Maaya Sakamoto: Kazeyomi Review (Triangler, Ao no Ether)
Since this is a Kanno fanblog, I’ll be reviewing only the tracks related to her, but here I’d refer you to some sites that have reviewed all songs:
Heart Station
aitaiyo @ wintersymphony LJ community
Overall, this is a very beautiful album, Maaya’s voice does not fail to deliver that sweet, smooth, beautiful consistency that her voice is known for. Triangler did not have any new arrangement to my dismay. I was hoping to hear how it was delivered with only a piano accompaniment in the Macross F concerts. I surprisingly loved Ao no Ether‘s new arrangement, which sounds completely devoid of post-processing. Maaya’s voice sounds raw, powerful, and moved me more than Megumi’s delivery. The vocal delivery and the sad rearrangement of the piano melody lent themselves to make this a more emotive piece. The favorite of mine although not Kanno’s, would be Vento, for its haunting melody, arrangement, and the harmonic layering of Maaya’s voice.
Here’s a short low quality sample of Ao no Ether:
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January 15th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
First off, welcome back!
Listening to Maaya’s version of Ao no ether, I feel like I’m looking at a painting where everyone can see its greatness and I can’t. I’m not so fond of this version truth to be told.
She sounds like 12, and while I liked how she played with the melody, I think I felt the blue journey more when I listened to Megumi. ^^ It’s probably because Megumi’s timber and delivery sounded more haunting…to me atleast. I heard the full version too. My opinion didn’t change unfortunately.
But. I did feel ‘magic’ when I listened to Vento. It’s like angels whispering in your ears.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Thank you!
To be fair to Maaya’s Blue Ether, they didn’t put any special effects on her voice, which I could not vouch for in Megumi’s recording. I understand how the absence of effects on Maaya’s voice, plus the removal of the full orchestra, would take from the overall atmosphere of the song, but I just imagine that Maaya is actually standing beside me, singing without any studio reverbs/echoes and such, and it immediately becomes a winner.
By the way, if anyone could make piano score for this version of Ao no Ether, please do!!! It’s a bit darker than the original, for sure.
January 15th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
In one of the interviews Maaya’s given about the recording of Ao no Ether it seems like she had a bit of trouble with it because it was a cover song. Even though she’d written the lyrics it had been for someone else (Ranka/Megumi) and she had quite a hard time getting into it:
“It was a song I wrote on Kanno-san’s request for Nakajima Megumi-san. This was a piece made for an anime soundtrack but because the lyrics were something I wrote while putting a lot of my own feelings into when I’d written the song I spoke to Kanno-san; “If it’s ok, I wonder if it would be fine for me to sing this?”. However, when it came to trying to sing it, I found how difficult the recording a cover song is. No matter if I wrote the lyrics myself, the truth is that singing a song written for someone else is something so difficult it’s hard to explain in words. It’s recorded together with Kanno-san’s and after the first take it was like a feeling of “ We’re going to be here all night” (not sure of the translation of that). From the start, I thought it was strange “Why is this?”. However, after doing it many times I understood: it’s just that a cover is really difficult (laugh).”
One phrase I’m not sure of but I guess that’s the general feeling.
January 15th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Interesting, thank you very much for the tidbit! So it was Maaya who initiated the cover, I think she did well
I suppose it was a bit hard because you’ll get compared to the original? 
January 15th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
The new Ao no Ether sounds like a totally different song, even if i know that is the same.
Maaya is unique.
January 16th, 2009 at 12:09 am
I really like Maaya’s cover. I have to admit, I was not impressed after hearing only the 30 sec sample clip. But my opinion changed after hearing the full version. I really like that her cover only has Kanno playing the piano in the background. It really emphasizes Maaya’s beautiful voice. It’s almost like her singing a cappella, which I love.
January 16th, 2009 at 4:09 am
I like her Ao no Ether too, but you can really hear she had troubles with it…sometimes the tune is not completly right and these kind of things disturb me a lot when I listen to it(problem with many Maaya songs unfortunatly U_U)… cause I wonder why they didn’t tune it with the software, there are just small things so they could do it(it’s even common). Or is it already tuned and they couldn’t make it any better<_<.
