#natsume itsuki

[zero-ek]

It's M3 day!

I was particularly excited for this one, the releases on the past two were absolutely amazing, and the XFDs for this one also looked very promising. This time around i also took some time to check out some newer artists and see if i vibe with any of them.

First and foremost i want to give appreciation and massive props to ハルちゃん for putting together this behemoth of a roundup playlist, i couldn't check every single video but it was a lifesaver for me to have it at hand.

Ok then, starting with my Big Four™

Oh my gosh...

I could go all day explaining the reasons why i absolutely adore this, but to list the main ones:

First, it's nayuta and i'm madly in love with her by default. Second, look at this art like holy god. Third, i adore her concept albums, in my opinion it's some of the best stuff she puts out, like, the worldbuilding and sheer atmosphere that "Imaginary Arcadia" and "The Girl in the Alleyway..." invoke is nothing short of incredible. Fourth, the composer for this one is RD-Sounds, who y'know, made me ugly cry last month, and also made absolute bangers like LaPri's "Sore wa Sekai..." and Tamu's "Son Joyeux", so i have super high hopes for this. Fifth, i'm into the scenario for this one, i swear i've read like 10 yuri mangas with the same premise, so i'm excited to see whay nayuta does with it.

From the XFD it seems that this one is following up on "Clarity" and leaning heavily on the rock direction, but i think the lyrics are going to be front and center on this one, so i'll see if i can hold out judgement until it comes out proper but i'm soooo absolutely hyped to see what these two came up with!!!

Reject futuristic aesthetics, return to tradition.

I love the diversity on this one, i know that Sennzai is best known for her "burning-down-the-house" songs, but with how unique and captivating her vocals are, i just love seeing all the different directions she takes her songs towards (i really recommend checking out her karaoke streams she sings all sorts of stuff in those).

I'm particularly interested on the instrumentation for this one, i love when songs mesh together traditional instruments with modern composition styles, and Sennzai in particular seems to marry this traditional-but-not-quite theme perfectly, so i'm really excited to see how this one plays out.

(i really want to hear her sing Kalafina's Hyakka Ryouran now)

The Hifumi girls are taking a break from original stuff and putting out a cover collection this time around (apart from their usual commissoned work), and seeing how busy they were last year i don't blame them, get that bag and get some rest!

I'm particularly excited for Tamu's, she's covering "Killer Neuron" and Isekaijoucho's "Dimension" and i particularly want to hear how the latter sounds like in her voice, her vocals do have a similar texture to Ojou's but in a higher register, so i kinda wanna AB the two just to see what it's like.

Also also, the fact that they're covering each other's songs reeeeeeally makes me think that there's gonna be something big with these two coming soon, like the amount of "wink wink" vibes i've been getting from them lately is off the charts.

The fourth and final installment on the "Colours" series. I don't have much to say here because while it pains me to admit, i don't listen to Endorfin a whole lot. I have been making an effort to listen to more of them since Nakucha's first live and also because i really liked "Qulalim Stella", which is also by sky_delta, but i'm gonna have to do a listen-through on the whole series before i can say anything concrete.

As a college student these levels of comfiness are the stuff i fantasize about.

Not gonna lie, i was expecting this one to be much more low energy (in hindsight i don't know why she almost never does that), mainly because of the even-fluffier-than-her-usual-fluffiness visuals, but also because one of the reasons i love Nanahira is because her voice is actually very touching when she sings more calmly (see track 4).

Well, while not totally relaxing, i do like the slower stuff she's been going for lately, since her stuff is usually very upbeat, it's nice how between this and "It's a Message for You" she's been putting more "vibe-y" stuff in between the usual 200bpm madness. Something else that picked my interest on this one is that apparently the physical version comes with a manga, which as an overseas listener is out of my reach but the previews i saw on twitter were very cute, so it made me extra curious.

A back to back yosumi release? What world is this we live in??

Well, while it is a lot less tracks than her previous EP (which was more like an LP) it's still just surprising to see her at all. It could be just me, but i feel like she's been getting out there a lot more lately, like anytime i go on Twitter (which i do very sparingly these days) i see a post of hers, and i don't think that's how it usually was, but then again i'm very forgetful and it could be just normal. Whichever way, good for her, it can only be a good thing.

I really like the instrumentals on these, i know she's closer to the Electronica and EDM scene but dang if the mixing on those guitars and drums isn't just soo satisfying to hear.

Yuuri's got her first album ready! I've been keeping tabs on her since the NaYuri singles and i've been really enjoying her stuff so far. Her vocals are right up my alley, and from the looks of it she's going for that modern chill "slow-pop" vibe, which i also like quite a bit.

Also also, can i just say that for a first album this is incredibly well put together, the visuals are simple but very well made, and the mixing on the tracks is top notch. I noticed she has been getting some work on other albums but i do hope her solo stuff pops off because this is good stuff and i feel like she can make it very far with it!!

