sweet crazy love (eng ver) - odd eye circle
type: single
genres: kpop
date released: 24 november 2023
what the FUCK was that mixing ?!?!?!?!?!?
i usually do not fuck around when it comes to english version of pre existing kpop songs because like at the end of the day its just the exact same thing while also trying to get into the playlists of retail stores.
but you know, i was kind of looking forward to this one! given the original was released like 6 years ago. i wanted to hear how the odd eye circle girls voice have matured? or shaped? with time using the same song. that was all my interest in it. so i guess i got that? yay? but it sounds so fucking bad because everyones vocals is at the same volume. which is so ?!?!? what the fuck happened?
sigh.....
modhaus (odd eye circle's agency) getting $8M (usd) from web3 and nft centered investors (as if it couldn't get worse), and yet they can't even bother to get someone to mix this song properly? lol.
actually now that i think about it they are probably not planning to use that money towards the music of their artists. instead, investing it into their little nft photocard app... of course...
i always knew modhaus was ass deep into nfts, but i wanted to have a little hope for their very questionable decisions given that half of the LOONA (rip) girls aka heejin, haseul, choerry, jinsoul, kim lip are signed to them. but at the end of the day i guess it's all the same for every kpop company. it's always about the money. never about the artists or the music.
phew ANYWAY. didn't mean to write a think piece caused by the lack of mixing in a kpop song, but it's frustrating to see this as a fan of these idols.
rating: 
listened and published on 24.nov.23
bye-bye strobe - erbatur
type: single, remix
genres: edm, breakbeat
date released: 15 november 2023
This is the sound I've wanted to create.
I have nothing to tell anymore.
a lovely remix of siinamota's strobe hello
i've been following this producer's music for a bit and i really really enjoy it a whole lot. their remixes of siinamota songs are so good too, as i've mentioned on my log for their album: voca works, which included a fair share of siinamota's strobe series remixes
i've liked them all so far, but i think this one is probably my favorite out of all of them. there's such a bittersweet feeling in this one compared to the other remixes. it feels nostalgic in a way too.
i love the rearragement done with the song as well. its a bit more closer to the original one compared to previous remixes but the little touches that erbatur gives it makes it very special and charming. as well with how miku is tuned!! it is completely different from the original. it leans more into her robot-like voice, which i wasn't sure how to feel about it. but once i finished listening to it, i think it really adds that extra layer of charm to the remix (and possibly why i find it nostalgic too!)
the music video for it is super sweet as well. i love the random stray cats that appear throughout it :3 so cute
rating:
listened on 15.nov.23, published 19.nov.23
BADモード (bad mode) - hikaru utada
type: album
genres: jpop, alt r&b, dancepop
date released: 19 january 2022
good lord. where do i even start......
well before i say anything about this album i NEED to say something about somewhere near marseilles which is the closing song of this release (if you don't count the bonus tracks) because that song has been on repeat for the past week and it is almost TWELVE (12) minutes long. i find it crazy how i love every single second of it.
i actually discovered this album and with that, hikaru utada, because of this song! the first time i listened to it, the instrumental immediately caught my attention. funny thing: i did not noticed the run time of this song when i first played it. i was so focused on jamming to the song that by the end of it i was like damn that that took a while, i wonder how long it wa- TWELVE MINUTES?!?!?!?!??!
i really liked the song! though, i was not as OBSESSED i am with it to this day.
fast foward to a few business days and i found myself checking the album where it was from. and it absolutely did not disappoint at all!
all of the songs here are so so nice. i really liked the sound variety that this album has. some of these songs have a nice and slow flow to them while also having an electronic edge to them like one last kiss, 気分じゃないの (not in the mood), and somewhere near marseilles, which are actually my fav songs from this project :)
and hikaru utada's voice ?!?!? their voice feels so sweet and soothing. i really love it. i should probably listen to some of her live performances.
right after i finished listening to this album, i went ahead and watched a live performance of somewhere near marseilles and i was pretty amazed and how much it sounds like the studio version. BUT AlSO. this performance / music video made me FUCKING INSANE about the song. the first time i watched this video it felt life chancing. the fucking party vibes and the dancers just jamming to the song as utada sings is just IDK its nothing mindblowing when i describe it LOL but it just DID something in my silly brain that i am unable to explain. i think its just a great song and it has an amazing music video as well. the vibes are truly immaculate.
