I listened to iris ~Shiawase no Hako~ Box of Happiness a couple of times, because I think I needed a little more time to take the track in. I’m new to Salyu, but with each listen I’m beggining to like her more and more, her music it pretty eccletic and like a handful of the artists I listen to its more of an aquired taste, because to  many it may be a bit on the boring side and her voice talkes a bit of getting use to. I believe the song started off with what sounded like either an harmonica or an bagpipe, it was a nice touch and made me think of a traveling show or something. The arrangement gives off a very old time feeling which I thought was nice and very nostalgic. Salyu’s voice was pretty nice and she gave a rather smooth and thoughtful vocal performance. This is a pretty old a-side from her, but a good one none the less.

The b-side Wheareabouts ~for Anthony~ is a track that I’m pretty much on the fence with, but in all honesty I don’t think I really like it because it didn’t really stand out and neither did the a-side, but iris had a lot more going for it. The arrangement seems to be very breezy and airy in a dreary sense, and gives off the feeling of being very cold. I didn’t really like Salyu’s vocal performance, because it was pretty odd, like I didn’t quite get it. During the verses it sounded like I was listening to another song by her and then her vocals would rise during the chorus, where she would do this weird and rather annoying thing with her tone that really turned me off. It also just seems to end, so that left me pretty confused. This is one of those tracks that tend to just fade from your memory bank once it ends.

… no seriously Salyu? This song is just tedious, for no real reason. I’m wondering how Salyu managed to stay awake while recording River, because I seriously felt drowsy and rather annoyed while listening to it. The arrangement sounds like a constant barrage of tinkles, which sounded pretty lazy to me and Salyu’s vocal performance was forgettable at best, because I honestly didn’t really catch anything she was singing, because the whole atmosphere of the song was stagnant. I don’t know what’s going on with Salyu and why she has such good a-sides, but throwaway b-sides, it just blows my mind.

iris ~Shiawase no Hako~

Maseratiのドラム、Jerry Fuchsが亡くなられたそうです。エレベーター事故。
ついこないだ、しかもドラムの映えているライブ音源を紹介したばかりなのに。残念です。どうぞ安らかに。

official / myspace
ついこないだのライブ音源

++++++++++

気になったCMの曲2つ

ひとつはTOYOTAのCM。
いいかんじのアルペジオが流れてきて、おっと思ってつづきを聞いてたらSalyuさんが歌いだしたっていう。

もひとつは外為どっとこむ
こちらはQ;indivi + 及川リンさん。
両方ともおっと思って聞いたらもともと好きなひとたちやったっていう。どっちもフルで聴きたい。

* toyota.jp SAI TV-CF
* 外為どっとコムのCMソングは何ですか？

++++++++++

Tundra Lights
友だちリクエストをくださったかた。夜向きポストロック。They Came From The Frozen Hillsというアルバムはgimmesoundでダウンロードできます。

myspace

++++++++++

そいえばkumisoloさんのアルバムがflauから12/2に出ます。
The Konki Duetもkumisoloさんも前からすきだったのだけど、ausくんから出すよって聞いたときは驚いた。えっ、flauから？って。これまでのflauとはまたちがった、新しい風を吹き込んでくれるような作品。そいえば夏の凱旋ライブは行けなかったのでした。

official / myspace
My Love For You is A Cheap Pop Song @ flau

danse music (le coqとのコラボビデオ)

The a-sde EXTENSION grew on me pretty quickly and I’m surprised by that because I was almost certain I wasn’t going to like this. The arrangement, like Salyu arrangements tend to be, was pretty weird, that’s the best word I can use to describe it, but it was still an interesting sound. Salyu’s vocals rubbed me the wrong way in the beggining, because she sounded all over the place, like a drunk that insists on singing kareoke even though its quite obvious he can’t sing and he’s wasted. Then, out of nowhere it just got… good. I’m guessing its because of those notes she would hold at the end of the chorus’ and because despite it being a pretty odd sounding track, once you really listen to it, its not bad. A pretty good a-side from her.

The first b-side I is pretty interesting, but I’m not sure if I like it or not. Its sometimes hard to say with Salyu, because honestly her songs tend to bleed together until you can’t diffrentiate one from the other, but they’re always good for some reason. I hardly paid attention to this, because it wasn’t as interesting as the a-side, but I do like the chorus. Salyu has a pretty nice sounding voice, and it as well as the… plain arrangement made this track not bad.

