Sim City (album)
| Sim City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Susumu Hirasawa | ||||
| Released | August 2, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | January – March 1995 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:49 | |||
| Label | Polydor K.K. | |||
| Producer |
Susumu Hirasawa Yūichi Kenjo | |||
| Susumu Hirasawa chronology | ||||
| ||||
Sim City is the fifth solo album by Susumu Hirasawa. Inspiration came from Hirasawa's visits to Thailand, where he developed a strong interest in the country's transsexuals. The album's name refers to its story, in which a futuristic Thailand is portrayed as a simulation city.
Hirasawa had originally planned to make this album a 90s version of The Dark Side of the Moon, but his newfound fascination with Thailand led him to create Sim City instead.[1]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Susumu Hirasawa, except "Recall", "Sim City" and "Prologue", with lyrics by Hirasawa and Miss N.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Recall" | 1:23 | |
| 2. | "Archetype Engine" | 4:42 | |
| 3. | "Lotus" | 4:26 | |
| 4. | "Kingdom" | 5:16 | |
| 5. | "Echoes" (CHARAN SANITWONG 24) | 6:19 | |
| 6. | "Sim City" | 5:04 | |
| 7. | "Dark Side of the Moon (月の影 Tsuki no Kage)" | 6:11 | |
| 8. | "Pacific Rim Imitation Network (環太平洋擬装網 Kantai Heiyō Gisō Mō)" | 3:28 | |
| 9. | "Colony" | 4:50 | |
| 10. | "Caravan" | 5:48 | |
| 11. | "Prologue" | 2:19 |
Track information
- Echoes
Shares its name with a P-MODEL song (demoed circa 1981-82, recorded in studio in 1983 for Another Game). Both are tributes to Pink Floyd. It was also the basis for the Berserk song "Gats". The song was conceived in Bangkok.
- Pacific Rim Imitation Network
Conceived in Bangkok. The only song in the album with guitar playing.
Personnel
- Susumu Hirasawa - Vocals, Electric guitar (Fernandes PHOTON), Synthesizers (Korg M1, Roland JD-800, Proteus/2), Miburi, Sampler (Akai S1100), Drum machine (Roland R-8 with DANCE card), Amiga (2500), Vista, Sequencer (Bars&Pipes Professional), Computer programming/Programming, Production
- Miss N. - Narration on "Recall", "Sim City" (Uncredited) and "Prologue"
- Wisakha Fraytes - Vocals on "Sim City"
- Yūichi Kenjo - Production (Executive)
- Masanori Chinzei - Engineering
Release history
| Date | Label(s) | Format | Catalog | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2, 1995 | Polydor K.K. | CD | POCH-1510 | |
| July 1, 2005 | Universal Music Japan, Universal Sigma | Digital Download | none | |
| February 29, 2012 | Chaos Union, Teslakite | CD | CHTE-0058 | Remastered by Masanori Chinzei. Disc 5 of the HALDYN DOME box set. |
| November 5, 2014 | Universal Music Japan | SHM-CD | UPCY-6931 | Part of Universal's "Project Archetype" (supervised by Osamu Takeuchi & Kasiko Takahasi). Remastered by Kenji Yoshino (supervised by Chinzei) with both original liner notes and new ones.[2] |
- "Archetype Engine", "Lotus", "Kingdom" and "Pacific Rim Imitation Network" were included on the Archetype | 1989-1995 Polydor years of Hirasawa compilation.
Interactive Live Show
| INTERACTIVE LIVE SHOW 1995 SIM CITY TOUR 1995.9.6 TOKYO SHIBUYA KOKAIDO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video by Susumu Hirasawa | ||||
| Released |
December 1995 (VHS release) November 26, 2003 (DVD release) | |||
| Recorded |
6 September 1995 Shibuya Public Hall Udagawa, Ebisu-Ōmukai, Shibuya, Tokyo | |||
| Genre |
Electronica Experimental New Age Progressive rock Technopop World | |||
| Length | 1:44:00 | |||
| Label |
HIRASAWA BYPASS (VHS release) Chaos Union, TESLAKITE (DVD release) | |||
| Producer | Susumu Hirasawa | |||
| Susumu Hirasawa chronology | ||||
| ||||
Interactive Live Show 1995 "SIM CITY TOUR" was the fourth Interactive Live Show played by Hirasawa. The story follows Wiwat Tarasongop (Thai: วิวัฒน์ ธาราสงบ; "Susumu Hirasawa" rendered into Thai (Japanese: ウィワット・ターラーサンゴップ Hepburn: Uiwatto Tārāsangoppu)) who unexpectedly finds himself in Sim City and seeks to understand the nature of its reality.[3]
Unlike previous Interactive Live Shows, which drew songs from all Hirasawa solo albums, the songs that appeared on "SIM CITY TOUR" were mainly taken from its parent album - the other songs were taken from Water in Time and Space, Virtual Rabbit, AURORA and the P-Model album KARKADOR; while the songs from the 90's albums were performed with small changes in arrangement, the ones from the 80's albums received Thai themed rearrangements. Miss N. appeared as a guest performer, after a series of hurdles by the show's staff to bring her to Japan. Hirasawa barely remembers the rest of the show's production due to the power of the events surrounding Miss N.'s invitation[4]
Songs
All songs written and composed by Susumu Hirasawa.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Recall" | ||
| 2. | "Archetype Engine" | ||
| 3. | "Kingdom" | ||
| 4. | "CYBORG (サイボーグ Saibōgu)" | ||
| 5. | "Sim City" | ||
| 6. | "Dark Side of the Moon (月の影 Tsuki no Kage)" | ||
| 7. | "Bandiria Travellers (バンディリア旅行団 Bandiria Ryōkōdan)" | ||
| 8. | "AURORA (オーロラ Ōrora)" | ||
| 9. | "Pacific Rim Imitation Network (環太平洋擬装網 Kantaiheiyō Gisō Mō)" | ||
| 10. | "TAKE THE WHEEL (舵をとれ Kaji wo Tore)" | ||
| 11. | "Colony" | ||
| 12. | "LOVE SONG" | ||
| 13. | "Echoes" | ||
| 14. | "Caravan" | ||
| 15. | "Lotus" | ||
| 16. | "Haldyn Hotel (ハルディン・ホテル Harudin Hoteru)" |
IN THE SQUARE (広場で Hiroba de) was also played at this concert, after Dark Side of the Moon and before Bandiria Travellers, however, it wasn't included in either VHS or DVD releases.
References
- ↑ "月の影 / Tsuki no Kage / Moonlight".
- ↑ Takeuchi, Osamu. "wilsonic works 41". wilsonic journal. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ↑ "Sim City Tour Prologue～".
- ↑ "1995 Sim City Tour Interactive Live Show DVD - Back Cover Text".
External links
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