Musical Discoveries in Touhou Fandom

[Drunken_Flower]

I found an album that inspired by Kara no Kyoukai, it's a popular Light Novel and Anime, though i have zero knowledge about said franchise.
if i were to name the genre i'll call it Fantasy Hymn-esque

info: https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/幻想の境界_-_the_Garden_of_Phantasmagoria_-
7 tracks, playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjJh2PhxT3RupjlJGk-PUMAzkVr0YRjG0

 

[Ken Hisuag]

JerryStuffRo - Lotus Road (TD Arrange)
Technically part of a Paradise of Boundaries project, but it's been a while and these last few themes of the era have been surprisingly difficult to find arrangements for (with a notable exception). Plus, it's not often I find a serious take on TD's spirit world gimmick.

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Wanwan - Tri-pilot
This was the exception; Dreamy Pilot is a lot more popular than I thought. Wanwan tends to favor Zunish (understandably; he's among the best), but a more jazz focused arrangement like this isn't too surprising, given his style.

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Matmax14 - Incomplete Plot
The occasional clock effect in the background has a nice effect. Otherwise, there isn't much to say about this one.

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[Ken Hisuag]

ZuikakuP - BorderLand
Given the original was a concept theme for stage five, I appreciate the tone of this arrangement for fitting so well with the ascetic of first-appearance Yuuka.

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Cone - Magic Shop of Raspberry
Being one of my favorite PC-98 tracks, I was looking for something special for this piece. The baseline and intro tend to define the piece, and this did a nice job balancing them against the melody to give it emphasis.

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SeriouSecond - Closed Dimension
I had hoped for something a bit more hard hitting for an ending, but nothing satisfactory turned up. This arrangement is a bit long, and I worry it may drag for some listeners, but I found I didn't mind it personally.

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With that, I have successfully featured a remix or arrangement for every musical piece from the PC-98 era of the Touhou Project. It has taken me almost exactly one year. I realize now that I don't know what percentage of Touhou music that actually is; maybe I'll calculate that for next week.

[Ken Hisuag]

This is an off-schedule post to appreciate a category of Touhou music that, though falling under the identifier of the thread, doesn't get as much recognition in it; that of original compositions in the Zunish style. I used to use tournaments as a time to feature these discoveries, but that ceased to be reasonable. I happened upon this thread dedicated to the subject on Maidens of Kaleidoscope, and it reminded me that I haven't featured anything of the sort for a while. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to do so more often in the future.

http://shrinemaiden.com/index.php?topic=98.0

[buskerdog]

It's that time of year again. You know the one. This time, I've not got any particularly elaborate joke to make, just some high quality rips to keep you entertained. The first one has a bit of meme material in there, but for the second one I think the joke is mostly just the title... it does also slap tho.

...oh, maybe worth looking in the descriptions for both these videos too. I think that's where the real april fools joke is.

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Well now I guess I wait, since I'm looking forward to watching the annual Rivals Direct later. There's no announcement of one, but it always happens this time of year, so hopefully...

[Ken Hisuag]

For this week's feature, I am dedicating a post to Theme of Eastern Story. It's placement in the musical chronology is arguable, but it seems fitting to address it between the two major eras of the series. For those who don't know, the familiar arpeggios that serve as the main theme for the series was first featured as the logo jingle for ZUN Soft (precursor to Team Shanghai Alice):

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Later Zun would incorporate the motif into the extra stage theme of the first Seihou game (the extra stage being a reference to his games). But it wasn't until the Untouched Scores collection that he would dedicate a proper arrangement to the theme, putting a name to the motif and establishing its place in the series. I initially set out to get remixes for each of these three uses, but I had no luck finding anything for the original logo jingle (which is fair), so instead y'all get two Eastern Story arrangements.

Snow Evarose - A Shrine Maiden's Pride
An arrangement with energy and impact, coupled with a sense of awe; that describes many remixes of the track I've found, with a similar quantity switching out "energy" for "serenity." Nonetheless, I appreciated this one's more daring take on instrumentation and the bit of twist in the interlude.

