Musical Discoveries in Touhou Fandom

[Ken Hisuag]

Angelicca / necoworks - Wish You Were Here
The artist really nailed the mood of an ending theme for this remix. It starts out subdued and reflective, then builds up into something celebratory but resolute. IMO this is one of the more impressive finds I've had through this endeavor.

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PURE-POLLUTION - Desire Dream
Not to be confused with "Desire Drive;" the two do share a primary motif, but they are officially separate tracks. I thought it'd be difficult to find a distinct remix of this piece that wasn't at least partially tied to its more prominent predecessor, but I actually found quite a few. I might have preferred something more experimental to further differentiate it, but ultimately this is a high-quality arrangement with a fitting tone for the source material.

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Route-R - Satellite TORIFUNE
Not the sound I would have anticipated from a "Satellite TORIFUNE" arrangement, but it's surprisingly fitting as the intended theme of a space station. Mayhap the melody being more clear in this remix can make it more evident while listening to the original?

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[Ken Hisuag]

CnoD - Sporadic Three Minutes
"Trojan Asteroid Jungle" is an especially jazzy arrangement from ZUN, so obviously I went for a energetic rock arrangement! In all seriousness though, when the original piece accomplishes its style so well, often the remixes going in completely different directions are preferable for a more creative take on the motifs.

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Ittsu– - Space Shrine "TORIFUNE"
I was stuck by the contrast of tone this arrangement had to most of what I was finding for the previous piece. It seemed somehow fitting.

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Tengu Corp - Yabai Barrier
While quite distant from the genres I usually favor, this similarly contrasted wonderfully with the previous two features. There's also a thematic consistency to the story behind these tracks, but that isn't technically as relevant.

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[Ken Hisuag]

TOGAKISAN - Unopened Gensokyo
Open to more accurate translations of the title. The soundfonts are a bit rough on this one, but the arrangement makes up for it with originality. It seems to me that attempts at "classical" style remixes often end up like this, for better or worse. This circle has done other experimental arrangements of this sort, so I get the impression that's their gimmick.

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Makita Step - I tried arranging "Green Sanatorium" from Izanagi Materials in 4 parts with MC-101
Probably not the intended title, but it is the given label. I've considered performances from this artist several times in the past, but usually found something else I wanted to prioritize. Well, this time I'm committing. Zunish arrangements are sometimes too close to the original, but in this case the prioritization of melody over original's style ironically makes it stand out.

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kayou - Attracted (RETAKE)
"Zenkou Temple" is really about the percussion, and surprisingly few of the arrangements I found respected that. I would never have expected a vocaloid to be what met my expectations, but here we are! Unfortunately projects of this sort are almost impossible to find translated lyrics for, so I'm out for that.

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[Ken Hisuag]

ATELIER ATMOS / at the mercy of sounds - Agartha Wind
This isn't a new discovery for me, but I haven't featured the artist before, so it's just as well this came up in the searches. ATMOS has done some great folk adjacent arrangements, but remain a more obscure circle. The style is probably as fitting as could be asked for this piece!

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INMG Sound - Izanagi Object
I presumed there wouldn't be too many high energy arrangements going through this album, but then I found this piece, and found it especially ideal for the contrast. As eurobeat goes this isn't trying anything too experimental, but it has some good variety in its instrumentation, which does well to reinforce its progression (as it should be).

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efs - Return to the Old Town
Contrary to the previous piece, I fully expected a variety of vocal performances for this one, and was subsequently surprised to find the selection limited (granted I wasn't looking at any artists I'm already familiar with, so my presumptions may yet be accurate). I almost passed this one over simply because I had difficulty believing the circle's title was really "efs," but a bit of research clarified the authenticity of the citation. Still think it's a strange name, but the arrangement holds up regardless.

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[Retron]

You guys know who Stack is, no introductions needed. Now look at this cool arrangement I found of Sariel's theme from her. Honestly I was suprised to see a PC-98 song get a lyrical cover, not to mention one from HRTP.

 

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[Ken Hisuag]

Little Matchstick - Kitchen Music
Accurate translation or not, the performance stands upon its own merits. I don't usually go in for this sort of "adaptation," but this is a bit more tastefully creative than the usual. It's also [kinda] thematic; a silly party trick type gimmick for the proceeding carnival!

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"Youtube does not allow embedding for this video"
Huh? Why? Ugh, alright I guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEabv2aA0m8

UnknownEX1 - A Popular Location
I was blessed to find this at all. This is a refreshingly dynamic arrangement for a piano solo, especially given the obscurity of such tracks. As y'all will see shortly, I have reason to appreciate anything I find for certain pieces, and this goes beyond what I'd usually expect.

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Missing Tracks:
{U2 Akiyama - An Unpopular Location}
{U2 Akiyama - Today's Front-Page Headline}
I note the tracks I can't make good on for the sake of future reference, but also to highlight their availability for the uniquely ambitious fandom musician. That being said, I couldn't reasonably expect to find anything for "Unpopular Location," given it's nearly indistinguishable from its ironically titled counterpart.

Esme - Futatsuiwa from Gensokyo
I almost despaired on this one, as the source is understandably overshadowed by its preeminent "Sado" variant. Finding obscure remixes from obscure artists is exactly why I committed to this gimmick, so there's a certain satisfaction in such discoveries as this.

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