Thursday 28 April 2011

Mutyumu



If there ever was a band that lived up to its name, it would be Mutyumu. A "crazy dream" is probably the best description for their music. A crazy dream full of fire, statuesque figures, impressionistic operas, delicate ballet performances, leering demon faces...the images are as diverse as the instrumentation and song structure. At one moment you'll be treated to very soft piano and violin melodies, only to be bashed over the head with a massive heavy metal dirge the next. Similarly, the vocal treatments range from almost inaudible whispers to angelic female falsettos to guttural male bellowing.

The work of Mutyumu is extremely artistic and symphonic, yet not overly so. They never stray into straight-up new age territory, while also staying clear of schlocky death metal. Simply put, it's goth in the very best sense of the word. Mature and very sophisticated, classically dark, they never go the easy route of over-the-top style over substance, instead doing the reverse. Avoiding slathering on the gloom, they strip things down to few elements, developing them into minimal symphonies. They even have a few regular rock songs that wouldn't be out of place on a Bauhaus or Buck-Tick album.

Their raspy strings and twinkling pianos along with other synthetic sounds set them apart as something more than your average band that just gets on stage and rocks out. They have extended atmospheric sections that either lighten or darken the mood, like either the sun or the moon rising over a secluded pond. A bit like Matyoshka or Sigur Ros with their trance-like crescendos, they seem to find their most beautiful moments when they're either their most calm and repetitive, or their most loud and soaring. Case in point, the incredible "祈り," ("Prayer") which builds to ridiculous heights over ten minutes.


Having been formed in 2002, they are still a bit young, yet their solid sound and production really hit the ground running with their first self-titled album in 2006. Their 2008 follow-up Ilya cranks up the number of full-band rock outs and death-metal blasts. It's much less subtle and atmospheric, aiming more for the gut with a clearer guitar/drums/bass/vocals format and less of a focus on the strings and piano, though they are both still very much a part of the equation. (Again, refer to "祈り" above.) 

Whatever your poison, be it classical strings and high society, or ancient demon metal and flaming pagan rituals, you'll find much to sink your teeth into with Mutyumu's twisted dream-scapes.

Mutyumu (夢中夢) describe their own music as a mixture of post-rock, minimal, classical, alternative, and heavy metal.

Members:

Hatis Noit (Vocal)
Ryota Yoda (Guitar)
Junpei Suda (Drums)
Yuko Ikenaga (Piano)
Yuji Hayashi (Bass)
Ryota Taniuchi (Violin)

On their 2008 album “Ilya”, World’s End Girlfriend, Hajime of ミドリ, and Robin from 赤犬 also worked in collaboration with the band.



Albums

2008 - Il ya

Artist – Mutyumu ( 夢中夢 )
Album – Il y a (イリヤ )
Release Date – 2008

01. Intro -il y a-
02. Bird [die ewige wiederkunft]
03. God's eye [l'oeil est dieu]
04. Our sense of distance [toi et moi]
05. Midnight sun at the end of the world to repeat the fall [repetitional existence]
06. Sea of evil [doxastic - doxa incarnate]
07. I will return to dust but the dust [unforgiven]
08. We also repeated the words slowly lost it's meaning, tone down the language and brings pain [raison d'etre]
09. Sapphic [sappho]
10. Inori [prayer]
11. Date of ash [hai no hi]




Mutyumu Mutyumu
発売日:2006年10月25日
    Songs / Tracks Listing 1. Koku (5:28)
    2. Zantetsu (4:44)
    3. Kronos Kairos (5:46)
    4. Fujyo Kouhuku Sanka (6:14)
    5. Sonzai No Kakuritsu (3:17)
    6. Madouin Mousou Tenshi Kyoku (4:55)
    7. Tetsu No Hanataba (8:53)
    8. Syosou Kuka Gengai No Sirabe (4:30)
    9. Rakuen (12:44)
    10. Mumu No Renzokukousa (1:41)
    11. Hakugoku No Yume (4:46)
    12. Tata (4:25)




    夢中夢・セカンドデモCD-R『灰の日 / hai no hi』2004

     Songs / Tracks Listing

    1. Date of Ash (Hai No Hi)
    2. Monday (Geppaku)
    3. Hidari
    4. Hendo
    5. Babarake
    6. Girl (Syoujyo)

     



    Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 2002

    Songs / Tracks Listing

    1. White Noise
    2. Fire Aoi / Souen
    3. Dirge / Sousou Ka
    4. Sunset / Syayou

     

    Friday 22 April 2011

    Schwarz Stein



    Schwarz Stein was a Japanese electronic band, formed by Hora and Kaya in 2001 as "Rudolf Steiner", and disbanded in 2004.
    Schwarz Stein was a darkwave/electronic-based project, creating a variety of decadent and broodingly dark songs during their three years of activity.
     