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Kani Sasimi - Ephemeral Light of the East
I feel like there was a drop in quality in the uploading, but I can't always trust myself on that. I didn't find a lost of arrangements for Silk Road Alice that fit the tone I wanted; this was fairly close, and original enough to stand out from all the MIDI covers.

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fromadistance - Life That's Scarce a Hundred Years
Here's that "serenity" I mentioned. What could be more fitting than Oriental folk orchestra?

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Edited April 8, 2023 by Ken Hisuag

[Ken Hisuag]

3 hours ago, buskerdog said:

Well now I guess I wait, since I'm looking forward to watching the annual Rivals Direct later. There's no announcement of one, but it always happens this time of year, so hopefully...

There was one announced; the "preshow" is at 9:00 AM Pacific time, with the actual Direct to follow at 10:00.

Edited April 1, 2023 by Ken Hisuag
got the time wrong

[Ken Hisuag]

Officially, a new beginning!

Rikumaru - A Dream More Scarlet than Red [PC-98 Remix]
Just as I started with a Zunish remix of a PC-98 track, I thought it only fitting to use a PC-98 remix for this Zunish piece. This isn't an especially dynamic one, but it accurately translates the style of the source into the sound of the older era.

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38BEETS - Scarlet
Something more complex is in order after that. For these early Windows era tracks, I'm anticipating a wide variety of options; so far, that is holding true. Soul as Scarlet as a Ground Cherry has a unique tone to it, and rather than find something to match it, I settled on a less unusual but sufficiently artsy.

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Kai Cyreus - Legendary Apparitions
I've been blessed to hear some incredible arrangements of Apparitions Stalk the Night, many of them through past remix tournaments. So I was determined to find something creative at the very least. This piece lacks a bit of the punch that would perfect it, but the balancing of the melody against itself in slight discordance does an excellent job at creating a dark and determined tone, which works excellently with the motifs.

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[Ken Hisuag]

yoirone - Misty Morning
There are some epic arrangements of this track out there, but I thought this laid back style suited it better. It also stands out from my usual options.

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5crow3 - Beloved Tomboyish Girl
Based on the translation results, I think the title's supposed to be a pun, but I can't be sure.
I was trying to be careful with picking for this one; as one of the more heavily memed tracks in the series, options range across every imaginable style and mood, making the decision of what to use decided too easy. I went with this one because it managed to incorporate a humorous tone without being entirely structured around it (being coupled with Oriental folk makes this an ideal arrangement for the associated character imo).

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Boberon (a.k.a. Bob NL) - March of the Chinese Warrior
I had a very specific tone in mind while searching out this remix. I wanted something full, but relatively low energy, perhaps somber. I should know better than to entertain such expectations; they inevitably make the process more difficult. Regardless, this fits pretty well; the instrument quality is rather subpar, but that's always been an issue with this artist. What I wanted to avoid was something high energy (rock, metal or techno) or anything folk (felt too obvious).

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[Ken Hisuag]

Tonchi - Shanghai Alice of Horai 17
This was technically an arrangement of the Music Collection version, hence the name. Given the close proximity the two versions have to each other, I did not intend to feature them separately, though I acknowledge a case for doing so.

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Spielraum - Vualkyrie
I love an arrangement with a few twists to it. Between the interlude and the melody adjustment, there's an almost whimsical mood to this, but more pop style.

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Frost Fragment - Blasphemous Choice Alegria
Iceon's style is consistent between circles apparently, but I'm not complaining. This has all the marks of an ideal Locked Girl arrangement, contrasting hard energy with more formal interludes.

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[Ken Hisuag]

ramaseta - The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood (Jazz ver.)
This was a really hard pick (and I'm still not altogether happy with it). This is my least favorite track from Touhou 6, but I know it's well loved by others, so I was determined to find something that did it justice while also bridging the gap a little. While this arrangement doesn't have much movement, it does a good job at adapting the original motif into a laid back comfort piece. I felt it should have been longer, but four minutes isn't bad length, so that's probably a good sign.

