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  #1  
Old Nov 8, 2009, 09:28 AM
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Thumbs up TRIX : A band every VGM fan should check

Hi,

If you enjoy jazz/funk/rock VGM à la Konami Kukeiha Club, SEGA SST Band, any other VGM group with similar formation, or even Gran Turismo and some other racing soundtracks, you should definitely check TRIX music.

It's the most VGM sounding j-fusion (aka japanese jazz-funk) band.

Many early japanese game-music composers have been inspired by 70's/80's j-fusion music, like T-Square, Casiopea, Dimension, Jimsaku etc...
Some T-Square members actually worked on Gran Turismo soundtracks.

TRIX is a more recent band, but they definitely sound like jazz-funk-rock VGM and their track titles just read like the back cover of a VGM album.

Some live videos (sometimes featuring cheesy acting ), from their live DVD :
Recollection
Ma-Tsu-Ta-Ke
Solitude
Adios
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  #2  
Old Nov 8, 2009, 01:38 PM
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great! my sort of music particularly Casiopea, who I adore. it's a shame there aren't any western bands quite like this, as me and some others on IRC have discussed before (about the closest I have found are Level 42 and Elektric Band, and maybe some of Dave Weckl's solo work, which are all cool too but not quite the same as the japanese fusion groups.)

this band sounds really awesome. thanks very much for sharing.

i'd also recommend most of Ayako Saso and Shinji Hosoe's scores, particularly earlier stuff, as they are predominantly in this style.

Another great Japanese band is COSMOS, though from what I've heard they're a little more poppy. Certainly reminiscent of the old vg house bands though.
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  #3  
Old Nov 8, 2009, 02:45 PM
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Yeah like Hosoe on this, a-ny-time.

Cosmos sounds quite like some Tokimeki OST (not necessary a bad thing ).
Maybe you could enjoy Naoya Matsuoka works then.

For some western (Iceland) band in "light" jazz-funk like those japanese ones, you should check Mezzoforte, great melodic stuff.

By the way, when i was talking about inspiration, Outrun anyone?

Last edited by dma; Nov 9, 2009 at 12:42 AM.
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  #4  
Old Nov 9, 2009, 12:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dma View Post
By the way, when i was talking about inspiration, Outrun anyone?
Seriously was expecting Magical Sound Shower there for just a second...

Very nice. I love Japanese jazz fusion bands, but I'd say my favorite is T-Square. Of course, Masahiro Andoh is one of my top favorite video game music composers and guitarists of all time, so that's probably not so surprising.
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  #5  
Old Nov 9, 2009, 10:33 AM
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I'm very interested in jazzy style video game music, just got to listening to some King of Fighters Arrange albums the other day and me quite enjoyed em. I also recenty heard an original work by a VGM composer. The name of the album is POWERZONE, and they have streaming samples of their music on MySpace.
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  #6  
Old Nov 24, 2009, 07:46 AM
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Very nice.
This band sounds really awesome. thanks very much for sharing this.i also like most of Ayako Saso and Shinji Hosoe's scores, particularly their earlier compositions, they r dominating in this particular style.Masahiro Andoh is one of my favourite video game music composers and guitarists, so that's probably not so surprising.
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  #7  
Old Nov 24, 2009, 10:52 AM
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WOw damn! They are awesome!
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  #8  
Old Dec 5, 2009, 06:39 PM
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I'm very glad to see this thread. In fact, I have to thank you, dma. Thanks to this old thread you made in 2004 on Slightly Dark I've been reading around 2005 I became a fan of J-fusion.
http://www.slightlydark.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=2677

I think my favorite of all this fantastic bands is TRIX, because of powerful melodies and energetic tracks. The timbre of the Hiroshi Kubota's guitar is the best I've ever heard.

About the game music albums in this same style, I recommend F-ZERO, one of my favorites of all time, and Heart Session and specially Heart Session 2, which I listen recently.
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  #9  
Old Dec 6, 2009, 01:22 AM
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Oh, i'm really glad about hat Revoc.

And indeed TRIX got some powerful and cheerful energy.
I like pretty much all their work equally (6 albums already!).
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  #10  
Old Dec 6, 2009, 03:32 AM
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Quote:
Yeah like Hosoe on this, a-ny-time.
i've only heard bits of dragon saber, really need to check that out fully at some point.

Quote:
Maybe you could enjoy Naoya Matsuoka works then.

By the way, when i was talking about inspiration, Outrun anyone?
these vids are ace not least because of akira jimbo. this video is really great, not just for his drumming but also the track itself. it's like a genesis on crack.

