Touhou Gensou Shiten 6 -Grimoire-

	Album Title: Touhou Gensou Shiten 6 -Grimoire-
	Record Label: Sound Sepher
	Catalog No.: SEPR-0009
	Release Date: March 31, 2011
	Purchase: Buy at Official Site

Overview

Originally, Touhou Gensou Shiten 6 -Grimoire- was to be released at Reitaisei 8. However, due to the devastating earthquake the event was rescheduled and the album was only released in doujin stores. While the previous installment focused a lot on Touhou Sangetsusei: Great Fairy Wars, this album is a mixture of a variety of games in the Touhou series. Given producer Shoichiro Sakamoto left SuperSweep shortly after its released, it was perhaps intended to tie-up his involvement in the series. Featuring members of SuperSweep and other prominent doujin artists, how does this album compare to former sound sepher releases?

Body

As with most Sound Sepher releases, Shoichiro Sakamoto, as his alias Jun.A, remixes quite a few themes; however, due to the more diverse and numerous contributors to this album, he only remixes four themes this time round. The first, “Plastic Mind,” is an intense gothic rock tune. Opening with a heavy mix of choir, drums, and organ, a very sinister atmosphere is brought to the mix. In addition, Sakamoto also incorporates his signature synthesizer sound to the mix and his synthesizer solos really bring a nice adaptation to the original. While this first tune was quite gothic inspired, I’d have to say that the subsequent arrangements “The Grimoire of Alice” definitely draws upon Sakamoto’s love for Falcom music. It features more frenetic percussion, akin to the previous arrangement; however, he throws in some nice guitar riffs that work quite well with the more upbeat and heroic tones of his synthesizer soundscapes. I think this would definitely work as a great boss theme, and while it isn’t the most elaborate remix, it manages to update the original with some slick synth solos and a wonderful atmosphere.

Sakamoto’s last two arrangements on the album are actually related to one other, as one is a stage theme and the other is that stage’s boss theme. I think this is a very awesome idea, as he thematically ties them together. The stage theme, “The Dollmaker of Bucuresti,” is probably my favorite Sakamoto remix on the album. Opening with haunting choral tones and neat percussion rhythms to set the atmosphere of the stage, it moves into an upbeat gothic dance tune that really showcases how fun Sakamoto’s remixes can really be. Of particular interest is how the choral tones reappear in line with the beat or how the beat is altered to fit the melody, making for an accentuated sense of power. The boss theme, “Doll Judgment ~ The Girl Who Played with People’s Shapes,” definitely builds upon the gothic nature of the original. In addition, the intriguing rhythms, choral tones, and a more intense version of the techno beat heard of “The Dollmaker of Bucuresti” are kept, really helping to tie them together. The sinister organ is a dominating force for the remix, acting both as a melodic and harmonic addition to the soundtrack. Of course, Sakamoto’s synthesizer work is also worth mentioning, especially when he applies a lot of different pitches and bends into it to give it a bit more textural flavor.

Two members of Supersweep, Kazuhiro Kobayashi, under the alias zunba, and Yousuke Yasui, each contribute a remix to the album as well. Kobayashi’s arrangement, “Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea,” is one of the softer remixes on the album. It’s a beautiful lounge jazz remix with a slight Asian influence that focuses a lot on piano, jazz drums, and wonderful violin harmonies. However, at the same time, some playful xylophone is added to the mix to help brighten the overall mood. I’d definitely love to hear more zunba Touhou remixes. Of course, Yousuke Yasui always delivers as well when it comes to Touhou remixes. His remix of “Nostalgic Blood of the East ~ Old World” is definitely a nod to his love of retro game music. Done in a PC-9801 style, it’s an upbeat and unique rendition of the piano focused original. The playful nature of the original is retained through Yasui’s extremely catchy bass line, and he also simulates the complexity of the piano by using bits and pieces as the harmony, while focusing on the core as the lead melody. It’s a fun, simple, but extremely entertaining remix.

