I've Sound - I've Mania Tracks Volume 1 (29 December 2007)

Note: This is a lossy rip of the same album as #8014 posted by in 2008 by an anonymous NyaaTorrents user. Although I have ripped from the original album and not from that torrent’s contents.

I will confess to being a big fan of I’ve Sound, the techno/trance/pop production group led by Kazuya Takase. The group features a rotating cast of female vocalists, so-called utahime (歌姫) by fans, who eventually ‘graduate’ from I’ve Sound similar to mainstream J-Pop groups like AKB48 and Morning Musume. A lot of fans end up with particular utahime whom they prefer; for anyone who cares, Mell and Eiko Shimamiya are my favorites, and I’m not sure why Kotoko is so popular (despite owning most of her albums like a hypocrite, lol).

I’ve Sound is sometimes credited simply as I’ve, particularly in eroge from the late 90’s and early 2000’s. In fact, their big first break came from such a game: Kannon by Key, released in 1999. The songs I’ve contributed appear as insert songs in the 2002 anime adaptation.

At this time of writing the utahime roster is the shortest it’s been in years. The two most prominent members, of six total, are Mami Kawada and Larval Stage Planning (Airi Kirishima, Nami Maisaki, and Rin Asami).

Mami Kawada appears on this album, but the others do not. I’ve Mania Tracks Volume 1 is a collection of songs that were already hard to find at the time of its release. Which makes it a great CD for devoted collectors. The utahime for the eleven tracks are as follows:

1. Outer
2. Momo
3. Kotoko
4. Inosuke Tsutsumi
5. Kotoko
6. Mami Kawada
7. Outer
8. Eiko Shimamiya
9. Kotoko
10. Kotoko
11. Outer
12. C.G. Mix (Still a member)
13. “I’ve Special Unit”

Finally, I just want to point out that I did not make a typo or mistake with the title of track eleven: “Leave me hell alone.” It appears that way on the CD case, heh.

Enjoy!