Quote:
About the game music albums in this same style, I recommend F-ZERO
yeah i like that album, though not my favourite. it sounds more typically western somehow, perhaps more in line with smooth jazz. as far as arrange albums go, this one is probably my favourite of the ones i've heard. granted i need to hear a lot more though
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  #11  
Old Dec 10, 2009, 06:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dma View Post
And indeed TRIX got some powerful and cheerful energy.
I like pretty much all their work equally (6 albums already!).
I also like all six albums, but perhaps STYLE is my favorite.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blitz Lunar View Post
yeah i like that album, though not my favourite. it sounds more typically western somehow, perhaps more in line with smooth jazz.
This one is a really atypical album. First, because it's an arranged album from Nintendo. Second, only to have Western performers almost unrelated to game music.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blitz Lunar View Post
as far as arrange albums go, this one is probably my favourite of the ones i've heard. granted i need to hear a lot more though
Me too, the last track especially it's fantastic. But I like to listen to ROCKMAN X ALPH-LYLA with Toshiaki Otsubo as an original album, because the arrangements weren’t recognizable.
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  #12  
Old Dec 16, 2009, 09:05 PM
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Dude this stuff kicks so much ass. They're pure win! Thanks for the linkage!
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  #13  
Old Dec 23, 2009, 02:54 PM
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Thanks for mentioning this! I love T-Square and have been trying to find some bands that are like that. This is great stuff. I've only one cd of T-Square though, I've been thinking of saving for the huge Box, which has all(?) of their releases. Too bad it's out of print, so it has to be bought from YJA or something (and it costs a lot too).

The only western band that sounds somewhat similar to T-Square I've yet found is The Rippingtons (samples on Amazon.com).
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  #14  
Old Dec 23, 2009, 03:55 PM
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I haven't heard of these guys before, this stuff is pretty slick I listened through the clips for three of their albums (haha, amazing cover art.) i spotted a few tracks i immediately loved. they've got that typically western sound, quite a bit "smoother" than the Japanese bands (for lack of a better word); very heavy on the soprano sax weather channel vibes. it's akin to the production music that used to air over here in the UK on BBC channels during closedown hours (example); i wouldn't be surprised if this music was available as production music, it's very typical, in fact it is quite unusual to see this sort of stuff being marketed under a band rather than a single composer. Casiopea for me seem way more idiosyncratic, even in their most subdued moments they don't really remind me of any western smooth jazz/fusion I've heard, production music or otherwise. nonetheless I like all of it anyway.

oh, here's a good Level 42 performance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a61b1fGwIs . probably the closest thing in the west, dno.
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  #15  
Old Dec 23, 2009, 05:39 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Echo View Post
I've only one cd of T-Square though, I've been thinking of saving for the huge Box, which has all(?) of their releases.
Almost all the albums (33 original CDs plus special albums). Only the two most recent albums, Wonderful Days and Discoveries, were missing. But there are two extras that don't have in any other release: the CD "77 Live Recordings" (actually are old covers of western tracks) and the DVD "Live Tomato".
http://gonsiopea.com/album/?album_idx=513

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blitz Lunar View Post
oh, here's a good Level 42 performance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a61b1fGwIs . probably the closest thing in the west, dno.
Btw, Level 42 already peformed "Galactic Funk" with Casiopea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlGPMGuNOAE&fmt=18

About western artists, besides The Rippingtons and Level 42, the band Spyro Gyra and specially the keyboardist Scott Wilkie also reminds me a bit the Japanese jazz fusion style.
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  #16  
Old Dec 29, 2009, 04:05 AM
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Blitz Lunar: Nice music on those 80's BBC "end of programs" broadcasts indeed!
It indeed sounds lighter than the other UK jazz-funk work of this period (like the well named "Jazz Funk" album by Incognito).

Revoc: Oh i never heard of Spyro Gyra and Scott Wilkie before, and it sounds like i could enjoy their work very much, thanks for the suggestions!
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  #17  
Old Feb 6, 2010, 03:58 AM
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bump for awesome.

just found out about a band called "Hiroshima" while researching asian american jazz. they are a more literal sort of japanese fusion this is ace, reminds me of some older anime soundtracks i've heard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMR7d-GpTK8
(still looking up other songs at the moment.)

Incognito are great, as are other 'acid jazz and funk' groups. big fan of Jamiroquai. also love the brand new heavies.
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  #18  
Old Feb 10, 2010, 07:29 AM
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Nice tune from Hiroshima, the bass reminds of this great Amiga game tune : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLVBsmsOO8c
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Old Feb 11, 2010, 12:55 PM
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I had heard of Hiroshima, but I know a few songs. This band already performed a show with T-Square.

Hey, dma, this music of the Jaguar XJ220 is very catchy.

I also like the Jamiroquai, but only of funk and disco tracks, not those electronica. Some songs from Persona 4 remind me a little Jamiroquai, btw.
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  #20  
Old Feb 11, 2010, 06:04 PM
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Quote:
I also like the Jamiroquai, but only of funk and disco tracks, not those electronica
the first three albums are so great. their later albums, not so much... not just because of more cookie-cutter electronica (which is still okay, just not great) but also the general songwriting, arranging and execution seems more conservative and overly produced to me. they lost a lot of the latin and soulful sounds that originally defined them. but i gather they're going back to that next album, going to have to wait and see.

yes that jaguar tune is ace
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