Luna's Ongaku Go For September 2023!

With the fall leaves coming upon us, a brand new Ongaku Go has arrived. Following Ken we at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms with Apple Music featured on this site with our Spotify playlist here!

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“Minor na Kiss” by Ai Otsuka

Ai Otsuka released her new EP marble on Sept 9th and it has been an absolute joy to listen too. “Minor na Kiss” is the lead track and a great way to start off this mini album. It has a catchy chorus, with a jazzy composition with it. Ai Otsuka’s vocals still hit that special spot for me, she still carries the cuteness of when she started her career, but you can hear how her voice has matured too. “Minor na Kiss” flows perfect on so many levels.

Check out “Minor na Kiss” by Ai Otsuka here and the music video below.

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“Epilogue” by Ms.Ooja

“Epilogue” displays so much soul and emotion from Ms.Ooja and you can feel it in your bones. Ms.Ooja shows off her sultry voice throughout “Epilogue” leading you on a an emotional ride listening to the lyrics. I can always count on Ms.Ooja to give me an amazing ballad that touches my soul and “Epilogue” is just that. The simple composition is very fitting as you concentrate on the vocals and lryics with the composition adding the complimentary feel to it.

Check out “Epilogue” by Ms.Ooja here and the video below.

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“Living My Life” by milet

I was excited for milet’s new album, 5am that release last month and I was not disappointed. “Living My Life” is one of the tracks on there and I fell right in love. The lyrics, vocal usage, composition, and how the versus’ flowed. Even though this may seem like a typical milet song, something about the chorus is catchy and resonating. milet’s vocal’s also seem a bit lighter and not as powerful in “Living My Life”, which fits well with the tone of the song very well.

Check out “Living My Life” here and the music video below.

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“Beautiful Mess” by NAQT VANE

The first time I heard “Beautiful Mess”, I fell in love with it for the lyrics. Its such a relatable track that I felt connected to it instantly. Harukaze’s voice is the perfect fit and hits on all levels, not to mention you hear more of her vocal range in certain parts as well. Hiroyuki Sawano and Harukaze make a perfect duo when creating music and “Beautiful Mess” is one of the many examples of that.

Check out “Beautiful Mess” by NAQT VANE here and the music video below!

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“Summer Time Cinderella” by Ryokuoushoku Shakai

Even though summer has offiicially ended, most of September still felt like summer here and was the perfect time to enjoy “Summer Time Cinderella”. I love the refreshing sound Ryokuoushoku Shakai brings to my summer playlist. This track is more rock and pop, which I needed the unique feel added in. I love how you hear really hear the piano in certain parts which makes the compoistion stand out. I’ve been enjoying “Summer Time Cinderella” on those nice cool summer nights where I can soak in the melodies and lyrics of this fun track.

Check out “Summer Time Cinderella” by Ryokuoushoku Shakai here and the music video below.

Ken's Ongaku Go for September 2023!

As the chilly months of autumn and September passing us  by, that means it’s this months Ongaku Go! We at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms, with Apple Music featured on this site, along with our Spotify playlist here!

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“Ghost Dive” by Polkadot Stingray

I’ll admit I haven’t been paying too much attention to Polkadot Stingray as much as I should, but “Ghost Dive” is a nice refresher into their new style. As much as I liked the guitar-heavy riffs that the band is mostly known for, Shizuka’s vocal is something that I know they’ll have to rely on for the future of this band. As this release is a Pokemon collaboration release, a lot of Pokemon themes and sounds that are related to Ghost-type Pokemon are used such as the Lavender Town theme as the backbone of the composition. While this is a more anisong style of track a lot of it works because of the blend that the melody that matches Shizuka’s vocal range, which adds substance to the overall song. Overall while I think this is a rare one-off for them, I’ll be highly anticipating their next release.

Check out the Pokemon preview version of “Ghost Dive” below, along with stream link here!

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“DON’T KNOW WHY” by TENDRE

Upon first release I knew that I had to add TENDRE’s new EP IN WONDER in my rotation. While the whole EP is solid, “DON’T KNOW WHY” is one the strongest tracks I heard from TENDRE in a long time. It doesn’t do too much overall as its compositions isn’t as bombastic as a lot of his other stuff is. The simplistic tones is one of the things that I loved overall from this song and it keeps me coming back for more. IN WONDER is one the reasons I absolutely fell in love with TENDRE and as always I’ll look forward to his next release.

