Reprise 7/11/12!!!!!!!

Helkär

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flowersofnight wrote:
The CD was released under a new label called "Maglaia" but no one's exactly sure what the whole story is yet.
Thank you for clarifying. I was rather confused because CDjapan still wrote Midi:Nette as label. Hope we'll learn what happened, since Mon amour is closed and Midi:Nette disappeared. Hope he didn't go bankrupt and had to close everything...
 

DarkestRafflesia

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DSCN0008.jpg


Framed the back and slip piece today :D
 

Phantom Pabulum

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^ Nice lol.

I think I figured out why Mana didn't cover monophobia. I realized that most of the tracks on reprise that have real violin and women singers are in the original key (like Nocturnal Romance). Monophobia is probably out of Seth's range and since the original is so heavily dependent on the soprano vocals and the real violins, he probably left them out because he didn't want to replace them with other stuff.

Also I take back everything I said about Solitude. It is the second best track on the album, IMO, after Je L'aime.
 

Helkär

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Phantom Pabulum wrote:
^ Nice lol.

I think I figured out why Mana didn't cover monophobia. I realized that most of the tracks on reprise that have real violin and women singers are in the original key (like Nocturnal Romance). Monophobia is probably out of Seth's range and since the original is so heavily dependent on the soprano vocals and the real violins, he probably left them out because he didn't want to replace them with other stuff.

From what I remember, the tracks on Reprise where chosen by fans, Mana asked through his blog which songs they would like to see remade, limiting requests to 1 song per person.
So I don't really think the real violins and soprano vocals are the reason why he left out monophobia, since he remade Vestige, which is even more based on them.

Plus he simply left the original recordings of violin and soprano vocals in all Nocturnal Opera songs: the Prophet, Vestige, Nocturnal Romance, and re-recorded the other instruments... That's why these songs are identical to the original ones, except for Seth's voice. Re-recording vocals and hiring again Youko Takai to do the vocals would be too expesive :grin:


As for my opinion on the album, I really enjoyed the remakes of Dix infernal songs, who where really improved. Shame that Mana didn't re-write the drum parts, he wasn't really skilled in writing drum patterns back then, but really improved in later works (or maybe let Hayato contribute..). I find Seth totally suitable for these songs.
While Nocturnal Opera songs' remakes are completely useless, as I said, identical to the originals.
"Je l'aime", on the other hand, is an ok song. Great composition... maybe a little "too much", as it changes tone/rhythm too often and somewhat lose its balance. But I see it as a bonus track on a compilation album, so it's more than good.
So "Reprise" is half very good and half useless, but I guess it's ok for a "compilation" album made to celebrate the project's anniversary.
 

Phantom Pabulum

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Helkär wrote:
Phantom Pabulum wrote:
^ Nice lol.

I think I figured out why Mana didn't cover monophobia. I realized that most of the tracks on reprise that have real violin and women singers are in the original key (like Nocturnal Romance). Monophobia is probably out of Seth's range and since the original is so heavily dependent on the soprano vocals and the real violins, he probably left them out because he didn't want to replace them with other stuff.

From what I remember, the tracks on Reprise where chosen by fans, Mana asked through his blog which songs they would like to see remade, limiting requests to 1 song per person.
So I don't really think the real violins and soprano vocals are the reason why he left out monophobia, since he remade Vestige, which is even more based on them.

Plus he simply left the original recordings of violin and soprano vocals in all Nocturnal Opera songs: the Prophet, Vestige, Nocturnal Romance, and re-recorded the other instruments... That's why these songs are identical to the original ones, except for Seth's voice. Re-recording vocals and hiring again Youko Takai to do the vocals would be too expesive :grin:


Nah, I really think that's not the case. It's really strange that all the Nocturnal Opera recordings are kept in the same key whilst the pitch from some of the songs from DIX INFERNAL are shifted. Obviously it would be cheap and viable just to use VSTs (virtual instruments) to "re record" the other instruments. There are no real instruments in the songs from DIX INFERNAL (except for vocals, guitar etc). If you pitch shift actual recordings of violin and vocals it could sound really awful. Obviously Mana was on a budget here and I think he chose the songs according to his financial constraints rather than that fan thing that you mentioned above.
 

Berserk

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I'm glad you brought this up, Phantom, because I actually didn't notice that Mana had transposed anything to accommodate Seth's different vocal range. I just did a side-by-side comparison though, and the only track that I'm hearing a key change in is Solitude, which makes sense because so much of that song is originally sung in the upper register and in falsetto. I would have thought that Dialogue Symphonie would have been among the songs Mana transposed, because it also has some falsetto that Seth impressively but barely pulls off--but alas, it is in the same exact key as the original.

I was skeptical that Monophobia would pose any difficulty for Seth to sing in the original key, because it has no falsetto like Dialogue Symphonie does (yet he sings DS fine in its original key). But the "Break a spell" parts of Monophobia are in about the same range as the higher parts of Solitude (minus the falsetto), so it's plausible that if Mana wasn't satisfied with Seth's singing in Solitude's original key maybe he wasn't with Seth's singing in Monophobia's original key either.

However, even in the original track there is one iteration of the "break a spell" section where Juka sits it out and the singing is left to the "choir". If this section were the only problematic one for Seth to sing, why not just let him sit it out every time?

