What are you listening to right NOW?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Daichi
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This is nice.


Oh yeah!

That pointed (rather than light or breathy) head voice at 1:16 is a power Kaori rarely uses, sadly. I always like when she gets to do a head voice duet harmony with Yuriko or Joelle. It's one strong point she has, but doesn't get to use as well.

She can go breathy falsetto, light head voice, connected head voice, and belt to quite a high pitch level. It's part of the reason she's so versatile.

Her kryptonite is essentially the kinds of songs she gets written for her; that's where she gets failed most of the time. That and the fact that she from time to time goes slightly off-pitch in a live setting and doesn't seem to realize it.

I don't know what her view is of her own career and how she wants to be seen as an artist. In my view, she always shines in Haruka's fantasy compositions, such as this song, and also with Sound Horizon, as well as (I would say to a slightly lesser degree, shock!) Kajiura's (only because Kajiura doesn't give her the focused solo vocal writing as much that would make her shine, in my opinion). Basically she needs interesting melodies to sing in a solo context.

Kajiura utilizes her often as a mirror to the main lead soprano (previously Wakana, now Joelle), so she sings the verse 2 (or comes in out of the blue in a supposedly solo song as you've been complaining about) to give a contrasting voice to the first lead vocal. You might not get Kaori leading a series of songs with strong lead in a row, apart from maybe YKL16?
I will agree with her versatility which besides her wonderful voice is the main reason why I am so drawn towards her. The problem with the songs she got written (not all, since my fav was written by another one than her) is that mostly they are lacking the punch which makes a song memorable. There are vocally far more weaker singers than her, but they could work with the material they were given and had more exposure and the ability to attract interest on their own. PS: I for myself already knew this song. I like it. I am not that much of a fan of piacere or blessing which is less with the composition of Shimotsuki but more with the fact that I am not a fan of this childlike high-pitched voices what it makes for me difficult to get into Haruka as a singer. Another thing have you seen the one picture of the "Lip Aura". If you look closely than each Letter of the Word is included in the one lettering.
 
There are vocally far more weaker singers than her, but they could work with the material they were given and had more exposure and the ability to attract interest on their own.
Yes, that's true. She is more of a powerhouse vocalist than many in the JPop arena. The power of getting to work with a high-level composer and musicians can never be overstated no matter how good you are as a vocalist.

If you find yourself coming up in a talent management company and/or label with genius or high-quality lyricists, composers, arrangers, musicians, artists, and you get to learn from them and work with them (since you see each other every week) you can pick up a lot and you can get to work on projects you never would have touched otherwise, which will raise your profile and visibility far more than if you worked with average or generic people or material. Part of the reason I had a thought during the week that the Kalafina girls were LUCKY they were in the same agency with Kajiura and were accessible to her, though they also had unique vocal and personal attributes that moved Kajiura to work with them - and the KnK project that had heavyweight stakeholders involved. Moving on...
I am not a fan of this childlike high-pitched voices what it makes for me difficult to get into Haruka as a singer.
For me, although I can definitely judge a voice purely on its intrinsic qualities and versatility, sometimes the quality of the artist and the musicality of how they use their voices and the quality of songs they sing will override (or at least qualify) purely technical considerations.

The first time I ever heard of or saw Haruka was on YouTube in clips of songs from the TTE3 concert from Sound Horizon, where she often sang in low harmony with the soprano ladies - MIKI, Yuuki, Mari Endo, etc. The innocent quality of her voice juxtaposed with the other voices, and the wonderful compositions and vocal arrangements got me to really appreciate how well she sounded matched with others. Then, when I heard her lead, her voice is actually less child-like than the usual Japanese vocalists. It's definitely nasal in tendency, especially in the higher range, but less so the lower she goes.

The thing I noticed first about her was the straight, piercing quality and dynamic/emotional stability or sameness of her voice, as compared to the more theatrical/dramatic emotional voices of the other classical, pop, and soul-influenced singers. Then Haruka's simplicity, positive and warm personality added to the mix. Having that wide difference in the singers yet they being able to blend together is part of the allure of both Revo and Kajiura's vocal arrangements. If you have two singers who are too similar sometimes it can be expectedly excellent but not as memorable or interesting, even if they sing harmony and have lots of variety in the music.

If I had heard Haruka voice singing a lot of generic JPop songs the first time I was introduced to her, I might have been turned off and disliked her voice, even if I got to hear her SH work later. The first impression may have distracted from the quality of her vocal work.

She also writes and sings songs that make use of her vocal quality - the ethereal, fantasy song. See, as good as Kaori is in the pop context, if she sang the same fantasy songs of Haruka it wouldn't move me as much as when Haruka sings it.

