Akiko Shikata

grunty

I have reached Yuki nirvana
Since she has a new single coming out in under 2 weeks I figured I might as well start a topic on the so called "one big Yuki Imitator."*

*Quote source: link (editors note: load of crap)

For those who don't know who Akiko Shikata is, she:
  • has released 3 retail albums (Navigatoria, RAKA, Harmonia)
  • is responsible for Umineko no Naku Koro ni (game and anime) opening themes
  • is responsible for a quarter of the Ar Tonelico game series hymmnos
  • is releasing independent stuff (often music box arranges) under VAGRANCY name

Upcoming single:
 
To not get the first thread messy, I think Inori no Kanata is pretty blah (while pretty, it seems like it could be a rejected Ar Tonelico hymmn) but I am already in love with the bishie game theme (3rd track).
 
Akiko is a goddess,my current favorite artist.(last.fm says so :uh..: )
My favorite album by her is Raka,the first Ar Tonelico hymmns,and her orgel Kara Kola Hymmnos orgel collection and Petit Fours.I loved her orgels first,and then her other songs grew in me.
I love so many songs by her :dote:
I agree with you about Inori no Kanata.
I ripped the mp3 from another video if anyone wants it..
 
I know of her for ages. When i actually cared to listen her music i was not particularly impressed but i guess it still makes me happy and exited whenever i hear she's planing new release.
Last.fm says shes my top 32nd but in my personal opinion... voice wise i think prefer the crackines Alieson and Rokugen Alice gives me (though i do think shes amazing for recoding most of (wait was that all?) the vocals by herself)
As for BGM vise... well its hard to compare her to anyone... lets just say i prefer Kajiura Yuki, Iwasaki Taku, Kawai Kenji, Hirasawa Susumu and Ryou Kunihito combination over her.

So yeah not particularly impressed, but definitely the upper half of my liked artists.
 
I see.At start i couldn't get used to her vocals either.And,even though i adore her music,she isn't on my top vocalists out there.
I wonder what's chibi's username on last.fm :)
 
I got addicted to her music recently.

Yeah her vocals are a bit strange but her instrumentation and chorus are quite interesting

And all those languages that she uses in her songs :nosebleed:
 
Re:

I knew her in 2007, and got addicted to her music very much! <3

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Chibi-Chibi said:
definitely the upper half of my liked artists.
I agree. she used to be my top 8 before I reset my last.fm, and i had more play counts before i got a last.fm account XD

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@Lunaria~ check my friends, she's the one with Wakana's avatar from Lacrimosa :3

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@the one who said she's Yuki's imitator: you're seriously uncool.
 
She's quite a lovely singer, and definitely has some strong vocals there. :sohappy:

I'd die happily if there was a collaboration between Kajiura and Shikata Akiko. :nosebleed:
 
i heard her on ar tonelico first, and then got some of her albums but i think i should listen to it more because most of that didn't really stick with me :XD:

expressive hill is my favorite by far~ <3

inori no kanata is epic as usual :3 the detailed melodies are really catchy~ but i think in terms of epicnes so far nothing can compress to expressive hill XD
 
Re: Re:

kosmoflips said:
I knew her in 2007, and got addicted to her music very much! <3

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Chibi-Chibi said:
definitely the upper half of my liked artists.
I agree. she used to be my top 8 before I reset my last.fm, and i had more play counts before i got a last.fm account XD

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@Lunaria~ check my friends, she's the one with Wakana's avatar from Lacrimosa :3

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@the one who said she's Yuki's imitator: you're seriously uncool.

Thank you :dote: I'll see if i can add.
Yeah you have way more plays of Akiko in the past,before you restart and start your marathons :XD:

My favorite songs by Akiko..hmm..it would be hard to pick a few but
謳う丘 ~Harmonics EOLIA~
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfMLhTCjVIQ[/youtube]
And the orgel version
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peEU5Cn8pqc[/youtube]
Terpsichora
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awMHWGQbSE8[/youtube]
VII
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZTr-WbGtno[/youtube]
EXEC_CHRONICLE_KEY/.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PEmZdiFjwY[/youtube]
Notte (i like the intro more that the song itself actually :XD: )
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4JRFN2Kbbs[/youtube]
And of course(didn't find in youtube) http://www.mediafire.com/file/g1nzm3ky2gm/06. 埋火.mp3 :hearts:

Yeah i know she sounds so much like Yuki... :desksweat: NOT
 
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Lunaria77 said:
Yeah i know she sounds so much like Yuki... :desksweat: NOT
I think Akiko's music is obviously in a different style from Yuki's.

the only song I felt a bit like Akiko's style, is KOKIA's "Road to Glory", the introduction part. XD
 
Yuki's 'imitator'? Never 'imitator'. Akiko is influenced by Yuki. This is GOOD news for Yuki! Influencing other people is one of the greatest honours than any creative artist can incur.
 