ROSE is the second and last b-side and its a lot staler than I. I’m not saying its bad, but at the same time its not really interesting either and doesn’t seem to serve any purpose and plays like filler. The arrangement is acoustic based, which made the song sound dreary and a bit boring. Salyu’s vocals are pretty much like they always are, pretty good, but it was tiring listening to her at the same time, because she seemed to be doing the note holding falsetto’s from the previous track, but they just seemed purposeless. I don’t get this track and with a title like ROSE I expected a bit more. This is pretty forgettable.

The last track on the single is a live of her previous a-side Corteo ~Gyouretsu~ and its pretty good, the best thing I’ve heard since giving this single a listen. Its pretty safe to say her last single was much better.

EXTENSION

Yes, you heard correctly.

FM802’s music program, “Music Freaks”, will hold live events with a plethora of j-artists just for your listening pleasure. The event will be called, “Music Freaks Live with the venue being held in Namba Hatch, Osaka from November 20-22.

FM802 decided to commemorate their anniversary by holding these live performances that boasts artists such as, Salyu, BEAT CRUSADERS, Monobright, Sikao Suga, Kreva, Scoobie Do, and many more.

<FM802 STILL20 SPECIAL LIVE “MUSIC FREAKS LIVE”>
@ Namba Hatch
11月20日(金) 18:15 開場/19:00 開演　Salyu／BEAT CRUSADERS／monobright November 20 (Fri) Open 18:15 / 19:00 Salyu / BEAT CRUSADERS / monobright
11月21日(土) 16:15 開場/17:00 開演　スガ シカオ／ハナレグミ／渡和久(from 風味堂) November 21 (Sat) Open 16:15 / Start 17:00 Sikao Suga / Hanaregumi / Wataru Kazuhisa (from hall flavor)
11月22日(日) 16:15 開場/17:00 開演　KREVA／SCOOBIE DO／ROCK’A'TRENCH November 22 (Sun) Open 16:15 / Start 17:00 KREVA / SCOOBIE DO / ROCK ‘A’TRENCH

source: FM802

Today I’ll introduce the OST of my all time favorite movie, All About Lily Chou-Chou – written and directed by Iwai Shunji. The director himself and the film have already had their own popularity so I won’t say anything about them here… except, this movie is the most important art piece that influenced me, the one I see most of myself in. So, I don’t care what people talking about it, praising or criticizing, I love All About Lily Chou-Chou and everything about it, that’s enough. ‘_’ v

Arabesque – All About Lily Chou-Chou OST
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Arranged by Kobayashi Takeshi, most of the soundtracks are inspired from Claude Debussy’s pieces – Arabesque and some others, then a little Japanese traditional music. You don’t need to watch the movie to feel the beauty of the soundtracks, I think…

Download album: Part I Part II

Breathe
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The other CD is Breathe – in the movie it was a Lily Chou-Chou’s release. But Lily Chou-Chou is no real, so she actually is Iwai Shunji, Kobayashi Takeshi and Salyu.
Talking the truth, I don’t really enjoy much of Salyu’s music, but Breathe is always the breathe I need… (sorry, can’t stop being a fangirl *___* ).
Actually, I heard more than 3 people said that they don’t like Lily’s music at all,.. well I can understand. The first time watching the film, I felt those tracks were somehow freaky, they’re just weird and depressive… but as I continue listening to the songs, my heart melts inside the sounds.

Here are the three MVs of Salyu/Lily Chou-Chou, if you haven’t watched the movie yet you can try these to take a glimpse at the movie’s atmosphere.

Kyomei- Kuukyo na Ishi –> this one is featured in the movie at some scenes.
Tobenai Tsubasa –> some scenes of the movie are featured in this one.
Glide

Download album: Here

The cover of the regular edition

EXTENSION is Salyu’s 12th single and it was released on August 19, 2009. The single reached #21 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 5,424 copies.

O_O @ the cover. She looks scary. If you look closely, you can see that the other shots in the transparent pink and yellow are much better.

♦ ♦ ♦

It seems that I don’t have a lot to say about this single, except for the A-side. EXTENSION is pretty good but the B-sides are what make the single fall flat. I’ll get to them later though. After listening to EXTENSION, it’s safe to say that Salyu has really improved vocally with these last couple of singles (LIBERTY, Corteo ~Gyouretsu~, etc.) She sounds sharper and seems to have a better control of her voice now. As for the music, the song is upbeat and features strings and drums with the occasional electric guitar. Overall, it’s a little less “experimental” than previous songs. Whatever, I liked it. =D

Then there’s I and ROSE. Both of them aren’t memorable and were simply just B-sides to me. I is an electric guitar driven track with good vocals so I’ll give it that much. The other track ROSE is in Engrish and acoustic based. I didn’t understand her most of the time so I went and looked up the lyrics. I thought they were nice.