Here's one i ran into by chance, this actually popped up on my Twitter feed because the illustration is by an artist i follow, so i decided to check it out. I can't place it but i feel like i've seen the front girl, NoiR, before, like her design and name feel very familiar to me but i can't tell from where.

I'm not completely sold on the songs just yet, but i do think it might be worth keeping up with the group, they seem to have been at it for a while now and it could be interesting to see where this goes.

I absolutely love the vibes on this! Both of their voices are very gentle and easy on the ears, and they seem to have a very good grasp on how to blend them together. Not only that, but the instrumentals are also very well recorded and mixed, and go perfectly with their vocal profile.

I couldn't check both of them out in detail, but it seems that this is a very new unit, so i'm gonna keep an eye out to see what else they do.

And... that's it, again, i didn't check the whole playlist, so i definitely missed a few. But for my first time actually sifting through XFDs this extensively, i'm surprised not a whole lot caught my attention, considering i usually find something to like on pretty much anything. A lot of it was just instrumentals, or they had vocals that didn't particularly speak to me all that much.

Also, while i knew that male utaites are the minority in events like Comiket, i'm surprised that i didn't come across any looking through these, though, seeing the amount of kawaii pop in there i can see why they wouldn't find much of an audience there.

(also also the handful of ai generated album artworks there was a major bleh)

Well, while i did enjoy a couple of the albums, it wasn't particularly worth scanning the whole playlist for them, so i'm not that sure that i'll be as inclined to do another XFD deep dive on next M3. I did check out the XFD's from other big utaites that i don't follow (like Risa Yuzuki or Wotoha) and i liked it, but i'm still not super sold on them either.

I suppose i'll be sticking with the utaites/composers i already know for the time being. Now to wait for all of these to come out on streaming...

[jelidium-gellyfish]