There's a right or impactful way to sing a song and choosing the right colors and creating an atmosphere/mood is as important (maybe even more so) as having skill, talent, or potential. I follow her on YT and I am never disappointed with her music or performances.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvuZwa7z074

An older version of a song of storm and fire that popped in my feed. It caught my attention because in this one we have Kaori being the one doing the low armonies while Keiko just chilling in comparison to the most recent performances where she was more prominent. I guess it's from the 2008 live dvd but i dont know
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvuZwa7z074

An older version of a song of storm and fire that popped in my feed. It caught my attention because in this one we have Kaori being the one doing the low armonies while Keiko just chilling in comparison to the most recent performances where she was more prominent. I guess it's from the 2008 live dvd but i dont know
Surprisingly, I find Eri's voice even more powerful and fuller in the recent live (Kanagawa of course, since she got to see a bunch of songs).
 
https://youtu.be/rfAnWWF8OWw?si=JYqm7YdL8cG82EcB

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxel7I4wQix3DTjQ_vdP237gqceNyttT-V?si=FJQJVZ-UY3tbVB8v in this clip, the way Wakana ended the vowel, I don't know how to describe it musically so if anyone does please add in, not sure if opening more the A or switching, but it caught me off guard, like it felt unusual for her yet pleasant, though i haven't listened to her new stuff except once or twice.
Yeah, I've commented on that a couple of times in the past, here and there.

What you highlighted is something she could do in her earlier singing, but not really now, since she's lost the ability unfortunately (as evidenced by the Reunion Live songs).

In the clip, she really leaned in on her vibrato and so it was more defined and slightly wider - a proper, supported vibrato, rather than the more fluttery tremolo she often used on her higher notes (really fast). Her vibrato in her chest voice was more consistent back then and she just amped it with more energy at the end here.

You will notice that she holds the long note and opens her mouth really wide vertically (wider than she usually does for an extended time) so the vibrato comes in at the end AND she holds it till the end. Whenever she does this it comes across powerfully, her voice also takes a warmer and fuller tone, since the ratio of the bright (more nasal) top she had at the beginning of the long-held note is gradually balanced by more of the bottom of her voice.

I think, one of Wakana's issues over time was often maintaining breath support and shallow breathing. To get that tone (and that full vibrato, and POWER/RESONANCE) she had to really open wide and it took a lot from her. This was one of the favorite tones from her that I ever heard, and it shocked me when I heard it too. For me, that's her true tone and I imagine if it was trained into her entire range...

I also liked the high fluttery bright tone as well especially when she's able to get the emotion right, but sadly that became her default rather than an option, and when Kajiura demanded more power and intensity in her vocals, Wakana ended up using tension, more so than the needed breath pressure and resonance, to add power to her sound.

That fullness I'm talking about is what you often heard from Keiko's full voice (when she didn't get too excited or move her larynx up or down too much thus losing the consistency), Kaori several times (except when she goes nasal or shouty, notice she's often got a strong vibrato going when she;s in form), Yuriko as well (vibrato all the way, though she could go nasal at times), and Joelle (though she's often switching a lot and doing dynamics).
 
Yeah, I've commented on that a couple of times in the past, here and there.

What you highlighted is something she could do in her earlier singing, but not really now, since she's lost the ability unfortunately (as evidenced by the Reunion Live songs).

In the clip, she really leaned in on her vibrato and so it was more defined and slightly wider - a proper, supported vibrato, rather than the more fluttery tremolo she often used on her higher notes (really fast). Her vibrato in her chest voice was more consistent back then and she just amped it with more energy at the end here.

You will notice that she holds the long note and opens her mouth really wide vertically (wider than she usually does for an extended time) so the vibrato comes in at the end AND she holds it till the end. Whenever she does this it comes across powerfully, her voice also takes a warmer and fuller tone, since the ratio of the bright (more nasal) top she had at the beginning of the long-held note is gradually balanced by more of the bottom of her voice.

I think, one of Wakana's issues over time was often maintaining breath support and shallow breathing. To get that tone (and that full vibrato, and POWER/RESONANCE) she had to really open wide and it took a lot from her. This was one of the favorite tones from her that I ever heard, and it shocked me when I heard it too. For me, that's her true tone and I imagine if it was trained into her entire range...

I also liked the high fluttery bright tone as well especially when she's able to get the emotion right, but sadly that became her default rather than an option, and when Kajiura demanded more power and intensity in her vocals, Wakana ended up using tension, more so than the needed breath pressure and resonance, to add power to her sound.

That fullness I'm talking about is what you often heard from Keiko's full voice (when she didn't get too excited or move her larynx up or down too much thus losing the consistency), Kaori several times (except when she goes nasal or shouty, notice she's often got a strong vibrato going when she;s in form), Yuriko as well (vibrato all the way, though she could go nasal at times), and Joelle (though she's often switching a lot and doing dynamics).
Thank you. I had heard a lot of Wakana's voice change and while I had heard it when comparing versions mostly, I think this is the first time it catches me so offguard for whatever reason.
 
Thank you. I had heard a lot of Wakana's voice change and while I had heard it when comparing versions mostly, I think this is the first time it catches me so offguard for whatever reason.
It caught me off guard too, when I first heard it, especially with the reverb and in contrast to the beginning of that solo intro, where she was moving the mic away from her mouth to give the effect of fading away.
 
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