BD/DVD: Kalafina “9+ONE” at Tokyo International Forum Hall A [Release: Nov 1st]

Sofia said:
Thank you!


Edit: why is this believe SO GOOD and why it wasn't like this since day 1. It would have been so nice...
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When Kajiura writes anisongs for mainstream trash series, she should write the songs, then turn them into piano versions and release them that way. XD
 
First of all, thanks @VyseLegendaire for your contribution!
Ended up listening to the mp3s and all I can say is that this made me remember why I love Wakana so much. Lacrimosa made me cry, that song was my first Kalafina song and means so much to me, and for a long time I was scared I would never see it performed again in all its glory because of Wakana's voice change. But I have to admit I was wrong. I'm speechless. Wakana was a goddes, she made me feel all the powerful Lacrimosa feel. The desperation, the sadness, the agony. Wow :touched::touched:
Wakana's part of Ashita no Keshiki was amazing as well, sadly the chorus lacked strengh and Hikaru's part weren't really pleasing. Samidare was really funny and ended up clapping my hands the whole song. Oblivious was amazing as well, Haru wo Matsu was lovely and the rest of the setlist, more or lest as usual.
If Hikaru can get used to her new voice as Wakana did, the 10th Anni will be epic.
 
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#1 discuss the uploads less in public
#2 please don't download it if you won't be able to seed and nurture it. I'm only one broadband PC here.
 
Sorry, I forgot about that ~ I'll edit my previous message asap, thank you for reminding me!
 
What great news to return home to: the leak of the 9+ONE mp3 rips! Still haven’t seen the video because I don’t feel like downloading. Awaiting video streaming services :sohappy:

Overall thoughts about the concert as a whole:

I think the message of 9+ONE was delivered very well with the setlist of the concert. With classics from the SH/RM era like Ashitano Keshiki, oblivious, Lacrimosa, Hikarino Senritsu and Kyrie, it was interesting to see how the “new voices” of HIKARU and WAKANA create a new image with these songs (especially HIKARU in oblivious, which I will discuss down below). 9+ONE was supposed to be about the past 9 years of Kalafina and the new material they wish to create for the future and the new direction towards which they are taking their music, and they met their goal with this performance. With newer upbeat songs like blaze, into the world, newer dark and heavy beats like Marchën, recent ballads like Haruwo Matsu, and novel renditions of older generation songs like believe, one can truly see the great potential of Kalafina and their versatility and evolution, while still holding onto their core value of a three-part harmony that hasn’t changed since day 1.

Individual singers:

WAKANA: Agreed with those who said she’s gotten much better control of her “new” voice. Wow was I impressed by her capabilities throughout the entire show.... Her use of her chest voice to do the bridge of Gogatsuno Mahou was magnificent. Really saw major improvement in her technique here, which came just in time for a ten-year mark on her journey as a Kalafina vocalist. I think WAKANA was the first of the three girls to really show signs of weakness in her vocals during their career, and it’s such a relief to see her coming back in a much more seasoned form.

HIKARU: I think that HIKARU’s voice was strained in a good amount of songs on this setlist, but when I went back to pick out certain ones that I felt really bothered me, the only one was Mirai and Hikarino Senritsu. I think she sounded really great in oblivious with her head voice doing the overture-esque Kajiuran.... Remember, I don’t have video footage, so I didn’t even think it was her at first! Please correct me if I’m wrong... was it someone else? Was it prerecorded? Because that didn’t sound like her and it really made me go back a few times to make sure!! She sounded impressive!!! What a twist.... Not her strongest performance, but definitely seeing a lot of improvement with her “new voice” compared to Red/Blue day lives and Arena LIVE. Felt her performance in into the world was lacking compared to Arena, however. Absolutely loved her performance of Marchën, though!! Much better control; dramatically less straining compared to studio vers.

