Super Eurobeat 211

[Lebon14]

AVCD-10211
2011/02/02
¥2,500

15 songs

[WNight]

AVCD-10211
2011/02/02
¥2,500

15 songs

Now there's 15 ? Interesting change there. Wonder what's it gonna be.

[Lebon14]

Now there's 15 ? Interesting change there. Wonder what's it gonna be.

I heard a rumor from a friend closer to the producers that they wanted to enroll more labels for SEB... I wonder if the 15 songs instead of 14 is a direct impact of that change..

[the_ditz]

*wishing it was February already*

Can't wait for this! I'm hoping they get rid of the j-pop remix and the rock/healing/pop remixes, as to be honest I haven't thought a single one of those was outstanding throughout the 200's. More new tracks I say!!

[Jay]

I heard a rumor from a friend closer to the producers that they wanted to enroll more labels for SEB... I wonder if the 15 songs instead of 14 is a direct impact of that change..

Not sure whether to believe what you've said, but if this is true, it sounds reasonable to presume that they might be doing away with the remixes at the end of the disc to squeeze more labels in as well.

[para_rigby]

I heard a rumor from a friend closer to the producers that they wanted to enroll more labels for SEB... I wonder if the 15 songs instead of 14 is a direct impact of that change..

Not sure whether to believe what you've said, but if this is true, it sounds reasonable to presume that they might be doing away with the remixes at the end of the disc to squeeze more labels in as well.

Hell, don't they have enough labels squeezed into a monthly release? Haha.
If that is true, what labels would they bring in? Let the speculation begin!!

[Megan188]

Blast! and BeatFire are pretty much the only non-SEB labels I can think of, but I doubt either of them is still particularly active.

[the_ditz]

There's nothing to suggest that they won't bring one of the j-euro labels into the SEB family, although since I don't really follow them I have no idea if they already have exclusivity deals to other companies or series aside from Avex and SEB.

Personally, I'd rather they just stuck with the labels they have currently (with Eurogrooves back on the scene too) as SEB has a fairly good mix at the moment (despite how heavily weighted towards certain labels the last decade was, namely Dima, SCP and Hi-NRG Attack).

[DarkSky]

I really don't know what Lebon is talking about with his ''label-theory''. I just hope that the time will strike quickly, because waiting so long for a new SEB disc is hard

So.. the format will be 14+1.
15 tracks, pretty good.

I wonder what's going to happen with EuroGrooves. It would be a massive lose for the Eurobeat Community of EuroGrooves would stop. Let's hope it won't get that far

[zoupzuop2]

Akiba Koubou.
Akiba Koubou.
Akiba Koubou.

...hey, I can dream, can't I? Besides, they're already on SEB 179 for a remix and did a remix of Running Ninja (though hardly a remix so much as a 'scramble')... Oh man. The idea of DJ Command being on SEB makes the inner fanboy in me squeal like a guinea pig.

[MAtRiCks]

Akiba Koubou.
Akiba Koubou.
Akiba Koubou.

...hey, I can dream, can't I? Besides, they're already on SEB 179 for a remix and did a remix of Running Ninja (though hardly a remix so much as a 'scramble')... Oh man. The idea of DJ Command being on SEB makes the inner fanboy in me squeal like a guinea pig.

supported wholeheartedly.

DJ Command is by miles the best Eurobeat producer at the moment. His production's quality urinates over most European labels right now. I just don't know how much of a songwriter he is... still, let's hope akiba koubou gets on SEB! It seems unlikely, though.

[Vadim]

Tradition is a very important thing (esp. in Japan).
SEB has been a compilation of european eurobeat for 20 years.
SEB has a certain unique style and identity. European identity.

Japanese style and songs are a world apart compared to SEB.

No messing with our the only remaining classic compilation!
To j-eurobeat I say : no way !

You want to introduce a new label..?
Start with Akyr..!

