Votum stellarum

Votum stellarum

Song Information

Votum stellarum's pop'n music banner.

Votum Stellarum's jacket.

Artist: iconoclasm(djTAKA/wac)
Composition/Arrangement: iconoclasm
BPM: 136-147
Length: 2:05 (pop'n music, beatmania IIDX), 2:18 (ノスタルジア)
Genre: ANTHEM TRANCE (アンセムトランス)
pop'n music Character: MZD [10]
pop'n CG designer: shio
Movie: shio
First Music Game Appearance: pop'n music 10
Other Music Game Appearances:

• beatmania IIDX 12 HAPPY SKY
• ノスタルジア FORTE

Lyrics

None.

Song Connections / Remixes

• The EASY and NORMAL charts of Votum stellarum have a different ending than the HYPER and EX charts in pop'n music.
  • The HYPER/EX version of the song is used in beatmania IIDX.
• An extended version of Votum stellarum appears on the pop'n music 10 AC ♥ CS pop'n music 8 and beatmania IIDX 12 HAPPY SKY ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK albums.
• A remix of Votum stellarum, titled Votum stellarum -forest #25 RMX-, appears in pop'n music 15 ADVENTURE.
  • A shorter, re-arranged version of aforementioned remix appears in DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2, titled Votum stellarum -forest #25 DDR RMX-.
• A remix of Votum stellarum by Hommarju, titled Votum stellarum -Hommarju Remix-, appears on dj TAKA's second album, True Blue....
  • A short version of Votum stellarum -Hommarju Remix- later appeared in beatmania IIDX 21 SPADA.
• The ノスタルジア series uses a slightly different version of Votum stellarum, titled Votum Stellarum. This version features piano arrangement by Jun Wakita, in which most of the melodies are taken from Votum stellarum -forest #25 RMX-.
• A sequel to Votum stellarum, titled Vinculum stellarum, appears in pop'n music peace.

Trivia

• Votum stellarum is one of the unlocks in pop'n music 10's Ohoshisama ni onegai! (お星様にお願い！) event. It is the final unlock in the green bucket and can be unlocked from September 24th, 2003 until November 5th, 2003.
  • As of November 5th, 2003, it is unlocked by default.
• Votum stellarum marks the first time in BEMANI that Jun Wakita uses his wac alias in a song's artist listing.
  • It also marks the first time MZD is given his own unique song as a rival character.
• Votum stellarum is roughly translated as "offering to the stars" in Latin, refering to how Votum stellarum was conceived from pop'n music 10's Ohoshisama ni onegai! project.
• Votum stellarum can be unlocked in beatmania IIDX 12 HAPPY SKY after obtaining enough DJ POINTs. More information can be found here.
  • It received a unique video in the beatmania IIDX series, the only DJ POINT unlock in HAPPY SKY to gain one.
  • As of September 7th, 2005, Votum stellarum is unlocked for everyone to play.
• Votum stellarum's beatmania IIDX video contains the following text:

The wish to the star 
will become 
the song of the star 
and soar above. 
                ――Pray to the star 

Within the first section... 
Monday, he created sound. 
Tuesday, the wave and sonic. 
Wednesday, he separated note and tone, and created a score. 
Thursday, he created music of the sun. 
Friday, he created music of the moon. 
Saturday, he created music of the stars. 
Sunday, he was satisfied, and rested. 

And he blessed these songs and made them holy. 
A man who created the rhythm. 
A man who created the melody. 

And 
People listened to the song 
and loved it deeply 
for the rest of their lives.

• When the text "A man who created the rhythm" is shown in Votum stellarum's video, next to it is displayed a column made of several little screens showing some TAKA's song videos (the DJ TAKA logo from LEADING CYBER is clearly visible).
• Also when the text "A man who created the melody" is shown, the little screens show some wac's song videos (in one is shown the part from moon_child when the boy holds the cat).

