Key Sounds Label

Last updated
Key Sounds Label
Key Sounds Label logo.png
Parent company Key
Founded2001
Founder Visual Arts
Distributor(s) Pony Canyon
Genre J-pop, Video game music, New-age
Location Osaka, Japan
Official website http://key.soundslabel.com/

Key Sounds Label is a Japanese independent record label [1] formed in 2001 as a brand of the publishing company Visual Arts. [2] Key Sounds Label was formed to catalog and release music related to visual novels produced by the brand Key, also under Visual Arts, known for developing titles such as Kanon and Air . Excluding two albums and one single that were released by Key and Visual Arts' before the label's formation, the majority of releases on the label all have a basis from one of Key's titles. There are other albums and singles on the label not directly related to the visual novels, such as two singles by Lia and one album by Riya. [2] Unlike typical record labels, Key Sounds Label does not license any of the artists featured on albums and singles released on the label.

Contents

When Key Sounds Label formed, Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi were Key's signature composers and have continued to produce the majority of the music on the label, though Togoshi is no longer affiliated with Key or VisualArt's. [3] Key often sells albums and singles on this label at the convention Comiket. Key Sounds Label is not under contract with JASRAC, or any other Japanese copyright collecting agency. As such, the releases on the label are not sold in Japanese stores with other music albums and singles, but are still widely available for online purchase.

History

Key Sounds Label has its origins in 1999, two years before the first album on the label was released. When the visual novel company Key, under the publisher Visual Arts, was about to release their debut title Kanon , Key produced the arrange album Anemoscope and bundled it with the first-print release of Kanon released in June 1999. [4] The second music release, a single, occurred in November 1999. [5] The third release, another arrange album, followed in September 2000 bundled with the first-print release of Key's second title Air , and was the first music release by Key to bear a catalog number, KYCD-0303. [6] Each of these three were released in limited editions, and thus were not widely sold. [7]

In 2001, Visual Arts and Key decided to form Key Sounds Label and start cataloging the albums and singles released by Key with the tag "KSLA–" followed by the four-digit label number. For example, the first release bears the catalog number KSLA-0001. The first two releases on the label were an album and a single released at the convention Comiket 60 in August 2001, and were sold by Key. [2] Since then, Key has regularly sold singles and albums under Key Sounds Label at subsequent Comiket conventions. Following the convention established with Kanon and Air, Key has released three more arrange albums bundled with the first-print releases of Key's later titles Clannad , Little Busters! , and Little Busters! Ecstasy . [8] [9] [10] These three albums were never re-released for general sale. [2] In early 2008, three of the albums on the label became available through the iTunes Store—partial albums of -Memento- and Recollections , and the complete album Ma-Na —under the name Key Sound Team. [11] Later, -Memento- was removed, and the full Recollections album became available. [11]

Most of the releases on the label contain music directly related to Key's visual novels, whether they be original soundtracks, remix albums, or image song singles and albums. There are other music singles and albums produced by members of Key not related to Key's titles. For example, the first album released on the label, Humanity... , is the only album released by Work-S, a band produced by Shinji Orito. [2] Two maxi singles containing songs sung by Lia were released on the label in December 2002 and August 2003. An album entitled Love Song was released in August 2005 containing songs sung by Riya of Eufonius. [2] In December 2006, Key Sounds Label produced the first drama CD on the label, and two more followed in July 2007. [2] In December 2006, the first anime music single to commemorate the second anime television series adaptation of Kanon was produced on the label, and an anime single for the Clannad anime television series followed in October 2007. [2] A third anime music single, this time for the Clannad After Story anime television series, was released in November 2008. [2] A short remix album for Clannad After Story was released in December 2008. [12] Music singles and albums for the anime Angel Beats! were released between April and December 2010. [2] A single for the Little Busters! anime television series was released in October 2012. [13] Two singles for the Little Busters! Refrain anime television series were released: the first in October 2013 and the second in November 2013. [14] [15]

KSL Live World 2008 concert flyer. KSL Live World 2008 flyer.jpg
KSL Live World 2008 concert flyer.

