The featured song for Round 2 will be Chain, the OP from the anime Air Gear and everyone is invited to participate!

So how will it all work?

We want to hear your rendition of Chain, so feel free to sing over the song in the background or even ‘a cappella’ style without the accompanying music! :) The rules are very loose here, so please don’t be bogged down by restrictions.

In terms of recording your voice, it’s quite easy to buy a microphone that plugs into your computer and works straightaway. If that option isn’t available, there’s always the web-cam or even your mobile phone! (info and demonstration courtesy of Sowon!)

The competition will run for a month, and submissions will need to be made by August 9th on the Forums. Voting will then start from August 10th for one week until August 17th. You are welcome to make an audio or even a video file for your submission! For an example, check out TsUbAmE‘s rendition of ‘a day dreaming…‘ on Youtube!

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

For those who want to start from scratch: the Chain (TV size) mp3 audio file can be found at Japtard.com (thanks Frox!), and you can find the lyrics for Chain (kanji, hiragana and romaji versions) on Back-on Online by clicking here.

Minna Gambatte! So far we are expecting entries from the great Sowon-nii himself, TsUbAmE, Souryoku, and also myself. So hope you will all participate too by sending in your submission and voting!

This is actually sort of in-conjunction with Sowon‘s Back-on Music Competition on the Forums, where each time, participants have to sing one particular song (TV size version) from Back-on‘s repetoire. (Please consider entering the competition, minna! :D) Usually, it does help to ‘record’ with the song in question playing in the background, which brings me to the main topic:

where can I find TV size mp3s of Back-on‘s songs?

It would probably be helpful to first provide a list of the songs, so without further ado in the order of Anime Title | Type | Song Title :

Aside from Chain, most of the mp3s are available for download somewhere on Back-on Online, and since this is a summary post, you can find the direct-links to the posts in question below:

• ヒカリサスホウ Hikari Sasuhou (FK Metal ver.)
• BLAZE LINE
• a day dreaming…

But where can you find Chain? This only happens to be one of the most popular Back-on songs ever. The answer is simple: visit Japtard.com. Or more specifically,

view the post Air Gear OST – What a Groovy Trick!

You can the entire OST available for download (at 320kbps) – either as a zip file, or individual mp3 files. Chain (TV Size) is the first song on the 34-track album. The download has kindly been provided by Frox, who has credited Nipponsei for the original release.

Hopefully this post will be helpful to those searching for ‘that’ opening/ending theme by Back-on. Almost every single one so far also has their corresponding lyrics posted on the site somewhere, so take a look at the Lyrics section if you’re interested, particularly if you’d like to participate in the competition!

rearrange Chain in DUB

where DUB is apparently a form of Jamaican music with reggae origins. To bring this into context, Back-on‘s name was given by Jesse of the Japanese metal, reggae and rap band RIZE. :)

So how does this all relate to the Air Gear OST II?

I have to confess that I haven’t actually seen the anime Air Gear beyond Episode 1, because I became a bit too obsessed intrigued by Back-on to continue watching it, but listening to the second OST (original sound track) is really helping to change my mind!

The first OST (original sound track) “What a Groovy Trick!” was hailed as a great album, but for fans of the show, it appears to have lacked the instrumental versions of Chain used throughout the anime.

The producers haven’t made the same mistake twice, and the second OST “Who wants More Groovy Trick!!??” features 8 (short but) different instrumental remix versions of Chain by Skankfunk! And in all honesty, I love them all!

You can see the track-listing below (courtesy of Wikipedia):

1. Chain [ROCKIN' 8 GLIDER MIX]
2. Massiveness
3. Chain [TEKNO VALUE MIX]
4. Fear 4 Terror
5. Chain [MAGNIFICENTRAL MIX]
6. Delusion
7. Chain [POPPY HOPPY MIX]
8. Melopole
9. Chain [ACOUSTIC COWBOY MIX]
10. Rise Electric
11. Chain [UNDERWATER MIX]
12. Sky-2-High [BATTLE-MENTAL REMIX]
13. Chain [FOLLOW UP 30 MIX]
14. Chain [FOLLOW UP 15 MIX]

My personal favourites include Chain [Magnificentral Mix], which starts off with quite a mellow rendition with synthetic violins and electric piano (I think) but towards the middle, that unbelievably catchy beat just *HITS* you and well… the only thing that matches this in variation is Chain [ACOUSTIC COWBOY MIX], with at least 3 different remix-styles in one. Of course, I mustn’t forget the signature Chain [ROCKIN' 8 GLIDER MIX], as it really gets you going! :)

Now that I’ve raved on-and-on about how much I love “Who wants More Groovy Trick!!??“, it would be irresponsible for me to *not* say where to find the OST online. Thankfully, this time you won’t have to rely on torrenting (although the original source file did come courtesy of Nipponsei) because Japtard.com have kindly made both OSTs available for download directly from their website!

