Mami Kawada – FIXED STAR February 24, 2013

Track Listing

1. FIXED STAR
2. intersection
3. FIXED STAR (Instrumental)
4. intersection (Instrumental)

1. FIXED STAR

Well it’s no surprise that Mami releases a kind of animu-rock song with FIXED STAR, but it’s such a cool track to listen and I just love her voice in the song.  It does remind me of her last single “Borderland” because it has a lot of arrangement similarities.  I think it’s a pretty solid track, but the fact that this is a recut song from her best album last week makes this just a little strange of a song to me…still not bad!

2. intersection

At least the B-side is all new.  I don’t know why, but I love the intro for this song…it was progressive rock and the song gets heavy and kind of reminds me of stuff from “SAVIA”.  There’s just some good guitar riifs, I know it reminds of one oh her older songs, but not sure which one at the moment.  Very fitting B-side.

So this single was released as a recut single (only a week after her best) and this seems to be alright, but nothing that overly excites me.  FIXED STAR is a good track for Mami don’t get me wrong, but I think intersection did a lot better overall.  Overall, it’s one of her better singles, but strangely released lol.

Mami Kawada – SQUARE THE CIRCLE August 24, 2012

Track Listing

1. SQUARE THE CIRCLE
2. No buts!
3. my buddy
4. Don’t stop me now!
5. Clap!Clap!Clap!
6. Usual…
7. See visionS
8. live a lie
9. Midnight trip // memories of childhood
10. Rasen Kaidan
11. F
12. Going back to square one
13. Serment

1. SQUARE THE CIRCLE

Ahhh starting the album off with the title track huh?  I really found myself interested because we’re back to the I’ve synth style that I’ve become fond of from the company.  After the lengthy intro, Mami comes in with this mysterious tone and she fits the style SO GOOD.  The chorus is also nice and Mami rises above the music and stands out moreso.  It’s a great way to begin the album, but I liked “linkage” more because that song was more dramatic IMO.

2. No buts!

Adding punch to move the album forward, we get No buts! which started out the era.  I remenber the screeching that the tune’s arrangement had which was the prominent thing about the song.  Add in the anime-esque feel of the song and it stands out from the album since it’s gritty and aggressive.

3. my buddy

Continuing on, a nice amount of new tracks come up starting with my buddy.  It sounds like “No buts!” but without the grittyness and screeches going on.  What’s left is this punchy synth track that sounds surprisingly good!  I found myself enjoying the tune altogether and Mami sounds just right.

4. Don’t stop me now!

Focusing more on the beat, Don’t stop me now! comes next and there’s a guitar riff added in.  It’s different from what I heard from Mami and I’m just kind of liking this electro song.  It’s kind of poppy when compared to the other tracks on the album but that’s cool because it gives a new side to Mami.  I ended up loving this song for some reason more than the previous track 0.o

5. Clap!Clap!Clap!

As I read other reviews, C!C!C! is actually the summer song on the album and I can totally see that here.  It’s a fun song to listen to which I can admid to and there sounds like there’s some kind of underlying sadness about the song for some reason…then Mami just makes me laugh saying ~Crap, Crap, Crap~ (as in bad Engrishness).  It’s all right, but the song is a bit weird for me.

6. Usual…

So the album has an interlude and Mami composed it as well!  For being about the length of a vocal song, Usual… is a bit forgetful since it’s kind of the same things throughout the whole track.  It’s still a bit of electro but it’s kind of like “SQUARE THE CIRCLE”…subdued perhaps is the best way to describe it.  Still, it’s forgetful since there’s no lyrics to be had here.

7. See visionS

After the interlude, we get into the second A-side released and See visionS is still probably one of my favorite songs from Mami.  I love the anime feel out of this song a lot more than “No buts!” but she gives an pretty powerful performance here.  She does strain her vocals a bit in the song, but I oddly enough didn’t mind this.  It’s a really strong song and I’m happy this made the album.

8. live a lie

Haunting synths and chanting opens up live a lie which is a bit similar in style to “SQUARE THE CIRCLE” but this song has more of a progressive feel so it’s like it lies between that and “my buddy”.  It’s a darker song from the album, but I feel like it should’ve had a bit more punch to it.  I like it but it needed more oomph IMO and it’s a bit too long (as the only song passing six minutes on the album).