The first EP on Key Sounds Label contained songs from Air and was only released during the first concert of the Japanese trance music group OTSU held in May 2006. [2] The second EP contained songs from Little Busters! and was only released during the second OTSU concert held in May 2008. [2] Both concerts were sponsored by Key Sounds Label, and both EPs were released on gramophone records. The first OTSU Club Music Compilation album primarily containing remixed music from Key's visual novels was released in June 2006. The second OTSU Club Music Compilation album was released in February 2008 as a promotion for the second concert, and contains remixed music from Little Busters!. [2] The third OTSU release, OTSU:Blasterhead, contains remixed music from Key's visual novels and was released in February 2009. [16]

Concerts

Key hosted a concert as a part of Key's tenth anniversary commemoration [17] called KSL Live World 2008: Way to the Little Busters! EX which was held on May 10, 2008, in Tokyo, Japan, and again on May 17, 2008, in Osaka, Japan. [18] Each time, the concert lasted for two and a half hours and featured songs sung by Lia, Rita, Chata, and Tomoe Tamiyasu who have previously sung songs for singles and albums released under Key Sounds Label. [17] Tickets for the event were first available through mail order online on March 26, 2008. [19] A two-CD remix album entitled KSL Live World 2008: Pamphlet and Memorial Disc was sold at both concert showings bearing the catalog numbers KSLC-0001—0002 and contains six remixed vocal versions of Kanon's opening theme "Last regrets" on the album's A-side; [20] two of the tracks appeared on previous Key Sounds Label releases, and one is from the 1999 I've Sound compilation album Regret . [21] The B-side of the album contains a recording of a group talk of the live performers from the concert. A live album containing the recording of the second concert held in Osaka was released in December 2008 entitled KSL Live World 2008: Way to the Little Busters! EX . [22]

Another concert called KSL Live World 2010: Way to the Kud-Wafter was held in Tokyo on May 21, 2010 and again twice more on May 22, 2010. [23] The concert featured songs sung by Keiko Suzuki, Miyako Suzuta, Aoi Tada, Tomoe Tamiyasu, Chata, Marina, Lia, LiSA, Rita and Eufonius; however, Eufonius only appeared at the May 22 concerts. The MCs at the concerts were Shinji Orito and Rita; Jun Maeda also made appearances at the concerts. Tickets for the event were first available through mail order online on March 30, 2010. [23] A live album containing the recording of one of the May 22 concerts was released in December 2010 titled KSL Live World 2010: Way to the Kud Wafter . [24]

A third concert called KSL Live World 2013: Way to the Little Busters! Refrain was held in Koto, Tokyo on September 16, 2013. [25] [26] The concert featured songs sung by Tomoe Tamiyasu, Keiko Suzuki, Rita, Suzuyu, Ayaka Kitazawa and Lia. Jun Maeda and Shinji Orito once again made appearances at the concert. A fourth concert called KSL Live World: Way to the Angel Beats! -1st- was held in Akihabara, Tokyo on April 11 and April 12, 2015. [27] [28] A fifth concert called KSL Live World 2016: The Animation Charlotte & Rewrite was held in Toyosu, Tokyo on April 30, 2016. [29]

Artists

Unlike typical record labels, Key Sounds Label does not license any of the artists featured on albums and singles released on the label. When Key Sounds Label formed, Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi were Key's signature composers and have continued to produce the majority of the music on Key Sounds Label. In October 2006, however, Togoshi left Key and is no longer affiliated with either Key or VisualArt's. [3] One of the founding members of Key, OdiakeS, left Key before Key Sounds Label formed, but did contribute on the Kanon Original Soundtrack and the remixing of a song on Clannad's remix album -Memento- . [30] Key Sounds Label's roster features Japanese bands and singers, several of which originated from the I've Sound techno/trance music production group under VisualArt's, such as Ayana, Kotoko, Lia, Mell, Mami Kawada and Eiko Shimamiya. Other artists including Annabel, Chata, Karuta, Ayaka Kitazawa, LiSA, Marina, Runa Mizutani, Psychic Lover, Rita, Riya, Harumi Sakurai, Haruka Shimotsuki, Keiko Suzuki, Miyako Suzuta, Suzuyu, Aoi Tada, Tomoe Tamiyasu, and Nagi Yanagi have also been released on records through the label. The musical units Work-S, Eufonius, OTSU, PMMK, and MintJam have also produced music on Key Sounds Label. Musicians from I've Sound have been working with Key Sounds Label on the arrangement of songs, as have many others.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Key (company)</span> Japanese visual novel studio

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<i>Tomoyo After: Its a Wonderful Life</i> 2005 adult visual novel

Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Key released on November 25, 2005 for Windows PCs. The game is a spin-off of Key's earlier all ages game Clannad. Key later released versions of Tomoyo After without the erotic content, and the game was ported to the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Switch under the title Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life CS Edition; CS stands for "consumer software". The story follows the lives of Tomoya Okazaki, a young man who recently graduated from high school, and his close friend Tomoyo Sakagami as they start to see more of each other in a romantic relationship.