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Nuruhachi - Elegant Psychopath
Dramatic cinema style is an orchestral that elegantly twists around in continuous progression. Normally I get this from CarrotWine or Melodic Taste, but while the former employs looping and the latter often lacks length, this arrangement is a masterpiece of completeness, and quite possibly the best orchestral remix I've heard in a while. Under different circumstances, I might have saved this for a tournament, but that seems ill-advised currently, so y'all get to enjoy it now.

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Notzan ACT - The Young Descendant of Tepes
Ironically, this is the sound I was seeking for Maid and Pocket Watch, and vise versa (if only I could switch them somehow). Regardless, I was surprised how well the spacey synth sound worked with these motifs.

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[Drunken_Flower]

suwako

[Ken Hisuag]

Altemis Yukkuri - Scarlet Destiny
IMO, a perfect blending of elegance and intensity in this one. The organ intro is independent from the rest of the piece, but sets the tone so that the following elements are interpreted accordingly; from there, it continues building up from classical instrumentation into a more modern-sounding symphony. The audio quality could be a bit better, but I don't think it detracts overly much.

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Morimori Atsushi - The Centennial Festival for Magical Girls (MRM REMIX)
Having already picked out the U.N. Owen feature, my desire was to find an arrangement that would bridge the gap between remixes while (obviously) still doing justice to the material. This is a bit shorter than I'd like, but otherwise it fits the bill perfectly. This is also one of those music artists that has impressed me enough to take special note of their work.

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Paradotto - Ultimate Taste
Since this is certainly the most well-known piece in the series, I was prepared to do a bit of digging for something unique; instead, I found this full-flavor remix while looking for a different feature. Why settle for a single remix when I can use all the remixes at once? Seriously though, I appreciate the idea of such a well known track being given this sort of treatment; it helps highlight the different styles at play without listeners getting caught up in the nuances. Potentially very helpful, and a pretty fun listen as well.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Schwarzwald - Vampire Illusion
Finding this was a pain; I did not expect such trouble for an EoSD piece. While there was no lack of results, at least three-quarters of them were mixed arrangements with both Eternity and Eastern Dream..., which didn't fit my criteria. I didn't even discover this one; I only found it because it was covered by Bit2, and I was immensely grateful for it.

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Ping Xing Shi Jie - Crimson Belvedere ~ Eastern Dream...
While I didn't have nearly as much trouble with this one, I was struck with indecisiveness between options favoring intensity and favoring serenity. Obviously I settled on the latter, though it had more to do with the uniqueness of the particular arrangement than my own preference.

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k-waves LAB - Legend of Hourai
I'm a bit worried at how close in style this one is to the preceding feature, but it fits too well for me to pass up. Since Dolls in Pseudo Paradise is less familiar to some fans, I may feel inclined to add additional commentary to the tracks featured, especially given the unique origins of some. As for this one, it's an original composition for the album, and as such severely underappreciated.

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[Ken Hisuag]

For no reason beyond personal enthusiasm, this week's feature is doubled up.

ikurumi - Nihil & Arts Factory Null - Lies
The first of many remixes within Dolls of Pseudo Paradise, and among the tracks being carried over from the Seihou Project. This was Reimu's theme in Seihou 1, but I think most are familiar with it from this re-publish and its later remixes down the series. I'm not particularly fond of it, at least when comparing it to other Reimu themes, but fan arrangements have done a good job at adapting its parts in creative ways. As for these remixes, glitch hop is unique enough on its own, and the vocaloid arrangement is more competent then I'm used to.