• A more realistically drawn version of MZD appears in Votum stellarum's video, along with the footage of TRAN descending the spiral staircase from V. These two characters represent wac and dj TAKA respectively.
• Unused graphical data for Votum stellarum can be found in Beat'n Groovy.
• Votum stellarum received an EASY chart on December 12th, 2012 in pop'n music Sunny Park, replacing its old 5-Button chart.
• Votum stellarum was one of 30 possible picks for songs for REFLEC BEAT groovin'!! Upper's 7th Set (Users' SELECTION) of the BEMANI MUSIC FOCUS unlocking system. It ranked 6th overall in number of votes.
• Votum Stellarum is the unlock of ノスタルジア FORTE's Version up zen kikan gentei event (バージョンアップ前 期間限定イベント). It is available from July 20th, 2017 by having previously played ノスタルジア five times with an eAMUSEMENT PASS from July 7th to 17th, 2017.
  • In ノスタルジア Op.2, it can be unlocked from February 7th, 2019 as part of the Kaidan (階段) unlocking system.
  • In ノスタルジア Op.3, it can be unlocked from June 11th, 2020 from the ノスタルジアFORTE&Op.2 イベント section at the Episode selection screen.
• In the beatmania IIDX and ノスタルジア series, Votum stellarum's artist is credited as iconoclasm.
• Votum stellarum is a hidden BGM song in KONAMI's pachislot game, ROULETTE QUEEN.
• Votum stellarum is unlockable in beatmania IIDX INFINITAS from November 7th, 2018, after purchasing its charts with BITs.
• Votum Stellarum's Hard chart was re-rated on February 27th, 2019 in ノスタルジア Op.2.
• Votum stellarum is available in pop'n music Lively as part of the pop'n music Lively Selection Music Pack vol.1 (pop'n music Lively セレクション 楽曲パック vol.1).

Music Comment

pop'n music

The wishes sent to the stars, descend as their singing voices.

ノスタルジア

The wishes sent to the stars, descend again now

Song Production Information

beatmania IIDX

iconoclasm

wac is now my co-worker.
As a fellow musician, I talk about song ideas with wac.
And, wac is sometimes my rival.

On the other hand, I've spent time with wac, whether we eat or not.
We've walked together when we didn't have a return train fare in our pockets.
We've toasted together with beer cans on nights when we were excited about our futures.

It's been 2 years since we released "Votum stellarum".
Perhaps I pushed forward without really looking back.
No, perhaps I didn't have time to look back.
Before I knew it, I never imagined to be in this position.

When I think of this song now, I wonder why I only have such thoughts.

You could say we're somehow inseparable, it's truly a mysterious relationship.
I'm jealous of his talent. His music contains both theory and sensitivity, and even now, I admire and respect his ideas.

I dare to say.
To my good friend, thank you.

(iconoclasm : dj TAKA)

---

Stop it, isn't it embarrassing?
Well, I won't lose to you, so I'm going to be honest!

There are people who probably know this, but this song was born from pop'n 10's "Pray to the stars" project.
TAKA chose it among the many requests sent to him.
I haven't said this, but actually, I thought to myself at that time, "I wonder if he'll choose me for the collaboration". Even though I was already very busy with work!

This is a slightly old story, but there was a time when I nearly gave up on making music and going into the video game world.
This world was already becoming impossible for me, so I wondered about starting to study for my civil service examination, which I even bought the textbooks for, and keep the music and games as nice hobbies.
At such time, TAKA scolded and encouraged me, while arranging our desks together to reach the same goal, which was starting to happen.
Thanks to TAKA, I remembered why I wrote music.
I'm sure the path TAKA walked before me was how I undeservedly became a sound director.

So, I wondered if I could repay something back to him by making a song together.
While making this song, I only remember TAKA eventually helping me.
My debt just keeps piling up. Damn it. It's difficult.

Direction by unwavering mental strength and appropriate judgement. Mass music production by broad musicality and a natural music sense. And above all, a rhythmic sense and music atmosphere.
I don't have any of these qualities, and I'm always drooling and looking with envy.
Damn it. It's difficult.

We're like a junior and senior from the same period, a person who asks and is asked to make a song, and a rival and close co-worker for the same game.
And, it doesn't change that we're friends.

Please intensely enjoy the collaborative friendship power between such duo.
We're iconoclasm. Let's destroy that image. Bang, thump.