Air is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2000. The story follows Yukito Kunisaki, a traveler who arrives in a quiet seaside town during summer who is on a search for the "girl in the sky" that his now-deceased mother told him about and was searching for too. In town, Yukito meets three strange girls and Yukito begins to suspect that one of them may in fact be the girl he has been searching for. It was adapted by Toei Animation into an animated film in 2005 directed by Osamu Dezaki with music direction by Yoshikazu Suo. Kyoto Animation also adapted it into a 13-episode anime television series broadcast in 2005, along with an additional two episodes also broadcast in 2005, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Air and its anime adaptations consists of one EP, one single, two soundtracks, and three remix albums.

Clannad is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2004. The story follows Tomoya Okazaki, a discontented high school student whose life changes when he meets a girl one year older than him named Nagisa Furukawa. It was adapted by Toei Animation into an animated film in 2007 directed by Osamu Dezaki with music direction by Yoshichika Inomata. Kyoto Animation also adapted it into two anime television series consisting of 49 episodes broadcast between 2007 and 2009, including two original video animation episodes released in 2008 and 2009, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Clannad and its anime adaptations consists of two studio albums, four singles, two soundtracks, and four remix albums.

Kanon is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 1999. The story follows Yuichi Aizawa, who has returned to the town where seven years ago he would spend his school vacations, but has forgotten many of the details regarding his previous visits. Over the course of the series, Yuichi slowly regains these memories as he meets new friends and is reacquainted with others from his past. It was adapted by Toei Animation into a 13-episode anime television series broadcast in 2002 along with an accompanying original video animation episode released in 2003, both directed by Takamichi Itō with music direction by Hiroyuki Kōzu. Kyoto Animation also adapted it into a 24-episode anime television series broadcast between 2006 and 2007 directed by Tatsuya Ishihara with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Kanon and its anime adaptations consists of one compilation album, three singles, three soundtracks, and three remix albums.

<i>Little Busters!</i> 2007 visual novel by Key

Little Busters! is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key. It was released on July 27, 2007 for Windows PCs and is rated for all ages. Little Busters! is Key's sixth game, along with other titles such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. An adult version of the game titled Little Busters! Ecstasy was released on July 25, 2008 for Windows, unlike Kanon and Air, which were first released with adult content and then had later versions with such content removed. Ecstasy was later ported to the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Switch with the adult content removed under the title Little Busters! Converted Edition. An English version for Windows was released on Steam in 2017. The story follows a group of childhood friends now attending high school called the Little Busters, as they decide to form a baseball team. Riki, who is diagnosed with narcolepsy, is tasked to recruit more girls in preparation for a baseball game, and he bonds with each of them on account of their internal conflicts. Meanwhile, Rin gets mysterious letters from her cat Lennon to complete various tasks to learn the "secret to this world".

Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's and KineticNovel in 2004. The story centers around a middle-aged man who comes across a malfunctioning robot in a dead city. The man, known simply as "the junker", stays with this robot for a time and attempts to fix the projector of the planetarium where the story takes place. It was adapted by David Production into an original net animation (OVA) series and an animated film titled Planetarian: Storyteller of the Stars in 2016. An OVA titled Planetarian: Snow Globe animated by Okuruto Noboru was produced in 2021, and Key also released a visual novel version of Snow Globe in 2021. The core of the discography is the original soundtrack album produced by Key Sounds Label in 2006 for the visual novel. The music on the soundtrack was mainly composed and arranged by Magome Togoshi. A second soundtrack and two singles for the anime adaptations by David Production were released in 2016. An EP for Planetarian was released in 2017 featuring music from the visual novel and anime adaptations by David Production. A soundtrack for the Snow Globe OVA and visual novel was released in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jun Maeda</span> Japanese screenwriter, lyricist, and composer (born 1975)

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Shinji Orito is a Japanese musical composer originally from Hyōgo, Japan working for the visual novel brand Key under VisualArt's. Before forming Key, Orito worked for another software company named Leaf where he contributed to four games. After leaving Leaf, Orito transferred to another company named Tactics where he had a hand in the creation of three games for that company: Dōsei, Moon, and One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. After forming Key, Orito has put much work into such famous titles as Kanon, Air and Clannad. Orito has been influenced by the famous Japanese composers Joe Hisaishi and Yuzo Koshiro.

