Kalafina 4th album “Consolation”

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^ thanks george! :chuu:

Well here is my ten year late review :ohoho: /is shot :imdead:

Only gonna talk about the new songs...

Al fine:
Lovely piece...if it had been longer it would probably be my favourite but perhaps its shortness is also a part of its sweetness? :ayashii: (did that even make sense lol) And I really like those in-album lyrics references to the other songs that were pointed out. Very nice~ :shy: I wonder how it'll turn out live… :ayashii:

Consolation:
Like I said before, I like the chorus and I like the verses and I like the bridge all as separate entities on their own, (I guess I can't help but like the song as a whole in general as well) but the way they all fit together and transition from one part to another still feels a bit awkward. Nevertheless, I love Hikaru's angry vocals and sekushi Wakana Latin. :nosebleed: I don't even know why but recently I've realised I love hearing her singing in Latin, Italian, Spanish-sounding languages (like in Obbligato as well :nosebleed: ) I really like Keiko's low harmony lines with Hanae, so deliciously deep :shy: My favourite part of the song is Waka's very last chorus. :shy:
Actually, upon repeated listenings to the song and getting used to its transitions, I'm liking it more and more...so now out of all the titular tracks, I like it better than Eden by less than red moon (Seventh Heaven remains undefeated as my absolute favourite titular track, though :love:)

Door:
It took my breath away on first listen :TdT: Sounds a bit like intermezzo + I have a dream to me... All three girls just sound beautiful. I'm glad Keiko got some lead parts in the middle...her voice is soooooo nice and velvety...my ears have never felt so good :ohoho: :dote: Hikaru had me spazzing out and replaying many times her that beautiful little rolling inflection she did on the "wasuurenai" This song is just a pleasure to listen to and to pick out all the little details the girls put into the vocals :dote: Although when I listen to it I inevitably think of young freckled German boys, thanks to that twitter event :uh..: :XD:

Hanataba:
Reminds me of Houseki, somehow, especially when I heard Keiko's verse :XD: Hikaru's voice is really suited to the song, angsty but 'rolling' rather than rough. I love Hanae's 'consoladio ditoo' kajiurago part :dote: The accordion is something rather new. :ohoho: It'll take some time to get used to, but I have my suspicions that Hitoshi's violin is going to take over the instrumental solo when they perform this live. Unless they get an actual accordion player O_O :ayashii:

Signal:
Well...this is a song that will take some getting used to for me… :ohoho: I think in all honesty it's a song which I will enjoy the live version more, without the filters and effects and stuff on Hikaru and Keiko's singing. Wakana's scat parts are amazing – they sent shivers down my spine :nosebleed: I love the Yuriko x Keiko part in the middle :nosebleed: The Engrish, however...makes me laugh :XD: "I got to goin'...keep believing…" LOL :XD: :XD: And the accordion popping up again the middle was a bit weird for me at first, but I guess I’ll get used to that the more I listen to the song :ohoho:

Obliggato:
At first it didn't leave that much of an impression on me...and then suddenly, without knowing how or why, I had Wakana's 'canto lamento' line stuck in my head, so I just had to keep listening to it...and the more I listened to it, the more I grew to love it :XD: Like I said before, something about the way Wakana sings Latiny-Italian-Spanish-other European languages just sounds really...sexy...to me :nosebleed: lol looks like I have discovered another weird fetish I have... :blood: Ahem! Anyway, back to the song. The beginning reminds me a bit of serenato. Hanae's kajiurago is spine-tingling :hearts: Love the guitar :hero: I also love the harmonies in this song, especially in the second verse :shy: Wakana on high harmony sounds so sassy :nosebleed: /is harpooned for weirdness the lyrics surprised me since they suggest something of a love song, yet without knowing the lyrics, the song doesn't really sound anything like a love song :XD:

Kiichigo no Shigemi ni:
Another beautiful ballad, which make me happy because I'm a sucker for ballads, be they powerful, epic or plain. The song actually reminds me of Gloria + Kugatsu. Wakana sounds beautiful :hearts: Hikaru is nice too, I would just prefer it if she didn't clip some of her note as much. DAT CELLO is goooorgeoussss :dote: :dote: Too bad it won't be there live :cry: I'm presuming either Hitoshi will play it instead...or...backing track? :ghost:

Yume no Daichi:
Hikaru sounds a tad too intense...or dark?...or forceful maybe is the right word, for the song. Keiko short 'echo-y' lines scattered throughout are nice little touches that I like. Especially with her mellow and rich sound :dote: I feel instantly happier and lighter whenever I hear the strings in this… :sohappy:

Yuriko and Hanae were amazing throughout the album :shy: Seems like those two are the regular cameos on Kala's music. Wonder what Kalafina ft. Eri Itoh would sound like :ohoho:

I can't help but keep thinking about how all of these songs will turn out live, but I think they'll all sound quite different (more so than the songs on After Eden) since there seems to be quite a large amount of Hanae/Yuriko vocals which would probably somehow be worked in to the girls' live singing, and then there's all that accordion to take into consideration...