KEIKO: Not seeing a lot of reviews on KEIKO in this thread (unless I missed it)... but I felt KEIKO’s voice has also changed to be more gentle and well-rounded compared to past performances. A common complaint of KEIKO’s voice during live performances is how much oomph and excess power she puts in... which works in some cases (Gogatsuno mahou from FOTW special final), but shatters songs in others (Alleluia piano version from Winter acoustic). I felt that she has a better control of her higher notes in this performance, especially in Ashitano Keshiki. Her harmonies starting at “fuyukara haru e kaze ga fuite/ yagate hanano kaoru youni/ kurikaesu hibinonaka itsumo/ kokoro yo saki hokore...” are, IMO, considered to be “high” for her, and she did such a great job blending with WAKANA’s voice in this part without putting too much strain on her voice. Her voice melted into WAKANA’s, like warm butter on fresh toast. And I think that’s a very important dynamic of Kalafina, having harmonies that perfectly complement their respective melodies, and KEIKO displayed this very value of Kalafina.

Individual Songs:

Ashitano Keshiki was my first listen, and I have to say... really loving the instrumental here! Much better than the one from the live selections CD from a couple years back. WAKANA sounds very strong, and I was afraid she wouldn’t considering how faint she sounded in Natsuno Ringo from RED DAY LIVE. What a majestic song indeed.... Agreed with those who said HIKARU sounded very thin during her solo, especially during the higher notes. It was very nice to hear KEIKO complementing WAKANA as lower harmony in this LIVE rendition.... they both sound very grandiose.

Marchën: Oh my goodness!! Such power! HIKARU’s voice, as I mentioned above, was impressive in this performance. I always felt in the studio version, her voice was way too strained, especially at the higher notes of her lines. But here, it was very crisp and strong, to the point and leaves an impact without the clumsiness and defect. The bridge was GREAT, but KEIKO’s lines without her self-lower harmonization was less impactful, in my opinion. KEIKO’s final line, “yorokobino zanzou mirai wa sokoni atte”.... WOWWWWWW. This line by itself proves to me that KEIKO as full lead in this song, replacing HIKARU, would have worked out just as well, if not even better.

believe: The raw emotion was felt much stronger with just their voices and Sakurada on keys... There was more tension and drama; more appreciation for the melodies was definitely shown in this performance. The bridge didn’t sound out of place at all, and for once I was able to fully appreciate and adore the lines “mabushiihodo tsuyoku/ yoruwo terasu/ hikaridatta omoiwo tsunaguyo...” I never realized how beautiful this melody was until the busy background track was stripped and replaced by a dramatic piano accompaniment.

Thank you to all that have contributed to the sharing of these wonderful files.:chuu:
 
It was nice to have some differences here. Like Korenaga doing guitar solo instead of flute. And I think Konno did a violin solo too, but he used something to make it sound so weird... I forget which song it was in. I have to go back and watch it. I think Keiko was a little loud, not really shouting. Maybe she couldn't hear herself? But I hope they did a proper sound check. Hikaru was a lot better and Wakana was really good. I thought she was struggling a bit in Lacrimosa and Consolation, but as I said before that they are hard to sing live I would imagine. I wasn't impressed with Kyrie, which is one of my fave Red Moon songs. Magia's visuals were pretty awesome. I loved what they did here and I hope for more like this in the future. It made it more enjoyable. I do have thoughts on each song... but I am too tired to type it up now. heh I loved the energy and I like it when they run to the other side of the stage and wave, but I think they get out of breath sometimes and can't sing the song well then. Some they can do with jumping around, but some don't sound too good. I will write my full review tomorrow probably, when I rewatch it. I have to watch the doc too, but I can't understand Jap and I wish they would use subtitles. *sigh* For the MCs too, since they are so cute.

I would have replaced Heavenly Blue with obbligato, believe or Consolation with Tsuioku, and Yume with I have a dream (I love this song so much, one of my fave songs ever) Not that I hate the other songs really, well HB I dislike, even though I like parts of it, same with Conso. I hope they sing these songs more though.
 
Tbfh ever seen i've been disappointed by the girls actual live vocal performances more often than not i really cannot believe they'd sound THAT good without any studiomagicks...