9. Midnight trip // memories of childhood

At first, I wonder if Midnight trip was related to “Angel” because both had similar titles.  Midnight trip is probably the weirdest song of the album because the arrangement is about as weird and strange to listen to.  Mami is also doing some weird vocals hops which is quite meh.  The transitioning is a bit sketchy too.  Yeah, I’m not a fan of this one to be honest.

10. Rasen Kaidan

At least our next track is better!  I think this is this first time I’ve heard Mami’s vocals being a little more synthed up but the song is pretty cool.  I love the breezy atmosphere it gives off and just flows so damn smoothly.  It stands as the poppiest song on the album but this turned out a lot better than I expected.

11. F

As the new track that’s a ballad, F is an interesting song to deal with.  My main thought was that it has the flowing synth style once again which feels good with the album, but I felt like this could’ve been handled without so much of the electronic influences.  Maybe a little bit would’ve worked but not all this.  Beyond that, it was a solid ballad and Mami sounds great in the song.

12. Going back to square one

I guess we go back full circle because I feel like that’s a tongue-in-cheek title back to the beginning.  Compared to the other songs on the album this has the strongest rock influence and I was definitely enjoying the power from Mami’s vocals alongside the brazen guitars and drums.  A pretty powerful song and I’m enjoying every second of it.

13. Serment

Finally, closing out the album is the 3rd and final A-side representing the album (wait…where’s “Borderland”?).  I still do feel like Serment is the weakest of the four A-sides, but it felt right as the album’s final track to be honest.  It gave closure to the album and was a nice slow down from “Gonig back to square one” by giving us back the electroness.  I feel like the song reminds me of “PSI-missing” but with guitars alongside too for some strange reason…good ending.

Tracks Recommended

• Don’t stop me now!
• See visionS
• my buddy
• Going back to square one
• Rasen Kaidan

Song of Avoidance

• Midnight trip // memories of childhood

Yay, Mami’s 4th album!  I have to say as an overall package, STC is a more consistent than any of her previous albums have been and that’s good and to me, it’s better than her last album, “LINKAGE” but I felt that this album played it safe.  Most of the songs were in electro form and it did surprise me it lacked the variety, her last three has had…though what can I say she didn’t do half bad here. 

Mami Kawada – Borderland May 31, 2012

Track Listing

1. Borderland
2. Angel // resident of the nightmare
3. Borderland (instrumental)
4. Angel // resident of the nightmare (instrumental)

1. Borderland

I kind of liked that she went back to synths for Borderland but added a nice layer of dark grittyneess (like “No buts!”).  It’s great to hear the song with a little more energy in it and Mami’s vocals being lighter yet cool.  I will say that her voice under filters is interesting but I like something a little different.  It’s good otherwise and ranks well with it’s fellow A-sides.

2. Angel // resident of the nightmare

Angel on the other hand kind of interested me (seems like her B-sides do that quite often, just by title).  I’m surprised because it sounds like MELL would be singing a song with the arrangement it has.  It has that signature I’ve Sound feel that I always seem to enjoy and relax too.  Mami’s vocals sound smooth and soothing as well giving this numb but good feel throughout.  Great B-side!

 

 

As it’s Mami’s 4th single before “SQUARE THE CIRCLE” finally comes out, Borderland is a good single to have before the album’s release!  Borderland might not be original in arrangement style and feel but I liked it despite that.  Angel though gives hope that I’ve hasn’t totally ditched their cool and soothing trance style and it turned out really well (even if the song sounds more fitting for MELL).  Good single overall!

Mami Kawada – Serment February 1, 2012

Track Listing

1. Serment
2. u/n
3. Serment -instrumental-
4. u/n -instrumental-

1. Serment

As this is Mami’s 3rd A-side it’s actually the most rockin’ between the three but then again also has a lot of synths as well.  It’s pretty interesting to hear Mami under suto-tune for some parts of the song but it’s not too obnoxious.  To be honest, the song is quite good but it definitely screams anime theme (which it is).  Sadly I think I like the other two A-sides more.

