MEG

I was just about to post this entry on MEG, thinking she was just another re-packaged version of Capsule, Perfume, Coltemonikha and others, all produced by the seemingly inexhaustible Nakata Yasutaka. Then I looked a little deeper into her history (hey, it's what I do here, after all) and found that it was only recently that she seemed to suffer a mild case of schizophrenia.

Prior to her working relationship with Yasutaka, MEG seemed to be your typical pop singer working in the realm of lighter dance tunes and soft ballads. She also started her own clothing line, Carolina Glaser by Cheryl. Then in 2006, she changed her name from "meg" to "MEG." She also changed her musical focus to club-land. Enter Nakata Yasutaka.

In the grand scheme of Yasutaka's portfolio, MEG falls somewhere between Perfume's young innocence and Capsule's more mature sophistication. Meg herself sounds a bit like the playful Yuki from Judy and Mary, but for the most part she fits exactly into the typical Yasutaka mold, namely slightly lifeless and a bit bland. Perhaps that's why his singers are always slathered in effects and vocoders. Then again, maybe the lifelessness is a result of the over-production stripping away any sense of individuality from the singer?

Nevertheless, fans of Yasutaka's razor-sharp production and pounding beats will find a lot to love with the new MEG. The songs are the usual upbeat dance tracks with the vocals very much in the forefront, surrounded by twinkling pianos and ear splitting synth-bass carrying it all along. It may just be more of the same, but when it sounds good, why try harder?

Check out the videos for a look into MEGs gradual transformation.

BUY MEG RELEASES HERE

Precious




Official Site

Major Releases
ROOM GIRL - 2003/07/09
Dithyrambos - 2006/11/22
Aquaberry - 2007/4/11
Beam - 2007/12/05
Step - 2008/6/18

OK


Magic

Coltemonikha

Coltemonikha is yet another electro project from producer Nakata Yasutaka, the man behind Capsule and Perfume, among others. This time he brings along vocalist Sakai Kate to add the sugary frosting to the Daft Punk-like beats and Pizzacato Five sense of style. Coltemonikha is almost an exact replica of the aforementioned bands. In a blind taste test I would be very hard-pressed to tell the difference between songs like Coltemonikha's "Sora Tobu Hikari," Capsule's "Sugarless Girl" and Perfume's "Computer City." They are essentially the same song. Not that there's anything wrong with that. A good pop/dance/electro song is a good pop/dance/electro song is a good op/dance/electro song, and Nakata Yasutaka has the formula down to a science.




Official Site

Members
Sakai Kate (vocals)
Nakata Yasutaka (everything else)

Major Releases
COLTEMONIKHA (2006.05.17)
COLTEMONIKHA 2 (2007.09.26)

After you watch the Coltemonikha video above, check out the perfume and Capsule videos below to see what I'm talking about.

Capsule

Nakata Yasutaka, a producer, musician and DJ, is the man behind the scenes in many different electro-tinged projects, including Perfume, Coltemonikha and, most notably, Capsule. Along with Toshiko Koshijima on vocals, Capsule began as a Pizzacato 5 clone in 2001. Over the years, Yasutaka has morphed their sound from lounge/bossa-nova to hard-hitting electro/disco ala Daft Punk. In fact, some of the tracks on their latest album Sugarless Girl could very well be mistaken for cast-off tracks from the French band. Not that that is a bad thing. Of course, the same could be said for Perfume, a group that also sounds just like the new Capsule. Perhaps it's time for Yasutaka to take a break? Of note: Capsule made three videos (or a single short film when viewed all at once) with Studio Ghibli.

BUY CAPSULE RELEASES HERE