projects, making it more helpful to keep track of them individually. Each of these tracks comes from a different project collectively featuring almost a dozen other talents, and I'd encourage checking out what else they have to offer.

[Ken Hisuag]

Thinktank - Shrine at the Foot of the Mountain
I prefer to know the lyrics to a vocal song, but I can't make these out and I can't find a transcription anywhere. It seems to have minimal effect on the arrangement, so I'm letting it slide. I feel like this kind of rock is less common in Touhou arrangements, but maybe I'm just passing over them.

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SOUND OCTA - The Lords Give Us Blessed Rain ~ Sylphid Dream
While the source album is credited to the circle SJV-SC, said album is a collaboration project, and this specific track is more properly credited to SOUND OCTA. I wish there was a better upload, but I'll take what I can get. This is a very nice blend of jazz and synth, perfect for these post-game pieces.

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Novaneo - Player Score ~ Pure Lunacy
This pick was difficult, because I have so many other options from various fan projects, all of which sound so similar as to lack significant distinction. The decision rests primarily on this being a fresh discovery remaining true to the simplicity of the original.

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Which iteration of the motif came first: Player Score, or Suwa Foughten Fields?

[Ken Hisuag]

A lot of releases happened last week (mainly due to the event), and I wanted to highlight a few of them while they're still fresh.

ssbbmaster - le moineau de nuit
This is part of the new 11th Hour album. Everything I could say about ssbbmaster, I've already said before; he's still one of my favorite orchestral arrangers in the fandom.

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Yiter - Old Yuanxian (with album attached)
+TEK released "the fourth and the last" of his masterful chiptune albums, which collectively contain some of my favorite Touhou arrangements of all time. As with the previous album, this is a collab with arrangements from other artists included. Yiter in particular has a similar style to Rumya, in as much as it reminds me of Rivals of Aether, and I'm a big fan of that. Honorable mention to +TEK's Bad Apple!! arrangement which seamlessly combines the motifs of the original and its infamous remix.

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Nightcord at 25:00 - Bad Apple!!
Speaking of Bad Apple!! . . .
I'm inclined to consider remixes of the remix as a-dime-a-dozen, not for any lack of quality but simply for how many of them fail to stand out from the rest. This one stands out to me because of the names attached to it, which are too many to fully record here. It seems like a proper revival project, rather than a remaster or rehash, and I respect that.

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Edited May 6, 2024 by Ken Hisuag

[Jaz:3]

On 4/24/2024 at 2:55 PM, Jaz:3 said:

hello, my first time posting here, Vanyk posted a very interesting topic that I didn't even know about! And it kinda inspired me to do something, which is checking out reddit and see how it was doing (I don't browse there very often). THEN, i found an upcoming album very very recently,... like today, like before now (lol). It seems like a an album of arreangements? I'm not sure tho...

It just sounds pretty cool to me, and the artwork is beautiful. Also, I'm posting this to remind myself to check out the album, if I can..

"【秘封】"ふたり銀河鉄道の夜に" XFD【例大祭21】" by TUMENECO&ShoyuSound

 

Title in English, and Katakana (Japanese language) I think:    (I forgot this)

TUMENECO - Futari Gingatetsudou no Yoru ni -Secret Milky Way Train- (Reitaisai 21 Crossfade sample)

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Link to the post: https://www.reddit.com/r/touhou/comments/1cbb5t0/tumeneco_futari_gingatetsudou_no_yoru_ni_secret/

Oh and the date for the release is on the top left if you didn't catch it.

 

Follow up from my previous first post. Here's the links to the creators AND the link to buy the albums if anyone wants to know

 

The People:

https://www.youtube.com/@tumenecoshoyusound2752/videos (I think it's in the previous post also bu watever)

https://www.youtube.com/@shoyusound/videos

https://twitter.com/TUMENECO/with_replies  (I think this is the name of the circle? I don't remember how I found this account... oh! maybe from another person on twitter)

https://shoyu-sound.jp/tumeneco  (their own website, cool)

 

The Music!!:

https://tmnc036ginga-hihu.tumblr.com/  (details about the album and link to buy)

https://www.melonbooks.co.jp/detail/detail.php?product_id=2378145  (the store, shipping fees finna go crazy...idk I don't shop online for goods overseas that much)

 

I kinda want to buy it tho...but I gotta ask my mom first...nothing goes in and out of the house without being unnoticed since I live with her. I don't think it'll be allowed tho...idk, it just maybe so.

[Ken Hisuag]

Yea, shipping tends to be the real cost of these purchases. I use Japan Rabbit to expand my options, and hold off on orders until I can get a couple different products from the same seller. Booth is also an option for some digital albums that don't make it to iTunes, but their payment system doesn't always cooperate with me, making them an unreliable supplier. I wish more doujin circles would make their projects available through western-friendly services, but I also can't really blame them for not doing so.
_______________

In relation to today's OGM feature: The moment I heard Decisive Battle, I noted its similarities to another piece that had no association with it. Sure enough, I wasn't the only one.

Lemming - Himorogi, Burn in Decisive Battle

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Edited May 8, 2024 by Ken Hisuag

[Ken Hisuag]

Mochi.Rin - A Sky Dyed Scarlet
I feel a bit guilty about this one, but figured if I was ever going to try this experiment then there weren't many other options that would suit it better. This is supposedly a remix of Sunny Milk's Scarlet Mist Incident, which itself was a remix of Sunny Rutile Flection and U.N. Owen was Her? combined into a single piece. The latter is among the most recognizable motifs in the entire franchise, so it shouldn't be that hard to hear it in an arrangement, even a more experimental one. As it is, I can't hear anything of either piece, much less the combo version. I've sometimes wondered about the quantity of "faked" remixes, where the arrangement is more inspired-by than adapted-from. What do y'all think?

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??? - A Land Resplendent With Nature's Beauty (piano arrangement "2" from kkcwkoh)
It's important to cite your sources. I almost didn't use this for the feature, but I couldn't find another remix that respected the original motif in quite the same way (to be fair, it's a more obscure piece). If anyone recognizes the arrangement and can identify the artist, I'd very much appreciate it.

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Mon Mari (Monmari?) - Star Voyage 2008
It was between this and a heavier rock arrangement, and between the two this seemed more in keeping with the spirit of the original (but it was close). Didn't find as many remixes as I'd hoped too; does that mean I get to call it an underrated piece?

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BTW, I've technically skipped over a piece, but only because I'm saving it for later; I also doubt anyone remembers it anyway, considering its placement.