2. u/n

The B-side though is a bit more focused on the guitars and there’s little synth to be found.  It kind of streams as a B-side but there’s something about it that I just kind of bore myself with.  It doesn’t seem like it pulls the listener in very well (cept that rather cool muffled part before the second chorus).  Pretty straightforward rock track from her.

 

 

As Mami’s 3rd single, I wasn’t all that impressed with Serment.  At least as a package it’s better than “No buts!” but I feel that “See visionS” still leads IMO.  The A-side is cool and rockin and has the right stuff going for it but it just didn’t capture my interest as much as I thought it would.  u/n was just B-side property…didn’t leave much of a mark as well.  Album soon?

Mami Kawada – See visionS February 18, 2011

Track Listing

1. See visionS
2. Don’t interrupt me
3. See visionS -Instrumental-
4. Don’t interrupt me -Instrumental-
5. PSI-missing -2011 Remix-

1. See visionS

Hey, if the era is filled with electro music from Mami, then I will approve of the album whole-heartedly.  While it’s not as strong and kickass as “No buts!” was, but the song is very much lighter and just as upbeat.  I love the how the verses and chorus sounds like two seperate songs, but sound great in their own way.  I find it so unlike the art cover, but it still is a very enjoyable track from Mami.

2. Don’t interrupt me

Thank god the B-side of the single is kind of like “See visionS” in the way it’s not a ballad or something soft than let’s say…”SATANIC”…Anyway, the song might be slightly slower than the A-side, but it’s still very danceable and Mami’s vocals sound a lot more smoother as well giving the mood of the song a bit more of a mysterious glow.  However, the likeliness of the two tracks is rather surprising.  Still good song!

3. PSI-missing -2011 remix-

So as a surprise on a single, we get an updated mix of PSI-missing which was Mami’s first single for the “LINKAGE” era.  I remember getting so tired of the original after how long it’s been out, but the updated remix sounds so different that it feels like a totally different song.  It feels so damn catchy and much stronger than the original IMHO.

Wow, a pretty strong single from Mami for sure, who knew she was going to release this with so much praise from me.  While I think Don’t interrupt me is the weakest song of the three, the other two sounded great and full of power even more so the PSI-missing remix!  Wow two great A-sides so far, what’s next eh?

Mami Kawada – No buts! November 2, 2010

Track Listing

1. No buts!
2. SATANIC
3. No buts! (instrumental)
4. SATANIC (instrumental)

1. No buts!

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Mami, but I think she brought back something pretty powerful with No buts!.  Besides the usual I’ve sound that I’ve grown to love and enjoy, this is one of her more energetic songs she’s had and Mami’s vocals of course are in the veins of KOTOKO which is something I didn’t expect, but with the arrangement being so hard and loud, it fits somewhat.  It’s a good song, but I still much prefer fripSide’s “only my railgun” to this (they’re both tied as openings to the same series).

2. SATANIC

With a title like SATANIC, I wasn’t sure what to expect if it was going to be super fast and hard like “No buts!” or something else.  What we got was something else because it’s pretty much slower than the A-side and not as dark as I was expecting it to be.  For me, it’s a bit of a disappointment in that case, but without the kind of misleading title, SATANIC is alright, but kind of is like some of her previous B-sides.

After taking a short break after the release of her album, “LINKAGE”, Mami returns with something I was hoping she would sing and that’s something with a bit of punch and No buts! filled that up nicely and I liked in the end.  SATANIC is well, just another Mami B-side.  I hope she could get maybe a pure ballad or a freakishly cool song, but we’ll see how this era plays out.

Mami Kawada – LINKAGE March 23, 2010

Track Listing

1. succession
2. CLIMAX
3. PSI-missing
4. TOY
5. Kotoba, Kokoro no Koe
6. Prophecy
7. in answer
8. masterpiece
9. Awareness
10. linkage
11. Mirai no Tsubu ~I’m formed~
12. All in good times
13. DREAMS

1. succession

A minute-long intro to the album, succession has a pretty cool gritty opening.  I mean I haven’t fully listened to her discography, but this rock/electronica mix is an interesting combination.  It does get somewhat louder and ends like the opening.  I guess it was nice?

