Overview

Blue Orb is the second solo album by onoken, best known for his work on I/O. Blue Orb features a variety of vocalists, including Emi Evans, and a plethora of styles. How does the overall product turn out?

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The album opens with two songs sung by Emi Evans. The first, the title theme, "Blue Orb," is very reminiscent of her work with her trip-hop duo, freesscape. It's a very ethereal, atmospheric track, especially in the beginning, where it focuses on drawing the listener in with its various electronic soundscapes. Eventually, beautiful acoustic guitar is thrown into the mix, giving a bit of a rustic tone to the overall piece that compliments the deep, thoughtful electronic beats also incorporated during this time. As for the vocal work, fans of Emi Evans will be pleased once more to hear her voice grace an album, as her voice adds a seductiveness to the soothing piano that compliments the electronic piece quite wonderfully. Seemingly simple, yet emotionally deep, this theme manages to stand out among all the pieces on the album and is definitely my favorite.

The second theme, "Am I," opens up with a bit of acoustic guitar and some ethereal electronic work before moving into a fast paced trance theme. I really think that Emi Evans' vocal work really compliments this style of music. It manages to pierce through the music quite nicely, even during the times when the intensity of the music is greater. When it comes to the music, I really like what onoken does with this theme as well, as he manages to add some subtle orchestral elements into the mix, some beautiful piano work, and a variety of various electronic textures that really keep the theme sounding fresh throughout its duration.

"Strychnine," a theme sung by b, is definitely another energetic theme. Opening up with some soft electronica, as the theme progresses, it gets a bit more intense. The combination of piano, ethereal synthesizer harmonies, and rhythmic electronic beats is a wonderful combination and works quite well in captivating the listener; however, the track takes an unexpected turn into rock territory and it's during this time, where the track truly shines. B's voice is extremely fitting for this style, more so than during the electronic styles and the edgy rock riffs combine fantastically with the electronic tones established earlier in the piece.

Saira is the next vocalist on the list and her tracks are some of my favorites. "Coquine" is just the epitome of sexiness on the album. I really love the sultry vocals and how they combine with the extremely experimental, slightly jazzy influenced, industrial electronic soundscape. There is so much going on in the actual music, that at first listen, it may seem muddled, but everything ends up being quite balanced in the end. Between the upbeat, softer electronic tones, to the supporting vocals, offering a bit of cutesy sound, to the distorted synthesizer, there's a lot to take in, but in the end, it manages to impress on many levels, both texturally and musically.

Saira's second theme, "Albaforia," in contrast, is a polar opposite in terms of soundscape. Once again, Saira's vocals have a very seductive, sultry aspect to them, and it really works with the ballad approach that onoken decides to take with this theme. There is stunning strings work in the harmony that adds a beautiful delicateness to the piece and really accentuates the power of Saira's vocals. As the theme progresses, there is some industrial electronic accompaniment that is worked into the mix, providing a bit more textural contrast, and as with some of the other themes, during this climax, everything comes together to serve you that perfect musical morsel. From start to finish, "Albaforia" is just intoxicating.

The last vocal theme on the album features Aki Misawa. Titled "Fragment Acoustic," it is an acoustic arrangement of "fragment," a theme featured on the I/O Original Soundtrack, a game for which onoken composed. The theme is a beautiful acoustic guitar, piano, and strings piece that manages to give off a solemn, poignant atmosphere. I think the vocal work compliments the instrumentation quite nicely and has a nice range. It's a fantastic interpretation of the original.

In addition to the vocal themes, there are also three instrumental originals (not to mention the instrumental versions of all the vocals) featured on the album. The first, "Phantom Scope," is probably my favorite. It has a very hypnotizing soundscape and is a beautiful blend of electronic and acoustic components. The acoustic guitar and piano work wonderfully with the heavy electronic beats and the various manipulated industrial synthesizer additions. The melody is also quite exhilarating and I love how the intensity builds as the theme progresses. "Mr. Night" is a soft electronica piece that has a bit of an industrial influence. I really like the subtle nuances in the piece and the overall cozy atmosphere, despite the completely inorganic approach to the piece. It's quite an enjoyable piece, but probably the weakest theme on the album.

The album's final piece, before moving onto instrumental versions of the vocal themes, is "Once in a Blue Moon." This piano piece is an extremely romantic piece and offers a take on the "Blue Orb" theme that opens up the album. It's extremely heartfelt and touching and really manages to close the album quite wonderfully.

Summary

To be honest, before this work, I wasn't too familiar with onoken. After hearing this, however, I would love for onoken to have a prominent place in the future of video game music. He has the ability to do a range of styles, from romantic piano pieces to charged electronic pieces. His manipulation of various electronic elements to create atmosphere and texture is to be commended and his choice of vocalists is top-notch. Each vocalist fits the style she is singing quite well and definitely does not detract from the overall listening experience. If you have a chance to pick this up, it is well worth it.

