心音 by KK~ Translation

I didn't have that much interest in this song at first but as I gradually picked up the lyrics, the song became something I couldn't get out of my head. To me, 心音 is like the next part of 心根, the next chapter in a long journey that young man in 心根 has started. If you haven't listened to 心根, I highly recommend you to do so first~ The translation of 心根's lyrics can be found here

Kokorone

Written and composed by Kamikita Ken (KK)

English translation by Makoto (and jisho)

In this fast changing scenery, things that one wants to leave behind.
Keep moving forwards. Never let go of your hands.
(Keep on moving also means never let go of your hands)

Have you decided where you are heading to?
How about that bad habit of your, have you fixed it yet?

Is that miserable man finally able to shed a real tear?

All of us continuously making mistakes, continue to live on with endless fears.
Even so, the reason we still wish for tomorrow to come
Is because we don’t want to lose in the battle against this world, right?

Even to someone like me, there is a reason for my existence,
I wonder if I’m able to say that the path continues behind my back isn’t that bad.

Just a little bit, I feel like I can try to have faith (in this world) again.
As well as accepting (it).

Like how our regrets fluttered into the sky, one small ephemeral step forwards
May result in the acknowledgement of your efforts.  

As long as this sound remains in your heart,
Everything you have been through will definitely be rewarded.

*the following part isn't in the original song in, but the extended ver he wrote later on

Those things that are left unacknowledged are going to pave your path.
Although who I'm right now can only tell you this much

I hope this song will support both of us in our life journey.

16th track from KK's first album 心音 (Kokorone)
You can listen to the song here
Please support the artist by purchasing original copy on Amazon Japan or CdJapan
Visit KK's official site and Youtube channel for more information

Kamikita Ken's 1st Mini-Album TIDE!!!!

OMG Yessssssss, finally YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

I have been waiting for the info on his upcoming album since April! It totally worth the wait!
I was going to do a live report for the April live but well, things happened and I got so tired with assignments and final exams so yea....
Anw, except for his beautiful and powerful voice, and all the meaningful songs from Scoop, there were 3 important news in the live.

1. Three new songs were performed
上昇 (Joushou)
ブルータウン (Blue town)
フラワーパズル (Flower puzzle)

Personally I love the first two new songs so much. As usual, the songs Ken-chan wrote are full of messages. Listening to his music isn't just about listening to a song, as once you understand the lyrics, all of them will turn into a somewhat painful memory, or a story about one's life. And like I said before with Sekaowa's music, anyone who can't seem to understand Ken-chan and Sekaowa's music should be happy. There is no need to be ashamed, because your life is much brighter than ppl who get the messages behind those words. Although these 3 songs have a much happier vibe compared to the previous one.

2. Release tour in summer (in Japan, ofc ToT)
I hope he will broadcast it on nico nico again, because I'm pretty sure he already knew that there is a number of overseas fans. The Korean fan base seems to be quite strong~

3. 1st mini-album release!!!!!!
He told us the date, time and venues for live tour but nothing about the album back in April. But finally this morning, it has been announced that the album, called TIDE, will be released on 3rd August 2016 *clap clap clap*

The moment I saw his twitter, I rushed to cdjapan to order mine (although there is no reason for that lol).
The album consists of 7 tracks, which you can find more information on (and perhaps get your copies because I'm sure you'd fall in love with his music) cdjapan, amazon japan or Ken-chan's official site.
For now, you can listen to Blue town on youtube or nico nico
Can't wait for full lyrics of these songs to be published.

Oh btw, Ken-chan created a facebook account at last! I think Japanese netizens are slowly adapting to facebook. So many good news today!

Please support the artist by purchasing original copy on Amazon Japan or CdJapan
Visit KK's official site and Youtube channel for more information

生物学的幻想曲 (Seibutsugaku teki gensoukyoku) by Sekai no Owari (Sekaowa)~ Translation

I have finished my exchange year in Japan and came back home. Things have been a little busy recently so I couldn't do anything (lol in fact I spent hours watching Durarara on my TV ^^). My friend was looking for Seibutsugaku teki gensoukyoku but she couldn't find one so I told her to leave it to me. 

Seibutsugaku teki gensoukyoku

Written and composed by Fukase

English translation by Makoto (with BIG help from jisho)

‘To breed the next generation’

That’s the reason why I was born

The reason why I’m nothing more than a part of the cycle of life.

Even so we enjoy, get angry, become happy, feel sad and die

I was born only to avoid humanity extinction, right?

The eternal life cycle that going round and round beautifully,

Going round and round, repeats endlessly.

The eternal life cycle that going round and round beautifully,

Going round and round, and shouldn’t be stopped.

