New Kalafina song preview: Storia

In other related Yuki Kajiura news (it's been a long time I've posted anything about her highness!), kalafina has a new Single coming out soon! It's called Storia and it's their first single that won't be featured in an anime, but this time in an NHK TV series entitled Rekishi Hiwa Historia. Yuki Kajiura will also be composing the soundtrack of the series... It looks like the girls of kalafina are channeling ukrainian folk dancers on the cover picture! HAHA

Here's a short sample of Storia available on Sony’s website. You can also download the 40 second kalafina sample here.

Thank you to CPM for the news! Like all kalafina songs, storia sounds like a hit... I can't wait to be the first of July when it finally comes out!

Fan Cover of Fairytale by Kalafina

Back in January, I did a piano cover of Fairytale, the kalafina theme song for the sixth Kara no Kyoukai movie. A month ago I received a message on my Youtube Channel from xFukairix telling me she had made a cover of Fairytale using my piano cover. I felt very honored that someone would use one of my piano covers to do a cover of their own, especially one this good! So thank you very much xFukairix for the lovely cover version of Fairytale, and if someone ever wants to use one my piano tracks to record a song, you're welcome! All I ask in return is that you mention my blog in the video description...

Download the mp3 version of my Fairytale piano cover here.

9/10 I really enjoyed listening to xFukairix's version of Fairytale! Her voice is really amazing and pure. It's a really hard song to master, but she managed to do a pretty good job. Her pronunciation is perfect, and despite some places where her voice is a little out of tune, her singing sounds very professional. I can't wait to hear more anime song covers from her.

In the meantime check out her version of Fairytale:

Kalafina Live - Seventh Heaven DVD

The Yuki Kajiura/kalafina fever is in full swing! The Seventh Heaven Limited edition came along with a DVD that included 4 live clips of kalafina. And of course, they're nothing short of amazing!!

Tracklist:

1. oblivious (Live)
2. Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku (Live)
3. Kizuato (Live)
4. ARIA (Live)
5. sprinter (VIDEO CLIP)
6. fairytale (VIDEO CLIP)
7. seventh heaven (VIDEO CLIP)
8. oblivious (VIDEO CLIP)
9. Seventh Heaven CM (Bonus)

Watch Oblivious with a beautiful intro live here:


Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku Live:


The two other live clips are after the cut.

Watch Kizuato live here:


Watch ARIA live here:

Write a message to Yuki Kajiura in person...

My good friend Kerahna (of Canta Per Me) will be going to Anime Boston 2009 where Yuki Kajiura and Kalafina (Keiko, Wakana, Hikaru) will be visiting as the guests of honor. For this occasion, she will be printing and presenting to them a scrapbook in person at the convention!

So this is your chance to have Yuki hold your work in her hands! You can send them a message, a piece of artwork, poetry, music, or anything you like to be included in the scrapbook (which will have a CD component as well)! The book will be linen-bound hardcover, 9″ x 10.5″.

Interested? You just have to fill out the form here.

Seventh Heaven by Kalafina - Album Review

I'm so happy I got the chance to listen to this album before its official release (Thank you Zuiyon and Adi!). I've been listening to it non-stop for 5 days now... It's quite a feat to have so much Yuki Kajiura music being released in just 2 weeks, between the FictionJunction album, the latest kalafina single, and the first kalafina album.

Tracklist:

1. overture
2. oblivious
3. love come down
4. Natsu no Ringo
5. fairytale
6. ARIA
7. Mata Kaze ga Tsuyokunatta
8. Kizuato
9. serenato
10. Ongaku
11. Ashita no Keshiki
12. sprinter
13. Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku
14. seventh heaven

Watch the CM for the album here, it's really beautiful:


My Review of Seventh Heaven - 8/10

1. overture

A true kajiuran intro for the debut album of kalafina... Soothing and mysterious like her slow BGM tracks.

2. oblivious

This is the first kalafina single which was used as the theme song for the first Kara no Kyoukai movie. It's also the first kalafina song I ever heard, and after the first listen I wasn't really convinced by Kajiura's new project. I didn't like the song at all... I thought Yuki-sama wanted to go mainstream and commercial with the kalafina sound, which sounded too poppy for my taste. But now I actually really like oblivious, it's even one of my favorite kalafina songs! I think I initially wanted kalafina to be more like a FictionJunction v.2 project, but now I've come to appreciate the kalafina style and songs!

The rest is after the cut...

3. love come down

I didn't expect a song like this one to be on the kalafina album. Love come down is a fast-pace song with a very technoish feel to it. After a few listens you get used to it, and it's actually not that bad.

4. Natsu no Ringo

This song could have belonged on the El Cazador Soundtrack. Indeed, it features the same south-american sounding flute that held a prominent place on the El Cazadar OST. It has a typical kajiuresque melody and feel. I really like this one.

5. fairytale

Fairytale is the theme song for the 6th Kara no Kyoukai movie. It's also one of my favorite kalafina songs. Check out my review here and my piano cover here. It still gives me goosebumps!

6. ARIA

ARIA is the theme song for the fourth Kara no Kyoukai movie. It's also included in the second kalafina single. Thanks to this song, I was able to start appreciating kalafina. It's closer to that FictionJunction sound that I had initially missed. What I find particularly interesting in this song and in general in kalafinian songs is that choir-effect with the multi-layered voices. It's really intense and makes for a beautiful accompaniment throughout the song.