    Schwarz Stein was a solely electronic-based duo, creating a variety of decadent and broodingly dark (at times) songs during their three years of activity. The group consisted of two members; Kaya (ex-ISOLA) and Hora (ex-Velvet Eden), who originally worked together under the name Rudolf Steiner in 2001. 2002 saw the band signed to Moi dix Mois leader Mana's record label Midi:Nette, and upon their joining, had renamed the duo "Schwarz Stein" (pseudo-German for "Black Stone").

    Prior to their name change, two demo tapes (Queen of Decadence and Perfect Garden) had been released. A re-worked version of Perfect Garden was later released as their Midi:Nette debut single. They went on to release their debut album New Vogue Children in June 2003, the single Current in November of the same year, and their final album Artificial Hallucination in February 2004. They opened for Mana's solo project Moi dix Mois a few times and played in several multiple-band shows, as well as making several solo appearances.

    Singles



    [2002.07.31] Perfect Garden

    01. Perfect Garden
    02. Beautiful The Virgin





     [2003.11.17] Current

    01. Current
    02. Syphilis and Disorder
    03. Current (Instrumental)
    04. Syphilis and Disorder (Instrumental)










    Albums


    [2003.06.30] New vogue children

    01. the alternation of generations -conception-
    02. Release me
    03. Rise to Heaven
    04. Queen of Decadence
    05. transient
    06. BIO GENESIS
    07. fester love
    08. Succubus
    09. New vogue children
    10. the alternation of generations -increase-







    [2004.02.25] Artificial Hallucination

    01. Testament
    02. Addictive Epicurean
    03. Profane gene
    04. CREEPER
    05. the alternation of generations -expire-
    06. Emergence of Silence
    07. Perfect Garden SK0520MIX
    08. Corroded Cage
    09. Schism
    10. Last Hallucination




    Kaya & Hora, Side project: Another Cell 
    A collaboration CD "Another Cell" was released in April 2006, limited to 1000 copies and only available for order through Kaya's official site. This limited edition CD features features re-mixed/re-worked versions of Rudolf Steiner's "kuro ageha" and Hora's "FROZEN PAST" and "INNER UNIVERSE" which make up three of the eight tracks. It should be noted that this is a one-time-only collaboration and not a reunion of Schwarz Stein.

    [2006.04.XX] Another Cell

    01. ARCHETYPE.01 (music: Hora) – 2:27
    02. Blazing darkness (music: Hora, lyrics: Kaya) – 3:58
    03. INNER UNIVERSE -cybernated- (music and lyrics: Hora) – 4:40
    04. funerary dream (music: Hora, lyrics: Kaya) – 4:05
    05. FROZEN PAST -raze- (music and lyrics: Hora) – 3:59
    06. kuroi tsubasa (music: Hora, lyrics: Kaya) – 4:36
    07. INDWELL -outer planet- (music and lyrics: Hora) – 4:03 **
    08. ARCHETYPE.02 (music: Hora) – 2:02


























    DEMO TAPEs


    QUEEN OF DECADENCE
                                                                                 PERFECT GARDEN

    Sunday 3 April 2011

    Hora



       Hora (born May 10) is a Japanese musician, most famous for being the keyboards player and programmer of the Visual Kei duo Schwarz Stein (2001-2004).

      He started writing music when he was 16, he wrote songs like INNER UNIVERSE and Transient back then. Hora started his career in 2000 by playing keyboards for Velvet Eden. He left a year later and formed Schwarz Stein (known as Rudolf Steiner at time of founding) with ex-ISOLA member Kaya.

      He contributed to Schwarz Stein by composing all of the music, which is one of the founding pillars for his solo career, since the similarities between his solo career and Schwarz Stein are clear. The synthesizer sounds and dark melodies Hora uses for his solo are also present in Schwarz Stein's material. However, Hora's solo works are composed without the requirement of a vocalist. 


    MUSIC




    [2005.03.29] INNER UNIVERSE
    01. Synthetic Anthem
    02. Inner Universe
    03. Modulate GOD
    04. DUSK
    05. FROZEN PAST
    06. Inner Universe -Inst Mix-










    [2005.12.21] THE WORLD
    01. DEFAME HUMANITY
    02. DISTORTED WORLD
    03. KILLING CULTURE
    04. SENSUAL MADNESS
    05. INNER ELEMENTS
    06. HEAVENZ
    07. THE WORLD
    08. MODULATE GOD -DEEP MIX-
    09. SPELLBOUND
    10. INDWELL





     [2006.09.28] PROMINENCE
    01. FUTURE LIFE
    02. PROMINENCE
    03. IGNITION
    04. PHOTON
    05. FLOW
    06. LIFE
    07. RAY
    08. HEAVENZ -COMA-
    09. SPINAL CORD
    10. EUPHORIA
    11. QUASAR