Is there such thing called ‘meaning of life’ for those amoeba,

Coming to life from the division of its parent cells?

Is there a need for me to be ‘me’ when I’m only a part of the repeating breeding process of humanity?

The eternal life cycle that going round and round beautifully,

Going round and round, repeats endlessly.

The eternal life cycle that going round and round beautifully,

Going round and round, and shouldn’t be stopped.

Staying inside this cycle, sooner or later,

I’ll come to understand that even my existence has no meaning at all

Then, I’ll definitely bear a child

Go round and round beautifully in this cycle of life.

The eternal life cycle that going round and round beautifully,

Going round and round, repeats endlessly.

The eternal life cycle that going round and round beautifully,

Going round and round, and shouldn’t be stopped.

6th track from album 'Earth', which was released in 2010.

Please support the artist by purchasing original copy Cdjapan

P/s: One of my acquaintance once told me she couldn't understand Sekaowa's music, especially this song. It wasn't like she didn't understand Japanese or the translation but she simply was unable to understand what is this song about. Later on I posted a status saying people who do not understand Sekaowa's music should be happy because they have a less messed up life. So if you don't really get this song, lucky you~  

Wagakki Band live report!

I had a chance to attend Wagakki Band's live at Nippon Budokan a few days ago and it was amazing. (Sorry for my limited vocabulary as I'm sure I have used the same word for all the live reports)

New Year Party in Nippon Budokan

~Akatsuki no Utage ~

Many vocaloid and J-rock fans might have heard of Wagakki Band before. First of all, they have a great visual. Wagakki is means Japanese traditional musical instrument but guess what, they are a rock band! That's what make them unique. I knew Wagakki Band before knowing vocaloid and was in love with their verson of the famous Senbonzakura. At that time I actually thought Wagakki Band's one was the original until I found out about vocaloid. As I have said before, I don't like rock. I'm more on the ballad side of music but oh well, there are always certain exceptions, right? The main reason for me to like Wagakki Band is because of they combine the tradition and modern smoothly together. Japanese culture in general is something like that, so there is no way I wouldn't love a band who make use of both of Japan's traditional and modern culture. Beside, their music is very appealing. I love Yuko's voice so much I don't really care if they were playing rock or ballad or vocaloid.
Before attending the live, I love Wagakki Band as an artist, which means I only listen to their music.
I didn't know much about the member but

I love Yuko's voice (of course). If you had a chance to listen to any of their songs, you will know why many people fall in love with her beautiful voice. Her voice when singing live is a little soft, but only for rock songs which have pretty loud bgm. When singing a ballad or my favorite Yoshiwara Lament, my heart went doki doki so many time. Her choreography was also so charming for a moment I forgot that she is a singer.

 Wasabi's coolness. I have been following Wagakki Band for a year now and my reaction every single time watching their MVs is 'OMG Wasabi is soo cool. Such an ikemen <3 <3 <3'. While in the MVs, it is hard to see his drum techniques so I didn't really focus on that. But after the live, I know that Wasabi has wayyyy more than just his look!

Together with Kurona, who plays wadaiko (Japanese drum), these two drummers showed us the most passionate and hardcore (lol) drumming techniques  ever! I absolutely love their duet drum performance during the live.

Kurona may be the coolest man in the world while playing wadaiko but his characteristic is simply baka! And wayy tooo cute!

Asa-san's unique charms. For some reason I have been attracted to Asa-san since knowing the band. I think I finally know why after the live. He is amazing! His passion for music and the way he performs on the stage. And just recently I figured out he wrote Yoshiwara Lament, one of my favorite song on Niconico.

Wagakki Band isn't complete without Kiyoshi, playing the koto. He looked so different in hakama so I couldn't recognize him at first.

Shamisen, played by Beni Ninagawa.

Shakuhachi, performed by Daisuke Kaminaga (the fan and I call him Dai-san in short). My favorite Japanese musical instrument must be shakuhachi. And similar to what Dai-san said "I never thought playing shakuachi on stage in a rock band like this". But I strongly believe, without shakuhachi, Wagakki Band's music will sound very different. 

Machiya, the main guitar and second vocalist of Wagakki Band. The lyric of his solo song 郷愁の空 (Kyoshu no sora) is touching that I would have busted in tears if I didn't go to the concert with my friends. Beside he was the only one who goes on stage with bare feet. 

I love how the whole Budokan stadium turned into Wagakki Band's purple, and the encore chant that their fans known by heart. The last song, Senbonzakura was like a peak. A perfect way to finish such a wonderful live. I think many people know Wagakki Band through their version of Senbonzakura. That maybe why when that song was performed, the audience seemed to be a little more excited than other songs.