January 16th, 2009 at 10:49 am
@Goliath – I didn’t think she was out of tune, if you’re talking about the last note of some of the lines like “sayonara ja nakute”, I think that was a melodic change. Even the piano was changed to have a minor key (I think, cause it sounds more somber).
January 17th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Just listened to Ao no Eter… Wonderful… I liked it way more than the original (weirdly enough, since Ai Oboete Imasu Ka ~Bless the Little Queen~ is one of my top ten songs all-time)
As for the other songs (apart of triangler which is nothin’ new…) It’s just another JPop album (not meaning that’s bad, either)… I’m just wondering… who composed Vento?…
January 17th, 2009 at 7:03 am
“Aoi no Ether” was totally what I was hoping for. As soon as I saw the credits for that episode I wanted to hear Maaya sing it. It is my favorite track on the album. GORGEOUS. Megumi Nakajima’s version is also good as well. I read her comment too and the lyrics do go with MFrontier and Ranka-chan. But it still gave me a nostalgic feeling of “Call my name” back in the day o_o
If I didn’t know I would have though VENTO was by Yoko Kanno. It sounded like it was outta the Escaflowne soundtrack or maybe Arjuna soundtrack.
January 17th, 2009 at 7:06 am
@Kirby – the composer is Mina Kubota, she’s actually being described in some sites as “post-Yoko Kanno”.
January 17th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Winamp skipped songs xD… I must say that Peanuts and Saigo no Kajitsu are very good too…
@mai – Thanks for the info… and by the way… is there an official version of why does kanno/sakamoto stopped collaborating?
January 17th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
You know what, no, at least none that I have heard of. But people keep guessing, and I’m satisfied with, perhaps Maaya got immersed in working with different artists in Les Miserables, and decided to work with them more. I think it’s actually beneficial for Maaya to step out and work with other artists
January 17th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I think people freaked out about it but it was nothing so sinister, Maaya just wanted to grow as an artist. Old interview but here you go:
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/anime/essentials/maaya_sakamoto/#interview
January 17th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Thanks for the link! (And it’s in English too *phew*)
January 17th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Thanks for the link too, I love reading that
I’m glad she was trying new things – at the same time I’m also glad that she said she’s going to work with Kanno again in the future xD (Well this would be the future, wouldn’t it… haha, since she’s already sung Triangler and all. Want moar.)
January 20th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
this new album is great. i think maaya’s shown Kanno some positive growth with this album, don’t ‘cha think?
I was stuck listening to this album’s version of “Kazemachi Jet” on loop for a few days. i just left it on an infinite repeat XD
then… i finally got around to listening Aoi no Ether. the first image that came into my mind was maaya telling megumi, “this is how it’s done!”
ok, i’m biased, but maaya did a great job on the song.
Sonic Boom was not bad too. and they sure picked a good song in “Vento” to start off the album.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
This version of Kazemachi Jet also grew on me so much, I also had it on loop!
January 21st, 2009 at 1:47 am
From the Oricon thread at Jpopmusic.com Kazeyomi sells 36,061 first week and lands in at no.3 on the weeklies.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Random, but Gubaba at Macrossworld forums posted this in their MF news thread:
“Hmmm…that’s strange. Maaya Sakamoto’s new album opens with a vocal version of Frontier BGM, and it also has her (exquisite) version of “Blue Aether.” And of course, it has “Triangler” on it.”
Vento isn’t the Frontier BGM is it? (I have no idea, my copy is out in the world somewhere in transit) But it’s got no credits to it’s composition that would suggest as such….? No one else seems to have said anything so I’m not sure…….doubtful. Anyone who has heard it care to elaborate? I’m not sure even how the Frontier BGM would sound as a vocal track XD
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 am
Gubaba must have made a mistake about it, that’s the only explanation