[Album] Winter Acoustic “Kalafina with Strings”

  • Thread starter Thread starter sprinterXkyrie
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Same complaint as sprinter- sounds like they're recreating live atmosphere; not impressed with WAKANA...

Wouldve preferred better layering of HIKARU's harmonies mixing-wise. Also wouldve appreciated more reverb for Kajiuran bridge..
And wouldve loved the "alleluia...shinjite..." background that was present in studio version... And a WAKANA auto-harmonization at the end ("alleluia...ahh... Alleluia... Etc)

But KEIKO's solos sound so pure ;3
 
I certainly prefer the Arena Live broadcast version (skipped through that broadcast earlier). Dunno how much of it is their performance and how much is the reverbed sound in arena live but this one feels rushed/nervous compared to the live.
 
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Sounds awesome except the Wakana chorus kajiurago bridge, omg my ears, she needs to go see a doctor asap. (she sounds like her voice is closed from illness - that or they put some filter on her voice audio to improve her and ended up making it worse)
 
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Keiko's solos were great, I really like the piano accompaniment (much more than the original instrumental actually) and I like Hikaru's harmonies.

Wakana on the other hand... wtf was that kajiurago bridge? That actually kinda hurt my ears a little bit blegh... She sounded fine for the most part everywhere else though.
 
Wakana's kajiurago is actually normal. It's just not as bad in the regular live version since the instrumentals overpower it. It's always been this nasal.

Arena version trumps this so much. The tempo was slower, the acapella was more powerful and Wakana and Keiko was in more control of their voices (Hikaru sounds the same here).

It's acoustic - the tempo doesn't need to be the same as the original, but from what we've seen so far, it all will be, much to my disappointment. The reason why sprinter during their 2012 Christmas live was so great was because they slowed it down, giving the song a completely different atmosphere.
 
Sounds pretty great to me. I wouldn't say the bridge is great, but I don't hate it. Actually I kinda like it.

That said, it sounds as though she's trying to sing notes that are too high for her, I mean she can pull off some impressively high notes at times but in this case it just comes through as being too sharp and piercing. Honestly it doesn't sound as though she's actually having any problems with her voice as such in my opinion (the rest of the song sounds great, for example), just being told/attempting to do something which should rightfully be outside of her vocal range. If it actually is outside her range then it's a pretty solid attempt actually.

Other than that it sounds lovely, and Wakana sounds fine the rest of the time for me. This album seems like it could be a case of 'decent but could've been better with a few tweaks and maybe doing more than a couple of takes'.
 
Wakana was a mess.. (as I always say it's similar to hikari furu's first few seconds but only prolonged here) ah.

Anyway Keiko is great as usual. I prefer the live version much more.
 
Wakana does sound a bit weird, mainly on the bridge after the first refrain. Other than that she does sound a bit strained but not unbearably so. Overall pretty good :dote:

Btw, am I the only one who thinks Wakana sounds like she's crying during the second chorus? If she is then it's not the first time that's happened, with the other time being here
 
Agree with @Kirito, Wakana's kajiurago bridge is normal as live version. Even if you listen back to the original record version, it's totally same except this time her voice is not put at background with post audio edit.

Much prefer this Keiko's part to any other versions. She sings more tender and natual than the original record one, finally expressing the correct mood of this song. Also more exquisite than live version, because in a live, to cover the big space, the girl has to sing much louder and gives up some details of the voice and the song.
 
Seasonreaper said:
it sounds as though she's trying to sing notes that are too high for her
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Honestly, that seems to be a theme. Even Keiko strains on notes which are a bit low for her and thus don't sound good. During the Arena live in RYB I noticed, because Wakana's part changed near the end you could hear Keiko clearer for a second and she sounded a little off, not off pitch but off tone wise, the note sounded like it was coming from the wrong place, kinda like a reach... I don't really know how to accurately explain it.

I'm not sure if it's something Kajiura should fix or Kalafina should, voices obviously change and develop but is Kajiura not noticing or are Kalafina out of shape?
 
LacrimosaRaven said:
Even Keiko strains on notes which are a bit low for her and thus don't sound good. During the Arena live in RYB I noticed, because Wakana's part changed near the end you could hear Keiko clearer for a second and she sounded a little off, not off pitch but off tone wise, the note sounded like it was coming from the wrong place, kinda like a reach...
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I get what you're saying, but I don't think that part there is a reach for Keiko. The note she's singing during the "ring your bell" is B, which is the same note as "ato ichido dake" from the beginning of to the beginning. I think she's singing the note differently because it's a harmony and she's needing to support the other 2. That would also explain why it sounds like its coming from a different place.
 
Sorry about that. I checked a week or two ago and they only had one copy left. So I ordered it. Was actually planning to wait a bit initially but I caved, so I might've got the last one.

Still kinda surprised it sold through so fast, the 8thAnni Live took longer to sell through the first press and is still available as of the last time I checked despite supposedly being 'limited release'
 
KnGnW sample up on Putschki's blog!
This is definetely my favorite out all the ones we've heard so far, I love the instrumental arrangement and everyone sounds great. It's a shame they talked over it so much though lol :omg:
 
The piano and strings are nice, but a tempo change could've been really cool too.
 
I actually really like how Wakana sounds in this one, she isn't as squeaky as she was on the original recording and sounds closer to her old voice. I personally too am liking how they don't put Wakana's "ichiban, hayaku", "kowaresouna" during the verses because she never got it right on live version. And "tojikometeita" , "kako ni shikanai" this time is really done by Hikaru and not Wakana. I don't like Hikaru's voice here, so shakey and Keiko's voice kinda breaking in "himitsu meku hana no kaori". Surprisingly I still like it even without accordion, so I have to take back my own words.
 
to be honest, i'm disappointed with Gin no niwa. it just like Kajiura get rid off drums, accordion and Yuriko Kaida voice and make it strings only. no tempo changes, no strings composition change. i'm hoping for some tempo change and different strings composition.

but yeah, i know that making music is not that easy. i'll enjoy this album whatever the conditions are
 
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