Review | Ryota Sakuraba “Phantasmagoria”

Growth Ryota ano koro

In “Phantasmagoria”, Ryota Sakuraba takes you on an adventure of a lifetime, experiencing a rush of freedom and limitless adventure.

Titled あの頃の僕らは My Dear Days. (Ano Koro no Bokura wa My Dear Days.), the new CD series has all members of SQ (SolidS and QUELL) and ALIVE (SOARA and Growth) revisiting their old selves.


Ryota Phantasmagoria cover
Title: ファンタズマゴリア (Phantasmagoria)
Release date: 25/11/2022
Label: Movic
Genre: Orchestral Pop

Tracklist:

1 - ファンタズマゴリア
2 - ファンタズマゴリア -off vocal-

Track analysis:

1 – Phantasmagoria

Ryota Sakuraba (CV: Daiki Yamashita) takes the stage for “Phantasmagoria” and honestly, nothing will prepare you well for the song you find here.

Marching drums create a sense of urgency, almost like you’re riding a horse in the prairie. On your right ear, you will notice a delicate wind instrument mimicking that sort of noise you get when you run really fast and find wind resistance.

The verses smoothly subdue that intensity, giving way to a delicate piano melody – going high and delicate – as the background echoes Daiki Yamashita’s vocals and what seems to be a subdued choir far in the background.

The build-up to the chorus brings the marching band drums to the forefront, slowly building up the tension before making a big opening for the dramatic timpani to join in.

This part of the song feels like – and let’s continue this riding the horse analogy throughout – riding a horse through a tight space but, slowly, you start seeing the light and landscape that awaits you after this journey.

As the chorus arrives, the marching drums add pacing to the song, like you’re running like crazy, no clear destination set, through a magical, colorful landscape.

You can feel how much the song opens, especially with how the wind and string elements make their powerful entrance in the chorus, almost as if a gust of wind hits you.

Those elements then settle in, creating a dreamy and otherworldly soundscape that is wide and beautiful. Once again, you get a bit of reverb here, with the vocals reaching far distances in this soundscape. At the same time, and now that I’m writing about how this soundscape feels freeing and without an end, that the vocals end up fleshing this out really well.

And do you know what is more impressive about this song?

Is that this feeling of “freedom” or “going on a journey and finally arriving at the destination” doesn’t stop until the end of the song with those low, dramatic piano notes reverbing in the background.

So to keep this tone and relentless energy going for almost 6 minutes without sounding repetitive, the composition does little things in the background – adding new elements with each chorus section that kicks in – and culminating in a spine-chilling last chorus in which a choir joins in the background.

If you really don’t feel a thing with this song, maybe this isn’t the thing for you – style or sound-wise – but I believe most of you reading this felt something when that part kicks in.

It is chilling – in a good way -, the perfect culmination of all that hope, passion, and excitement in this magical journey. And that choir, paired up with Daiki Yamashita’s vocals – which are so steady (emotionally and in their delivery) and warm – will hit you in the feels without a doubt. Yamashita’s singing gives a sense of “safety” in this journey, which I greatly appreciate.

I was with goosebumps all over and this only happens to me when a song is really pleasing in its composition + resolution. It moved me.

And now, let’s geek a bit because I love how orchestral-heavy this song is – despite being a pop tune, in some way.

The timpani brings a lot of drama, the drums are played with such clockwork precision – which is a staple in orchestras -, the high, staccato-style piano melodies and even the piccolo and oboe playing in the chorus… everything together created an amazing song and, for me, scratched my itch for that orchestral pop/lyrical pop I love from Growth.

Another thing you may have noticed is that this song has a lot of “air” going on. The soundscape is breathy and wide. The feeling of running or riding a horse really fast is there. And what brings that to life?

The wind instruments.

There are too many to name – and many I still am not as familiar with to say exactly which are here – but they are present from start to finish in this composition.

You will notice they are subdued in the verses – when the song is quieter and it seems the pacing is steadier and you’re in a closed or sort of tunnel-like place.

But then, when the chorus arrives, the wind instruments are in full bloom, taking over almost half of the background sound, at times, even challenging the timpani for the spotlight.

And that’s in those times in which you will feel the wind blowing past you in this composition. It gives you the feeling that you’re moving through the soundscape at a really fast pace.

John-san really went cinematic for this composition, making it almost game OST-worthy in my book. This is genuinely awesome.

“Phantasmagoria” took you on the adventure of your life. And return you safe and sound after such a rush of emotion between freedom and adventure. When it ends, you’ll be happy with the outcome but you’ll be ready for another ride into the sunset, wind blowing past you.


Phantasmagoria” is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.


Vanessa Silva
Vanessa Silvahttps://www.handthatfeedshq.com
The Hand That Feeds HQ founder, content creator, and music reviewer. Basically, the only person managing everything at The Hand That Feeds HQ. Stumbling upon Mamoru Miyano's "Orpheus" in 2011 was the start of this journey. If music is thought-provoking or deep, you may find her writing almost essays (not limited to, but it happens a lot with Soma Saito's music). She's the producer and host of the male seiyuu-centric podcast, SEIYUU LOUNGE (see Spotify link in this profile).

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REVIEW OVERVIEW

Phantasmagoria

SUMMARY

"Phantasmagoria" took you on the adventure of your life. And returned you safe and sound after such a rush of emotion between freedom and adventure. When it ends, you'll be happy with the outcome but you'll be ready for another ride into the sunset, wind blowing past you. This song feels like going on the journey - as soon as you press play -, trying to reach your destination before it all ends. The drama is there - something that the orchestral elements in this song perfectly brought to the table - and the sense of wonder and excitement is there as well from the way the composition flows. Daiki Yamashita delivers a performance that I can safely say sounds insanely "steady". There are no big shifts in energy, volume or emotion (Even for the high notes). He keeps it steady throughout, being your "grounding" or "safe" element in this adventure. If you're looking for a cinematic-style of pop tune, "Phantasmagoria" fits the bill and goes a bit over it to impress you. Few songs make it so that you feel like you've moved within the soundscape and do it so brilliantly.

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"Phantasmagoria" took you on the adventure of your life. And returned you safe and sound after such a rush of emotion between freedom and adventure. When it ends, you'll be happy with the outcome but you'll be ready for another ride into the sunset, wind blowing past you. This song feels like going on the journey - as soon as you press play -, trying to reach your destination before it all ends. The drama is there - something that the orchestral elements in this song perfectly brought to the table - and the sense of wonder and excitement is there as well from the way the composition flows. Daiki Yamashita delivers a performance that I can safely say sounds insanely "steady". There are no big shifts in energy, volume or emotion (Even for the high notes). He keeps it steady throughout, being your "grounding" or "safe" element in this adventure. If you're looking for a cinematic-style of pop tune, "Phantasmagoria" fits the bill and goes a bit over it to impress you. Few songs make it so that you feel like you've moved within the soundscape and do it so brilliantly. Review | Ryota Sakuraba "Phantasmagoria"