Shikata’s 2010 Concert Report

First post for the year! A few days ago a ‘report’ was released on Shikata Akiko’s concert in 2010, link here.

Too lazy to translate the full report, but here are some thoughts:

Track list looks fantastic, although I expected a little more Ar tonelico songs, and Chronicle_Key is missing… A little disappointing there Shikata! In terms of coverage, she has songs from pretty much all of her albums, from the first doujin to the recent singles.

According to the report, the concert is broken into two parts: the first is bozouki and percussion focused; the second uses the multi-layered sounds/voices that we’re all too familiar with. The first part is arranged specifically for the concert to bring in the tension and rhythm of the percussion. The reporter feels that those songs perform in the first part were ever more oriental and ‘ethnic’. I wonder how was the arranged Mahoroba…

The songs in the second part are generally more upbeat than the first, and the writer felt that he was being taken through a journey of stories. The songs were performed without much break and images and stories of the songs were presented on a screen (a similar style was used in Shimotsuki’s concert that I went 2 years ago, and it was particular fitting when the set of songs collectively tell a tale). The encore song (METHOD_SUBLIMATION) was also a pleasant surprise (as she chose a AT song), and it had left a pretty solid impression on the reporter. After being immersed in Shikata’s music in live for two and a half hours, it must have been an indescribable experience…

On another unrelated note on Shimotsuki, she’s just released two albums recently, Tsunagi Chou no Tsuka and Traumerei. Tsunagi Chou no Tsuka is a mini doujin album, composed mostly by MANYO. Definitely worth a listen if anyone’s interested in Shimotsuki’s older doujin days where her songs had a more traditional, oriental aura (erhu <3). Traumerei is a compilation of pop’ish theme songs that she has done for a number of Innocent Grey games (again mostly composed MANYO). A great little collection album for the fans.

Download links:

• Tsunagi Chou no Tsuka (Fileserve)
• Traumerei (Megaupload)