China Discotica was Aira Mitsuki’s 1st major single, but 2nd overall. It was released on March 5, 2008. The title track is in respect song to the Beijing Olympics. This is also the second single in the COPY Era.

Tracks:
1. China Discotica
2. ROMANTIC ROPE
3. China Discotica (Substance remix)
4. China Discotica (digital mp-3 mastering ver.)
5. China Discotica (instrumental)

Review:
I’ve been meaning to review China Discotica for quite some time now. As usual with Aira, it’s heavily techno / electronica oriented, and I mean it. There are some great distorted vocals that sound pretty sweet. The melody is insane and extremely infectious! All the electronic distortions and beats are pretty awesome too. The song as a whole is just so fun and energetic. The beginning was a little odd with the distorted high pitched vocals, but it did get better. It did get annoying for just a little bit but it’s still pretty cool. I recommend this to any techno fan.

ROMANTIC ROPE is a little different from the title track, yet just a nice. The melody is completely different and features some nice mellow beats. But overall it’s a little laid-back. The vocals are still distorted but enjoyable nonetheless. However I still don’t think it’s nearly as infectious as the title track, still a worthy b-side though.

The Substance remix of China Discotica is a shortened version. There appears to be some more distortions and more synth influenced but it’s great still. It’s not as catchy as the original, probably because it cuts out a lot of the good parts.

Overall Review: China Discotica was electronica paradise! I have to hand to to Aira for making such an awesome single, that’s equally cute. I loved all of the beats and the electronica music, as well as the distortions. It was a pretty catchy single, the only problem is going to be the repetitive factor, which might arise soon. But for now it’s an amazing single.

Final Grade: 93B+

Colorful Tokyo Sounds No.9 was Aira Mitsuki’s debut single. It was released on August 8, 2007. The title track was used as the theme song for the Japanese release of Transformers. This was the first single in the COPY Era.

Tracks:
1. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (Original MIX)
2. Candy Light Mode
3. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (LAVA’s Electrip Remix)
4. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (Disco-Punk Remix)
5. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (MP-3 Senyou Digital Mastering Ver.)
6. Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 (Instrumental)

Review:
Well one thing about Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 is the Perfume-esk feel. This is definitely one of the freshest debuts ever! Now I know that it’s similar to Perfume, but it’s so amazing. The one thing I feel in love with right away was the music, so synth and infectious, well that and the vocals. Anyway all of the great lyrics, both Japanese and English, there’s no reason why you can’t get into this song. Now at times the beats might get annoying, but it gets better. And for once I even loved the verses of this song, they were just so energetic and so happy! As for the chorus, well it’s just as energetic and fun loving as the verses, and it’s so infectiously addicting, especially with the cutesy vocals and music. This song is just pure synth/tech enjoyment! And despite this song being over 5 minutes long, it went by so quickly!

Not nearly fast as the previous track, Candy Light Mode is certainly a worth sidekick. It begins with some unique acoustic beats in the beginning, later replaced by the synth beats. And her English is perfect when she sings the chorus, very cutesy as usual and all. This song is more lighthearted and a little more gentle than the title track. And although this song isn’t as infectious or as good as the previous, it’s still a nice track, very sweet.

Next we have the (LAVA’s Electrip Remix). This version is basically a watered down version of the original, with some acoustics. Not only that, but it’s also more focused on the beats and music rather than the vocals, that have been distorted. After a while it gets repetitive, but it’s still good. I still think that the original is far superior to this version.

And now for the longest song on the single, (Disco-Punk Remix). At over 6 minutes, this song is one of the most unique remixes I’ve heard. It does feature some heavy dance beats, and even the guitar, but it gets annoying quickly. Again, the focus is mostly on the beats, which isn’t so bad but it’s just for those people that love heavy trance/tehcno music, not my style personally.

If you loved the original version there’s a good change you’ll love the (MP-3 Senyou Digital Mastering Ver.). I’m just going to say that this version was digitally mastered to give is a superior sound, which I love, even though there’s not such a big difference in this version from the original. I was shocked to hear that this version was so good, I actually prefer it to the original.

Overall Review: Colorful Tokyo Sounds No.9 was THE breakout single! Now despite poor chart performance, that doesn’t affect the quality. I love how there’s finally another techno/synth/electronica artist, someone that could potentially give Perfume a run for their money. On to the single, I loved the title track, very fun, refreshing and so so exciting. B-Side was great too, and the remixes could use some work, but you do get some variety. What a splendid way to begin the COPY Era.

Final Grade: 94A-