Magome Togoshi is a Japanese video game composer for visual novel studios. He began work as a music arranger in 1999, where he started working for the visual novel studio Key under VisualArt's to produce music for Kanon. Between then and 2006, Togoshi composed music for four more titles by Key, along with other games produced by game brands also under VisualArt's. In October 2006, Togoshi resigned from Key and VisualArt's. He continues working with other visual novel developers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lia (Japanese singer)</span> Japanese singer-songwriter

Lia is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Lia recorded "Tori no Uta" for Key's 2000 visual novel Air, which was reused in its 2005 anime adaptation and became influential in popular culture. She additionally recorded two other tracks for the visual novel, which were commercially successful.

Little Busters! and Little Busters! Ecstasy are visual novels developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2007 and 2008. The story follows Riki Naoe, a high school student and member of a close-knit group of friends who call themselves the Little Busters. It was adapted by J.C.Staff into two anime television series broadcast between 2012 and 2013, and an original video animation series to be released in 2014, directed by Yoshiki Yamakawa with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Little Busters!, Ecstasy, and the anime adaptations consists of one compilation album, one EP, eight singles, three soundtracks, and five remix albums.

<i>Love Song</i> (Riya album) 2005 studio album by Jun Maeda, Riya

Love Song is an album containing songs sung by Riya from Eufonius first released on August 31, 2005, in Japan by Key Sounds Label bearing the catalog number KSLA-0019. The album contains one disc with thirteen tracks composed and produced by Jun Maeda of Key. Additional participating musicians include Kendi Sato on electric guitar for tracks two and twelve, AchillesKEN on percussion for track seven, and Weisswurst on violin for tracks seven and thirteen. Cover art for the album was provided by Yoshitoshi Abe who also provided illustrations inside the album's booklet. Love Song is a concept album which tells the narrative of love as it heads toward ruin.

<i>Ma-Na</i> 2005 remix album by Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi

Ma-Na is a compilation album first released on August 12, 2005 at Comiket 68 in Japan by Key Sounds Label bearing the catalog number KSLA-0018. The album contains one disc with four tracks remixed from background music from four of Key's visual novels: Kanon, Air, Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet, and Clannad. The tracks on the album were composed, arranged, and produced by Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi.

"Tori no Uta" is a Japanese trance song sung by Lia, written by Jun Maeda, composed by Shinji Orito, and arranged by Kazuya Takase. The song was recorded at Paramount Studio in Los Angeles by the visual novel studio Key through their record label Key Sounds Label for use as the opening theme of Key's 2000 visual novel Air. A short version of the song was first released on I've Sound's July 2000 compilation album Verge. The full version of "Tori no Uta" first appeared on the limited edition remix album Ornithopter originally bundled with the first printing release of the Air game, though "Tori no Uta" was not remixed on the album. The song was later widely distributed on the Air Original Soundtrack (2002), the soundtrack of the visual novel. The song was later featured as the opening theme to the Air anime series in 2005. The Japanese variety radio show Moteken used "Tori no Uta" as the ending theme to their October 15, 2007 broadcast.

Key Sounds Label is a Japanese independent record label based in Osaka, Japan, that specializes in trance music. The label formed in 2001 as a brand of the publishing company VisualArt's and was established to catalog and release music related to visual novels produced by the brand Key, also under VisualArt's. When Key Sounds Label formed, Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi were Key's signature composers and have continued to produce the majority of the music on the label, though Togoshi resigned in October 2006 and is no longer affiliated with Key or VisualArt's. Key and VisualArt's released one single and two remix albums between 1999 and 2000, leading to the formation of Key Sounds Label the following year. The first official releases on the label were Work-S' debut studio album Humanity... and Lia's debut single "Natsukage / Nostalgia" at the convention Comiket 60 in 2001. The first release to chart on Japan's Oricon charts was the Clannad Original Soundtrack released in 2004. Between 2006 and 2008, eight more releases—five singles and three albums—also charted on Oricon. The six singles and two albums released for the anime series Angel Beats! charted on Oricon in 2010.