2. CLIMAX

Which leads into our first new song off the album and it has the same grittyness that began this album and was happy to know that the same rock/electronica was kept for the song.  Now since we finally hear Mami sing, she really has an interesting voice that seems to remind me a bit of a mix of KOTOKO and MELL together.  Now, since Mami is being layered and vocodered a little bit it’s not too annoying and makes the chorus sound actually quite good.  Ok, song is impressing me right now.

3. PSI-missing

Let’s go back to 2008 shall we?  PSI-missing a year and a half ago, but since then the song has kind of ran dry for me.  While, I do love the synth being more focused than the rock stuff and that piano melody, I felt this was the weakest A-side out of the three released in the era (sans “L’Oiseau Bleu”).  While I didn’t pay attention at the time, I noticed her vocals were even more filtered than in “CLIMAX”.  Not that bad of a song, but it sort of pales between the two later singles.

4. TOY

~I’m a toy, I am free!~  I really did not enjoy that opening to be honest.  I’m not sure why, but I’m not feeling this song much, but that could be the overall strange sound of the song and how nasal Mami’s vocals were compared to the last two songs.  It seems to be rather upbeat for an I’ve Sound song, but the arrangement is kind of one-dimensional and rather boring.

5. Kotoba, Kokoro no Koe

Oh the mono sounding piano opening was weird for, thought my headphones were broken xD.  So onto the fifth song from LINKAGE, Kotoba, Kokoro no Koe is more toned down and is possibly the first slowing song of the album.  While her vocals in the song are still somewhat nasally, she didn’t sound messy like in “TOY”.  Problem though was those high notes she was trying to hit.  I guess it’s alright because it’s a darker tune from her so that’s good right?

6. Prophecy

At least we get back on track with the 3rd and final A-side represented in the era, Prophecy is a pretty strong track overall from Mami even though the arrangement has a pretty formulaic feel to it, but it suited her vocals just right.  Good A-side

7. in answer

Wait, are we finally getting into some good songs?  in answer has such a great electronica sound to it that it just seems to make this the gem song off the album.  I mean it does sound a little bit like “CLIMAX” but the synths have more drive and Mami has more emotion through the song.  I actually think so far this is my favorite song off the album no doubt.  This is kind of my song and the way it just wove around my ears makes this Asian happy XD

8. masterpiece

Hahaha, OK so masterpiece might not be a “masterpiece” persay, but it’s pretty interesting as an A-side because of the more rock-oriented feel when put up against the other two A-sides.  I didn’t like they had to filter her vocals like they did here, but the way it flowed makes it hard not to fully dislike it.  Such a strange tune from Kawada.

9. Awareness

I wasn’t expecting this song to be so positive sounding…Awareness sounds like it has to have this epic kickass arrangement, but what we ended up is with this piano/strings/synth amalgation that’s seriously a mess for me.  Just way too much happening in the song to really give it that nice factor.  I mean it is a ballad, but to me we didn’t need the synths here nor the need for the layering…

10. linkage

As the album’s promotional song and title track, linkage totally made up for that mess of track that we just listened to.  linkage totally fixed everything and sounded so damn epic of a song.  I love the chorus where she just hits these notes in a legato fashion.  Very different song than I’m used to and just flowed great from beginning to end.

11. Mirai no Tsubu ~I’m formed~

I guess she’s really pulling the stops now, Mirai no Tsubu switches the mood around and gave this chilling electronica feel and to be honest she hit it again.  It’s like “linkage” but like more focused on the song rather than how the lyrics flowed with the music.  I am still kind of peeved at the layering found here, but it’s not too bad and in context with the song it worked! 

12. All in good times

As we near the album’s ending, All in good times beginning melody sounds really familiar and I’m not sure why it does.  As another ballad, I actually liked this one a whole lot more than “Awareness” since it isn’t really messy and actually keeps my attention.  Simple ballad, but nice all the same.

13. DREAMS

I was surprised to see the final song off the album is actually a cover of The Cranberries hit back in the 90′s.  I didn’t notice that until Mami started singing and to be honest her Engrish is coherent and understandable and I actually love the original and Mami did a somewhat good job at keeping it faithful.  Some points she does sound like O’Riordan’s original vocals, but since Mami isn’t Irish, she can’t do the things that actually made that song so big in the first place.  Still pretty good.