Overview

Swell Strings is the first solo album by onoken, a protégé of Osamu Kubota. While onoken is has worked on various doujin albums, he has also scored titles such as I/O and Corpse Party. It features a a plethora of styles as well as some arrangement support by Osamu Kubota. How does the overall product turn out?

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The album, fittingly, opens and closes with "Opening" and "Ending," both orchestrated by Osamu Kubota. The former is a beautiful strings focused theme that offers a hopeful and uplifting melody with some wonderful brass harmonies. It may only be a minute long, but it is satisfying from start to finish. The latter builds on the melody introduced in "Opening" and offers a lusher soundscape, while at the same time, providing a melancholy and heartwarming harp and piano melody that really brings a more personal touch to the theme.

The rest of the themes are composed by onoken and feature a variety of styles. "Vijore" is an invigorating psytrance theme with some strings accompaniment. It is truly an intriguing combination and it works really well, as the strings provide that calming trance-like atmosphere while the beats and various synthesizer tones captivate the listener with their upbeat and intense tones. "esc" is another electronic focused theme that is another absolute marvel. Focusing on heavy industrial beats and odd rhythms, it manages to captivate the listener with its futuristic tone, complete with supporting electronic samples throughout the track. However, surprisingly, the middle of the track removes most of the heavy beats in favor of romantic strings work, providing a human touch to the theme. The culmination of the inorganic electronic beats and the acoustic strings is an exquisite combination and really brings the remainder of the track to life.

"wert" continues the electronic focus with a trance anthem with some drum n' bass accompaniment. The melody and atmosphere are extremely serene and ethereal. It reminds me of a more sophisticated version of "Aquatic Ambience" from Donkey Kong Country, with its beautiful piano, strings, and synthesizer focus, not to mention some light industrial tones as well. It's a beautiful combination and the end result is nothing short of beautiful. "lataia" is a funky electronic tune that incorporates beautiful strings and piano work. It's an interesting combination, as initially, I didn't think the funk style, in the way it was presented, would work with how the piano and strings are implemented, but the end result is quite beautiful. At times, it features just the funk groove and others features a solo piano with strings accompaniment and no additional support.

"felys" is one of my favorite tunes as well. It's a drum n' bass style theme with some beautiful orchestral harmonies. However, the star of the piece is definitely the piano work. It is extremely frenetic, reminiscent of some of the crazier piano based compositions in the Touhou series, but the end result between the frenetic piano and the more calming synthesizer tones is a very successful one. There is also a short piece entitled "interlude" featuring ethereal synthesizer and piano that serves as a nice "palate cleanser" before the "izayoi" vocal theme. "envelope" is an electronic R&B style theme featuring Meg on vocals. It has some slick grooves and some beautiful acoustic guitar and piano work. Meg's vocal performance is also quite powerful and goes quite well with the style of the track. While I don't find it as appealing as some of the tracks already mentioned, it is still an impressive feat, offering a complexity that really manages to sound quite clean.

Meg is also featured as a vocalist on "shylph" and, in my opinion, it's a much more successful and inviting track. The trance tune immediately conjures up images of the Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune series, although more refined and overall better produced, at least compared to the early games in the series. It's an extremely beautiful track featuring intense trance beats and melodies and some beautiful work by Meg. The piano harmonies also add quite a bit of depth to the piece as well. "mazi" is another vocal theme, featuring b on vocals. It's an extremely beautiful theme featuring a pop beat, acoustic guitar, and some stunning strings work. I particularly love how b's vocal performance really adds quite a bit of depth to the theme and really contrasts nicely with the drum pad work. Of course, the other elements also contribute to the textural flavor of the music, in particular, the enticing piano harmonies. In the end, it's quite a successful theme, but those who aren't fans of pop style music may not enjoy it too much.

In addition to orchestrating the opening and ending theme, Osamu Kubota is responsible for arranging "izayoi," a vocal theme sung by Reiko. It's an absolutely stunning theme featuring ethereal synthesizer and stunning piano work. In addition, there is some slight industrial percussion that brings some darker tones to the piece. The stars of the piece, however, are Reiko, with her warm vocal performance bringing the melody to life amidst the intoxicating piano work and the flute performance by Toshirou Mitsutomi. The flute passages are absolutely beautiful, bringing an inviting air to the piece, but at the same time, offering some very pensive and almost heartbreaking emotions to the mix. This is an absolute masterpiece.

Summary

Having listened to this album after Blue Orb, I can say that it is just as successful as onoken's sophomore album. It features a more electronic focus and more focus on instrumentals, but onoken's ability to combine electronic and orchestral tones into a complex sound, never sounding out of place, is quite a feat. As mentioned in the other review, I'd love for him to be able to find a prominent place in the video game music industry, providing his romantic touches, whether in an electronic or orchestral capacity, and this album demonstrates his ability to fuse the two together quite nicely. I highly recommend this album to fans of beatmania and similar styled music.