On the limited edition, a live version of Corteo ~Gyouretsu~ is included. She sounded pretty good and I liked when she elevated her voice when the chorus came around. The verses are choppy though.

Pros: EXTENSION is another great Salyu song!
Cons: The B-sides did nothing for me.

BASICALLY…it’s time for a new album, Salyu.

Overall Rating

 3½ stars

Tracklisting

1. EXTENSION
2. I 
     アイ (I)
3. ROSE
4. Corteo ~Gyouretsu~ LIVE Ver (at Nippon Budokan 2009.2.10)
     コルテオ ～行列～ LIVE Ver (at 日本武道館 2009.2.10) [Limited edition]

Artist: Salyu
Single: EXTENSION
Release Date: 2009-8-19
Label: TOY’S FACTORY
Genres: J Pop
Information: Official Website

♥♥♥

Download single:  Here

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of music by the Japanese singer Salyu and the Japanese trip-hop group REDЯUM. The group REDЯUM wanted their music to be similar to Portishead, but unfortunately, I’m not familiar with Portishead. I listened to one of their songs and I could see the similarity in the music, but I didn’t like the voice. As for lyrics, I’m too lazy to look up REDЯUM’s lyrics or to translate them by looking through the dictionary but I can understand some of the words sometimes. I do get put off my crude lyrics though. Hopefully they’re not. REDЯUM’s music is very dreamy and I love the singer’s voice. I love music that makes me think of stories as if the songs are a part of a soundtrack to a movie. My favorite songs by them are SILENT (サイレント) and Blue Velvet. I have to admit some of their songs are kind of creepy but I really like those two songs.

You can check out REDЯUM on their myspace webpage:

http://www.myspace.com/officialredrum

Here’s a nice article about me-al art whose music I also like alot and compares them to REDЯUM.
http://sparkplugged.net/2009/03/the-artistry-of-me-al-art/

Salyu, on the other hand, is more pop but she also has a distinct sound and has been compared to Bjork. But I don’t like Bjork. Salyu’s lyrics are really interesting and sometimes are actually quite lovely. There aren’t many singers out there where I like all their songs on their albums. Just like how I love all of James Morrison’s songs, I love all of Salyu songs. I also like many Ayaka’s songs because the lyrics are very meaningful also.

Here’s a youtube video of the song Extension from Salyu’s most recent single. (It was released on August 19, 2009)

There’s also an unsigned Japanese singer that I like alot after hearing her on youtube. Here’s her myspace page if you want to check her out.

http://www.myspace.com/katayamamegumi

Here’s the youtube video of her that I liked:

I recently saw a couple performances on So you think you can dance on youtube and loved the songs that they used. I didn’t like the performance, but I loved the song Beautiful, by Me’Shell NdegéOcello. It sounds like the song Kissing you from the soundtrack of Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo dicaprio. It’s also very dreamy, in the way that Raechel Yamagata’s music sounds like. The other song I heard was If It Kills Me (From The Casa Nova Sessions) By Jason Mraz, but this time I also liked the performance that went with the song. The dance was quite lovely and it was like watching water because the dancers worked so well together. I realized though, that the song started somewhere toward the last minute of the song instead of the beginning of the song. Jason Mraz can reach really high notes. But then I can’t sing, so I shouldn’t say anything.

I’ve also been listening to some Fado music and one of my favorites is Ana Moura. Even though her music is mostly the same throughout, she has a great voice. Her newer albums are better, I think. o fado da procura and os buzios are my favorite songs.

I know this is random, but I also love tei’s voice in 회상 Hoesang. It’s quite beautiful. I don’t think he sings very good when he tries to hit those high notes though.

Mr. Brain

I recently saw all of the 8 episodes of the Japanese show Mr. Brain with Takuya Kimura. Actually all of the main actors of the show are some of my favorite Japanese actors including Kagawa Teruyuki. Takura Kimura has a lot of charisma and is a great actor despite that he started as a singer. I don’t particularly like SMAP’s singing anyways. Mizushima Hiro was there also, except his character is very unlike the one in Zettai Kareshi. Mr. Brain is a lot like CSI, except much more humorous. There was something about Takuya Kimura that bothered me throughout the show and I realized what it was when I finished watching it. It was like watching a Japanese version of Captain Jack played by Johnny Depp except with the laugh of Mozart in the movie Amadeus.

