Musical Discovery - Alstroemeria Records

So the new year has begun.  For my first non-update post of the year, we're going back to Music Discovery.  The topic of this post is the group Alstroemeria Records.  With this post, I will retroactively also be adding genre tags to all my previous Musical Discovery and Top Tracks posts.

Alstroemeria Records is a Japanese group headed by Masayoshi Minoshima.  Genre wise, it falls into the trance category with more recent tracks starting to feel more on the dubstep side of the electronica spectrum.  Historically, Alstroemeria Records has only released during Comiket which occurs twice a year, once in August and once in December, and Reiteisai (博麗神社例大祭) which occurs in October.  The reason for this is because as a group Alstroemeria Records does covers of tracks from a game called The Touhou Project.  These are largely unimportant things, besides the fact that a lot of the music I listen to is related to these events.

Back to Alstroemeria Records though.  The sound of Alstroemeria Records has changed from when they started releasing back in 2003.  At the beginning the sound was more instrumental and less electronic.  Throughout the years, more vocal tracks have been added and the sound has become decidedly more electronic mainly in the veins of trance and dubstep.

In the category of Japanese Touhou cover groups, Alstroemeria Records is likely the most famous due to a viral video released in 2009 that has since seen many copies in various form like this.  I'm personally a fan of the video I linked because it uses carved apples instead of just shadow art.  They're known because they're responsible for the song that goes with the accompanying video.

While far from mainstream, I do think that Alstroemeria Records has a sound that is appealing to many different kinds of people.  While some of the newer material can be jarring for those not into dubstep or harder hitting electronic music, compositionally the material is still very good.  In my opinion, I feel that by expanding and experimenting in different genres, Masayoshi Minoshima has gotten better at composing and arranging and allowing new material into what began as rather general covers.

At this point, I'm just going to end with a mix of some of the tracks Alstroemeria Records has released in the past.  I hope you enjoy and until next time.

**Sorry for all the pops on the p's and b's I really need to get a pop screen.  If/when I do, I'll redo all the recordings.

**Also, if I ever get any notices saying I should take down any cross fades or mixes, I will.



--CsMiREK

Gear Days: V-Moda Crossfade LP Striking Sonority

Before the last post of the year, I wanted to leave you with some nicer headphones to look/think about.  Forget the under $30 stuff, this is serious.  For my next pair of nicer headphones, I have up the V-Moda Crossfade LPs.  With an MSRP of $199.99 but a going price closer to $100, these are by no means super expensive.  However, that doesn't mean they aren't good or nice; and yes those are two different things as I'll explain.  This is going to be a long post, so I'm just going to say that these are closed back headphones like the ATH M50s and stay with that for form.  Since these are nicer headphones, I'll go a bit more in depth with the sound and go into a bit of what kinds of songs I like listening to to test out new headphones, as such this post will also double as a multiple Top Tracks post.

As always let's begin with accessories.  Normally, I'd say something like, these headphones come with a quarter inch plug.  Maybe I'd compare it to some other pair of headphones I own.  But really, these headphones come with a lot of stuff.  Like, I'm gonna just leave this link here to show you.  Sorry about the blurry images, unfortunately I don't have the steadiest hands while taking pictures.  Also, my camera's pretty old at this point and my phone can't do too much better.  Maybe I'll retake them when/if I get some better camera gear.  If you can't tell what the V-Moda Crossfade LPs come with I'll walk you through it.  First off, you have a pretty nice box, complete with a button clasp which is pretty snazzy.  The headphones are held in a plastic hardshell case which is pretty sturdy and fits everything really well.  Inside the case you have the headphones themselves along with 2 detachable cables.  One of the cables has a built in 3 button remote.  It also comes with a small carabiner and a quarter inch plug.  Also, all the ties and the holding pieces for the cables are secured with Velcro which I really enjoy.  All said and done the accessories are very nice and there are quite a few of them.

Comfort wise they're quite nice.  Apparently the pads are memory foam, but all I can tell is that they feel pretty comfortable and the size is pretty decent for over ear headphones.  The cups are large enough to fit my ears and deep enough that there is no weird rubbing.  The headband is pretty comfortable and doesn't put a lot of pressure on the top of the head.  Also the adjusting for the headband makes a nice and satisfying audible click which is always a plus for me.  The one thing I don't like about them comfort and form wise is that they don't fold up which isn't necessarily a big deal.

Double Feature - Pretty Lights - Finally Moving

As I was compiling my lists of musical discoveries and top tracks, it just so happened that the next musical discovery is Pretty Lights and the next top track is his track, 'Finally Moving'.  Whether by accident or on purpose, it doesn't seem right that I should separate the two from each other.  For that reason we have our first double feature.

Pretty Lights is the stage name of Derek Vincent Smith.  As an artist he produces electronic music with an emphasis on sampled sounds and really chill beats.  As for how I got into Pretty Lights, I actually was introduced to his music through a friend of mine.  He's a big fan of electronic music and at the time I was still kinda warming up to electronic music and the sounds of the entire genre.  To be honest I don't particularly follow artists so I guess there isn't too much more I can say about him as a person.  However, what is really cool is that all of his albums and tracks are freely downloadable and distributable from his site.  There's also an option to donate so if you really enjoy his music, be proactive and support his music and his decision to freely distribute his music.

Musical Discovery - Ellie Goulding

To start off musical discovery, I wanted to highlight a relatively well known artist.  As I continue onwards, I am likely to go further into the obscure.  Regardless, this post is about the UK singer Ellie Goulding.

Most famous in the US for the song 'Lights', Goulding blends a powerful voice with elements most commonly associated with electronic dance music.  What's most interesting to me about Goulding is her ability to sing in multiple musical styles from having a soulful sound to a bright and distinctly pop sound.

The first of the two can be easily heard off her second album Halcyon in the track 'My Blood'.  I'll leave it up to you to go search for it online.  When you do listen to it, you'll realize what kind of range and depth her voice really has.  While I love musicians who can cultivate and master a particular kind of sound I also admire those who can create bridges between multiple styles to create wholly new styles.

For reference, if you want a distinctly more pop sound, listen to her first album Lights.  If you have fallen in love with her voice and can take a darker and more mature sound, pick up her second album Halcyon.  I hope you enjoyed this segment, the next one's on the punk rock group Rise Against.

--CsMiREK