[DarkSky]

Tradition is a very important thing (esp. in Japan).
SEB has been a compilation of european eurobeat for 20 years.
SEB has a certain unique style and identity. European identity.

Japanese style and songs are a world apart compared to SEB.

No messing with our the only remaining classic compilation!
To j-eurobeat I say : no way !

You want to introduce a new label..?
Start with Akyr..!

QFT

[WNight]

Just put Plum on SEB already.

[zoupzuop2]

Tradition is a very important thing (esp. in Japan).
SEB has been a compilation of european eurobeat for 20 years.
SEB has a certain unique style and identity. European identity.

Japanese style and songs are a world apart compared to SEB.

No messing with our the only remaining classic compilation!
To j-eurobeat I say : no way !

You want to introduce a new label..?
Start with Akyr..!

My apologies, but I must be blunt.

That post, barring the idea that Akyr should come back, is plainly false. For the details, keep reading; for the jist, skip to the last paragraph.

Yes, Japan holds tradition dear by stereotype, but any popular genre, regardless of country, MUST adapt to survive. Even Japanese executives know this— and ask for Eurobeat labels to make Eurobeat relevant as such (do you think Jager's recent entries were entirely whimsical?). Clinging TOO close to tradition is equally unhealthy to tossing it aside entirely. Notice that for all the changes Eurobeat has gone through, it retains a rather strong tradition (arrangement of synth brass, synth bass and a drum kit; common bpm range between 135 and 170 bpm, etc) from which it hasn't often deviated since its inception. Tradition and adaptation are not mutually exclusive, and Eurobeat requires a balance of both to survive.

And, the idea that Eurobeat is wholly European is absolute phooey. Japanese writers and producers have been involved in Eurobeat on multiple occasions. Songs as recent as "For Your Love" were WRITTEN by J-Euro labels such as Plum! As well, EVEN IF all those writers up until now were Italian, even if Dima didn't have his main studio in Thailand (3000+ miles away from Italy) and have a cowriter who's Thai, and even if Mega NRG Man didn't live in Sweden (or so I'm told), and a slew of other examples didn't fly in the face of this idea, I'm Californian, so I've tainted the 'perfectly European' pool. That's right, I SPECIFICALLY cause a problem in this theory, and I'm certainly not the only American to do so (Fausto Guio, if I'm not mistaken, is a New York native).

Furthermore, Eurobeat is the baby of Italo Disco and J-POP, a Japan-specific genre devised by Japan-specific tastes (not Europe's). Because it was originally Japanese taste that got Eurobeat (as it stood 19 years into its existence) to exist in the first place, if Japanese audiences decided it wanted a Japanese label in its own subgenre of pop then we who don't live in Japan have little say in the matter as we don't make up the majority of the demographic. Eurobeat is picked/sorted in Japan, sold in Japan (mostly, even if there ARE growing niches in other countries), and succeeds or fails first and foremost in Japan. Sucks for us non-Japanese if we don't like what they do (I don't mean that to be snarky; sometimes it really does suck).

Lastly, in Akiba Koubou's specific defense, have you even HEARD their material (specifically, DJ Command's style)? It's EXTREMELY faithful to traditional ABeatC and Delta. Yes, because the vocalists don't speak English natively (neither do Italians, by the way, they've just gotten slightly better at it over the years) they don't sound the same. But if you're listening to Eurobeat for the depth of the lyrics (or, worse, CLARITY of lyrics... the 'Misheard Lyrics' section of EBPrime doesn't exist for nothing!) then something isn't right.

tl;dr: Tradition and adaptation are not mutually exclusive, the idea that SEB is purely European is absolute bollocks (so says Dima's studio in Thailand and non-European artists like me~), Japanese-style songs are WHY Eurobeat has done so well as Eurobeat is a fusion of J-style and Italo, J-Euro has been integral to Eurobeat's success as far back as SEB 70 on a conservative estimate, and while Akyr-style tracks from Delta would be GREAT on SEB, Akiba Koubou would do fantastic on SEB.