A customary habit for us (although a little bit later on my part, this time around...), let's have a listen to a small selection of contest entries from the latest Columbia Makes music primer, between newcomers and familiar names. It's quite a way for us to prime ourselves for today's Taiko Team livestream, isn't it?
- UP(lift × set × grade), the latest attempt for Mihile to jump back at the music contests' winning chariot after his Overblaze from 2024, which -while not winning- was still worth to be one of the most-voted songs by online users. It's been backed by someone else this time, too- the comedian Paamataisa (パーマ大佐)!
- Chroma no Sora Shite, Shukufuku (クロマの空にて、祝福) by Ammobie, delivering a chiptune/drum'n'bass after a lucky music selection for an upcoming release on Dynamix Universe, C4Cat's first rhythm game sequel to a game of theirs.
- METEOR RiDER, by Shiena. Don't let that not-capitalized 'i' ut you in a ruse, there's no YOFUKASHi Sound Team around for this one's making!
- Yoi no Xiao Akari (宵の硝灯), coming from the hands of another not-winning General Public Voting composer from the 2024 edition who still made it to the top-voted picks, with their EUPHORiC ENERZY -XD-. Much like with Mihile, Reku Mochizuki didn't come alone this time, with extra guitar backing from Sho Yoshida (吉田翔).
- Takiyasha-hime (滝夜叉姫), by the nicknamed G4zan. Worth noting, the composer's online presence via personal YouTube channel is distinguished in rhythm gaming talk with a series of videos devoted to break down beatmania IIDX songs to locate each voice samples inside them, with music editor on toe. Is this skills translatable to judge-worthy music submission, too?
- Say Zay GunBullet!!!, from MYUKKE. The OCCHOCO-REST-LESS artist with many a prized original tune made for Muse Dash is giving it all once more, for another of the Nijiiro-era contests' more steady appliers. Not to mention he was another General User Voting finalist, two years back!
- NEXUS, a track posted in the last submission days by a DJ and rhythm games streamer on Twitch. It's all fine and dandy, but I gotta say- with an art name like 'DJ Enter', these past few years of me being exposed to Project Moon brainrot on all sorts sure aren't helping in picturing nothing but the flashy stand of a one-winged fixer...
- END IN TRAGEDY, a way for us to end in a bang instead of tragedy! What we have, in fact, is a (one of two) contest track from Yasuhiro 'TAG' Taguchi (田口康裕), famously a former in-house bemani composer for a whopping fifteen years of tenure, between DanceDanceRevolution charting and original music creation. Ever since he has went freelancer in 2021, his works have appeared in more than a dozen other external music game series (not to mention SOUND VOLTEX 's GERBERA, who got into Taiko arcades thanks to the Tenkaichi Otogesai tournaments). Are we going to witness the first original debut on his, with this contest?