In addition to the downloads, you can also listen to Air Gear OST II by using the Flash-player located on the website – it’s pretty high quality, and provides a very welcome distraction when waiting for the download to finish!

So a big thanks to Japtard.com for providing the readily-available download, and hope you all enjoy listening to the (albeit short) Chain instrumental remixes! Please let us know what you think! :D

p/s: There are also has one or two other Back-on related downloads that you can find if you read the comments on Japtard.

Teeda also posted in his blog (in fact, he was the most active in updating on a daily basis :D) where I think he said he was surprised at receiving such a warm welcome in America (which he now really likes!) Teeda noted the fact that alot of cute girls (author’s note: including Ichi, Ookami and Miyu-chan) asked him for an autograph/hugs? ^^ (author’s further note: you lucky lucky people! I so wish I was there!)

On the last day, the Back-on group went for dinner late at night, only to find that the restaurants weren’t open on a Sunday! Ultimately they ended up in Subway (those lucky Subway people!) and all ate a massive American-sized sandwich. The funny thing was that Gori (and someone else?) then said that he still wasn’t full, leaving Teeda and Kenji03 speechless!

Hopefully Back-on will update their blogs with even more info at a later date! They will actually be showing a video at their next show in Shibuya on May 10th 2007, with footage from the entire weekend. Fingers-crossed that they’ll post it online as well!

• New Back-on Forum – http://www.backon-online.com/forums/
  The original idea for the forums was conceived by Sowon, the new Forum-Supermoderator. :) You can find out more about him by clicking on Site Staff but this is the first forum dedicated to Back-on by fans for fans. Please do signup and participate in the discussions where possible! Its still work-in-progress so feedback and activity really help!
• New Staff – Please welcome Sowon to the Back-on Online Team! Sowon hails from France and has stepped into the role of Forum Supermoderator. He has already made an impact by triggering alot of forum activity!
• New Affiliate – I would also like to welcome Sound Ex as our brand new affiliate! Sound Ex is the official Back-on US street team and you can find their current website here: http://www.myspace.com/backon_soundex Nao runs Sound Ex, and Back-on Online look forward to working with her to promote Back-on as much as possible.
• Site Navigation Change – The top navigation bar was becoming a little bit clogged up so, taking inspiration from JaME (who will feature in a later news post) I’m starting to re-organise the static site content. Hopefully it will also make it easier for users to find more information.I am very keen to hear feedback with regards to how easy it is for you to find what you’re looking for on Back-on Online, but in case you weren’t already aware of it – the Search function at the top of each page is usually very good, as well as the Related Posts found on the left of each full article.

I am currently considering creating a special page for each anime that features Back-on‘s music ie. Murder Princess OVA as well as Air Gear and Eyeshield 21. Each page would introduce the anime as well as Back-on‘s actual song and links to any media available on the site. Please do let me know if you think this will make your user experience of Back-on Online much better!

p/s: One of the forthcoming news updates will be something extra special – *hint* its to do with new lyrics!

p/s: Please do give some credit if you decide to post this first attempt elsewhere. :)

ENGLISH

[RAP/Verse]
Time to break da chain.
no pain don’t be afraid
but unchanging same ol’days same ol’ways.

回り続ける時計 uh…乾ききった光景.
The clock continues to turn/revolve, a dried up scene

Repeatされた毎日
Repeating the same day, every day

ずっと抜け出せないこの方程式
A totally inescapable equation

カゴの中で操られたパペット
A manipulated puppet in a cage

かき消すんだNoise…
The completely silenced noise

Can you hear my voice

はきだして　投げ捨てた
Sweep it out, and throw it away

理屈ばかりの誇り
(And then you have) a reason to be proud

悲しみに　響く風　自由へとさそう
The sorrow, the echo of the wind, (you’re) free to shine

Go my way

[Chorus]
さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･
Let’s go! Take off the chains! Spread your wings! (Fly) Towards the blue world…

[Chorus Rap]
Time to break da chain.no pain. don’t be afraid

自由求め解け向かえ開放へ
Freedom, seeking release and becoming open/liberalised

That’s da sign it’s time to try. you gotta fly.