7. Mata Kaze ga Tsuyokunatta

This song is the only J-Rock style track featured on this album. It's always weird to hear Yuki Kajiura composing rocky songs with a lot of electric guitars. We're not really used to that kind of sound coming from her. I nonetheless found myself enjoying this song quite a lot. I think it's because of the beautiful chorus and the string arrangements...

8. Kizuato

Kizuato is the theme song for the third Kara no Kyoukai movie. It was the third track from the first kalafina single. This song reminds me of some See-Saw song, I just don't remember which one. It has that old-school kajiuran feel which I so much love... I could really see myself playing it on the piano! One of my favorites of the album.

9. serenato

This song was on the fairytale single. It's not that bad, even though the chorus bugs me for some reason. I find it too simple and too repetitive! I know a lot of people really love this song, and I don't really understand why...

10. Ongaku

Ongaku (hehe, same title as my blog) features some heavy techno beats and voice effects. I'm usually not a fan of those kind of songs, but I think Yuki Kajiura managed to pull it off! It has a very catchy chorus, and it's a fun song to listen to. But it's definitely not a typical kajiuran song.

11. Ashita no Keshiki

This song is a really slow ballad, sad and heartfelt without being over-dramatic. It's not the best ballad of the album (which is either Fairytale or Seventh Heaven, I haven't decided yet), but it's still charming nonetheless.

12. sprinter

This is the theme song for the fifth Kara no Kyoukai movie. It's also the second kalafina single. It's the second I heard from kalafina, and just like the first one (oblivious) I disliked it the first time I heard it. It has grown on me, and I'd even go as to say that I like it, even though it's not one of my favorite kalafina songs. Again, I think the chorus could have been better...

13. Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku

Yet another piano ballad, this is the theme song for the second Kara no Kyoukai movie. A very moving song that also features one of my favorite instruments, the cello. This song is easily one of my favorites from this album. I just love Wakana's voice in this song. Her pure and angelic voice is truly one the main reasons that made me fall in love with kalafina!

14. seventh heaven

Apparently seventh heaven will be the theme song for the 7th and final Kara no Kyoukai movie. In my opinion, this song is one of the best tracks of the album if not THE best! It's one of the best ballads Yuki Kajiura has ever written. So many emotions flow into this song. It's a pure delight for the ears!

Kuroshitsuji ED2 Full Single - Lacrimosa by Kalafina

Back in January, I reviewed the latest kalafina song (here) which is not Kara no Kyoukai-related (for a change, haha!). Well here's the single with the long version. This week has truly been Kajiuresqe!! (And it's not over yet...).

Tracklist:

1. Lacrimosa
2. Gloria
3. Lacrimosa (Instrumental)

9/10 The longer version is even better than the TV-size version (no surprises there!) I especially love the choirs and drums part from 2:52 to 3:00. It's so epic! The second track on the Single, Gloria, is a beautiful piano ballad. A must-have!! Yuki Kajiura always finds ways to outdo herself. It's truly amazing...

Watch the full PV after the cut:

New Kuroshitsuji ED2 - Lacrimosa by Kalafina

A new kalafina song just came out! Well, a short version at least... It's the new Kuroshitsuji ED2 theme song called Lacrimosa, starting episode 14. The ED single will be released on March 4, 2009, the same day as the long-awaited Kalafina album Seventh Heaven. (Thank you to Kazado and CPM for the rip)

You can download the TV-sized version of the song here.

8.5/10 Again a wonderful song from Kalafina and Yuki Kajiura! After the slower Fairytale, it's nice to have an uptempo song with an equally beautiful melody. You can distinctively hear Wakana as the main vocalist, and Keiko in the background. Too bad, I didn't get to hear the long version of the song... I can't wait for March 4!

Check out the new Kuroshitsuji ED here:

My Piano Cover of Fairytale by Kalafina

For my new piano cover, I wanted to stay in the Yuki Kajiura theme of this month, so I did a cover of the latest kalafina single, Fairytale. Fairytale is the theme song for the sixth Kara no Kyoukai movie, and of course it is composed by Yuki Kajiura. When I did the review for this wonderful song, I promised you I would be doing a piano cover, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it. Tell me your thoughts on it in the comments. By the way, this time I recorded the audio and video in a much better quality, so I hope you can enjoy it more. You can download the high quality mp3 of my cover here.

Kara no Kyoukai 6 ED Single - Fairytale by Kalafina

Kara no Kyoukai is a Japanese novel series, authored by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi, which is being adapted into an ongoing anime movie series, divided into seven chapters. Each of the theme songs to the series are performed by Kalafina, a band formed by goddess/composer Yuki Kajiura in 2007. Fairytale is the theme for the sixth film, called Boukyaku Rokuon (Oblivion Recorder) that premiered December the 20th in Japan. You can download the full ED single here.

Tracklist:

1. fairytale
2. serenato
3. sprinters ~Instrumental~

9/10 Fairytale is a beautiful Kajiuran ballad, and it is my favorite Kalafina song yet. It sounds much more like her FictionJunction songs which I really loved, especially FictionJunction Yuuka. Each new Yuki Kajiura song is a real treat, so I'm really happy that she works so hard and releases so much music... I think I might do a piano cover for this song, I love it so much!
Check out the awesome mysterious and mystic music video for fairytale: