mix: pure sugar

spring is approaching in california, i can feel it! this playlist features some of my favorite sparkly k/j-pop & game music producers, as well as some recent bright releases in the digital fusion scene. cheers!

full tracklist (expand to view)

After spending several days in a row discussing the incredible work of ESTi and TAK, I felt I had no choice but to make a mix that prominently feature their work as producers. ESTi even makes a double appearance, opening the set with his amazing DJMAX menu UI theme, as well as composition on the collab with seibin, Fantastic Plastic Pathos. TAK's incredible piece with Corbin, "Tic! Tac! Toe!" is the kind of pop song that just blows me away each time I hear it, and TAK's ultra-clean production shines so much here. Another DJMAX track!

Luckily for me, tenby has just released his second entry in his "Vivid-Soundz" romplerrific series, which has a decidedly Korean MMO vibe to my ears. All his tracks are extremely good, but "Adventure Playground" fit into this mix especially well. Other digital fusion tracks include "MEMODEMO - Stuff It!" and "Hunter Van Brocklin - A Day in the Life of a Moon Jelly (with blue.nocturne)".

I've also included a few classic game tracks, like "Yume Miru Robot" from ToHeart, "Aquarium" from La Tale, and "starlight" from Pangya Portable. Finally I also wanted to include at least some work by one of my favorite pop composers, Tsunku--I decided to go with the very catchy and charming "Rainy ~Struck by the Rain~", used in Rhythm Heaven Gold. Of particular note is a track from Gunbound--the composer recently uploaded his work on Soundcloud, so we finally have high quality and titled versions of these tracks that were so influential to me! I also included a few top tier j-pop ("Perfume - Spinning World") and k-pop ("NewJeans - Ditto") tracks to round things out.

I hope you enjoy this cotton candy rollercoaster ride! It was a bit harder to find buy links for a lot of these, but I've provided them where available.