[News] Winter diary ~A7 Classical~ - release 23rd December 2015 (Thread #2)

[primavera♥]

I weirdly like Winter Diary in full. It was just so easy and relaxing to listen to without making want to switch to something. Not as pretty as Close to you but I guess that's kind of how I approach that song as well and still love it.

[TheRainbow]

Originally Posted by attractive nausea

I'm listening to the album right now : LOW VOCALS, LOW VOCALS, LOW VOCALS
I hope i can find a way to fix this because everything is super good but i just can't hear her sing

I think it's okay for most of them, but I can't believe they were all approved as is.
Sorrows gets better after the first verse, but in The GIFT she's almost inaudible and in TSMGO the freaking title itself can barely be heard LOL. But luckily those weren't my favorite arrangements anyway. WARNING, Last minute, Step by step and Out of control are such nice surprises.

[Saki-Chan]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

Winter diary【teaser movie】

I don't really liked it actually... I was expecting a video more like... mm Days?

[Refix]

Holy crap, she looks so plastic. Definitely doesn't like this PV.

[aliceshields]

Lovers-robbing-gun shots-escaping-died........ Hmmmmmm~ hopefully full PV will give a different feeling...

[Refix]

This theme had been use in the L trilogy. Virgin Road, Last angel and Love song... only this one is the low budget edition lol

[MessiahofSilence]

Originally Posted by Refix

This theme had been use in the L trilogy. Virgin Road, Last angel and Love song... only this one is the low budget edition lol

I'm just happy that she's shooting outside of a set again. The scenery of the city is the tits and the reason why I didn't bother with the A ONE PVs was because they were basically Ayu in a room singing.

[kinix]

the album is relisted on mu-mo but without the freebies

[BlackSilence]

i actually think if thata video is actually going to be like what it is. then kudos to Ayu, because, i mean how many christmasy song videos have blood and robberies in them? lol She's definitely taking a whole other level to the idea of christmas video

speaking of the songs. Is it just me or a lot of them have instrumentals too loud?

anyways.

WARNING - awesome except for those lalalas they are so bloody out of place there.
Step by step - i love it.
Sorrows - that intro! the whole piece is just beautiful. And that outro!
Last minute - BREATHTAKING. It killed me.
Summer diary - was lovely!
Sky high - i actually love this. I did think the original was ok but this is so so so so much better. Gives so much more life to it. I really adore this one.
Out of control - wonderfully done. It's so soft at one point yet has a lot of power. LOVE IT~
NO FUTURE - This is great! It has so many colours in it. Very rich. It does sound very baroque-sque at some points.
The show must go on - this is so much better than the original. the yeahyeahyeah parts are a bit out of place though. But this sounds so much better.
Winter diary - i just love that intro it works so nice here. And i really like the song. It's wonderfully done. The outro is great too!Not the best track she ever did, but it's just, LOVELY. <3 Though i really have no idea how this is going to blend into the music video lol There's a huge contrast in the mood of those two.

On some songs it did feel like the vocals were a bit less prominent than the instrumental. But the rest was fine.
The string solos are incredible in this and very much reminds me of what GACKT has is some of his tracks.
In general the whole album is a masterpiece in terms of wonderfully done arranging. I have been dying to hear stuff like that from her and she finally has done this. I kind of wish she had a concert tour with orchestra only. Just Ayu and orchestra with all of these tracks. It would be a majestic tour. These arrangements are some of the best i've ever heard from her.

[Zeke.]

The mixing is just terrible on this album. The arrangement themselves are mixed nicely, but it's like the tracks didn't go through a final mastering process with the vocals on top of the arrangement. Ayu's voice sounds so far away and almost like the arrangements themselves were completely different, stand-alone tracks and some fan went and through her vocal tracks over top them.

Finally listened to Winter diary and I'm not impressed. To me, I don't find it all THAT Christmasey/wintery. It's hard to get into the song. It reminds me of Sky High. The entire song is carried by that stupid "midi" sounding synth that has been cheapening so many of her tracks as of late. You know the sound - it could be a stringed instrument, but it's so artificial and generally used in a LOT of Japanese songs, but it's usually in the background with real instruments built around it. Nowadays, it's pushed so much into the foreground the songs sound like something a bedroom producer threw together.

I wish she would bring guitars back into her work. Take No way to say for example. The entire track is carried along by this amazing guitar running the bassline that just adds so much presence and power to the overall product. All of her tracks used to utilize the guitar in that way. Now, it's very rare.