Tracks Recommended

• in answer
• linkage
• CLIMAX
• DREAMS
• Prophecy

Song of Avoidance

• Awareness

Mami’s 3rd album was actually quite good once you got past some of the glaring mistakes the album had.  While it is I’ve Sound produced, I felt they made this album try to calm down after how good KOTOKO’s “Epsilon no Fune” did.  LINKAGE has great songs that really show how good Mami is under electronica and rock.  Some of the more vocally odd tracks came with equally weird arrangement and while the experimentation was nice, that should be avoided.  Good album though ^_^

Mami Kawada – Prophecy November 19, 2009

Track Listing

1. Prophecy
2. a frame
3. Prophecy -instrumental-
4. a frame -instrumental-

1. Prophecy

Was I expecting something jaw-dropping from Prophecy?  Nope, because the singles she’s released after “PSI-missing” have been great songs and Prophecy continues to do a good job at keeping my interest alive with her.  It doesn’t have a real aggressive sound to it, but it’s got a great pop/electronica/anime-ish arrangement here and Mami’s vocals were done pretty well.  Love it!

2. a frame

Unlike her A-sides, her B-sides are usually bigger misses which is unfortunate but makes sense.  a frame has a bit more of a pop/rock sound and Mami’s vocals are somewhat under autotune which makes sense because of her on I’ve Sound.  It’s definitely her best B-side of the era so at least I’m happy with that.

 

 

I’m wondering if Mami’s next release will be her 3rd album because of the A-sides I’ve heard from her, she’s really getting some good tracks like Prophecy.  Unlike her previous efforts, this managed to not have any bad tracks on it which is definitely a good thing. 

Mami Kawada – L’Oiseau bleu June 27, 2009

 

Track Listing

1. L’Oiseau bleu
2. Kaze to Kimi wo Daite -I’VE in BUDOKAN 2009 Live ver.-
3. L’Oiseau bleu -instrumental-

1. L’Oiseau bleu

Wow, this time we actually get an actual ballad from Mami this time and not an upbeat synth heavy track.  I actually quite like this track since it does sound pretty sweet and calming and not messy like “Ame” was and even though the chorus does bring out tone issues, L’Oiseau bleu is pretty nice and easily listenable.  Nice relaxing track from Ms. Kawada.

2. Kaze to Kimi wo Daite -I’VE in BUDOKAN 2009 Live ver.-

There’s a reason why there’s a live version here and it’s because previous to this single it was featured with other I’VE SOUND members like MELL, KOTOKO, Kaori Utatsuki, and Eiko Shimamiya.  All of them had new tracks to give out as well as a live version of one of their tracks.  Well, Mami’s track comes from the compilation album of theirs called “OUT FLOW”.  Listening to the live version sounds quite nice as the song sounds a bit rockish (haven’t heard the original).  You hear the crowd chanting along and had sweet energy.  Mami’s vocals also sound nice as well.  Good live

 

 

So Mami’s 3rd single changed things up a bit.  Instead of a high energy synth fest, we get a slower track from her and it turned out nice.  The live version also was a nice treat since we barely get that from the I’VE SOUND artists, so it was great to hear something live.  Good single, dunno if it beats “masterpiece” but good single.

Mami Kawada – masterpiece February 2, 2009

Track Listing

1. masterpiece
2. jellyfish
3. masterpiece -instrumental-
4. jellyfish -instrumental-

1. masterpiece

I actually already think, this is way better than last A-side “PSI-missing” with it’s more aggressive dance sound.  You hear Mami’s good vocals accompanied with some futuristic backdrops and add in a guitar riff and you have masterpiece.  My favorite part is the when she sings in the chorus and there’s a seperate part singing simultaneously.  Wow!  So much better.

2. jellyfish

jellyfish has a MELL like atmospher (duh, they belong in the same company).  It honestly sounds like something she would do as it’s more electronica than “masterpiece”.  The sad part is that the song isn’t too focused on the lyrics and even then they seem too drawn out for my liking.  The music is pretty cool and dark though.

 

 

This was a way better single than “PSI-missing altogether IMO.  masterpiece returns her back into her techno dance style which is amazing and the added stuff is just that good.  jellyfish though is more for its music than lyrical content was ok, but sounded better than “Ame”  good song!