New Origa release

[Crispain]

Hi everyone 
I've just received an email from cdjapan with the following info

Aurora - Origa
Catalog No.: RSCR-1006
Format: CD
Number of discs (or other units): 1
Release Date: 2005/10/05

Do anyone know something else about it?

[kacper]

I was expecting this cause of the new website design, and am very happy and excited about it!

Dont know any details though.

[Crispain]

I think there's additional info into the japan page at cdjapan, could some japanese reader tell us what it's about please? ... thaaanks  :

[josh]

Origa - it's been 2 years after the original album that release "Poljushko Pole", "Karianka", and other Russian folk songs as well as collaborations, all that culminates to a reinvented Origa. The nostalgic and fantastic voice of Origa is whole, majestic, and it's strong in its beautiful warmth. There are 10 tracks on the new CD, 2 of which are in Japanese.

(basically that's what I make out... I obviously edited it to a looser translation. If someone cares to correct me, feel free...)

[kacper]

only 10?

[Crispain]

Thanks Josh 

[kacper]

(http://www.r-s.co.jp/origa/index.html)

Samples are in the discography section: AURORA fcking RAWKS.
And I really like the Polyushko Pole mix on thsi album as well.
Grey Archangel I think our prayers have reached the right people. :x

[josh]

Oh ok - now it makes more sense (sometimes Japanese is a little difficult to translate in English terms...)

What they were saying was that it's been 2 years since "Era of Queens" was released, and that on the new album there would be Polyushko-pole, Kalinka, and some other folk songs as well as collaborations with other people (Yoko Kanno perhaps? That'd be nice....... lol)

I'm curious as to if this is yet again the same Polyushko that she continually releases over and over. The only different one was on Eien (the 'eien' mix which was really a demo...). I hope that this is at least a rerecording.

As for Mona Lisa - is Origa doing a jazz standard?! This should be interesting if it's the same song I'm thinking of. (Donna Burke does a nice cover of it... just throwing that out there)

The cover looks very pretty, though at second glance it looks like her hair will attack you at any given moment because it's alive! hehe

________________________________________________


Also - on her website it says she's having a concert with several others involved in Russian music on the 28th of August (2 days from now) and it will be broadcast on TV on the Asahi National Broadcasting Company in September in Japan. The air dates are set tentatively for September 25th at 9 in the morning, and September 28th at 9 at night. I really hope someone can tape this in Japan... [hint hint]

[kacper]

Hopefully that concert appears on winny/share, so I can leech. :x

[josh]

Oh my god. I just listened to the sound samples. "Aurora" is something that the Era of Queens album *wished* it had. That song is so beautiful. I can't wait!

I'm not too fond of the remix of "Poljushko-Pole" however. Maybe it'll grow on me...

--
And yeah, I really hope someone does record the concert. I'd do it myself, but um, there's that lack of me being in Japan heh.

[Crispain]

I'll say it again...! wooooow 

Thanks Kacper

[mike_s_6]

Wow, I wished Kanno is in there somewhere, I LOOOOOVE ORIGA.

[Blackmago]

wesome news..
origa mazes me.all time..
darnit i dont have real player here T_T

[roger343]

Must have it

[Crispain]

I wonder how was that concert. I can't find nothing at google... 

[hokidoki]

origa is the bezz

[roxfan]

The concert happened in Novosibirsk in the club called "Rock City" on August 25, 21:00. The club's capacity is about 350 people. Reportedly the percentage of otaku was pretty small, and most people only knew her as "a guest from Japan".

Some photos from the concert:
http://sites.noolab.ru/jgop/concert.php
Interview (apparently with a guy from some Russian anime magazine):
http://sites.noolab.ru/jgop/interview.php
I think the boy in photos is Origa's son.

The announcement from the club mentions that Aurora is written, arranged and produced by Origa herself. Not sure how reliable this info is, considering that they say "she writes music for popular cartoons, some of them are even available in Russia (Stand alone compex)".

I will try to get some more info from the people who've actually been there.

[Blackmago]

thank u roxfan for those russian skills.....the pics are awesome!
but she looks different..now...hehe
who cares..the voice is the most important..its strange than the amount of otaku fans were so small...wonder why
she must be very famous in her country
andyes it would be great to know the info about the interview

[Neo[Hawaii]]

AAAh  Dimanche from era of queens is used in a italian tv spot , i dont remember what.

[Crispain]

Thanks so much Roxfan for the reply... 

[bossu!]

Wow. Origa looks so, I dunno, suburban mom-ish?

Seriously, she's still a lovely woman. But the glasses and the clothing add a "Clark Kent" effect to her. I probably wouldn't give her a first glance, if she wore that outfit, those glasses and walked down a busy sidewalk with her son.

Still, what an amazing set of pipes this woman has.

[oluwafadekemi]

Wow. Origa looks so, I dunno, suburban mom-ish?

That's it! I was trying to think of some words that described what she looks like there, and those are the ones!

I haven't really heard much by Origa, but "Inner Universe" is one of my favorite songs ever, so I think I'll look into her music some more.

[roger343]

It's really worth it, believe me!
Though I prefer Yoko Takahashi-san's Ware ga Kokoro no Maria instead of Origa's Waga Kokoro no Maria.