Oh yeah, Tortoise Matsumoto (トータス松本), one of my favorite Japanese singers played the fingerprinting guy in Mr. Brain.

Episodes 4 and 5 are my favorite episodes mostly because I really like Nakama Yukie’s acting and that scene where she looks up in to the sky. The scene where the guy with amnesia playing the piece Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte by Ravel on the piano was my favorite. The character played by Ayase Haruka said that Ravel would also, like the piano prodigy with amnesia, listen to his own music and wondered who composed it. Nonetheless, Ravel still thought it was lovely even though he didn’t remember he was the one who wrote it.

As for Korean and Japanese actors in general…

I also like Jang Dong-gun, Lee Da Hae, Lee Dong-wook, Kang Dong-won and Lee Yeon-hee (she’s only a year older than me and she’s already been in like…two movies, I think she’s a good actress, but then little kids like the olsen twins had been in many movies before they turned 20, so I shouldn’t be shocked.) I like them because of their acting and partially because of their looks. If I was only going to go with their appearances alone, there would be another list of people…but I won’t go there.

I do respect many Japanese actors, which strangely does not include all the actors I like. For example, I think Satoshi Tsumabaki has great potential but I don’t like any of his movies that I have seen a bit of. I do respect Ryo Kase, Takayuki Yamada, Kimura Takuya, Nagasawa Masami, Joe Odagiri, Kubozuka Yousuke and Nakama Yukie.

There are some great Chinese actors, but to be honest there are so many of them and the fact that I’m not familiar with alot of them are some of the reasons I don’t really know which ones I like best. Though Gong li and Michelle Yeoh are great actresses.

A  Salyu, cujo nome verdadeiro é Mori Ayako (森綾子), mais conhecida por interpretar uma cantora de jpop chamada “Lily Chou Chou” no filme “All About Lily Chou-Chou“, é uma cantora que é comparada pela bjork devido a semelhança de sua voz. Uma de suas músicas chamada “Kaifuku Suru Kizu” (回復する傷; Wound That Heals) teve participação no famoso filme “Kill Bill” do diretor Quentin Tarantino.

Agora a cantora Salyu estará lançando seu décimo sétimo single da carreira e segundo este  ano, chamado “Extension”, previsto para sair no dia 19 de agosto. “EXTENSION” foi produzido pela própria cantora e o single incluirá as músicas “EXTENSION”, “Ai (I)” e a faixa “ROSE”. O single contará com duas versões, sendo que a limitada incluirá uma faixa bônus chamada “Corteo ~Gyouretsu~”, retirado de uma performance ao vivo que ela teve em fevereiro deste ano no Nipon Budokan.

Edição Regular

CD Tracklist
1. EXTENSION
2. アイ （I）
3. ROSE

Edição Limitada

CD Tracklist
1. EXTENSION
2. アイ （I）
3. ROSE
4. Corteo ~Gyouretsu~ (コルテオ 〜行列〜) Live Ver. at Nippon Budokan 2009.2.10.

Vendo o clipe dá pra ver que a voz da Salyu é diferenciada, porém não gostei muito de  “Extension”. O clipe dele, apesar de ter alguns efeitos bons, parece que faltou algo para ele ficar mais decente, dou nota 3/5.

Fonte: J-Music Revolution

Créditos: Jstation

(ความเดิมจาก Lily Chou-Chou : Original Album)
ในฉากเปิดเรื่อง ที่เด็กหนุ่มฟังเพลงนี้อยู่ท่ามกลางทุ่งหญ้าสีเขียวอันงดงาม…

Artist: Lily Chou-Chou (performed by Salyu)
Song: Arabesque
From album: “Kokyu” (All About Lily Chou Chou soundtrack)

For Amartya in Okinawan

青い空
ao nu tiN
青い海
ao nu tuu

島の歌
shima nu ‘uta
青い空
ao nu tiN
青い海
ao nu tuu
南の島の歌
pai nu shima nu uta

白い花が咲く場所
shiru nu pana nu saku bashyu

娘は生まれ
midum Nmari

pana nu naa
花の名前

————————–

Arabesque

Blue sky
Blue sea
An island’s song
Blue sky
Blue sea
A southern island’s song

When the white flower blossoms
A girl is born
The girl received the name of the flower she was given

