Break Time. . .~

Break Time?!

Well, even if the title is "Break Time", it didn't mean I'll break for awhile to think what else that I must write about myself. The "Break Time" title is I took from the title of My favorite Doujin Music that sang by Haruka Shimotsuki. So, this day I'll talk about My favorite Doujin Music Singer : Haruka Shimotsuki.

Haruka Shimotsuki (霜月はるか, born November 15) is a Japanese singer and dōjin music composer known for her vocal themes in the Atelier Iris and Ar tonelico series. She also wrote the lyrics and sang the ending themes to the two seasons of Rozen Maiden as well as the OVA under the name Kukui, a unit with Myu. Shimotsuki's original music mainly consists of ethnic and fantasy music, and most of her songs are soft in tone. She likes video games, and is a big fan of the Tales series

Haruka Shimotsuki started her career in 2001 beginning with singing main themes for games, and writing and composing songs. She started releasing her dōjin music under the names Maple Leaf and tieLeaf; tieLeaf is a collaborative circle with Ao Sorano and Nao Hiyama. The group has a seventy-two-page dōjinshi, one CD entitled Tsukioi no Toshi (also called Leozet Lag Ecliss in its own original language, the Lag-Quara language), a manga and novel text story book that was twenty-eight pages, and a single CD with the same name as the book, Lip-Aura, a side-story of Tsukioi no Toshi. Another project by tieLeaf, an adventure titled Neji Maku Tsuki, serves as a tie-in to Tsukioi no Toshi.

She gained attention after singing the ending theme "Tōmei Shelter" for Rozen Maiden under the name Refio+Shimotsuki Haruka. After singing "Tōmei Shelter", she and Myu (a member of Refio) formed the band Kukui. Shimotsuki has also formed a group with Rekka Katakiri and Chata many times, and they have been good friends for a long time. As an independent singer, she was once a supporting member of Sound Horizon, and made an appearance as a guest singer in their 2006 concert. She took a more major role in Sound Horizon's album Moira and performed in the corresponding live concerts in 2008 and 2009. Haruka Shimotsuki held a solo concert, Tokeidai no Aru Machi yori (時計台のある街より): Haruka Shimotsuki Solo Live Lv.1 on August 10, 2006. Her second solo concert, Haruka Shimotsuki solo live Lv.2: Shimotsuki Haruka wa Level ga 1 Agatta (シモツキンはレベルが１あがった?), was held on July 13, 2008.

Besides singing, composing and writing the lyrics for the opening and ending themes for the PC visual novel Relict: Toki no Wasuremono, she also composed about seven background music tracks for the game. Wind and string instruments are heavily used for the tracks, and she was able to exhibit her talent in ethnic music. This was her first time in composing songs for a game, and her feelings at that time were recorded in the booklet attached to the Image Soundtrack of the game. In the PlayStation 2 game Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia, she composed and performed the songs of one of the heroines, Aurica Nestmille, and took part in singing the ending theme "EXEC_PHANTASMAGORIA/.". She later took part in the sequel Ar tonelico II Sekai ni Hibiku Shōjo-tachi no Metafalica as the singing voice of one of the heroines, Luca Truelywaath, and took part in the ending song "EXEC_with.METHOD_METAFALICA/.".

Not much that I write about her (and again, today is also thanks to Wikipedia). And why is that? Because she is a Doujin Music Singer. Doujin in Japan is same as Indie Label. We can also say as non-official self-published Japanese works which can be based on official products or completely original creations. That's why not much info about her, just a fans of Doujin that know about her. But, even if said so, Haruka Shimotsuki is a pretty well-known in Doujin's world.

I don't know exactly when and why I know about doujin's world and start to become her fans. I just remember, that time is holiday and trying to download one of her album, to listen what kind of her music. When I first listen her song that time, the melody really made me fly to "Fantasy World". It's really so relax, it can made around you to change to be an "another world". Since then I know, that Doujin Music melody had a Fairytale Theme, and the lyric of Doujin Music like telling you a "Bedtime Story"... It's really nice... Just try it some, and I'm sure (If you're a RPG Gamers and an Otaku and like to read a story that like a Fairytale) you'll be addicted to it.

Haruka Shimotsuki from 'Kazahane' Single