So I'm still skeptical that this is really the reason Monophobia wasn't included, but it's a sensible theory.

And Helkär is right, that it was supposed to be based on fan votes. If Monophobia were highly requested, why wouldn't Mana have tried to come up with a solution like the simple one I came up with?

My original theory for why it was left out is that it's such a personal, sentimental song, maybe Mana didn't feel that it was appropriate for reinterpretation/tinkering, or was afraid that reinterpreting it would diminish it. I think that's a plausible theory too.

EDIT: Another problem with your theory, Phantom, is that Vestige seems to get as high-pitched as Monophobia. Seth is kind of straining to pull it off, but he does it.
 

yun

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^who said Monophobia was requested by a lot of fan? Maybe people just asked for other songs and that's simply why it's not on Reprise....
 

Helkär

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Berserk wrote:
I'm glad you brought this up, Phantom, because I actually didn't notice that Mana had transposed anything to accommodate Seth's different vocal range. I just did a side-by-side comparison though, and the only track that I'm hearing a key change in is Solitude, which makes sense because so much of that song is originally sung in the upper register and in falsetto. I would have thought that Dialogue Symphonie would have been among the songs Mana transposed, because it also has some falsetto that Seth impressively but barely pulls off--but alas, it is in the same exact key as the original.

I was skeptical that Monophobia would pose any difficulty for Seth to sing in the original key, because it has no falsetto like Dialogue Symphonie does (yet he sings DS fine in its original key). But the "Break a spell" parts of Monophobia are in about the same range as the higher parts of Solitude (minus the falsetto), so it's plausible that if Mana wasn't satisfied with Seth's singing in Solitude's original key maybe he wasn't with Seth's singing in Monophobia's original key either.

However, even in the original track there is one iteration of the "break a spell" section where Juka sits it out and the singing is left to the "choir". If this section were the only problematic one for Seth to sing, why not just let him sit it out every time?

So I'm still skeptical that this is really the reason Monophobia wasn't included, but it's a sensible theory.

And Helkär is right, that it was supposed to be based on fan votes. If Monophobia were highly requested, why wouldn't Mana have tried to come up with a solution like the simple one I came up with?

My original theory for why it was left out is that it's such a personal, sentimental song, maybe Mana didn't feel that it was appropriate for reinterpretation/tinkering, or was afraid that reinterpreting it would diminish it. I think that's a plausible theory too.

EDIT: Another problem with your theory, Phantom, is that Vestige seems to get as high-pitched as Monophobia. Seth is kind of straining to pull it off, but he does it.

I really don't get how monophobia is such an important song it must have been included in an album of remakes, and if it isn't there, then there should be a major issue with it.
Why not include Vizard, which is a song that Moi dix Mois performed since the first concerts and that is still performed today with Seth (at V-rock fest for example), looks like Mana likes to perform Vizard a lot. Or Shadows Temple? It's the only missing single from the "Juka era".

I also think that if Mana wants to do something, musically, it's not a minor issue with the pitch that will stop him, in studio he would have made Seth sing it no matter what. Ok "neo pessimist" sucked with the lowered vocal parts, but I can't believe Seth would be SO bad at singing monophobia that he will be totally unable to record it.

But anyway Phantom's observation on the pitch shifting is interesting and I will check the remakes more carefully.
Anyway if it was officially stated that the songs were chosen by fans, I still tend to believe that.
 

Berserk

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It's possible that not enough fans voted for Monophobia, I just think that's strange because it's such a great song.
 

Phantom Pabulum

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Yeah, I guess I could very possibly well be wrong about this since I didn't listen to the other songs carefully enough. I'll listen to it again and figure this out.
 

yun

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I can't remember if it has been mention before but I just realize that K is wearing a Mother of Life pendant on the poster that came with Reprise O_o

Also on the poster instead of the label Midi:nette you can find Neowing (that's cd japan). I understand why midi:nette disappear but why would cdjapan print the poster instead of maglaia?
 

voixdinferno

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yeah! :D K is wearing a Mother of Life! and, I am sure when Mana release his biography, finally we can know what's about Maglaia, Midi:Nette, What happens to Itoh san (My Japanese friends told me that in all the lives there's no presence of she).

...and a lots of -> 腐腐腐・・・
 

Helkär

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yun wrote:
I can't remember if it has been mention before but I just realize that K is wearing a Mother of Life pendant on the poster that came with Reprise O_o

Also on the poster instead of the label Midi:nette you can find Neowing (that's cd japan). I understand why midi:nette disappear but why would cdjapan print the poster instead of maglaia?
I didn't receive the poster with Reprise, but I bought the last Kaya single from them and it had a signed photo as bonus, with the Neowing logo as well. I don't know, I suppose that if a release doesn't come with a bonus from the artist their policy is to add one anyway.

voixdinferno wrote:
yeah! :D K is wearing a Mother of Life! and, I am sure when Mana release his biography, finally we can know what's about Maglaia, Midi:Nette, What happens to Itoh san (My Japanese friends told me that in all the lives there's no presence of she).
Indeed, even if I tend to think the answer may be simple. If you don't have enough money to keep a company running, you close it. And if you want to keep working in the same business, you open a smaller company with another name, and run it by yourself (maybe not alone but with less employers) cutting all expenses.
 
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