Kud Wafter is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2010. The story follows the lives of Riki Naoe and his close friend Kudryavka as they start to see more of each other in a romantic relationship. The discography of Kud Wafter consists of one single, one soundtrack, and three remix album. The core of the discography is the original soundtrack album produced by Key Sounds Label in 2010. The music on the soundtrack was composed and arranged by Jun'ichi Shimizu, Manack, and Donmaru. Four remix albums were released between 2010 and 2020.

Rewrite is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2011. A fan disc for Rewrite titled Rewrite Harvest festa! was released in 2012. The discography of Rewrite and Harvest festa! consists of one studio album, seven singles, three soundtracks and seven remix albums. The core of the discography consists of two original soundtrack albums for the visual novels, one for Rewrite and the other for Harvest festa!. The soundtracks were produced by Key Sounds Label and released in 2011 and 2012. The music on the soundtracks was composed and arranged by Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, Maiko Iuchi, Sōshi Hosoi, and Ryō Mizutsuki. An image song album was released in 2016. Seven singles were released between 2011 and 2017: two theme song singles for the visual novel, and five singles for the anime adaptation. A third soundtrack for the anime adaptation was released in 2017. The remix albums contains tracks from the games remixed by various artists and were released between 2011 and 2021.

References

  1. ↑ ""Toki o Kizamu Uta / Torch" single listing" (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Key Sounds Label's discography" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Magome Togoshi's official blog announcement of his resignation from Key" (in Japanese). July 10, 2007. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Anemoscope album listing". VGMdb. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  5. ↑ ""Last regrets / Place of wind which arrives" single listing". VGMdb. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Ornithopter album listing". VGMdb. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Key Sounds Label albums with contributions by Jun Maeda" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Mabinogi album listing". VGMdb. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  9. ↑ "Semicrystalline. album listing". VGMdb. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Little Busters! Ecstasy listing" (in Japanese). VisualArt's . Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  11. 1 2 "Key Sound Team" (in Japanese). Apple Inc. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Clannad ~After Story~ "Toki o Kizamu Uta / Torch" -Piano Arrange Disc-". VGMdb. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Little Busters!／Alicemagic～TV animation ver.～" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Boys be Smile / 目覚めた朝にはきみが隣に" [Boys be Smile / Mezameta Asa ni wa Kimi ga Tonari ni] (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Key Sounds Label HomePage" 君とのなくしもの / 涙色の翼 [Kimi to no Nakushi Mono / Namidairo no Tsubasa] (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  16. ↑ "OTSU：Blasterhead" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  17. 1 2 "Presenting Information on an Event - KSL Concert" (in Japanese). Key. March 14, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  18. ↑ "KSL Live World 2008 official website" (in Japanese). Key . Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  19. ↑ ""KSL Live World 2008: Way to the Little Busters! EX", "OTSU #02", Ticket Mail Order has Started" (in Japanese). Key . Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  20. ↑ "KSL Live World 2008 Pamphlet and Memorial Disc album listing". VGMdb. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Goods section at KSL Live World 2008's official website" (in Japanese). Key . Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  22. ↑ "KSL Live World 2008 way to the Little Busters! EX" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  23. 1 2 "KSL Live World 2010 ― way to the Kud-Wafter" (in Japanese). Key. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  24. ↑ "KSL Live World 2010 ～Way to the kud Wafter～" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  25. ↑ "KSLLiveWorld 2013×リトバス!～Refrain～上映会開催決定!!" [KSL Live World 2013 × Little Busters! Refrain Screening Decided!!] (in Japanese). Key. August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  26. ↑ "KSL Live World 2013 Way to the Little Busters! Refrain" (in Japanese). Key. August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Key15周年記念イベント『Key 15th Fes.』 開催決定!!" [Key 15th Anniversary Event "Key 15th Fes." Will Be Held!!] (in Japanese). Key . Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Key 15th Fes. 「KSL Live World way to the Angel Beats! 1st」&「AKIBA BASE!!」" (in Japanese). Key . Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  29. ↑ "KSL Live World 2016: The Animation Charlotte & Rewrite" (in Japanese). Key . Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  30. ↑ OdiakeS. "OdiakeS' discography on his personal website" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2008.

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