Thank you for such an unforgettable night! As Yuko-san said, 'Wagakki Band will always be this 8 people'. And please, don't forget that although the fan base might not be large enough, there are many fans waiting for Wagakki Band in Australia and Vietnam too!

P/s: I wish I could get the fan or keychain too but they were sold out so only got the must-have in all live in Japan, towel!

All stage photo is provided by CoFesta.

Kamikata Ken's Release tour ヒトスクイ ~Report~

I'm absolutely in love with Kamikita Ken's voice and music! (I'll call him either KK or Ken-chan in my post to make it short)
I know it's not a big deal to some people but for me, I don't usually buy singles or albums, I only buy them when I want to support the artist. Now everything is available on the internet (thanks to all the generosity of internet users <3), you don't need to pay but still get what you want. So the decision to buy live ticket, goods and two albums is equal to my tiny little support I can give him. As a token of my appreciation! I came across KK in the same way with other utaites. Maybe because I personally like this kind of voice so I immediately get attracted after a few songs. Then because I always focus more on the lyrics and most of his songs are extremely meaningful to me, I became his fan. Similar to Sekai no Owari's songs, I can relate to the music KK wrote (not all, ofc!). I'm planning to translate as many as I can of his songs.
Should get back on track, the Release tour!
It was unexpectedly amazing. The live was held at a small live house which approx 350~400ppl can get in. I never thought there were more than 300ppl coming for the live and yet, it was way more than that! I stood right in the middle at the back area (that is usually a little higher than the front). Thanks god the girls in front weren't too high to block my view, and yes, I got a full view of him. I love his voice so much when listening to the records and he even sounded better performing live. The problem with many utaites (from my friends' p.o.v) is that they don't always sound as good in real life. But KK's voice the other day was too powerful. I have been to quite a few live performances since coming to Japan so I know how noisy things can be. From the audio systems to the crowd's voice/cheer/scream, which make it hard to hear the singer's voice sometime. However, I think anyone who went the other day would agree that KK's voice was super clear. Ken-chan, how could you manage to sing much much better live??? The moment he sung Kokorone心根 my heart melted. Never imaged he would sing that 2.33 song (my fav) live, then continued with Yuragi ゆらぎ, the song that makes me fall in love with his music. Both my heart and ears melted by then! I think my tears busted out a little. The two songs that hurt me the most, the two most beautiful songs, the two that give me a lot of support were sung together! You have such amazing sense of music Ken-chan!
When I told mom that Ken-chan sounded not the same but even better than his Cd, mom was like 'He might lip-sync'. 'Lol no way, he messed up quite a lot'. A simple live house with very few setups, an unprofessional singer who sometime forgot the lyrics or unable to start a song properly. But more than anything was a man who went after his dream. A man who wrote powerful songs that have been supporting me since I knew about him. I'm sure I wrote this somewhere but I love people performing with the brightest smile! Well, when you sing emotional songs you can't really smile, but you can still feel if they enjoyed what they were doing or not through a live performance, somehow.
Thank you for writing songs with healing power. They are not super cheerful, but they are too realistic they hurt sometimes. At the moment all I can do is attempt to translate your songs into English with my poor language skill. It's suck that I prob unable to come to the next live because I'll go back to Melbourne and uni exam will be very close by then. But I'll always support you, in all the possible ways.

P/s: Ken-chan, you should know the phrase "I don't always write fun songs" is wrong...totally wrong, because it's more like "I write fun songs on rare occasions"

心根 by KK~ translation

It's my bad habit to start something only to leave them there like that. Well, I'm not the type to force myself in doing something. So glad I'm finally feel like translating again!
Here is another song by Kamikita. This song is only 2.33 mins but it took me quite long to translate, not that I didn't understand it, but it was just too hard to put into words and into English as well.
I'm not sure if this made any sense, but anyway, please enjoy!

Kokorone

Written and composed by Kamikita Ken (KK)

English translation by Makoto (with BIG help from jisho ^^)

Was the young boy, who has been granted a direction that day, smiling?
Trying his best not to be hated by anyone.
Those true feelings that have been swallowed deep inside,
It's time to hold them tightly.

The days wishing to be recognized were indeed miserable.
But they are the real past,
The only proof of the life one had been through,
Those that will support one from now on.

The fear when moving on without knowing what is right or wrong,
The attempt to deny the emptiness that can never be fulfilled.
I will make them into a song.

A song in order to save him, to reach him.

From this point onward, the painful days,
Where you feel like you can't keep on going, will continue for sure.

There will be time you feel like the world is moving around only to betray you,
And you just want to end everything as soon as possible.

