Aira Mitsuki – ROBOT HONEY

ROBOT HONEY was Aira Mitsuki’s 2nd major single and 4th overall. It was released October 29, 2008.

Tracklist

1. ROBOT HONEY
2. Knee-high Girl
3. Every night heartfull music song
4. SAZAE FUNKADELiC
5. ROBOT HONEY (Sound Around rmx)
6. SAZAE FUNKADELiC (TOKYO IKEJIRI PLASTIC BABE rmx)
7. ROBOT HONEY (digital mp-3 mastering ver.)
8. Knee-high Girl (digital mp-3 mastering ver.)
9. Every night heartfull music song (digital mp-3 mastering ver.)
10. SAZAE FUNKADELiC (digital mp-3 mastering ver.)

Following up the release of her album, Mitsuki releases this single. Apart from the hefty tracklist, what surprised me the most was how good the actual quality of the single was. The a-side, ROBOT HONEY, of course, is your typical cutesy electropop song but with that Aira Mitsuki touch. The song begins with some pretty loud synth and constant beats that stay through the entire song, their really what make this song so unique, apart from the almost guitar sounding synth heard through the instrumental parts. Mitsuki’s vocals are as always, vocoded and they sound as good(or bad) as in her other releases. It was the music that made me like this song, even though the chorus isn’t too interesting. Though there is an especially cool part a bit after the second chorus.

Up next is Knee-high Girl. I actually liked this song as much the a-side ’cause it’s less pop and more techno, which is always a plus for me. Apart from Mitsuki, there’s also some vocoded male voices in the background, though it gets kinda drowned out by the loud yet catchy synth. You might consider this song more of an instrumental track, even though it has it’s small share of vocals.

Mitsuki slows things down for Every night heartfull music song. If you heard either of “STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER” or “Darling Wondering Staring”, you’ll have a general idea about this song’s style. An electropop ballad, you could say. While it’s not as memorable as the other two, it can still with stand it’s own. It’s not really the arrangement that attracts me to this song, but instead it’s soothing, spacey atmosphere and the more steady and soft vocals.

Now we arrive at the gem of the single. SAZAE FUNKADELiC reminded me a lot of “Beep Count Fantastic” from her “COPY” album, even though it isn’t as near as trance driven and has a lot more vocals. Starting from the very first second, I get an Asian vibe from the synth that’s present, which is a very catchy, sparkly sounding one. The beats are very heavy during the verses and get even better during the chorus. My favorite part would have to be the bit after the chorus, where Mistuki repeats the same line for a bit. It’s a really intense and heavy song that proves to be quite memorable. Recommended listening.

Now we arrive to the first remix of the single. I really liked the way ROBOT HONEY (Sound Around rmx) with uplifting piano chords but still maintains the vocoder and synth. The instrumentals are minimal during the verses(I never really like that a lot) but the chorus makes up for it with it’s use of percussion and piano. It’s a nice remix that give’s the original a more lighter atmosphere, but I still enjoyed the original more.

Last up is SAZAE FUNKADELiC (TOKYO IKEJIRI PLASTIC BABE rmx). It begins with some very fuzzy(annoying) synth in the beginning before Mistuki’s echoed vocals come in. This song has some very interesting beats, which are the only thing present during the verse and than we get more synth and stuffs during the chorus. The most drastic change(apart from the song getting torn apart everywhere) would have to be Mitsuki’s vocals, which are broken apart or made to repeat/typical techno vocal edits, etc… It makes for an interesting remix, but not my cup of tea.

Overall, I was very impressed with this single. Usually, post-album singles tend to be bad, but Aira managed to finally break that chain. What most surprised me was that the b-side material ended up being better than the actual a-side, which doesn’t usually happen. A great single to get started with if you wanna start listening to Mitsuki.

♦Single Rating♦

Aira Mitsuki – Darling Wondering Staring / STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER

Darling Wondering Staring / STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER was Aira Mitsuki’s 3rd single. It was released May 7, 2008 and was a Tower Records exclusive release.

Tracklist

1. Darling Wondering Staring

2. STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER

3. Darling Wondering Staring (PLASTIC FANTASTIC remix)

4. STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER (digital mp-3 mastering ver.)

5. Darling Wondering Staring (instrumental)

First up on the single is Darling Wondering Staring which begins with some space sounding noises and Mistuki’s distorted vocals. During the vocals, you can just barely hear birds chirping in the background, which is only acoustic guitar but than the synth and beats come in as time advances. The lyrics in this song are about half and half in English and Japanese, English during the verses and Japanese during the chorus.  It’s a pretty soft, relaxing song with some above average instrumentals that really set the space-y mood.

STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER is a cover of the original song made by Cornelius in 1998. Beginning with some synth and fast acoustis guitar, you’d think this song would be more upbeat than the previous track and it is, but it still barely manages to maintain the relaxed atmosphere(mostly due to the inclusion of the acoustic guitar), just adding more sparkle to it. The chorus is really simple, the only lyrics being the song name itself and sounds pretty nice, I preferred the verses however.

Darling Wondering Staring (PLASTIC FANTASTIC remix) is a lot different from the original as it completely changes all previous synth and arrangement for a more heavy dance-edge type. Beginning with some strong beats and very distorted “Darling” lyrics leading into some organ sounding synth, this song makes for an interesting listen. I really did like this remix, no matter how much little lyrics it did have.

STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER (digital mp-3 mastering ver.) gives some hardly noticeable buffs to the original in terms of sound quality, exactly the same song otherwise.

This is probably my favorite single from Aira Mitsuki so far. I REALLY liked the atmosphere the first song gave off and it’s remix, which is probably the best remix she’s done for a song on a single yet.  I’m a sucker for STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER’s acoustic guitar and is a worthy a-side next to Darling Wondering Staring.

♦Single Rating♦

Aira Mistuki – China Discotica

China Discotica was Aira Mitsuki’s first major single, and second overall. It was released March 5, 2008. The title track is considered a “respect song” for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Tracklist

1. China Discotica

2. ROMANTIC ROPE

3. China Discotica (Substance remix)

4. China Discotica (digital mp-3 mastering ver.)

5. China Discotica (instrumental)

China Discotica is almost five minutes of Electropop bliss. “Plastic Fantastic” are the first words that come out in total Engrish from Mitsuki and they sound extremely cute. The music keeps a close to high paced rhythm and thickens the layers of synth as the verses develop into the addictive chorus. This is a really high quality, catchy, fun and memorable song that I think EVERYONE should give at least one listen to, especially if their still trying to get into the Electropop genre. And yes, the song still resembles something Nakata Yasutaka would do.

The b-side, ROMANTIC ROPE, is a lot more chilled out, lounge type of song. It begins with the chorus that features non stop layered vocals and than moves onto the first verse. The song is very relaxing and never gets overloaded on synth, even though it is present during the whole song. The chorus does tend to repeat a bit too much during the end, especially when the lyrics are replaced by “Na na na”’s. A nice, relaxing listen either way.

China Discotica (Substance remix) takes the original song and adds/removes synth in certain parts of the song while changing it’s arrangement. It begins with some synth that reminds you of space and all kind of galaxy related stuff. During the chorus, the instruments are very minimal, only some beats, but as it starts to develop into the chorus, we get the familiar synth again. This is an interesting mix, though I still preferred the original, I often find myself listening to it.

Similar to her first single, China Discotica (digital mp-3 mastering ver.) is a clearer version of the original, almost adding some finishing touches to make them more pleasant for the ears.

China Discotica was another fabulous single by Aira Mitsuki. The a-side was absolutely perfect and the mix offered a possible alternative to the original but not being as catchy. ROMANTIC ROPE served as a contrasting b-side and sounded good for the type of feeling it tried to show. If your looking to start anywhere with Mistuki, this is your single.

♠Single Rating♠

Aira Mitsuki – Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9

Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 was Aira Mitsuki’s debut single. It was released August 8, 2007. The title track was used as the image song for the Japanese release of the Transformers movie.

Tracklist

1. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (Original MIX)

2. Candy Light Mode

3. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (LAVA’s Electrip Remix)

4. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (Disco-Punk Remix)

5. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (MP-3 Senyou Digital Mastering Ver.)

6. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (Instrumental)

Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 can definitely be compared to Nakata Yasutaka’s work with artists such as Perfume, MEG and Suzuki Ami. It features distorted vocals, a ton of beats and synth and overall catchy-ness. This song starts with Aira’s cute and funny sounding English vocals(distorted, of course) with some upbeat synth. The verses are really catchy and flow well into the chorus, which isn’t as strong as I imagined as it would be but it blends in well with the rest of the song. Soon after, Mitsuki begins repeating the tracks title “Colorfulu Tokyo Shounds Numbah Nine”. This is a really well composed and fun song.

Candy Light Mode is a lot more cuter than the last track, especially in the vocals, which include whispers and an overall cuteness from Mitsuki. The instrumentals are very repetitive, but it’s a good kind of repetition. The song starts right away with a part of the chorus, leading into the first verse. An interesting thing about this track is that it mixes acoustic guitar with synth, creating an overall unique and great sound.

Apart from it’s random first 3 seconds, Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (LAVA’s Electrip Remix) has some more of that acoustic guitar during the entire song, along with some extra synth that give the song a more “space-y” feel. The vocals also seem to be a lot less layered, almost not at all and are arranged in a different way, such as echoing or repetitions that weren’t in the original song. There’s also some nice piano composition during the instrumental break. I actually really like this mix and can easily be considered as an alternative to the original.

Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (Disco-Punk Remix) is the solution for fans who are looking for something a bit more repetitive and more club-friendly. There’s lots of stereotypical club/ dancing elements to be found in this that weren’t in the original. New synth is added(while other is removed) to give the song a feeling that it’s building up into something. It should be noted that this mix might be a bit too repetitive, as we never geta single verse, only variations of the chorus and of the words “Colorfulu Tokyo Shounds Numbah Nine”.

Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (MP-3 Senyou Digital Mastering Ver.) is a more headphone friendly mix to the original. It’s exactly the same song but some of the beats and synth are a bit more clearer and just the slighest bit more secondary to the vocals(this is the version I’ve added on my iPod).

Aira Mistuki’s debut single sounds so fresh even to this day. The main track was great and the mixes(which in most cases are usually weaker than the original) can easily be considered over the original. The b-side is a typical Electropop track that sounds nice either way. If your looking for a new Electropop artist or you don’t want to get into mainstream artists such as Perfume, than Aira Mitsuki is your girl.

♦Single Rating♦