Door and Kiichigo no Shigemi ni started out as my obvious favourites, but as I listened to the album more, the other songs started growing on me more. Right now, it's probably:
Al fine = Door = Consolation = Obbligato = Kiichigo no Shigemi ni
Yume no Daichi = Hanataba = Signal
:uh..:
Lol…seems like I just can't help but love everything, whhyyy...

Aaaaand currently, overall album standings are:
1 - Seventh Heaven (I'm sorry, it just can't be beaten so far :TdT: )
2 - Red Moon = Consolation
4 - After Eden

Now, there's just a DVD/BD release to wait for… :plot: Can't wait to see these songs live (hopefully!) :stars: :dote: :sohappy:
 
I can't access this thread from the school internet anymore (thankfully not the entire forum)...apparently there is porn content
:XD: :XD: :XD: :XD: :XD:
 
:XD: don't worry, it's just my school internet being an idiot. This is the same that blocks the translation of book 2 of the Aeneid because it is 'too violent' lol. It doesn't follow any logic.
 
*Disclaimer I cannot guarantee that my translations are 100% correct, as usual, but it should be fairly okay*
I have left out the Japanese version since that would make this an even longer post.

Everything is taken from @FJUkatsu during the tweeting event held while listening to the album, "Consolation" together. I've combined several tweets that are related when translating. You may find more translations in earlier posts, either by myself or by jac117. I will exclude most of the parts that have already been translated. I've left them in chronological order, for the most part.

I've re-translated the part for obbligato since I didn't finish it the previous time and I think I left something out, oops.

Regarding each song:
8. obbligato.
This song has an image of Turner’s (a British painter) dark sea. Well, rather than a dark sea, it’s more an image of light piercing through into the dark sea, where there is a small boat. ...Soundwise, it feels nothing like Turner though (laughs).
With just the A-melody’s guitar, I can go for three bowls of rice. Haa Haa (panting).
“obbligato” means Obbligato (in Kanji), a sub melody. A different, independent melody that doesn’t necessarily harmonize with the main melody. It won’t mix and become one.

9. Kiichigo no shigemi ni
The place I used live in, it was a place with many raspberry bushes. I used to just grab and munch on them. I remember having a kiss stolen by a freckly German kid/brat in the thickets of raspberry bushes (￣ー￣). I punched him hard though. Ah! The song ended while I was talking about such trivial things!

10. Manten.
I made this song from a BGM track, but the accumulation of the singing melody was very much like Kalafina (Kalafina-esque) and turned out very well. It’s a song that I like.
I often get asked a lot but, after “manten no chorus”, Wakana sings “of pain”.

11. to the beginning
A song made for Fate/Zero……It was a good series (ﾉ_-｡) When it’s put into this album, I feel that this song becomes very POP (no objections allowed), with a good accent (?). I really like the part “Su-Kuwa-reta-kute” where the two singers sound like they’re having fun♪

It’s pop! m9っ｀Д´)
“Tsuki no hikari” (light of the moon), is as you can probably guess, an image of that work’s last scene.

12. Hikarifuru
Singing this song, I feel that the three of them (Kalafina) have evolved a little. But rather than it being because of the song, it’s probably due to the timing. It wasn’t originally a song with a melody for singing, so it’s an uncommonly difficult piece……
It’s uncommon!
(TN:She was probably getting Tsukkomi responses, saying Kalafina’s songs are usually difficult, lol)
Kalafina’s (other) melody lines really aren’t that difficult… they have a proper song/singing melody.
Everyone sang well (for me)… （；・；）
I just feel that the harmonizing is difficult……(^▽^;)