Be sure to check out the streaming link for “DON’T KNOW WHY” here!

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“umi tsuki feat. iri” by SIRUP

Of course I’ll have to also put in SIRIUP’s latest release as well into my rotation, and what a song to do so. It really brings that summer feel to a climax with the overall compositions and SIRUP’s vocals are on point with this. iri is a absolute surprise as well, and a high advocate of her during her early years, I’m happy that she was able to collaborate with an artist like SIRUP. Her low and vocal style might be a surprise to some, but is such a match when she’s hits her climax at her version of the chorus. Overall SIRUP’s new style as been working out a lot for me and while he might not be in the forefront of his releases, I can’ wait to see what he does next.

Check out the music video for “umi tsuki” below, along with the track here!

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“Yes” by ecke

Now this is a band that I was hoping for return and the math-rock style is very few and far in between now. While there have been a couple of releases here and there by the band throughout the last couple of years, “Yes” is one of the tracks that really grabbed my attention the most, its overall simplistic composition style is a huge plus for me, and to introduce other people to the genre. Clocking early over 4 min It feels like while I just got my groove on with the song it's over and makes me want to push back to play again. While I don’t know if ecke will have another release this year, I’m looking forward to their next album as they a long overdue for one.

Check out the track here!

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“Make-up Shadow” by Tokimeki Records

Originally released by the legendary Yosui Inoue, Hikari (who is the guest vocalist for a majority of Tokimeki’s remixes) knocks this out of the park and makes it her own version. While a lot of Tokimeki’s release are remixes of older songs, the fresh breath and modern style of the composition is a great way to bring in the new generation into trying to listen to the original track as well. Tokimeki for as much remixes she has released over the years, she has only has one album to her name, and I hope that is rectified soon within the next six months.

Be sure to check out the music video for “Make-up Shadow” below, with the track here!

Music Corner Week 140: Sincere

Sincere is a singer-songwriter whom started off lip syncing in the car to her favorite artists. Sincere has a soulful yet delicate voice that stands out and pulls the listener in, which shows in her sytle of music that has a heavy focus on R&B and Soul. She made her debut in 2021 with the digital single ‘Reminder’ but it wasn’t until her 5th single, ‘I’ll be’ until she started gaining momentum. “I’ll be” was selected for ‘NACK’S MONTHLY POWER PLAY’ by listeners and later chosen to be the ending theme for Abema Prime in December. From there on, Sincere skyrocketed to several playlists on amazon prime and Spotify. Due to Sincere’s powerful voice, mixture of Japanese and English, and soulful style, she has garnished much attention not only in Japan but overseas as well.

“Lucky feat. VivaOla” was the first track I heard by Sincere and fell in love with her smooth voice, relaxed composition, and relatable lyrics. From hearing “Lucky”, I instantly submerged myself in her first digital EP, Time and discovered the track “You’re Always Right”, which incorporates all English, plus the composition is a bit more on the mid tempo side. Tracks like “Keeps Beating” and “Are you” showcase an upbeat, poppy yet soulful style in the composition and are a great showcase of Sincere’s vocal range. Sincere’s newest tracks “Water Me” gives off a more R&B-funky vibe while “Our Way” brings a more poppy cute feel but you still feel the soul in it due to the way Sincere carries her voice.

Currently, Sincere has three EP’s, the newest When was that just release on Sept 27, 2023, Just Living (2023), and Time (2022); Nine digital singles with her most recent being “Our Way”. Check out her official website, X, Instagram, and her latest music video below “Our Way”.

Virtual singer KAF releases music video for ‘My Voice’, the 14th song in her ‘Suite’ series – a collaboration with Shinichi Osawa (MONDO GROSSO)

‘My voice’ Jacket Cover

The ‘Suite’ series by Japanese virtual singer KAF is a series of collaborations with real-life artists and songwriters.

For the 14th entry in the series, KAF’s collaborator is MONDO GROSSO, the solo project of Japanese artist Shinichi Osawa. Osawa is a musician, composer, DJ and producer who has worked with numerous domestic and global artists as a producer and remixer, as well as producing music for commercials, installations and soundtracks, and even producing a music bar focused on vinyl records. The title is ‘My Voice’. The song was released on September 6 – and now, a music video has also been released.

