[Album Review] The Form of Dream: FuwariP da yo☆ ~yume no katachi~

Konnichiwa, we finally have our news/review/article corner. MikuDB.moe just keeps on expanding wider. One of the reasons why we have this new corner is to spread more love towards vocaloid, especially if we find something interesting, but that’s probably because of the popular trends, they didn’t get enough attention. There are vast amounts of vocaloid albums, up until now MikuDB.moe has more than 3300 vocaloid/utaite/doujin albums indexed and ever so more as time goes on. Surely, there will be selections of hidden gems hiding amongst the vast and wide expanse ocean of vocaloid music. Let’s enjoy our adventure in discovering those gems together! I will draw “first blood” in album review *smirk*. To tell you the truth, this is actually my first time doing an album review, not to mention that English is not my native language, so I’m feeling a bit nerbous *grinning sheepishly*. OH! I mean nervous. >.< Since my knowledge with music is still very limited, I believe my review will be heavily influenced by my fascination towards slow paced music. I do enjoy slow paced music.

“FuwariP da yo☆ ~yume no katachi~” (ふわりPだよっ☆～ゆめのかたち～), a compilation album of FuwariP’s songs was released on September 3rd, 2014 under EXIT TUNES label. The name of this album is derived from a song titled “Yume no Katachi”, meaning The Form of Dreams; a fitting title in my opinion. Tobi has done a wonderful illustration for the album’s cover. The cover art is so sweet and cute, with the main theme being fantasy, something out of our childhood fairy tales and it really suits the album’s title.

The album kicks off with first track of “Yume no Katachi” (#1) in piano, which provides a gate to enter a dreamlike state. There’s a distinct style in FuwariP’s music. The songs start slow but keeps building momentum up to a magnificent climax. Such grandiosity, powerful, something you can feel in “Yume no Katachi” (#), “Nijiiro no Haru” (#6), “Ame ga Fureba” (#8), “Koko ni Aru Koto” (#10) and “Negaigoto” (#11). He pays careful and meticulous attention to the instruments used. At times even when there’s only one instrument playing, no time is gone to waste, not even a single second. Each instruments has its own unique role within each song. In “Koko ni Aru Koto” (#10), it starts with a ballad style piano intro, which in turn enhances Miku’s clear voice even further. The guitar provides harmony while the bass and drum establish the groove and beat. As the song goes on, orchestral instruments help the chorus build up the crescendo. As if not enough, the immense feeling continues to escalate at the bridge and growing stronger before putting an elegant end, sending shivers down my spine.

The lyrics also have deep meanings, mainly expressing gratitude and appreciation towards people and life. For example, “Mata Ashita” (#4), it is expressed in poetic metaphor of not wanting smiling photographs fade from memory, hoping for the rising sun to bring a brand new day. Similarly those lyrics can also be found in “Kyou mo Harebare” (#3) and “Koko ni Aru Koto” (#10). But not all the lyrics are expressed in that form, the lyrics change and go for cute route, like in “uchuu no ☆ fantasy” (#7), a new song from FuwariP sang by GUMI (Native, Adult, Power, Sweet, Whisper, English). It gives off the feeling of cheerful and exciting summer days. But in the end, it gives you time to relax and unwind from any kind of day.

FuwariP composed many songs with multiple vocaloids singing ensemble. There are not too many (in my opinion, since my knowledge about vocaP is still limited) vocaP who use multiple vocaloids, and FuwariP certainly is remarkable in what he does. He can make them sing in unison without one vocal outperforming any other. Also the tuning is impeccable, not too high, not too low for each and every one of the vocaloids, also to boot, they sounded so clear. The exchange for each parts leading into another also flows smoothly, it makes them sing as one entity, all backing each other instead of separate vocals.

There’s a lingering feeling not wanting this album to end. The other new song in this album, “Kono Shiawase wo” (#13) conveys this feeling all too well. As expected from FuwariP, his superiority in group tuning is truly amazing. This song is again, gives off a FuwariP vibe; heart warming with marvelous accompaniment and it makes my breath hitched.

Overall, this album is beautiful and heart warming. True to its name in every sense, every time I listen to this album, it’s as though I am in a deep slumber surrounded by beautiful dreams. I won’t hesitate to put this album in my favorites library, in fact, it already occupies a place in it :P. Other than the lack of new songs, this album is a must to listen or highly recommended. The remastered version of older songs are also a welcome, they sound clear and soft, giving a better experience in listening to each instrument and vocals separately.

That’s all I have to say about my opinion on this album. If you find that this album has piqued your interest, be sure to visit this album’s page and have a listen. Mata Ashita *waves*

EDIT: Thank you, @aoryn for mention something so important. It totally slipped off my mind. Please support FuwariP by purchasing this album here. For more information you can visit the official site for the album.

Also thank you @WoobiE for beta-ing this.