Wakana sounds like she's having breathing problem or a cold at most times (Gogatsu no Mahou, Ashita no Keshiki, oblivious, HnS). Idk if it's really her live performance or what but one second she sounds great and then the next second she sounds very nasal and squeaky.

Keiko sounds hella annoying at the 1st stanza of Haru wo Matsu. Also I stand by my previous comment, her voice sounds really loud one second and very low the next second on some songs. Good thing is that she's very consistent throughout the concert.

Hikaru being the struggling Hikaru. Her part in Ashita no Keshiki is very painful to hear. Falsetto sounds okay in oblivious, should've sing it this way since the beginning.

I much prefer Ashita no Keshiki from live selection album, thank you very much. Setlist is very boring. Thanks to Hikaru's voice their harmonies in Kyrie doesn't sound as solid as previous Kyrie lives, consolation is okay, Keiko doesn't sound as deep in into the world, Wakana, re:above. Am not impressed with believe piano version because i really really liked the sfx in the stanzas on believe studio version.

Sorry to rain on your parade. I'm just being honest.
 
ritardando said:
Tbfh ever seen i've been disappointed by the girls actual live vocal performances more often than not i really cannot believe they'd sound THAT good without any studiomagicks...

Wakana sounds like she's having breathing problem or a cold at most times (Gogatsu no Mahou, Ashita no Keshiki, oblivious, HnS). Idk if it's really her live performance or what but one second she sounds great and then the next second she sounds very nasal and squeaky.

Keiko sounds hella annoying at the 1st stanza of Haru wo Matsu. Also I stand by my previous comment, her voice sounds really loud one second and very low the next second on some songs. Good thing is that she's very consistent throughout the concert.

Hikaru being the struggling Hikaru. Her part in Ashita no Keshiki is very painful to hear. Falsetto sounds okay in oblivious, should've sing it this way since the beginning.

I much prefer Ashita no Keshiki from live selection album, thank you very much. Setlist is very boring. Thanks to Hikaru's voice their harmonies in Kyrie doesn't sound as solid as previous Kyrie lives, consolation is okay, Keiko doesn't sound as deep in into the world, Wakana, re:above. Am not impressed with believe piano version because i really really liked the sfx in the stanzas on believe studio version.

Sorry to rain on your parade. I'm just being honest.
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You do not have to apologize, the rain on parades is a feature of this forum
 
ritardando said:
i really cannot believe they'd sound THAT good without any studiomagicks.
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the studio magic must be applied. i just hope that they don't apply too much of it. i honestly prefer the raw performances better than the edited one because in raw performances we could hear their real voice
i think isolating noises and adjusting the volume between vocal and instruments are enough. No need to modify their voice

TBH what i really hate from western singer live performance is that they often using auto tune and lipsyncing.
if kalafina did that in their live performance, i would probably hate them too :cry:
 
From experience seeing them live then buying the live releases afterwards, they sound pretty raw.
I saw them live a few times during the Consolation tour, the Japan parts of their Far On the Water tour and their acoustic Xmas live last year then bought the releases of those lives after and compared them.
The DVDs made the sounds clearer and touches up a couple of notes here and there. But otherwise the timbre of their voices are pretty much unchanged.

The editing was probably most apparent on Wakana during the Consolation release. But post-Far on the Water they've sounded on point live. Especially the Xmas Acoustic where they just sounded straight out of the CD with a bit more reverb.

And yepppp Wakana can and does sound super nasal in one song then grand in another. It's not the result of the edit. I cannot figure out what it is. Maybe it's a choice? Maybe it's a certain key or mood that makes her do it??
 
AKWirru said:
And yepppp Wakana can and does sound super nasal in one song then grand in another. It's not the result of the edit. I cannot figure out what it is. Maybe it's a choice? Maybe it's a certain key or mood that makes her do it??
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She's probably adjusting her tone to how she thinks the song should be sung. It doesn't sound like the key is forcing her to do it.
 