上も下も無いYou gotta grab da sky.
There’s nothing above and below (so) you gotta grab the sky.

[RAP/Verse 2]
照りつける日ざしで1日始まり
The sunday that is shone upon is the first day

いつもどおりスニーカーにヒモ通し
(Wearing) The usual sneakers always walking the streets

同じ道のり　おなじみのstory.
The same path, the familiar story

I wanna step in da 未知の領域
I want to step into unfamiliar territory

Hell I know you can’t stop me

光りを見つけた時の様に
(I’ll) discover my shining appearance (what my appearance will look like when I’m shining)

The winds at my back so it’s time to fly

自分信じ飛び立てよ right now！
I now believe that I can stand and fly right now!

灰色に包まれた　太陽を呼び覚ます
I’ll awaken the dust-wrapped sun

敗北を転がして　明日へと繋ぐ
Roll and defeat tomorrow’s chains/connection.

My wish

さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･
Let’s go! Take off the chains! Spread your wings! (Fly) Towards the blue world…

You ready to wake up
you gotta fly with us

闇が目を覚ます　もう光り差す･･･
Awaken from the darkness in your eyes and you’re already shining

さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･
Let’s go! Take off the chains! Spread open your wings! (Fly) Towards the blue world…

Anyway, this is just a news update to let you know that Back-on Online will be releasing a draft of this translation. This will be work-in-progress and be open to correction by anyone, with full credits to their work. Is this something you’re hoping to find too or do you think we should be focusing on other things? Please drop us a comment on this news post or via the contact form to let us know your views!

UPDATE: The first draft is now available at: http://www.backon-online.com/lyrics-chain-english-draft/

JAPANESE (Kanji)

[RAP/Verse]
Time to break da chain.
no pain don’t be afraid
but 変わらない
same ol’days same ol’ways.
回り続ける時計 uh…乾ききった光景.
Repeatされた毎日
ずっと抜け出せないこの方程式
カゴの中で操られたパペット
かき消すんだNoise…
Can you hear my voice

はきだして　投げ捨てた
理屈ばかりの誇り
悲しみに　響く風　自由へとさそう
Go my way

[Chorus]
さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･

[Chorus Rap]
Time to break da chain.no pain. don’t be afraid
自由求め解け向かえ開放へ
That’s da sign it’s time to try. you gotta fly.
上も下も無いYou gotta grab da sky.

[RAP/Verse 2]
照りつける日ざしで1日始まり
いつもどおりスニーカーにヒモ通し
同じ道のり　おなじみのstory.
I wanna step in da 未知の領域
Hell I know you can’t stop me
光りを見つけた時の様に
The winds at my back
so it’s time to fly
自分信じ飛び立てよ right now！

灰色に包まれた　太陽を呼び覚ます
敗北を転がして　明日へと繋ぐ
My wish

さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･

You ready to wake up
you gotta fly with us
闇が目を覚ます　もう光り差す･･･

さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･

Musical Guests BACK-ON Performing at AE!

We are proud to announce our first guests for Anime Evolution 2007. Our Musical Guests from Japan this year are BACK-ON, a 5-member band that combine rock music with hip-hop. Their hit song “CHAIN” is the opening theme song to ADV’s new release Air Gear.

BACK-ON is coming to Vancouver courtesy of AVEX Group.

Please join us in welcoming BACK-ON this year!

I wish they would come to England! This news update comes courtesy of Kerobe on the Jpopmusic forums.

The file has been brought to you by Jubo as part of Otaku’s Dream Mix. I’m a stranger to the significance of the file statistics, but if it interests you:

BPM: 92 – 184
Difficulties: 2, 5, 7, 9, 11
Video & Lyrics & Backgrounds: Yes, All Included.

You’ll need a programme called StepMania to load up the files. As far as I understand it, Stepmania can be connected to the dancepad/dancemat, so you can play ‘as usual’ aside from using the standard keyboard. I did install it myself and had a bit of fun!