(iconoclasm : wac)

pop'n music

wac

Let's see.
I had various requests to ask TAKA, and talked about them up every time we traveled back and forth from the subway. It eventually turned out like this.
There were many requests for units with various people, but he was somehow paired with me, which hasn't happened before.

Come to think of it, we've known each other for a long time.
"Well, let's make something impressive and moving".

I mean, it's trance. OK, let's talk about my passion for trance.
Or rather, I haven't properly listened to trance, so this time, I listened to various songs for the first time.
I felt "what's with Ibiza?" and "what's with progressive house?", but it seems like I just bought them without listening. This is the end of the story about my passion for trance.

Anyways, I "decided on the chord progression".
I played around 20 harmony motifs on the piano, and tossed them to TAKA.
And then, TAKA somehow played "chan chan" chords on the piano, as expected of him. It properly came out as trance. That's amazing. The world is so convenient now. No, it's not.
Well, it's over, it's over, great, great, this is great.
While thinking this, he asked me to play the piano, so I added a bit towards the end.

So, I didn't spend that long working on this song, but it unexpectedly became a memorable song from its power, as expected... I hope.
For some reason, I have many memories of causing a lot of trouble to TAKA.

I don't know very well where this unit stands, whether it's a one-off legend or if we'd have a next opportunity, but best regards for next time.

dj TAKA

When I was shown the original text about me for "Pray to the stars", I was most drawn to the comment "I'd like dj TAKA and wac to create a fusion of orchestra and trance".
Come to think of it, as a guy who I was classmates with and sat next to back then, I never dreamed about having someone say something like this...

As wac and I have known each other for a long time, I thought about having a partner who specialized in parts I wasn't good at composing, and wondered if various things led to this inevitability, so I decided to try it.

For the production process, I inserted the rhythms and phrases by combining chord progression patterns initially made by wac, and furthermore, he layered solo piano phrases over them, and as expected of wac's work, I never thought about doing any of this, but I think it's an extremely great collaboration.

It was really fun, and the greatest song I've created, so by all means, I'd like to work together with him again if there's another opportunity.
And also, it'd be great if there's an opportunity like this with various people.

Video Production Information

shio

Nice to meet you. My name is shio, who usually draws illustrations for pop'n.
This time, it's a pop'n crossover song, so I tried to help out using my limited abilities.
A dream collaboration between the sound directors of both game series! It feels like a dream to be able to play it in both games~.

This song was born from pop'n 10's "Pray to the stars" project.
I once again thought about the mysterious coincidences and possibilities that this song wouldn't have been created without requests from players.

Furthermore, I was in charge due to overlapping coincidences, so I wanted make a movie only I could make and bridge both game series together.
Let's mix each "style" of pop'n and IIDX.
Of course, I made it feel like you understood both composers.
I'm a greedy person, so I wanted to show both games' delicious parts.
But, as "from pop'n!" appears, it seems to destroy IIDX's cool worldview...
So I worried about various things, and settled down with something like this.
It doesn't feel out of place among the new songs in HAPPY SKY, but I hope players who know the pop'n version will "grin" at that section.

I know the Book of Genesis isn't something grand, but it's a small anthem for me.
I'd also like to thank the designers on the IIDX team who generously gave me with materials.
It was fun to combine the completed movies with a bit of VJ-REMIXing.
Thank you very much!

Character Information

Would a DJ who created the world, enjoy becoming the god of the pop'n world?
The stardust he gathered, descending as brand-new music and life.

shio

I'm really grateful that everyone's prayers to the stars is just like their thoughts about pop'n.
The large number of individual requests appear like countless stars in the universe, and this song is somehow just divine and beautiful. I don't know what to say, but I'd like to convey such grateful and shining feelings.

This might be the first time I've said this about MZD, but he's modeled after the man who served as the first pop'n designer. That's why he's a god. It's actually mysterious and very lovely that the small pixels that he created have now expanded into such a big pop'n world.

So, but I created these movie-like animations with the image that small pieces will become a big star when they're collected.