[kacper]

Some photos from the concert:
http://sites.noolab.ru/jgop/concert.php
Interview (apparently with a guy from some Russian anime magazine):
http://sites.noolab.ru/jgop/interview.php

She looks friggin great in those pictures! I wonder what happened during that concert thats going to air...

*searches for the site again*

edit:
http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/daimei/html/onair/index.html
What happened there?  : (unless the pic is from some completely different concert, which is rather unlikely...)
bad hairdo, bad makeup, bad dress. BAD.

[Crispain]

 

*cough... we need a japanese reader*

[Blackmago]

Some photos from the concert:
http://sites.noolab.ru/jgop/concert.php
Interview (apparently with a guy from some Russian anime magazine):
http://sites.noolab.ru/jgop/interview.php

She looks friggin great in those pictures! I wonder what happened during that concert thats going to air...

*searches for the site again*

edit:
http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/daimei/html/onair/index.html
What happened there?  : (unless the pic is from some completely different concert, which is rather unlikely...)
bad hairdo, bad makeup, bad dress. BAD.

haha i dont have any idea
but ...yess
YES
Origa looks like so 80's or something
or i dunno like those cheerleaders girls.. waahh
terrible >_-

[roger343]

The 80's are coming back!

[Crispain]

buah... I pre-ordered the album at cdjapan, but I received an email telling me that it's at shortage... 
maybe the sales were better than expected

i can't wait...

[kacper]

OKAY, listening to the album. It PWNS so far. Im pretty sure by the time it ends its going to be my favorite album now, beating illusia to the #1 spot.

total lenght: 45minutes. only two tracks are under 4 minutes.



Heres my ratings:
(* means lyrics in japanese, + english)

Aurora 4.5
* Chance 4.5
Promise 4.5
Kalinka 3.5
Polyushko-pole (Aurora Version) 4.5
* Asa ni michite 3
Don't let me go 4
+ Aney, unborn child 4
Shine, my star 4
Mona Lisa 4

I rated those tracks after the 3rd listen so I dont think they will change, and a few comments:

The new Polyushka Pole will most likely not be liked by everybody, its a completely different approach to the song from both instrumental and vocal sides - the result is in my humble opinion very successful and just as good as the previous versions we know.
Id probably give Aurora and Kalinka 0.5 more, but that dude(or dudes?) was an unncecesary vocalist on both of them. I cant say he ruins the tracks, but he sure as hell doesnt make them any better. I really feel bad about giving Kalinka less than a 4, because the final 90 seconds with all those vocals give me an eargasm.
Asa ni michite, "3" because its just boring - its proper, its well sung, but thats it - not interesting at all.

Favorite of the bunch: Promise.

All in all, a SOLID album, Id give it a very strong 4 out of 5. I forgive (and forget she ever made) Era of Queens.

[josh]

Let me start off with my favorite 3 songs of the album:

"Aurora" is combining everything that Era of Queens attempted but failed at because of irregular breaks. (Like how the chorus of "Diva" was good, but the rest of the song fell flat). It's a very otherworldly piece. Granted, the male singer could've been cut out, or just given less of a part in the bridge, but overall it's very good song, and worthy of being a title track.

"Promise" has awesome flamenco, and it's like her old style meets her new. It's wonderful.

"Shine My Star" has electronica in it, but unlike the rest of the album, it doesn't overwhelm her beautiful voice. And she sounds very sure on this song. And that flute. God, it's just amazing.

*"Mona Lisa", I'm not sure what at all this has to do with the painting. But it's pretty catchy, and the feeling of the song isn't claustrophobic at all. Actually, it's very free and makes me think of standing on top of a windy hill.

And what I think will grow on me:
*Polyushko-Pole (I like how parts of it go, but mostly not)
*Asa ni Michite (the strings for the bass are nice)

But it seems kacper, that once again, we are on such opposites. Despite what it's got going for it, there are obvious flaws.

I love Origa. Her vocals are unique, and breathtaking. This album however, is beneath her, in that it’s largely uninspiring, it mimicked too much of what we've heard millions of times in the world music department, - and that random rapper in "Kalinka" was crap. I'm sorry. I feel bad for saying this, but just because I like an artist doesn't mean I'm going to lie. I don't really have standards for musicians as long as you can tell these was a genuine effort involved, but I feel like at least half of this album was either rushed, or there wasn't any real thought.

Now, the remaining songs…… I've listened to this album several times over the past few days. I think my major problem with this CD is that it's fallen into this trap of 'standard exotic music', and I felt like I was listening to one of those bad infomercials that advertises mixes of Enigma. Another issue with this is the overt use of the same repetitive rhythm, and it entirely overshadows the moments of brilliance, which is very unfortunate. & the guy, whoever he is, works on “Aurora”, but not at all on “Kalinka”. That rapper just...what the hell?

I'm fairly sure this is good music for not paying attention, but even in the car I was honestly rather bored with several of these. The singing, however, was very well done. But it seemed as though on a majority of these songs that she felt very insecure, and I can’t get over the rhythms being pretty much the same.

I'm going to give it more time, I mean, I was rather dissapointed initially with Heather Nova's "Redbird", also released this year, but now I enjoy a rather good portion of it. However, I'm not going to hide the fact that I do feel somewhat let down at this point.  : But I'm glad that other people are enjoying it. Just sharing my opinions, I guess...

edit: Does anyone know if she's going to release a single from this? And did anyone see that concert she had?