Blue sky
Blue sea
An island’s song
Blue sky
Blue sea
A southern island’s song

When the white flower blossoms
A girl is born
The girl received the name of the flower she was given

The girl received the name of the flower

Blue sky
Blue sea
An island’s song

When the red flower blooms

—————————————————-
From: http://www.redruin.com/2006/01/13/salyu-arabesque-japan

และแถมท้ายด้วย link นี้…

แด่เธอ ผู้ดู “all about lily chou-chou” ไม่รู้เรื่อง(ทั้งหลาย)

Landmark
I Am
VALON-1
Niji no saki
Peaty
Taion
UEE
Dramatic Irony
Dialogue
Suisei
Pop

The album starts off with the insistent Landmark. I’m not sure, but this song really makes me think of a lonely travel, I just really got that feeling while listening to it. The arrangement is driven by the drums, the constant beat and pace of it was very consistent to the point that I found myself focusing on it more than Salyu’s vocal performance. Salyu’s vocal performance was pretty good, really liked all those high notes, mostly during the chorus. The song is long, and after a while it felt long, because I was kind a wondering when it was going to end, that made the song a bit long-winded and tiring. Its still a good track though, and a nice start to the album.

The next track on the album is the exhausting I Am. This song really made me tired. I’m on the fence with this track, but I think I like it because its not a bad song, not really. The arrangement consists mostly of synth and the drums, and I love the whole dark and somewhat conflicted atmosphere it arouses. Salyu’s vocal performance was decent, it went with the flow, but after a while it becomes a bit dull and I found it hard to stay focused on the song. This is an all right track, but for one that isn’t really all that long, it certainly felt like it was.

The next track is the down-tempo VALON-1. I don’t know, maybe its just me, but listening to this song made me think of those old black and white silent movies, yeah. This is a nice and rather calm song. The arrangement seems simple, yet a bit classical at the same time. I love the play of piano and drums, it brought such mood to this song. Salyu’s vocals were just as nice, adding such depth to the song and really making it stand out quite a bit. The song is long, but as where the other two tracks nearly put me in a stupor, this song was soothing, with a nice little undercurrent of sadness… and longing.

The next track on the album continues the slew of down-tempo’s with Niji no saki. This is another nice and rather calming track, that manages to play like a smooth dream whilst not lulling me to sleep in the process. The arrangement is rather simple, but its quite effective. Salyu’s slow and somewhat husky vocals gave me such an alternate Rie Fu vibe, as to where she can really pull off the slow tunes such as this.

The next track on the album is the rather bleak Peaty. The title is pretty odd, but the song is good. The arrangement is pretty natural, with a bit of soft rock thrown in there to spice things up, fitting. Salyu’s vocal performance was a bit different, as she has a lot more bass and edge is her tones and that made this song stand out a little.

The next track on the album is the empty Taion. This is a rather odd song, but it is very effective. The arrangement is pretty lucid, and gives you this feeling of floating absently through nothingness. Salyu’s vocals seem to mimic it, as she sounds very airy and it gives you such a feeling of high that is both strange and pleasant at the same time.

The next track on the album is UEE. This song is just as interesting as the title. It took me a short minute to get into it, but once I caught on to the flow, I was pretty much sold. The arrangement is pretty non existent, its there, but the drums play in such a smooth in mellow way that its hardly noticeable, which was nice. Salyu’s vocals were pretty sweet, I just love how she sang this in such a ‘i don’t give a care’ fashion, it really made me pay attention to it. This track doesn’t do much, but I definitely like the unhurried pace of it.

The next track on the album is the somewhat down-tempo Dramatic Irony. This song is pretty vague, that’s the impression I got. It makes me think of a slow and ponderous day. The arrangement is pretty simple and fitting, it doesn’t do much but what it should, though its still a nice listen. I liked the semi drawl to Salyu’s vocals, it reminded me of another version of her vocals in the previous track, she seemed more into this, but it was still a very laid-back vocal performance. This track doesn’t stand out, but its a nice listen overall.

The next track on the album is Dialogue. The title is rather plain, but the song seems very conflicting. The arrangement is pretty mellow and makes me think of the desert. Salyu’s vocal performance was pretty tame during the verses and then she really got into it during the chorus and the ways she sang it really brought on feelings of desperation. This isn’t a stand-out track, despite the chorus being pretty engaging, but it is a good and interesting listen.