Created in collaboration with VFX artist group khaki, this is the first music video to feature KAF’s virtual human form. KAF plays the lead in the music video, which uses state-of-the-art technology that is unique to KAF, allowing her to show expressions that transcend dimensions. The video was directed by filmmaker Hironobu Nagasawa.

An infinitely real “somewhere that is not here”. As the boundaries fade, KAF’s ongoing efforts to express her own “my voice” from in between the virtual and the real combine with khaki’s worldview that exceeds imagination and reality, resulting in a video that will leave viewers stunned.

Check out ‘My Voice’ across all streaming platforms here, and its music video below, and check out the current state of KAF’s ever-evolving world – a song that stands apart from past entries in the ‘Suite’ series.

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KAF profile

KAF is a virtual singer and founding member of KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO. She made her debut in 2018 at the age of 14, performing via 3D avatars without revealing her true face. Even in a crowded field where a diverse variety of expression continues to be born, she has established her own style as an artist thanks to her unique singing voice and worldview. Several of the collaborations in KAF’s ‘Suite’ project have grabbed the attention of music fans, generating over 200 million YouTube views and counting, and fostering a devoted fan community in Japan and around the world. 

KAF’s partnership with Iori Kanzaki, who has been her main writer since the beginning of her career, has received high acclaim, and in August 2022 KAF held a triumphant headline performance at the legendary Nippon Budokan in Tokyo titled FUKAKAI III/SOU. In January 2024, she will hold her fourth headline concert at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, titled Kaika; marking the beginning of KAF’s second chapter, this concert follows her Budokan performance to continue the trend of this solo virtual singer playing arena-sized venues. KAF strives to transcend the boundaries between the virtual and real worlds, setting the standard for a new generation of music artists.

Check out more information via their official website!

MEWLIVE: A New VTuber Space Opens! Commemorative First Livestream!

Bandai Namco Music Live Inc. has announced their plans to open a new VTuber space named “MEWLIVE” on September 28, 2023, with the goal of creating a world where performers can freely express themselves beyond the boundaries of real and virtual. To commemorate this opening, a special livestream is scheduled for the same day at 7:00 PM (JST).

■MEWLIVE Commemorative First Livestream: A New VTuber Space Opens!

This livestream will feature the MEWLIVE CEO, voice actress Kotori Koiwai as the MC, VTuber Musubi Gaou as a performer, and VTuber analyst Sui Kawasaki as a guest.

Throughout the livestream, they will share information about MEWLIVE’s concept, its affiliated VTubers, and upcoming activities, so be sure to check it out!

About MEWLIVE

MEWLIVE is a new space where VTubers serve as a bridge between our world and virtual space. Our goal is to create a world where performers can freely express themselves beyond the boundaries of real and virtual.

■MEWLIVE CEO X (former Twitter)

■MEWLIVE official YouTube channel

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MC

Kotori Kowai

Profile

A voice actress. She has voiced characters such as Renge Miyauchi in Non Non Biyori and Tomoka Tenkubashi in The Idolmaster: Million Live! She is also known as a composer who has written, composed, and arranged jingles that play on TBS Radio. She is renowned as an audio enthusiast who owns over 200 earphones and headphones and gained fame for selling tens of thousands of earphones with just one tweet.

She made headlines as the first voice actress to become a MENSA member. She belongs to Peerless Gerbera.

■Official X (formerly Twitter)

■YouTube channel

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Performer

Musubi Gaou

Profile

The modern incarnation of the once mighty Mosasaurus of ancient oceans. She currently leads a laid back life as a sea god. In fact, she’s so laid back that she fell asleep and washed up on a Japanese beach, where she was picked up by her current owner. With newfound time on her hands and her owner’s PC, she decided to try streaming.

■Official X (formerly Twitter)

■YouTube channel

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Guest

Sui Kawasaki

Profile

While active as a VTuber, she also works as a VTuber analyst.

She regularly shares content that is useful for novice VTubers and provides insights for listeners who are interested in the VTuber industry.

She also has a passion for motorcycles and posts daily motorcycle-related shorts!

■Official X (formerly Twitter)

■YouTube channel