Why you keep bringing this up people?Seriously were are the influences? I do not see any resemblance at all.On the style,arrangement,or whatever.
 
From Europe perspective

yuki is infuenced by classical music (mostly Baroque, romanticism on onwars)

Akiko is influenced by some renacentist classical music But more strongly influenced by Celtic one. Mostly ireland and Bretagne one I think.

Maybe my opinion is not the most correct one but I think I have an idea about celtic and Classical Europe music.
 
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SpicaShining said:
Yuki's 'imitator'? Never 'imitator'. Akiko is influenced by Yuki. This is GOOD news for Yuki! Influencing other people is one of the greatest honours than any creative artist can incur.

how did you know that? any proof?

as far as what I know (may be limited), Akiko has never mentioned Yuki and other else in her blog, liner notes, etc.

and I've said, Akiko's music is obviously different from Yuki's music.

if she got influence from Yuki, I don't believe that there's nothing similar in the two's music.

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btw, luna, it will take time to load your youtube videos :uh..:
 
There isn't really MUCH of Yuki in Akiko's music. I'm thinking pretty much solely of the Umineko anime opening theme. I'm not sure if I hear it because I have training in picking up on this sort of thing, or because I'm insane (you should know that this is always a distinct possibility with me because I genuinely do draw comparisons and analogies almost to the point of psychosis) or what.

The Celtic/Brittany influences are definitely more redolent in Akiko's stuff than in Yuki's, whereas Yuki goes in almost a Dvorak or Ravel direction sometimes. But saying that there's NO cross-pollination strikes me as a little disingenuous, if nothing else because of the relative lack of neoclassical composition (I mean neoclassical as opposed to incorporating folk themes, pace Kou Ootani, or just being eclectic for the sake of eclectic, pace Yoko Kanno and honestly sometimes Yuki as well) in Japan as compared to some other countries (I'm thinking here specifically of the Celtic and Nordic countries).

Also, for somebody who allegedly doesn't have a lot of Celtic influence, Yuki uses a hell of a lot of uilleann pipes.
 
Re:

SpicaShining said:
There isn't really MUCH of Yuki in Akiko's music. I'm thinking pretty much solely of the Umineko anime opening theme. I'm not sure if I hear it because I have training in picking up on this sort of thing, or because I'm insane (you should know that this is always a distinct possibility with me because I genuinely do draw comparisons and analogies almost to the point of psychosis) or what.

Oh ok i understand now,it makes sence.Others here have also ''training'' in this kind of thing i guess,and no i wouldn't believe you are insane just because of that.May i ask you if there is some song of Yuki's collection in particular that you find more (kinda) similar to Umineko?

Still,in my opinion,it's bit too much to say Akiko was influenced by Yuki,with nothing to cut from any of both in value or quality. I am sure she had pretty different influences in her music rather than Kajiura,much greater musicians(historically wise).
You know,only because we think she's is wonderful,i doubt that everyone in Japan or not thinks the same,and that other artists would copy her like that.
But let's end this here because i think that it was a nice thread about Akiko and a silly joke turned it into a debate( my fault partially.)

P.S.Btw,I love them both equally for different reasons.
:tea:
 
Re: Re:

it's good if an artist is influenced by another one who you like, but it's also good to hear that an artist makes excellent music without any influence. XD

Lunaria77 said:
Btw,I love them both equally for different reasons.
:tea:
I agree. I'm just not in the mode of listening to much of Yuki's music currently. :tea:
 
Re: Re:

Lunaria77 said:
SpicaShining said:
There isn't really MUCH of Yuki in Akiko's music. I'm thinking pretty much solely of the Umineko anime opening theme. I'm not sure if I hear it because I have training in picking up on this sort of thing, or because I'm insane (you should know that this is always a distinct possibility with me because I genuinely do draw comparisons and analogies almost to the point of psychosis) or what.

Oh ok i understand now,it makes sence.Others here have also ''training'' in this kind of thing i guess,and no i wouldn't believe you are insane just because of that.May i ask you if there is some song of Yuki's collection in particular that you find more (kinda) similar to Umineko?

'Salva Nos', if pared down to the same sort of insrumentation as 'One-Winged Bird', would have a similar sound in some senses (prosody in the Italian parts of 'One-Winged Bird', for instance), though obviously the melody would still be very different.

Still,in my opinion,it's bit too much to say Akiko was influenced by Yuki,with nothing to cut from any of both in value or quality. I am sure she had pretty different influences in her music rather than Kajiura,much greater musicians(historically wise).

I'm not denying that. I'm also not denying tha tYuki's place in music history isn't exactly that of a Beethoven or a Purcell or a Tallis. You generally have to be dead for that, for one thing, which, thank God, Yuki isn't!

P.S.Btw,I love them both equally for different reasons.
:tea:

I love them both but I love Yuki more, for different reasons. :D
 
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