【予選1st 第12ブロックC】OTONOVA2023 - Participation Report (soloists versus bands)

I share Louis Armstrong's view that music is life itself and it is with great excitement that I approach the Otonova2023 competition and follow the doings of all the performers taking part.

The course of the first qualification of this 12 C block was very interesting and exciting, as we could witness the confrontation of participants representing different musical genres and artistic achievements. It was also a competition between two individuals performing solo and two original bands.

Congratulations to all the performers taking part in the preliminaries of this block, especially THYPALM and CAFUNÉL between whom it was a decisive duel.

Congratulations to THYPALM for winning first place in the preliminaries of this block 🥇. I must admit that the first EP 'Chemical', released on 15.07.2022, has a unique sound and it was an interesting experience for me to be able to sink into the world of psychedelic rock from Osaka. I like the evocation of the strong instrumentation of Hiroki (Bassist), Sakagen (Drummer) and the strong vocals of Hirosetaki, who is also a great guitarist of the band. I believe that participating in Otonova will be an interesting and wonderful experience, and will bring the band closer to their goal of to organise their own outdoor festival. 

You can get a closer look at the band's sound by visiting their Youtube channel (@thypalm9389), which features an MV submitted to Otonova2023 for the song 'Psytune'.

Congratulations to CAFUNÉL for passing this qualifying round 🥈 and congratulations for a great performance during the first round of Energenza2023 Japan 👏.  I am very happy that this great family team has qualified for the second round of qualification, as this will make Otonova2023 even more exciting. CAFUNÉL plays light-hearted music that touches the heart, but at the same time their performances are capable of getting you up and dancing. Each of their performances is different. The amazing thing is that the vocals change with each song. The line-up sometimes changes too. Even the genre changes. They deliver a variety of songs, one of which is sure to appeal to many listeners. Personally, I am very fond of their beautiful song 'Bird of Paradise' and would like it to reach a wider audience. 

It is well worth visiting their Tik-Tok account (@cafunel2017) and Youtube channel (@cafunel) to learn more about their work. There are plenty of live performances there.

Congratulations to Koshi Amagasa on her participation in the qualifiers and please continue to give it your all. You are a great songwriter! Please continue to create such great masterpieces as "Feel the heartbeat". Koshi Amagasa is active on social media and music-distributing media such as Tik-Tok (@koshiamusic) and Youtube (@koshiamagasa7858), where you can get a closer look at her original work. I really recommended to hear her awesome songs.

Congratulations to 甲斐ヒロシ (Hiroshi Kai) on his participation in the qualifiers. Please continue to give it your all in near future on the your dream came to true. I hope that you to create your own unique style on playing your guitar.

Hiroshi has an amazing album 'Kichijyouji in April 22', released in 2020, which contains 8 songs. It is well worth visiting Hiroshi's Youtube channel (@nninetagarden1) to check out his wonderful rearranged hits by Nirvana, DO-SE or Mechanical Romance. We also have the opportunity to view recordings of his live performances and his original songs.

I ask that THYPALM and CAFUNÉL do not relent in their efforts and give their best in the next stage of Otonova.