The next track on the album is the similar-sounding Suisei. This track sounds like another version of the previous. I don’t know, this song isn’t really all that interesting, but I still find that I liked it. I guess its because it makes me think of coming across a great epiphany. The arrangement is pretty plain, but I did like Salyu’s vocal performance, just like in the previous she put a lot into the chorus.

The last track on the album is the dreary Pop. This song is pretty pass. I listened to it twice and didn’t really care for it. The arrangement makes me think of a breeze, but its pretty dull at the same time. I thought Salyu’s vocals mimicked the arrangement, because I hardly cared for it. A lot of the time she sounded so nonsensical. This was a calm ending to the album, but an unmemorable one at the same time.

-GRADE: A
Rating: *** stars

Salyu’s first album Landmark was a good album and I’ll admit I kind a had my doubts, but I love the soft flow of her music and the fact that she reminds me of an alternate Rie Fu arrangement wise and an alternate Chihiro vocal wise. I honestly didn’t think I was going to enjoy this album even half as much as I did, but I just loved the whole flow; every song seemed to speak of something, like a journey and it was all rather inspiring and profound. This is the type of album that will most definitely leave you in a ponderous sort of mood. I think I’m well on my way to becoming a fan.

WISE, miembro de los TERIYAKI BOYZ, anunció sacar su segundo trabajo en solitario para el 27 de Mayo cuyo nombre es LOVE QUEST que incluirá sus singles mas recientes Mirror feat. Salyu y Furimukanaide feat. Hiromi junto con colaboraciones con May J. y BEAT CRUSADERS…
Donde a continuación les dejaremos con la canción que nombrabamos:

[PV] WISE – Mirror feat. Salyu y Furimukanaide feat. Hiromi

CORUTEO~Gyouretsu
HALFWAY

Salyu’s 11th single starts off with the a-side CORUTEO~Gyouretsu. This is my second time really listening to a Salyu song and I’d have to say I really kind a like her vocals. This song seems very period piece to me, like as far back as the 30’s and it gives me such a black and white feeling that is oddly comforting. The arrangement is very strings driven and though I focused more on Salyu’s voice than it, it still did its part. I for one think Salyu sounds tragic and her vocal performance gives off such a feeling of longing especially when she goes for those higher notes that make it seem like she is straining. This is a nice and pretty quiet a-side.

The next track on the single is its b-side HALFWAY. I think I like this track a lot more than the a-side, if only because it seems to be a lot more memorable. The arrangement is very poignant, but so very sad. I like how it sounds like someone is whistling and makes you think of bleak days. Salyu’s vocals remind me of Rurutia’s; weakly strong and very much so effective. This song also gives off a feeling of longing, infinite longing, a longing for someone that all but consumes and leaves you ponderous and alone.

-GRADE: A
Rating: *** stars

Salyu’s 11th single CORUTEO~Gyouretsu/HALFWAY was a very good single and makes me anxious for more. CORUTEO~Gyouretsu is such a felt a-side that makes you think of long ago days and regrets. HALFWAY is a much slower song that gives off a feeling of loneliness and longing. Salyu is definitely going to become one of my favorites, I can feel it.

Tracklisting
1. Corteo ~Gyouretsu~ (コルテオ ～行列～)
2. HALFWAY

This is Salyu’s 11th single and it was released on February 11, 2009. The single reached #10 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 7,887 copies. The 2nd track was used as the theme song for the movie Halfway.

It’s been a while since Salyu’s last single but it was worth the wait! Corteo ~Gyouretsu~ is a brilliant song and it has quickly become one of my favorites from her. Like her previous single, iris ~Shiawase no Hako~, this song is a ballad of sorts but it is a lot more dynamic in sound. The strings and piano mixed with light guitar chords create a gorgeous organic quality within the music. I also have to applaud Salyu’s vocal performance since she displays excellent control of her voice. It’s also notable that her voice sounds a lot more refined that ever before.

The other A-side is HALFWAY, a calmer track. Sure, it’s not as compelling as Corteo ~Gyouretsu~ but the song is still worth listening to. Featuring a gentle and laid back sound, the arrangement mostly consists of soft acoustics with very pretty strings that appear later on. Salyu’s vocals are more reserved as well but not without adding a little bit of emphasis during the chorus.

Overall Rating

5 stars