VTuber スタイル (Style) - 2024 July Issue

⚜️Itsuki Natsume Interview - EN Fan TL!

~~~

This is your first feature in this magazine. First of all, would you like to introduce yourself?

A singer from the real and virtual world, I’m Itsuki Natsume. I normally upload cover songs as well as original music, all on Youtube. Previously, I had irl activities, where I hid my face, but now I use my virtual self for my activities online. I love “songs with stories”, so I am creating an album based on my own novel.

From all of the songs you have released up until now, which ones do you feel “I really want you to listen to this!” for people who have never heard your music?

Struggle of Egos: The title track for my 2nd concert held at the beginning of this year. Considering the mood and the lyrics, the song is like my own calling card.

Son joyeux: Pronounced as /sʌn/ /ʒwa.jø/. Based on a 100 000 word novel I wrote, the song captures the feeling of the last scene. I think this song best describes the “songs with stories” that I was referring to.

Hyakkaryoran (en. Lit translation: A Profusion of A Hundred songs): The latest [t/n: as of magazine publication] song I have released. “Enjoy this moment!” is the direct meaning this song conveys, and to maintain the vibe of the song, I incorporated old Japanese expressions into the lyrics, which I think made the ending interesting.

Your band's tour concert - “Natsume Itsuki 1st Live Tour ‘Travel 2 U’” starts in August. Did you have any particular feelings when it was decided, and what you are anticipating as it is your first tour?

Well, my first thought was “I can go to Hokkaido!!!” as I’ve actually never been there before. I’ve always wanted to go, and do sightseeing while I am there. Since it’s a tour this time, I want to do my best with this feeling of “going to meet everyone”. I’m usually quite passive while interacting with people, so with the tour, I hope to not be passive and engage with everyone. Also, I hope to meet my fans who live far away and feel “I can’t go to Tokyo, but this place is accessible to me!”

While pursuing your singing, is there anything you would like to do in the future, or any new challenges you would like to attempt?

This year, I would like to create a physical paperback book as one of my merchandise. As I like “songs with stories”, last year in Autumn I published a 100 000 word novel as part of a CD bonus, but it was only available in electronic form. I adore having paperback books, so I hope to be able to get it in print this year. Including but not limited to, I think I would like to challenge that theme of “songs with stories” more intensely. As there are limits to what I can express on my own, I would like to invite guests to do a “story-based live performance” as well.

Finally, a message to your fans and readers of VTuber Style!

My fans who follow me on my free-spirited activities and for those learning about me for the first time, thank you for reading until the end. I’ll do my best during my tour, so please feel free to come and have fun! 

---

Itsuki's tour starts tomorrow (August 3rd 2024) with Osaka! Tickets are still available for some other dates (Hokkaido and Fukuoka) so if you can be sure to go~

* If there are any issues please dm or email (in profile) me!

[srasdoesthings]

I believe in idol conspiracy video essayist pre-ES Aira 🫶🫶

[natsmagi]

eccentric party!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[cutie-lumi]

Cosmic 💐🌟

[kaodyn]

[puddii-ng]

here were the eccentrics outfit designs for my 300 follower milestone on insta.. i really liked how they came out so here they go onto tumblr :3

[daily-mao-isara]

Day 519 : Line themes !

[valkavavaart]

happy valentines, shu, from... literally everyone??? (but mostly mika)

[wonuwu717]

eccentric party night‼️‼️‼️

[anhaplz5]

Eccentric party night!!!

[zero-ek]

Tamu finally turned herself into lines of code on a computer like she always wanted to i'm so happy for her.

Anyways go look at Tamu she sings pretty good

[jelidium-gellyfish]

10 Questions with La Prière

Fan translation of 10 question interviews at the end from the richromatic-prayer 制作資料集 (production book)

I'm worried about infringing copyright (or anything) so I'll only be posting fan translations, if anyone has a copy of the book and has any corrections please let me know on here or twitter!

---

Questions about “richromatic-prayer”

What part of the song do you like the best?

⚜️ Natsume Itsuki: The ending of the first chorus, where the three of us sing in sequential order (richromatic-prayer 1:13)

🪼 Aitsuki Nakuru: The introduction, initially starting with Nakuru and Nayuta, and Itsuki tying the verse together (richromatic-prayer)

🌸 nayuta: The part of the chorus where the three of us sing “足りないからこそ違うからこそ 惹かれ合ったの” (richromatic-prayer 1:08)

The most difficult part of the song to sing?

⚜️ Natsume Itsuki: The chorus! I worked hard to sing with my natural voice in a high pitch

🪼 Aitsuki Nakuru: The rhythm of “鳴り響く鼓動” in the last chorus from“君が居るから鳴り響く鼓動” (richromatic-prayer 2:50)

🌸 nayuta: My solo “それはまだ小さくて 頼りない光だったけど” of the first part (richromatic-prayer 0:33)

Thoughts upon watching the finished MV?

⚜️ Natsume Itsuki: How many illustrations were made for the few seconds of the scenes… scary… a lot of them…

🪼 Aitsuki Nakuru: La Priere animated!!! Amazing~ the universe

🌸 nayuta: Wow…!!! La Priere is being animated …!!!

Favorite part of the MV?

⚜️Natsume Itsuki: At the start of the song, with the blowing of the wind in and looking in different directions (richromatic-prayer MV 0:07)

🪼Aitsuki Nakuru: When La Priere is being swallowed by the flowers (Probably richromatic-prayer MV 0:26) 

🌸 nayuta: In the intro where the wind is blowing, with the three having ennui expressions (richromatic-prayer MV 0:03)

Most memorable moment during production?

⚜️Natsume Itsuki: Talking about our growth in detail with Kusano-san (Composer/Producer)

🪼Aitsuki Nakuru: The three of us were there when it was completed, and it was so great to watch how amazing it is

🌸 nayuta: The three of us truly appreciated the completed MV! It was so great to be there to see it!

Questions about the studio recording 

How was the studio recording session this time?

⚜️Natsume Itsuki: With Kusano-san personally directing us, I really learned a lot!

🪼Aitsuki Nakuru: Intense learning

🌸 nayuta: Listening carefully to the other member’s vocals, I was nervous from start to end for this opportunity 

How did you feel about the other members' recordings?

⚜️Natsume Itsuki: With me being the recording anchor, I was scared when we were given difficult directions

🪼Aitsuki Nakuru: Everyone sang so well, that the recording was done so quickly

🌸nayuta: Itsuki’s power in her singing is so wildly different and overwhelming!

What is important during a studio recording session?

⚜️Natsume Itsuki: Water and passion

🪼Aitsuki Nakuru: When people are watching, needing the courage to sing

🌸 nayuta: Toothbrush (I have to brush my teeth before singing or I can’t get into the mood)

Reflecting Thoughts

A word to all the Lapurisu (La Priere fans/listeners)!

⚜️Natsume Itsuki: This wonderful piece (MV) could be done thanks to your support. Thank you!

🪼Aitsuki Nakuru: Thanks to everyone, our conceptual bodies can move. Thank you so much!

🌸 nayuta: The live concert, animated MV, could not be accomplished with only one or just three of us! Thanks to all the Lapurisu's support, we are all here!

A word to the other members!

⚜️Natsume Itsuki: Thank you for continuing to keep working with me! Even now, I admire both of you, and am proud to be a member of this group

🪼Aitsuki Nakuru: God given talent Vocal friends gotta be healthy

🌸 nayuta: Thank you for enriching my life and sharing so many different experiences with me! Please continue to keep taking care of me!

[mamadarama]

687 - yeah rinne youre a hamburden on nikis wallet society

[sumiye-draws-sometimes]

This is how the War went, right?

[cutie-lumi]

the five eccentric girlies in Cosmic stage outfits ❤️