Overview

NanoSweep is an ongoing series of original music that was initiated in 2004 by various members of NanoSounds and SuperSweep. It usually features members from each of these companies and occasionally a guest composer. This is the fifteenth original album and features compositions by Hiroshi Okubo, Ryo Watanabe, Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso, and Takahiro Eguchi.

Body

Hiroshi Okubo opens up the album with “Focus,” a track that would fit absolutely perfectly in a Ridge Racer title. It has a very smooth drum and bass sound with beautiful vocal samples, a great ethereal quality to the accompaniment, and some lovely piano work. The subtle bass modulation that appears at times is also quite a nice addition to the theme. This is definitely a fantastic way to open up the album and is one example of Okubo’s ability to craft an energetic track while keeping it refined as well.

While Ryo Watanabe’s work on recent Nanosweep entries has come off as repetitive and somewhat generic at times, I must say that “Oscillation” was a surprise. Upon listening to it, I definitely was brought back to his early Nanosweep entries. It has a fantastic groove, particularly in the accompaniment, but what I felt was a huge improvement, even over his older tunes, was the fact that melody is engaging throughout the entire piece. The piano chords and the constant improvisation in the keyboard work in the melody line really manage to create a piece that keeps your attention, even if the accompaniment is somewhat static.

Recently, Takahiro Eguchi’s Nanosweep contributions have gotten a bit more hardcore and less melodically focused, although present in some degree,compared to his earlier trance stylings that focused on a beautiful melody. With “hay fever,” his hardcore approach continues with generally favorable results. The accompanying beat is absolutely catchy and there are some really catchy hardcore sections. Where Eguchi falls a bit flat, in my opinion, is his incorporation of his very gritty bass modulation. At times, it sounds a bit clunky, especially when it is first introduced with no beat; when the beat is reintroduced, the gritty synth work manages to work much better.

“Patchwork,” by Ayako Saso, is an interesting tune and one that I find to be also generally successful. It’s definitely a club oriented tune that manages to hit on many notes, from the varied approach in the accompaniment, particularly in terms of changing up the beats quite often and the tasteful bass modulation that never detracts from the main beats. In addition, the vocal samples generally work with the tune, but I find that the vocal sample from “Be With You,” which Saso manipulates to have a bit of a higher pitch can be a bit overbearing at first.

Lastly, Shinji Hosoe’s battle with a raid boss from Borderlands 2 inspired his composition for this entry in the Nanosweep series. “Killing Terramorphous” is an intense tune with tons of bass modulation, heavy beats, and a fast tempo more akin to something I’d expect from Hiroshi Okubo. I even like how it emulates the Borderlands style of music at times while still retaining that Hosoe flair, particularly in the slower tempo sections that give it a bit of a spacey quality.

Summary

Nanosweep 15 is another solid entry in the series. I think that the composers, for the most part, play to their strengths and give a nice mix of old and new in terms of the Nanosweep approaches. Some of tracks have their slight downfalls, but for the most part, this entry is very solid and definitely worth a purchase.