13. Yume no Daichi
This type of song… I’m glad to be able to make this kind of song. It’s because I’m working with Kalafina, and because I’ve met this program that it exists. Thank you very much.
Even I feel like singing the chorus here ( ^0^)θ～♪
I’m glad we could end this album with this song… The feeling of being conned/tricked/lied to by the title, Consolation, was mitigated by this! (TN: Probably referring to how Consolation, as a whole, doesn’t feel very …consoling, lol)

Other Q&A

Q: This is regarding “Door”. I think what you felt and what you could do while you were young is different but, have you ever wanted to change part of the lyrics or the melody?
A: I have changed just a single line in the lyrics. I felt that there wasn’t a need to change the other parts, so I left it as it was. Just as there are some things that I can only make now, there are some things that I could only make back then. This is one such song. I added an arrangement to the melody and lyrics that were left the same as before, an arrangement that I probably would not have been able to do back then, and had it sung for me.

Q: You once said on Twitter that you couldn’t decide if you should add in live strings into a certain song. Were you referring to “obbligato”?
A: Yup. You found me out. (^▽^;)

Q: You said the Signal was made as you recorded. Are your songs commonly made like this?
A: For songs (those that are sung with lyrics), there is little to none that were made in this manner. I occasionally do it this way for soundtrack songs.

Q: What circumstances brought you to make songs like Mirai and Manten, amongst others, for Kalafina to sing - songs that were originally soundtrack BGM?
A: Melodies made for instrumental purposes are totally different from song melodies but, occasionally, there are melodies that can transition beautifully into a proper song as well.

It’s fine even if Consolation isn’t consoling! In the end, more than consoling, it’s a song for those who pitch forward!
We mustn’t/can’t pitch forward a performance though!
(TN1: pitch forward “Tsun no mette” is a line from the lyrics of consolation)
(TN2: she uses “damon” here, which is a really cute way of insisting on something, child-like even. It’s hard to translate it and its nuance though, sorry… I’m not sure how. Maybe when I get more experience translating…)

Q: The violin is often used in Kajiura-san’s songs, isn’t it? Is it indeed an influence of your disposition to Germany?
A: There is probably no relation there (^▽^;). It’s because the violin is an instrument that sings.

Q: In making the album “Consolation”, have you adopted any suggestions or opinion offered by the three of them (Kalafina) in the songs?
A: I basically leave the way/method of singing the song to them, we then discuss afterward. Other than that, not really……?
(TN: she remembered the incident regarding “Kemono no koe wo age” later)

Q: Mirai Fukuin and Hangyaku no monogatari (madomagi), movies which you are in charge of musically, have both announced a Fall screening date. Are you okay, schedule-wise?
A: Thank you for worrying. I’m fine…! (gutsy response)

Q: What was the song that took the longest to record this time? Please also share any interesting episodes with us, if there were any.
A: Mmm. The recording basically went really smoothly, so there weren’t really any songs that took a long time or any episodes…… If I had to pick one, it’d be signal. I had to redo the remix and played around with the song so recording took a few days to finish. That’s about it …

Q: Pardon me. Is there any difference in the approach to making a song that is a theme song for something, as compared to an original song in an album?
A: It’s a matter of the origin of the image. Songs that are tied to a particular work will be based on the work’s image. Album songs are unrestricted. That’s the only difference.

That's me singing “ae ae”. Obbligato now.
If I’m asked whether there is any need for such a long intro… I’d say it’s my preference/interest! m9っ｀Д´)
I feel like I can go for three bowls of rice again. I mustn’t~ (*/∇＼*)

Q: Are there any instances where you come up with an arrangement for lives whilst recording? For example, to finish the musical score for the live arrangement at the same time.
A: Honestly, I don’t think about the lives while I am recording at all….

Q:The boy you mentioned in door. Is it the same freckly German boy from Kiichigo no shigemi??
A: No (laughs)

Q: Are there any instances where, after continuously working on writing songs (for singing with lyrics), you find yourself thinking, troubled by the narrowing of the melodies you create while making soundtrack music? And, when making a piece, do you start from creating the melody, or start from the chord?
A: The modes in which I create the songs and soundtrack music are different, so I have never really felt that way before. And I think I have never created a piece by starting with the chord. It’s always the melody first…

Q: Why do you talk about “the morning on a Saturday” (do youbi no asa) in Door?
A: That’s probably because there’s no school on Saturdays! (I was a student at the time (of writing))

Q: Please put a hidden track featuring Kei-chan’s “kogitsune” in the next album(´・ω・｀) (laughs)
A: That’s going to make the album into something different. (^▽^;)
(TN: Go youtube こぎつね. Did Keiko sing this in Kalafina club or something?)