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Forest306 & Sing, R. Sing! - Cherry-petals, Travel Through Love & Iris Drop - The Rainbow Light That Makes You Bloom
Yuuka's forgotten theme, extremely underrated. I should mention that DiPP is possibly my least favorite music release in the series, entirely because I dislike the production sound; I believe a motif's true strength is independent of its presentation, but its reception will be inevitably impacted. I say this because the original version of this piece in SD-88 is one of my favorite non-Touhou ZUN compositions. I appreciate the justice these remixes do to the piece, especially the folk one.

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Toubu Kaitakuchi - Sakura, Sea, and Stupa Sword (Furura Remix) ~ Enigmatic Doll & ZYTOKINE - Enigmatic Dollz
This one was far more difficult to find for than I expected; I thought it has a decent enough degree of popularity to receive thorough coverage, and granted there was coverage, but it took a while to find anything I was happy with. Regardless, find I did; still not sure about the title of the first one, but the info is close enough to track down as needed.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Boundary Observatory - Dusk
"Unsettled" ambience is a fitting identifier, if a tad subjective. Circus Reverie is similar to Merry the Magician in tone, so it makes sense that a few arrangements would favor this lower energy. I personally don't think the motif is that strong, but a remix like this should help make it more memorable.

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Prismriver Orchestra - Forest of Magic
This an apparently underrated motif, because I could not find much coverage on it. This arrangement isn't a new discovery, but I got desperate for something to do the piece justice.

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Shimanojo's Toy Box - Witch of Love Potion
Hopefully that's a close enough translation.
This is another one of those pieces whose supposed obscurity of origin has lent itself notoriety. It's still not that well known, but it's more familiar to me than some of these other tracks. This is a particularly fun arrangement.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Skima-bit - Awakening
Despite this being a relatively unknown track in the fandom, I happened to encounter it early (as cataloged on the archive channel), and it has been one of those special oddities of the franchise since.

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UnPS - Ghostly Dream ~ Snow or Cherry Petal
The serene quality of solo piano seemed especially fitting for the intro to a winter-themed story.

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UI-70 - Paradise ~ Deep Mountain
After those two low-energy pieces, we need something that maintains the tone while improving the balance of mood. How about flamenco?

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[Ken Hisuag]

OrangeCoffee - Crystallize Daydream
I love this glitch-lite style, where it doesn't technically go all the way but still has those fun little tricks you'd otherwise get. Because PCB is winter/ghost themed, I tend to assume cold-toned arrangements for its pieces. But sometimes, I think I project the tone onto the piece, rather than it actually being there.

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I'm not sure if the ending is cut short or if its bad editing (I suppose it would be bad editing both ways, but by whom?).

Crest - Shadow and Illusion
I did not expect to pick a piece like this, as I associate it more strongly with folk. But when I came across this one I just couldn't pass it up. How often do we have French vocals here, and with this level of quality?

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Ganeme - YVO4
I'm not especially fond of Chen's theme; its motif simply doesn't compare favorably with its album companions. Adapting it to harder genres seems to help.

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[Ken Hisuag]

MANDALLIUM - Mirage
ALL THE GENRES!!! Why this piece, though? Great find regardless, but I do wonder how prevalent this particular sort of hybrid genre is, given I can't recall coming across it before.

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Midocake - Doll Judgement ~ The Girl Who Played with People's Shapes
I really appreciate the intricacies of the original track, which ironically makes alterations a bit harder to enjoy; when you're used to listening for small details, the absence of those details becomes distracting. As such, I decided to finally give this artist the spotlight (though I'm worried my translation isn't sufficiently accurate).

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Liverne - Capital City of Flowers in the Sky
What a find this was! Given the infamy of the track in question, I had specific expectations for whatever I picked. This take appropriately captured the tone I wanted, and works well as a counterpart to the Bucuresti arrangement.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Sensitive Heart - Ghostly Band ~ Phantom Ensemble
Phantom Ensemble is my #1 Touhou piece, and as such I had high expectations for its representation in this post. I was hoping for something that maintained the serene atmosphere of the original with slightly increased activity and a "fun" tone. It didn't take me long to find exactly what I was looking for in this arrangement. However, I should note having discovered several other arrangements of differing styles that also managed to impress me; this pick was not a quick one, and for that I am pleased.