     


     [2007.03.29] VENOM

    01. NEW SKIN
    02. AINS5
    03. VENOM
    04. PATH OF DARKNESS
    05. REJECT
    06. DIGNITY
    07. TRANSONICA
    08. GREED
    09. VEIN
    10. INNER ELEMENTS -FLOOD-
    11. RESTORATION











    TRACK LIST

    CD1
    01. Accursed
    02. On Falling
    03. Nexus
    04. L.E.M.
    05. Distant Voices
    06. Tempested
    07. Spine
    08. Icebound
    09. Incarnation

    CD2
    01. Distored WORLD ~Chaotic~
    02. Prominence ~Cosmic~
    03. Path of Darkness ~Victim~
    04. Modulated God ~Deformed~























     

     

    REIGN
    Hora
    Released: November 26th, 2008

    01.) GENUINE
    02.) DESCENT
    03.) REFLECT
    04.) PULSE
    05.) VC
    06.) WITNESS
    07.) PREDICT
    08.) HAZE
    09.) THE ANSWER
    10.) CONNECTED




    domiNATE
    Release Date: October 15, 2009

    Tracklist:
    01 THE LAW
    02 INSANITY
    03 domiNATE
    04 MAGNIFICENT
    05 128
    06 INFUSE
    07 THE OTHER A.I.
    08 INWARD
    09 SIRIUS
    10 DEVOTION


    Hora
    LAST ALBUM

    「WISDOM」

    2CD
    DISC1 NEW ALBUM + DISC2 BEST ALBUM

    2010.6.30 Release









    I found a useful translation/diary translation/romaiji site for the works of hora&kaya.
             http://lerman.biz/asagao/gothic_lolita/updates.html 



    Friday 1 April 2011

    Kaya






                                          

    Kaya is a Japanese musician, known for his role as the vocalist of the now defunct Visual Kei duo Schwarz Stein (2001-2004). Kaya had used the name "Hime" prior to joining Schwarz Stein (which went by the name Rudolph Steiner at the time of its founding). Currently pursuing a solo career, Kaya is also known for his eccentric, androgynous dress and his unique vocal talents. 

    Singles


    [2006.07.10] Kaleidoscope

    01. Kaleidoscope
    02. Remains of Mind



    [2006.09.18] Masquerade

    01. Masquerade
    02. Psycho Butterfly

    [2007.04.04] 桜花繚乱 (ōka ryōran)

    "Oka Ryoran" is a single created with the concept of Cherry blossoms, the symbol of Japanese spring. Single features the sound of Japanese traditional instruments emphasising the elegance of Japanese lyrics.

    Includes two songs "Oka" and "Ryoran."






    Kaya - Carmilla
    Release Date: October 31, 2007 

    Tracklist
    1. Carmilla
    2. Silvery Dark (Queen’s Version)
    (First Press extra) Live Music Video "Kugutsu"








     


    "Chocolat" (23 April 2008)
    Tracklist:
    1) ショコラ
    2) Pourriture noble
    3) ショコラ~sweet version~
    4) ショコラ ~Kayaless version~




    "Last snow" (24 December 2008)

    Tracks:
    1. Last Snow
    2. Bara iro no hibi
    3. Perverse Rendezvous
    4. Last Snow ~Kayaless Version








    Kaya - Ophelia  (22 July 2009)

    Track List:

     01 - Ophelia 

    02 - Rose Kingdom   

    03 - Ophelia -Kayaless ver.-









      "Awilda" (28 July 2010)

      Track listing:
      1. Awilda
      2. Sink
      3 Awilda -Kayaless ver.-











      "Madame Rosa no Shoukan" (22 December, 2010)
      01. Madame Rosa
      02. Madame Rosa -Kayaless ver.-
      03. Madame Rosa -Remix-










      Albums


       Glitter (27 December 2006)

      Tracks:
      1. Kaleidoscope -glitter mix-
      2. Walküre
      3. Paradise lost
      4. Psycho Butterfly -Nightmare mix-
      5. Masquerade -fabulous night mix-
      6. Rose Jail
      7. Silvery Dark
      8. Glitter Arch







      Hyakki Yagyou  (11 July 2007)
      Tracks:
      1. Ouka -Hyakki Ranbuhen-
      2. Kagami Oni
      3. Hannya
      4. Kugutsu
      5. Kasha




      Kaya Meikyoku Series 1: BonJour! Chanson (18 February 2009)


      1. AUX CHAMPS-ELYSÉES
      2. C'EST SI BON
      3. JE TE VEUX
      4. PADAM PADAM
      5. BARAIRO NO JINSEI (LA VIE EN ROSE)







       
      Queen (20 April 2011)