Takui - Vivarock + misc
He may still be more obscure in the jrock scene than other solo artists, but Takui's popularity has risen dramatically over the last few years. More jrock fans tend to have heard of him, making Takui-related media much less difficult to come by. Takui composes his own music and writes beautiful lyrics unlike what one would typically expect. As a firm non-smoker and non-drinker (rare in the jmusic world from what I can tell), he can also put many jrockers to shame through his vocals alone. Ability to stay in-tune notwithstanding, he has an amazing range with an even more amazing falsetto that, when paired with the emotional depth he can manage, often leaves me yearning for more. I don't initially fall in love with many artists for their vocals. Takui was an exception, though, much like Yasu from JDA.
Music-wise, simply referring to him as a rock artist would be doing him a disservice. Yes, he has released good, solid rock. That includes harder, faster stuff as well as other songs that feel distinctly like classic rock from the 70s. He's also released much more than that, however, from punk rock to to softer songs of all varieties - piano ballads, acoustic guitar versions, you name it. Some of them are catchy, others are experimental, and no few are gripping and emotionally intense. I personally prefer his mid-tempo songs, but not exclusively so; Hitori ni naru koto ga kowakatta, for example, is anything but soft, and I absolutely love it the way it is.
As a musician, Takui continues to evolve, and his semi-recent name change (summarised by NM) reflects this. Although there's always enough there for me to think 'yes, that's Takui', he never ceases to surprise me either. His newest album was not much like what I expected at all, but I was also teary by the first track, and have been swept away by every subsequent song. Surprises can be wonderful things.
I'm whizzing ahead of myself, though. Vivarock was released in 2004. I didn't get it until mid-2005, but even then, it took a while to grow on me. As I've mentioned before, I'm more naturally inclined towards ballad-type material, and anything remotely rockish tends to take me a few listens before I start feeling comfortable. It was unsurprising, therefore, that I first took to Fukuoka, a beautiful, poignant ballad that shares the name of Takui's birthplace. Love for the rest of the album stemmed from there. NM has written an excellent review of the full album here. A one-line summary, however, would be that it is an awesome album definitely worth the download.
Why did I choose this album and not his newest? Well, I haven't listened to Kasa wo Sasanai Kimi no Tame ni enough to comment properly on it (though I think it is actually my favourite of his), but I've been wanting to upload some Takui for a while now. Therefore, I settled for Vivarock, which is no less of an excellent album.
I threw in a few random tracks, though. They include Saraba Matenro no Fairy Tale (Farewell to the Skyscraper's Fairy Tale), an extremely powerful song that keeps building up and was Ger's favourite when he first introduced me to Takui; Calling You because it's pure fun; Shining Days for the Engrish and the way it always makes me smile; Far Eastern because of the Asian atmosphere and the way the chorus showcases his voice; and Hitori ni naru koto ga kowakatta (I was afraid of being alone) because I love it despite it being much, much harder than my usual fare. The ending always takes my breath away.
Enjoy!
Miscellaneous
(Japanese) Takui - Calling You
[5.1 MB]
(Japanese) Takui - Far Eastern
[5.8 MB]
(Japanese) Takui - Hitori ni naru koto ga kowakatta
[5.3 MB]
(Japanese) Takui - Saraba Matenro no Fairy Tale
[6.6 MB]
(Japanese) Takui - Shining Days
[4.6 MB]
Vivarock
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 01
[4 MB] nakegumo aoi chikyuu de.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 02
[6.7 MB] Rock the Future.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 03
[4.8 MB] Be Happy.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 04
[5.2 MB] I'm Sick So Blue.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 05
[5.3 MB] Love is Blind.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 06
[6.2 MB] kodou.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 07
[7.1 MB] banshuu no miyako.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 08
[6.4 MB] shinkirou.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 09
[6.7 MB] Crazy more Crazy.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 10
[5.8 MB] do it boys and girls.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 11
[6.3 MB] kotoba ni dekinai.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 12
[10.9 MB] Fukuoka.
Please leave error reports here.
All comments appreciated.
Last updated on 17/07/06. Files now expired.
Music-wise, simply referring to him as a rock artist would be doing him a disservice. Yes, he has released good, solid rock. That includes harder, faster stuff as well as other songs that feel distinctly like classic rock from the 70s. He's also released much more than that, however, from punk rock to to softer songs of all varieties - piano ballads, acoustic guitar versions, you name it. Some of them are catchy, others are experimental, and no few are gripping and emotionally intense. I personally prefer his mid-tempo songs, but not exclusively so; Hitori ni naru koto ga kowakatta, for example, is anything but soft, and I absolutely love it the way it is.
As a musician, Takui continues to evolve, and his semi-recent name change (summarised by NM) reflects this. Although there's always enough there for me to think 'yes, that's Takui', he never ceases to surprise me either. His newest album was not much like what I expected at all, but I was also teary by the first track, and have been swept away by every subsequent song. Surprises can be wonderful things.
I'm whizzing ahead of myself, though. Vivarock was released in 2004. I didn't get it until mid-2005, but even then, it took a while to grow on me. As I've mentioned before, I'm more naturally inclined towards ballad-type material, and anything remotely rockish tends to take me a few listens before I start feeling comfortable. It was unsurprising, therefore, that I first took to Fukuoka, a beautiful, poignant ballad that shares the name of Takui's birthplace. Love for the rest of the album stemmed from there. NM has written an excellent review of the full album here. A one-line summary, however, would be that it is an awesome album definitely worth the download.
Why did I choose this album and not his newest? Well, I haven't listened to Kasa wo Sasanai Kimi no Tame ni enough to comment properly on it (though I think it is actually my favourite of his), but I've been wanting to upload some Takui for a while now. Therefore, I settled for Vivarock, which is no less of an excellent album.
I threw in a few random tracks, though. They include Saraba Matenro no Fairy Tale (Farewell to the Skyscraper's Fairy Tale), an extremely powerful song that keeps building up and was Ger's favourite when he first introduced me to Takui; Calling You because it's pure fun; Shining Days for the Engrish and the way it always makes me smile; Far Eastern because of the Asian atmosphere and the way the chorus showcases his voice; and Hitori ni naru koto ga kowakatta (I was afraid of being alone) because I love it despite it being much, much harder than my usual fare. The ending always takes my breath away.
Enjoy!
Miscellaneous
(Japanese) Takui - Calling You
[5.1 MB]
(Japanese) Takui - Far Eastern
[5.8 MB]
(Japanese) Takui - Hitori ni naru koto ga kowakatta
[5.3 MB]
(Japanese) Takui - Saraba Matenro no Fairy Tale
[6.6 MB]
(Japanese) Takui - Shining Days
[4.6 MB]
Vivarock
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 01
[4 MB] nakegumo aoi chikyuu de.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 02
[6.7 MB] Rock the Future.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 03
[4.8 MB] Be Happy.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 04
[5.2 MB] I'm Sick So Blue.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 05
[5.3 MB] Love is Blind.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 06
[6.2 MB] kodou.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 07
[7.1 MB] banshuu no miyako.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 08
[6.4 MB] shinkirou.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 09
[6.7 MB] Crazy more Crazy.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 10
[5.8 MB] do it boys and girls.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 11
[6.3 MB] kotoba ni dekinai.
(Japanese) Takui - Vivarock - Track 12
[10.9 MB] Fukuoka.
Please leave error reports here.
All comments appreciated.
Last updated on 17/07/06. Files now expired.