ARASHI's latest digital released song is a remix of their 1st digital released song Turning Up & Dutch Moroccan DJ R3HAB had a hand in remixing the track .
I thought Turning Up was short but Turning Up (R3HAB Remix) is even shorter which surprised me . Even Sakurai's rap in the remix is excluded too .
I normally don't like remix songs but what R3HAB did for Turning Up , it's quite different from how the original sounds like & that should be the way .
Even if a remix of a song turns out bad , at least it should sound different from the original track . It's so pointless if a song remix sounds almost alike from the original take of the no. and that defeats the whole purpose of doing a remix in the 1st place .
CD Regular
2 CDs Limited
The release of Hoshikai no Shounen comes in almost 1 1/2 years since the release of AKIHIDE's previous solo album , 2018's Kikai Jikake no Yuenchi -Electric Wonderland- .
The following songs in Hoshikai no Shounen featured AKIHIDE singing in them which include :
- Hoshioi no Shoujo
- Utsukushii Hitomi
- Donguri
- Arifureta Monogatari
- Aozora
In Donguri , other than guitar , AKIHIDE also played the banjo which was the 1st time he played it while Aozora was created by AKIHIDE 16 years ago .
These 2 songs are only available in the CD only regular version as live bonus tracks :
- Yunagi no Parade (from AKIHIDE "SOLO" LIVE 2018 NAKED MOON - X’mas Edition- @ Tokyo's Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall)
- Aozora (from AKIHIDE "SOLO" LIVE 2018 NAKED MOON -X’mas Edition- @ Tokyo's Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall)
2 short videos were made for Hoshioi no Shoujo & Arifureta Monogatari . Both of them are not included in the physical release of Hoshikai no Shounen .
AKIHIDE does not appear in the Arifureta Monogatari Promotion Movie but the song has vocals ie. he's singing in it .
The Arifureta Monogatari Promotion Movie is directed by AKIHIDE himself .
Hoshikai no Shounen follows almost the same format as Kikai Jikake no Yuenchi -Electric Wonderland- . Even though it's a bit disappointing AKIHIDE does not sing in the entire album , at least it's better than nothing .
Unlike Kikai Jikake no Yuenchi -Electric Wonderland- where AKIHIDE utilised a lot of different instruments in the songs , the material this time round in Hoshikai no Shounen is a lot more simplified (only a bassist & percussionist backed AKIHIDE up musically) & in this scenario , less is more indeed .
AKIHIDE said Hoshikai no Shounen originally supposed to have only 8 songs but he kept recording , he realised 8 songs is not enough .
Also regarding Aozora I'm real surprised it's the oldest song in Hoshikai no Shounen & it definitely could have been included in NEVER LAND's discography .
I also like the 2 live bonus tracks as they sound different from what I hear in the CD but in a good way .
The release of Hoshikai no Shounen once again showcase just how artistic talented AKIHIDE is . Each of his solo album releases are extremely well thought & crafted , his creativity is more or less unlimited & I already look forward to future releases of his .