ANYWAY OVERALL THOUGHTS: amazing album from start to finish. interesting seeing skrillex here in face my fears (not in a bad way, but i just wasn't expecting him.) but i absolutely recommend this album. give it a listen at least one time.
highlights: somewhere near marseilles ーマルセイユ辺りー, one last kiss, 気分じゃないの (not in the mood)
rating:
listened on 15.nov.23, published 19.nov.23
also quick shoutout to durango !!! his site is the reason i checked out hikari utada in the first place 
tic! tac! toe! - TAK x Corbin
type: single
genres: electropop, future house, future bass
date released: 20 march 2023
the other day i was soooo bored that i got the idea of writing a list of my favorite kpop producers. why? because i love lists! :)
first thing i wrote in there was production team NEWTYPE and members TAK, Corbin, and Take1! i first found out about them with a couple of woollim's artists like DRIPPIN and Kwon Eunbi, with songs such as switch and glitch, AND LET ME TELL YOU, these two songs were ones of my favorite releases from 2022.
since then, i have been up to date with whatever this team and it's producers make for kpop idols and i just ADORE their style so much. heavily relying on electronic sounds from genres like house, drum and bass, and future bass. but i think my favorite thing from them is how layered and warm these songs tend to be from them!
ANYWAY. i found this song from me doing that list and trying to learn more about the producers that have worked on my favorite kpop songs. and it has that very thing i love from NEWTYPE's production. such a fucking jam. the instrumental really scratches my brain.
as long as a song as a Really good beat, i really don't... care that much when it comes to vocals when it comes to these type of songs 
but i do think the singer's vocals fit very nicely into the song as well.
rating:
listened on 10.nov.23, published 15.nov.23
melting point - zerobaseone
type: EP
genres: kpop, electropop
date released: 6 november 2023
got to listen to zerobaseone's first comeback, with their 2nd EP: melting point!
i'm not That interested in this kpop boy group but their debut EP had a solid 2 step and D&B sound to it that i really digged, though i think i am just interested in that sound when it comes to this group...
so with that said, OF COURSE, i really enjoyed the first 2 songs of this EP. melting point has such a fun and smooth vibe to it, i find it quite charming :) and then comes take my hand and OH BOY. i knew from that instrumental in the intro of the song that this one was going to be a special one. i am in love with the production and the instrumental of this one. it is so so good. i haven't been this happy about a kpop b-side in a WHILEEEEE. i love it when i find a pop song that moves my soul and this is one of them. it just feels so dreamy!!! genuinely LOVE! also the vocals are also very smooth here. extra points for that.
then we have the title track crush.... honestly... i would Really Like this song if it wasn't for that pots n pans intro in the chorus. AND LISTEN! I LIKE POTS N PANS IN SONGS!!! but there is a Time And Place (for me at least) when it comes to this and in this song? i really fucking hate it 
and it sucks because the song has such nice verses and prechorus only for me to not like it because of those 10 seconds in the chorus.... lol.... im pretty sure if i listen to it 100 times i will not gaf anymore but. i am not one of those people. title track conclusion: listenable except for the chorus.
i do not care enough about the last 2 songs to write anything about them. they are just okay. not something i would come back to. which is surprisingly a theme with the debut EP as well. the first 3 songs are really (or at least somewhat) good and then the rest of it just falls off flat... oh well. at least i got something out of this.
i wonder if they will keep this 2 step and breakbeat sound that half of their discography has for their next release *thinking* knowing kpop grops, i think the chances are low but we will see
highlights: take my hand, melting point
rating:
listened on 06.nov.23, published 08.nov.23
