Yuki Kajiura

[OtakuSennen]

[color=midnightblue]For those of you who don't know, Yuki Kajiura is a keyboardist/composer who has been a professional musician in Japan since 1993. Her career began when she became part of See-Saw, a trio of singers known for their originality. She has composed nearly the entire OSTs for Noir and the .hack series, along with several video games. Last July she performed in concert without the other two thirds of See-Saw for the first time ever at the Anaheim Anime Expo.

Unfortunately, I woke up an hour late, and was not able to get to the Expo in time to see the concert. I would have killed to get in there, but.. Alas, my internal clock thought otherwise.

Anyway, I would like to analyze Miss Kajiura's most recent album, entitled Fiction. I bought this CD for 12 dollars at Suncoast, and I must say that I've received my money's worth, and then some. This is a truly beautiful album overall, and each song has its own way to add to the impact.

[b]Track 1: Key of the Twilight[/b]-- This isn't.. My favorite song on the CD. It's certainly up there, but not quite the best. The vocals, as is the case with many of the tracks on Fiction, are definitely the strong point. The harmony between the vocalists in some segments are truly beautiful, and exhilirating. The violin segments also heavily add to the beauty of the song.

[b]Track 2: Cynical World[/b]-- I heavily respect the vocalists on this disc. They all have extremely wonderful voices, and 90% of the time they have flawless English. No trace of a Japanese accent to be found, except for in Vanity, but I'll get into that later. The actual lyrics hold a strong meaning, as well.

[b]Track 3: Fake Wings[/b]-- This is, by far, the greatest rendition of Fake Wings I have ever heard. It is also, in my opinion, the greatest song in Fiction. The vocals are much more soft, and calming, but unlike the Fake Wings from the .hack//SIGN OST, they are not the focal point of the piece. The guitar makes up the most moving portion. The crescendos and diminuendos give it a highly dramatic effect. I normally listen to this song repeatedly at midnight when I cannot fall asleep. It's [i]that[/i] calming. Like a sort of romantic lullaby.

[b]Track 4: Fiction[/b]-- Eh. I don't like this song as much. It's still a great piece, as is every song in the album, but something about it doesn't excite me as much as the rest of the tracks. Its bridge is very catchy, but it doesn't seem quite as original as the other tracks, for whatever reason. I tend to skip this one, because it gets caught in my head too easily. And it's not one of those songs i like playing through my head over and over for hours at a time, until it is replaced by Winter or Salva Nos.

[b]Track 5: Vanity[/b]-- This is a good song, particularly the bridge's melody line stands out, but I don't like it quite as much. At one point there's a vocalist who had a rather atrocious Japanese accent. It ruins the track for me.

[b]Track 6: Cante Per Me[/b]-- Yeah. I don't like this song. I tend to skip it. It's just not a particularly outstanding song, and I'm too impatient to listen to the entire CD in one sitting. I always want to get to Winter.

[b]Track 7: Zodiacal Sign[/b]-- This song.. Is probably the the most techno-oriented song on the disc. For a long while this was my favorite track, but I ended up preferring the slower, more vocally based songs. I still listen to this one, though. It is a truly enjoyable song, with a rather trance-like undertone, to an extent.

[b]Track 8: Awakening[/b]-- When I was writing this post I looked at the back of the CD case, saw "Awakening", and realised I didn't know this song existed. I listened to it, and then remembered why. It's not a great song. It's rather dull. Nothing else to say, in my opinion.

[b]Track 9: Open Your Heart[/b]-- ..Eh. It's an enjoyable song, though the lyrics are sort of cheap and repetitive. That's not the real focus of the piece, though. The harmonizing between the vocalists is the big thing. It emenates a hopeful, peaceful aura from the song. It seems sort of.. Holy, in a way. I'm reminded of a hand reaching out to a lost, forlorn spirit.

[b]Track 10: Winter[/b]-- I utterly love this song. There's not a thing about it that makes me dislike it to the slightest degree. The lyrics, the vocals, the guitar-- It all works together to make an utterly beautiful song. The lyrics remind me of a person I know.. Deb Lyons made a stunning performance as the vocalist for this song. She has an amazing voice. This is, without a doubt, my favorite song on Fiction.

[b]Track 11: Salva Nos[/b]-- Salva Nos is a great finisher for this album. Moving, operatic vocals are the focus here. My favorite portion is when the Tokyo Konsei joins in, which makes the track sound very important, and forceful. This is another song I love.

So, if you have any comments about Kajiura or any of her songs, feel free to post them here.[/color]

[Japan]

I really enjoy Noir and .hack//sign music. My favorite songs would have to be Key of the Twilight and Awakening. I haven't gotten the chance to listen to those other songs. See saw is a good band. Next time I get the chance, I will have to try and find that album.