[xLuna&1LOVE]

wtf to the teaser. I am curious to know how they are going to link this to Summer Diary. Perhaps it is not, which makes it even more interesting. Yeah sure, it looks like Virgin Road all over again, but I like it. I did not expect it at all and that is why I liked it. This is stuff I cannot wait for. Bring it on, Ayu.

As for the classical album, not my thing. I am gonna enjoy the new song, but that's it.

[cosmicfirefly]

I'm surprised I enjoyed this album as much as I did, normally I'm not a huge fan of her classic mixes but these were all great. Winter Diary sounds awesome and it's already stuck in my head. Since the song sounds happy I expected the video to go in that direction too, but I guess not lol I can't wait to read the lyrics.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Refix

Holy crap, she looks so plastic. Definitely doesn't like this PV.

It looks like she is supposed to be dead and frozen on that scene...

[errikkutrancex]

Strange feeling about that album : I just would say a "too much" sensation.... too much instruments (My Story classical was better or should I say perfect : a good balance voice/instrumental), too noisy, too much lyrics...

Concerning the new PV, what a waste to use it for winter diary ;( it seems such promising and original ! Looking forward to see the whole PV, and listen to it with "Last Angel" song instead

[love in music]

The PV actually looks interesting.
I'm okay with the verses to Winter Diary but the chorus is just bad and annoying. I'm kind of disappointed in this, especially since the PV looks good but this lame song will go with it :/

All of the Orchestra versions are fucking amazing though.. like wow. There's not one that's bad. Sky High is no doubt better than the original song, it takes something generic and boring and makes it interesting and grand. I think that one might be my favorite just because of the amazing transformation it went through. But I love every single orchestra version on here. This will be getting much more plays than her last few albums from me.

[あーちゃん]

Hello!
could someone share the album from here: http://www.amazon.co.jp/Winter-diary...s=winter+diary ?

The leaked version has a weak vocal in the background and the music sounds loud than the vocals? I think Chinese fans share albums in cheap versions these days, then edit it with a software to to make it sound like that. Hope that make sense...
Thanks in advance.

[Montebello]

I had kinda hated the preview from Winter Diary but now that I'm hearing the full version, I actually enjoy it.

The english intro is very cringeworthy to me and the verses are so-so but overall I actually like it.

And the video looks like it'll be amazing.

[BlackSilence]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

I wish she would bring guitars back into her work. Take No way to say for example. The entire track is carried along by this amazing guitar running the bassline that just adds so much presence and power to the overall product. All of her tracks used to utilize the guitar in that way. Now, it's very rare.

It's funny how you say that. People nowadays are so obsessed with that electronic and dance sound that they forget that instruments exist. I guess computers made things cheaper but damn i mis raw guitars on her stuff too. even her rock influenced tracks now have that too-clean guitar sound. I miss the sound of guitars ala HEARTPLACE. And drums too.. In general when they record stuff with actual people playing the parts it always sounds better. And you can tell, where it is actual orchestra, real strings, drums or guitars, because there's much more depth in the sound. This gives to emotional stuff like Ayu's even more emotion. It breathes life into the music.

[Gustavopc]

I am listening to the album, and so far only WARNING got my attention, amazing job

Regarding the teaser... I don't know how to feel about it o__o Given the song aura and Summer diary I was NOT expecting this kind of Love song meets No way to say PV. Gonna wait for the full thing

[Delicious n Bold]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

The mixing is just terrible on this album. The arrangement themselves are mixed nicely, but it's like the tracks didn't go through a final mastering process with the vocals on top of the arrangement. Ayu's voice sounds so far away and almost like the arrangements themselves were completely different, stand-alone tracks and some fan went and through her vocal tracks over top them.

Finally listened to Winter diary and I'm not impressed. To me, I don't find it all THAT Christmasey/wintery. It's hard to get into the song. It reminds me of Sky High. The entire song is carried by that stupid "midi" sounding synth that has been cheapening so many of her tracks as of late. You know the sound - it could be a stringed instrument, but it's so artificial and generally used in a LOT of Japanese songs, but it's usually in the background with real instruments built around it. Nowadays, it's pushed so much into the foreground the songs sound like something a bedroom producer threw together.

Welp, you've spoken.
Is the mixing better, worse, or on par with the recent releases?


Oh and I agree about bringing back instruments.
Her last good ballad was sweet scar, and that had a really good piano and even an oboe!