[Kalen Anzai] ★♫ It's the 2000s again in Kalen's 1st thread ★♫

[oaristos]

安斎かれん ★ OFFICIAL THREAD

Kalen Anzai (安斉かれん) is a Japanese singer under the avex trax label. Her debut single 『世界の全て敵に感じて孤独さえ愛していた』was released on March 1st, 2019.

✚ Discography

[2019.05.01] 世界の全て敵に感じて孤独さえ愛していた




✚ Links
Website
Instagram

[EndOfTheWorld]

I love it.

[axmish87]

I like it. It sounds nostalgic. I'll keep an eye on her.
Thanks for sharing

[Teppei-chan]

Wow thank you so much for sharing this. I actually really like this song and the PV looks also good.
The songs kinda reminds me of what Nami Tamaki (e.g Sanctuary) would have released back in the days.

[thinkingoutloud89]

Saw this. It sound a like a bunch of Ayu-songs thrown together...especially M is in the mix.

[mi|kshake]

Thanks for posting. The song is interesting - definitely getting HAL vibes! Will keep my eye on her.

[emi♡]

holy that is 100% Ayu lol Seems like avex still has some weird composers, but kinda cool~ I'll look out for her!

[lovethatkuu&ayu]

Reminds me of vintage Ayumi mixed with the kind of sound Girl Next Door was doing in 2008/2009.

[EndOfTheWorld]

The beginning sounds like Ayu but then I felt like it sounded more like Nami Tamaki. It's basically a great example of making a new Jpop song with the classic sensibilities that made Jpop great in the first place.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

Originally Posted by EndOfTheWorld

The beginning sounds like Ayu but then I felt like it sounded more like Nami Tamaki. It's basically a great example of making a new Jpop song with the classic sensibilities that made Jpop great in the first place.

Nami! Yes! Haha I knew it was familiar.

I like her look. Very Free & Easy promo. The song isn’t too exciting but I’m interested in what her next move will be!

[oaristos]

Originally Posted by EndOfTheWorld

The beginning sounds like Ayu but then I felt like it sounded more like Nami Tamaki. It's basically a great example of making a new Jpop song with the classic sensibilities that made Jpop great in the first place.

Same here! I think it's more visually like Ayu, but it sounds more like Nami Tamaki. Regardless, I'm in love with the 2000s vibes

[EndOfTheWorld]

Kalen Anzai debuts with classic J-Pop sound on “Sekai no Subete Teki ni Kanjite Kodoku sae Aishiteita”

I guess her debut single was produced by BOUNCEBACK. That would explain the throwback sound and melodies.

[orbitalaspect]

Originally Posted by EndOfTheWorld

Kalen Anzai debuts with classic J-Pop sound on “Sekai no Subete Teki ni Kanjite Kodoku sae Aishiteita”

I guess her debut single was produced by BOUNCEBACK. That would explain the throwback sound and melodies.

This is seriously one of the best tracks I've heard in literally years... The PV is ridiculous too. Gosh. I hope this takes off. It feels so familiar yet so fucking fresh.

[Xianghua]

You guys are right! Ayu x Nami perfectly describes it.
I'm not quite into Nami Tamaki's style but I have a good feeling about Kalen's potential so I'll keep my eye on her.

[primavera♥]

Yeah I would say it has more 2000s jpop influences in general (including Nami)...which is GREAT lol. It's just such a great sound.

The song itself is actually a bit dry for me. Love the verses but chorus goes nowhere for me and doesnt hit home. That's okay though. There is a lot of potential here, so I look forward to following her to see where this goes. Also the video is great, so I do appreciate the visuals and hope to enjoy the music more in the future.

I was listening to old I've compilation albums (Verge and Disintegration) and thinking of how much I miss the beautiful and unique vibe created during this era by different parts of the jpop scene. So this is refreshing.

[Kacku]

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan

I like her look. Very Free & Easy promo. The song isn’t too exciting but I’m interested in what her next move will be!

Originally Posted by primavera♥

Yeah I would say it has more 2000s jpop influences in general (including Nami)...which is GREAT lol. It's just such a great sound.

The song itself is actually a bit dry for me. Love the verses but chorus goes nowhere for me and doesnt hit home. That's okay though. There is a lot of potential here, so I look forward to following her to see where this goes. Also the video is great, so I do appreciate the visuals and hope to enjoy the music more in the future.

I was listening to old I've compilation albums (Verge and Disintegration) and thinking of how much I miss the beautiful and unique vibe created during this era by different parts of the jpop scene. So this is refreshing.

This is pretty much how I feel. The song isn't too exciting melodically (it never really reaches a proper climax) but I love the sound, it's great to hear something so maximalist, hard-hitting and shamelessly pop. I love the throwback to early 00s J-pop, it's a great sound that's been missing from the market lately, I hope it catches some attention and fans for her so we could get more music like this in the future.

Agreed with the comparisons to old Nami Tamaki and I've Sound (though my mind went to the Lament / Outflow era )!

[orbitalaspect]

You guys over here mentioning I've Sound and me over here going "I wish Eiko Shimamiya was still pushing out new songs like she did 10 years ago..." God. I hate how hard it is to get new music out of Eiko, even though it's literally some of the best stuff she's ever created.

Also, the bridge that kicks in at 2:59 and the lead up to it are IMO the best parts of this entire track apart from the intro and the outro pieces. I wish that bridge and the "radio" vocal echo had been used more. It gives me that same "aw hell yeah" moment as the bridge Ayu uses before the chorus in "vogue" and the bridge Ayu uses before the chorus in "Sayonara", where there's just a super satisfying transition in melody.

Overall, just damn. I've listened to this on Spotify like 10 times since last night. Worth every second. I just hope this has a successful run and they fully develop Kalen as an artist rather than letting her go the same way as kaho, whose debut single in 2013, "every hero / Strong Alone", was really amazing (all three tracks were super memorable, as was her voice) but ended up being her only release.

Anyway, I love Kalen's style. I love her voice. I love the PV. The cover is gorgeous. The song is top notch. I don't necessarily think of this sound as being something "old". It's literally a sound that strikes me as "depth". Not just people punching notes out and singing along, but using a myriad of effects to convey momentum, give the sounds a strong sense of depth and atmosphere in the sound space, as well as properly distinguish different types of sounds (delicate, gritty, bright, rough and rigid). It's a characteristic of Ayu's music that's always made it memorable for me. It's what music has always felt like it's meant to be: not just words and a guitar, but a surreal experience in words and sound.

[hud]

hope she keeps working with bounceback! best j-pop song of the year!

[adantatu2]

It has ayu vibes of course, but the song is kind of bland IMO.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

I didn’t know it was bounceback but it makes complete sense.
I love bounceback, it’s a shame Ayu doesn’t work with them anymore.

But maybe Kalen will be their muse much like Alan was the muse for that one composure (can’t remember his name, he did a whole bunch of iconic Ayu songs).


The “past is future” approach is really strong right now with Japanese youth. (And youth in general) — I heard it’s called futuro? Future retro? Lol