Staff Comments

tera

I asked the duo what "ANTHEM" means. They grinned and laughed without telling me. Huh... what's with them?

TAMA

TAKA WAC sounds great, doesn't it?

masaru

Trance + a mysterious melody is irresistible.

Kobayashi

This is what happens when you combine TAKA and wac. I see, only MZD is fitting.

Seiya Murai

Isn't this enough~! It felt like I was blown into outer space by a giant swing with that force!

Mikoshiba

How about a dream idol competition? It's irresistible.

shio

Wow. This is surprisingly serious. It's something that would've been rejected in pop'n 6, but that's alright. This is a special time. It's somehow a sound director collaboration. They're close friends.
I'm captivated by it. I recommend listening to this with headphones. If you don't own the soundtrack, let's immediately buy it. Is it a bargain if this song is slightly longer? I think so.

KAKKI

God has descended! That's right. Feathers are falling down from the sky.

Difficulty & Notecounts

beatmania IIDX difficulty rated from 1 to 12.
pop'n music difficulty rated from 1 to 43 through pop'n music 20 fantasia, and 1 to 50 from Sunny Park onwards.
ポップンリズミン difficulty rated from 1 to 10. (Ratings and notecounts obtained from BEMANIWiki 2nd.)

beatmania IIDX

Game	SP Difficulty					DP Difficulty
	BEGINNER	NORMAL	HYPER	ANOTHER	LEGGENDARIA	NORMAL	HYPER	ANOTHER	LEGGENDARIA
Notecounts	170	413	857	1017	-	413	965	-	-
beatmania IIDX 12 HAPPY SKY	-	4	9	10	-	4	10	-	-
beatmania IIDX 13 DistorteD→Present	-	4	9	10	-	4	↑11	-	-
beatmania IIDX 12 HAPPY SKY CS	2	4	9	10	-	4	11	-	-
beatmania IIDX INFINITAS	-	4	9	10	-	4	11	-	-
beatmania IIDX ULTIMATE MOBILE	-	4	9	10	-	-	-	-	-

pop'n music

Game	Normal Mode				Battle Mode		PSP Exclusive
	EASY	NORMAL	HYPER	EX	NORMAL	HYPER	5B HYPER	7-Buttons	7B HYPER
Notecounts	381	512	872	969	534	766	541	486	766
pop'n music 10→14 FEVER!	19	22	35	39	26	38	-	-	-
pop'n music 15 ADVENTURE→20 fantasia	19	↑23	35	39	26	38	-	-	-
pop'n music Sunny Park→Present	※13	29	41	45	26	38	-	-	-
pop'n music 10 CS	19	22	35	39	26	38	-	-	-
pop'n music 11 CS	19	22	35	39	26	38	-	-	-
pop'n music portable 2 DLC	19	23	35	39	-	-	24	21	33
pop'n music Lively	※13	29	41	45	-	-	-	-	-

※ The notecount of this chart is different from the old 5-Buttons chart (total notes: 180).

ノスタルジア

Game	Level
	Normal	Hard	Expert	Real
Notecounts	407	929	1312	-
ノスタルジア FORTE	5	9	12	-
ノスタルジア Op.2→Present	5	↓8	12	-
コナステ ノスタルジア	5	8	12	-

お星様にお願い！
Red bucket	GOONIES "R" GOOD ENOUGH - HOLiDAY - Drivin' High - マジンガーＺ - Invisible Lover - ヒデオ体操第一
Blue bucket	熟れた花 - きえた!? ナポレオン - すきすきソング - キューティーハニー - Sea Side City - Jack
Green bucket	ヤバイオンナ - テキサスのガンマン - dandelion - 魔女っ子メグちゃん - murmur twins(guitar pop ver.) - Votum stellarum
Yellow bucket	トロイカダンス - 炎のキン肉マン - GALAXY FOREST 11.6&12 - デビルマンの歌 - No more I love you - Arrabbiata - DDR MEGAMIX
White bucket	ペガサス幻想 - ラブ・アコーディオン - Harvest Moon - くちうるさいママ (HYPER/EX) - スウィーツ～instrumental - 幸せを謳う詩