Even so, that is the path you have trusted and chosen.
Can't you see how it's shinning with pride.

I have decided to continue searching for the meaning of the path that led you here.

Even if the surroundings had changed,
The beginning will always exist in your heart.

Kokorone is a song from KK's first album 心音 (Kokorone)

You can listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IVVGl8oIzA
Original lyric: http://j-lyric.net/artist/a05075b/l032a3d.html
Please support the artist by purchasing original copy: Amazon Japan

By this time tomorrow, my heart and ears would have been filled with by KK's voice! Got to go to his one-man live last minute! 

TIMM 3rd day~ OLDCODEX~

(taken from my personal tumblr)

*Oldcodex is a rock band with Suzuki Tatsuhisa as the vocalist (Free! and Utapri’s fan should know who is Tatsun!)  and Yorke. as the painter (yup, the painter in a rock band!)

The 3rd and also the final night at TIMM 2015 was OLDCODEX! I’m Tatsun’s fan, so ofc when they said I could go to Oldcodex’s live I seriously was like ‘OMG, BANZAI. Tatsun here I comeeeeeeeeeee’. Rock is definitely not my thing, altho I said if the lyrics are meaningful, i don't care what the genre is…but still, rock hurts my ears too much so (.><.). I know Tatsun as a seiyuu (voice actor), and I listen to some songs by Oldcodex (Free! op for 2 seasons). Anw, the live went wayyyy better than what I’ve expected. The seiyuu Tatsun, the singer Tatsun, the rocker Tatsun….all of those are def the Tatsun that I love <3

Favorite quotes from Tatsun during the performance
“There are buyers from oversea up on the 2nd floor today. I don’t ryl know what’s going on and how thing’s gonna work, but anw, we are here to do what we always do, MUSIC. THAT’S IT”
“There are songs that only we can perform, there are paintings that only us can create, and there is this view in front of me, with you guys there! Have no ideas how we all do it but it’s so FREAKIN FUN! That’s why you guys are our treasure!”
“I don’t care if it’s rock, pop or anime song, music is music, as long as we can do it, nothing else matters”

Anyone who went to a live performance would know that the bgm is super loud. Unless they sing a very slow-pace ballad song, the bgm is so damn loud, and its even worse when it comes to rock. I also went to Scandal/ androp’s live, tbh I hardly heard Scandal’s voice when they were singing. But Tatsun’s voice was so strong and powerful you (or at least I) could hear it clearly despite the bgm. Well, Tatsun is a seiyuu, so obviously his voice has to be strong, right?!!! I was so swayed by the way he sang, the way he poured all his heart into each songs and they way he shouted at the top of his lungs. With that tiny body (he looks too skinny irl, pls eat more Tatsun!), he was able to heat up the crowd with his music and passion! *if I continued here I’ll mostly go on with my voice fetish for Tatsun so yea, move on to the next point*

However, Oldcodex isnt only about Tatsun. A band can’t be completed with out drummer (Yamagata Ryo), bass (Nakamura Taizo), and guess what Oldcodex has a painter too! At the start I questioned what would Yorke. be doing on the stage….like, he will paint…yea so what? Why would you need a painter up there anw?? But after that live, I come to understand the reason. Yorke. simply does what he wants, to express himself through art with (Tatsun’s voice) and Oldcodex’s music. All the paints Yorke. painted had something ryl, idk how to describe since I’m not an artistic person, but they were amazing. Bold and wild, and the contrast between light and dark by his choice of colors. And Yorke. was super cute! Who would have imagined a person, wearing sunglasses, fairly long hair and fringe, in that hip-hop clothes would be so soft and cute <3. Together with Tatsun and the band members, he kinda completed the picture! There is no concrete definition for neither art nor passion!

The fans were…uhmmmmmmmm <3 <3 <3. Like Tatsun said, they are Oldcodex’s pride! You would immediately understand what have a group done seeing their fans. From my observation, all Oldcodex has been doing are simply throwing passion and courage into their fans (like real hard!!!! lol). I know I’m bias bc of Tatsun but you have to see how their fans act!!! As we sat on the guest floor, the fans simply took everyone up there as buyers (from oversea). Tatsun told the fans to turn back when the performance finished so that ppl on the guest floor could see what Oldcodex’s pride look like! And they did, turned back with the most beautiful and loudest cheers ever! After taking a photo w the fans I got too high and screamed ‘I love Tatsun!!!!!! You guys are the best’ like three or four times! That’s something I would never do in when I’m together with some acquaintances….and yet, Oldcodex was able to make me do it!

I’d never forget the ~90mins in side Zepp DriverCity livehouse where I got to see real music and passion! 本当にお疲れ様でした。