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Second Fragment - Phantom Winter
For this piece, I was looking for something low-energy and airy, reminiscent of "ghostly." Instead, I found this mournfully reminiscent arrangement, which still managed to capture the character of the motifs I had hoped to bring out.

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Fuyuki Seana - Rydeen/split moon nocturne
One of those situations where I question the intended title due to formatting confusion. In contrast to the previous piece, I wanted Till When in a quick and heavy style, but still have an airy feel in its background. This arrangement fit perfectly, though I worry the upload quality undercuts the piece a bit (I remember having a similar problem with another piece of this artist).

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[Pepi]

I found a creator that recreates/remixes Touhou tracks using a Sound Hardware Emulator of PC98. These two are my favorite remixes.
 

Deaf to all but the Song

Spring Lane ~Colorful Path

 

[yankop]

I think no words can describe this video/song other that pure fun. Plus it's an arangement (if you can even call it that) of my favourite theme so I've been listening to this non-stop for the past 3 days.

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[Ken Hisuag]

Hikarisyuyo's Storage - Take That!!!
This isn't at all what I expected to settle on for Ultimate Truth, but once it turned up it was difficult to ignore. Between the sound quality highlighting all the best strengths of the instruments at play within a surprisingly fitting arrangement for the motif in question, this was a rare find to be appreciated.

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Amplified Sound - Border of Life (Novy's Progressive Remix)
It is not necessarily desirable to find an arrangement that captures the same tone as the original for any given piece, but some tracks more noteworthy for the same encourage a degree of investment towards it; I'd argue Bloom Nobly, Ink-black Cherry Blossoms is such a piece. Yet in my searching, I found very few pieces that captured both the tone of the original and the originality of a remix, leastways to my specific liking. Ultimately, I settled on this one because of it's length; possibly both its strongest and weakest feature, the extended progression of the track simulates the tone I'm looking for without feeling too strongly attached to the original.

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Paired tracks are not uncommon through the Touhou series, especially from 14 onward where the last stage theme uses the same motif as the final boss theme. PCB is unique in that it has three instances, all close together at the end: Who Done it?, Necrofantasia, and Border of Life. This last one is the most difficult for me to define; it has some characteristics that would appropriately differentiate it from its parent track, but as a climax piece it isn't technically intended to be. While I did find several arrangements focused on this specific version of the motif, I ultimately decided not to feature it to avoid redundancy.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Ken Hisuag

[Ken Hisuag]

SituP - Back to my Cafe
Contrasting this with Who Done It! was my goal in searching for this track, but I didn't expect to find something like this. I'm not sure it qualifies as "bossanova" as the artist attributes it, but it has a nice varied progression with its chill mood.

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Ryuuha Mikakutei - A Maiden's Illusionary Funeral ~ Necro-Fantasy
Again, my idea was to select a style for ideal contrast. I wanted something noble or elevated, ideally with energy neither low nor high. This isn't quite what I wanted, but sufficiently empowers the motif for the unique presentation I desired.

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Spaztique Explosive - Charming Domination ~ Let's do It!
An unexpectedly ideal find for my purposes, this arrangement has the high energy to contrast its counterpart, and a style that works as a transition from the orchestral of its preceding feature.

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[Ken Hisuag]

YASUHIRO - Necrofantasia
High energy and more modern style was my goal for this one. I didn't have to look far; this has exactly the tonal balance of consistent and experimental progression.

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yazyu-piano - Dream of a Spring Breeze
As a follow-up, something more somber was called for. This preserves the feel of the original, but its minimal instrumentation almost seems to accentuate it.

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Kuroneko Lounge - Sakura, Sakura ~ Japanese Dream...
I did not expect this sound from the "house set" series, and it turned out to be perfect for this piece. The serene tone of its beginning colors its more standard parts into a happy ending.

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