Westkana said:
She's probably adjusting her tone to how she thinks the song should be sung. It doesn't sound like the key is forcing her to do it.
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Agreed. For the longest time I thought it was a certain key or scale that makes her do it. But recently I started thinking maybe it's the more upbeat hopeful songs that do it. Evident this live in *CONSTIPATED GROAN* MISTERIOSO *GROAN*, and Yume no Daichi.

Side note - I kind of want Kalafina to tone down the happiness and go back to doing more depressing music XD

-EDIT- Maybe Wakana expresses happiness and hope through her nose XD
 
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It's more a Japanese-singing thing. Japanese singing is generally more nasal because that's how they speak. All girls are nasal when they sing, Wakana and Hikaru more so than Keiko, but when Keiko uses her higher tone, it's definitely nasal. It's just vocal placement.

Compare Wakana in Lacrimosa and in Yume no Daichi. In Lacrimosa, her tone is generally not nasal (except for "i" vowels, but that's a Japanese thing) because she places her voice in her larynx (like most opera singers). Same with Keiko, who, when using her lower tone, places her voice in her larynx. Hikaru, on the other hand, places her voice behind her nose to achieve her unique tone.

Btw, vocal placement is just a term for where the voice reverberates. You can't physically "place" your voice anywhere else but your throat - it's more just a visualization thing for singers in order to project and resonate. Ideally, you want a forward vocal placement in the mask (where your upper lip is, imagine where you wear a face mask) for optimal resonance, but Kalafina doesn't do it because their style of singing is still very Japanese.

Wakana also sounds grander in some songs because she knows how to adjust the amount of chest voice in her mix. Granted, it's nowhere as chest-heavy as her old voice, but you can definitely hear the difference song to song. Lacrimosa, she's using a slightly chestier mix than YnD, but still pretty head-dominant.
 
^ that makes solid sense.
I always catch myself turning nasal when I speak Japanese for work lol and I'm like wtf is wrong with my voice why can't I help it.

Back the live tho, I gave it a second watching today because I loved it the first time. I noticed the footage is much more conscious of who's being the *main vocal*, who's coming in in the middle of a verse etc than the recent live releases. It's super complimentary to the songs and the girls.

-Edit - Also figured out why I freaked out so much about Wakana in Consolation. Her final "aaaaaa" she switches from head to chest voice mid phrase to belt the last note. The sound is super reminiscent of her 2008 Mezame belting! And visually too you can see it in her face. Wakana enthusiasts watch out for that moment. <3
 
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Interesting... I never knew Japanese was considered a more nasal language, and that directly affected their singing. Though I've thought that in general stereotypical jpop singers are more nasally than their English counterparts I never knew it was partially a result of the language itself, I just thought it was fully the stylistic choice of sounding cutesy
 
Yeah, I've noticed that nasality thing a lot. It's part of the reason why I was never really able to get into Eir Aoi, LisA, or any of those other big Jpop singers. Their voices grate at my ears after a while.

I also think it's really noticeable when, for example, Korean singers I like release Japanese songs/albums, the nasaility is really present there, especially since their voices are not usually nasal when they're singing in their native language.
(I could probably find better examples if I put more time into it, but here's a pretty good one. If you listen closely and compare each part directly to each other, you can definetely hear it. Korean vs Japanese)

This is really good video I found of a vocal instructor explaining how nasality works, if anyone's interested.

Back on topic though, I actually finally got around to listening to the live and I was impressed! I definetely noticed some nasaslity from Wakana and Hikaru (especially Hikaru) but Wakana in particluar, sounds better than I've ever heard her in a long time.
 
The audio on this live is great. Sure critiques of some of the performances are appropriate, but whatever studio magic happened the sound is just fat and loud as hell. It prob has something to do with the girls shouting at various times due to audio problems, but I think this is a great overall release. What kind of studio magic was used in the final chord of To the Beginning was the high point for me. I thought the instrumentals were very on point this time with the 'core group' filling in the missing parts adeptly.
 
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