Q: This question isn’t related to the current album at all but, in “Utsukushisa” and “Mata Kaze ga Tsuyoku natta”, there is a part of the melody that is similar. Was this intentional? Or did it just turn out this way naturally?
A: In most cases, it isn’t intentional(^▽^;)

Q: Recently, instead of having individual releases for the OST, they’re all included in the BD/DVD as privilege items. How do you feel about this?
A: Regarding that, it is not something that is decided by me so it’s a little difficult for me to answer.

Q: My question is regarding the image of the song. For songs that aren’t tie-ups, what do you usually form the image from (draw inspiration from)?
A: The story first, and then the lines/dialogue, the worldview of the work, including the atmosphere visually. Well, various things.
(TN: I think she misread the question… and answered regarding the tie up songs, rather than the non-tie up songs)

Q: Would/could you make a song that is all English for Kalafina?
A: Whenever possible, I think we should let Japanese singers sing Japanese songs. Whenever possible, that is. Though there are exceptions as well.

And that's it... I hope I didn't leave anything out...
PS. I hope they read okay, sentence wise. My sentences got kind of wonky towards the end... They got more literal and literal...
 
^ I'm guessing that the guitar is "delicious"? lol. Not too sure. This is the feeling I get off that comment. "Delicious" guitar that whets her appetite.
 
That reminds me a song we have in Greece and is used for choosing who counts in hide-and-seek game. :XD:

Είσαι κινεζάκι;
Τρώς πολύ ριζάκι;
Πόσες κουταλίτσες την ημέρα τρώς;
Click to expand...

- Are you chinese kid ?
Do you eat lots of rice?
How many spoons (of rice) per day do you eat?
Click to expand...
 
^ Thanks for the translations! Yes, it's always interesting how Kajiura explains her works on the songs.
 
I'm on the process of organizing all of the translation and I will post them here in few more hours.

Thanks a lot for all of the translation :dote: :dote:
 
^ That would be great, I was just thinking that all of this should be compiled somewhere, so much interesting info.

Thank you so much Hatou-chan!

I often get asked a lot but, after “manten no chorus”, Wakana sings “of pain”.
Click to expand...

Was this ever confirmed before? Well, it's nice that I can finally be sure...
 
Ehhh...long time, no post. It's nice to be back. I hope all's well with you all on here. I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet, so here goes.

My copy finally arrived today...complete with the postcard. Pretty.

I find it fascinating how the inlay booklet and artwork literally colour my impression of an album. This one's very warm and very...sepia. :XD: SH was splashes of colour in a dark place, RM was dark again but powerful and bold, AE was bright and floral. Consolation is very mellow and soft-focus. I didn't dig the aesthetic much at first, but it's growing on me. It reminds me a bit of the Smashing Pumpkins' Adore album artwork for the same reason.

After my experience with AE I don't want to judge it on the first listen - I'm going to give it time to settle into my mind before deciding how much I like it. I'll be travelling out of town tomorrow to meet up with some friends, and luckily the running time of this CD is almost identical to how long the train journey takes. It'll be my chance to really immerse myself in it and listen to it properly without any distractions.
 
I'm pretty tired today from work, so I just organized them into one place per song category, but I haven't really go over one by one to edit them. I will do it tomorrow. but here is the link!

CONSOLATION album quick review

CONSOLATION - TRACK 01 AL FINE

CONSOLATION - TRACK 02 CONSOLATION

CONSOLATION - TRACK 04 DOOR

CONSOLATION-TRACK 05 MIRAI

CONSOLATION- TRACK 06 HANATABA

CONSOLATION - TRACK 07 SIGNAL

CONSOLATION - TRACK 08 OBBLIGATO

CONSOLATION - TRACK 09 KIICHIGO NO SHIGEMI NI

CONSOLATION - TRACK 10 MANTEN

CONSOLATION - TRACK 11 TO THE BEGINNING

CONSOLATION - TRACK 12 HIKARI FURU

CONSOLATION - TRACK 13 YUME NO DAICHI

CONSOLATION - OTHER Q & A

CONSOLATION - OTHERS

:bow: hope it helps..but I think I might still miss a lot of things too, just remind me to add whenever you think I miss something. and I haven't make too much edit...I'll do it soon~ but not today~ >_<

:bow:
 
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