There are also three guest contributors on the album. “Love Colored Master Spark”, remixed by Azu, is definitely one of the most intriguing of the doujin artist remixes on this release. Opening up with an enticing blend of playful woodwinds, elegant piano, intense techno beats, and the occasional brass accents, it really helps bring about the more colorful nature of the Touhou series, especially the copious amounts of colorful bullets during this boss fight. However, as it progresses, it becomes an epic orchestral/electronic hybrid, with a strong focus on brass. The brass harmonies themselves are quite beautiful and go extremely well with the brass and strings lead. There are also some softer tones where magical piano passages are combined with a slower tempo that gradually increases and deep techno beats to create a very exhilarating finish. In the end, this is definitely one of the more exciting mixes on the album and, despite the very chaotic description, manages to work extremely well.

“Crystallized Silver,” arranged by Eru, definitely reminds me of Ryo Watanabe’s original tunes in the Nanosweep EPs stylistically. There are some definitely 1970/80s tones mixed with some catchy house beats. The original melody is retained nicely and I love how the strings really manage to capture a playful atmosphere that goes extremely well with the bright and cheerful accompaniment. It’s not as complex as some of his other techno remixes on other albums, but it’s still a fantastic listen. The last guest doujin artist to be featured is Yuu with a remix of “The Mystery in Your Town.” While it was featured on the last sound sepher release, Yuu’s interpretation is much less intense than Shoichiro Sakamoto’s rendition. It’s a very colorful remix full of beautiful orchestral passages, with particular focus put on piano and woodwinds. However, the most striking addition to this remix is the exquisite addition of electric guitar that really helps accentuate the lush, organic nature of the arrangement.

Takahiro Eguchi, the other member of SuperSweep to feature on the album has the honors of opening and closing the album again, as he did with the last release. While Eguchi’s approach to previous albums has definitely been focused on a harder edge sound for the most part, his remixes on this release are quite ethereal and exquisitely beautiful. The opening theme, a remix of one of the title themes in the game, “Awakening of the Earth Spirits,” is an extremely beautiful remix featuring Satomi Ishikawa on vocals. Elegant and heavenly synthesizer soundscapes dominate the atmospheric portion of this soundtrack, while lush strings, acoustic guitar, and piano help add some beautiful musical texture into the theme. The rhythmic side of this remix can be a bit heavy compared to the stunning beauty of the rest of the mix; however, at the same time, it really helps add a wonderful contrast to the overall atmosphere, yet makes it really work well complementing all the aforementioned elements.

My favorite Takahiro Eguchi arrangement on the album is definitely “The Bridge People No Longer Cross.” This is an exquisite arrangement that reminds me stylistically of a fusion between Takahiro Eguchi and Yasunori Mitsuda. Beautiful Celtic woodwinds, complex percussion accompaniment, a slight industrial beat, some distorted synthesizer, and natural sound effects, such as birds and water, all help elevate the atmosphere of the original into something absolutely mesmerizing. In the end, Eguchi never ceases to amaze me with his diversity and this is a testament to that skill. The album closes with “Returning Home from the Sky ~ Sky Dream,” the most intriguing mix on the album. It’s an electronic focused remix that focuses heavily on distorted, jazzy, and crystalline synthesizer melodic soundscapes, ethereal electronic accompaniments, and fun dance beats. The original melody is a bit lost; however, in the end, I think Eguchi’s attention to electronic texture is what truly makes this arrangement shine. It’s a theme that starts off quite oddly, due to the intriguing electronic distortions and rhythms, but as it progresses, becomes a much more intoxicating blend of music. This is a remix of which Takahiro Eguchi should be very proud because it definitely breaks the mold of many Touhou arrangements.

Summary

In the end, I think that the Touhou Gensou Shiten 6 -Grimoire- release is an improvement over the previous release. The soundscapes are much more diverse, experimental, and successful. Both the guest contributors and members of SuperSweep help create an exhilarating listen from start to finish while touching upon a variety of genres, such as lounge jazz, gothic rock, retro game music, electronica, and fusions thereof. If you have a chance to pick this up, I highly suggest it. Now he has left SuperSweep, I look forward to new Touhou projects from Shoichiro Sakamoto.

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on August 1, 2012.

About the Author

Don Kotowski Currently residing in Philadelphia. I spend my days working in vaccine characterization and dedicate some of my spare time in the evening to the vast world of video game music, both reviewing soundtracks as well as maintaining relationships with composers overseas in Europe and in Japan.

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