Signal (Kanon Wakeshima song)

"Signal" is the fourth single released by Japanese singer and cellist Kanon Wakeshima, and second single from her album, Tsukinami. The song "Signal" was used as the ending of the anime TV series Strike the Blood. The song reached #54 on the Oricon Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for two weeks.

Track listing

Personnel

References

Signal (novel)

Signal is a 2009 children's science fiction novel by Cynthia DeFelice. The book was a Junior Library Guild selection for 2009. The novel is about a boy who is bored with his new life in upstate New York and discovers a girl who claims to be from another planet, who has been kidnapped by an abusive couple, and attempts to make a signal to contact her home planet.

Synopsis

Railway signal

A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers (engineers in the US). The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. Typically, a signal might inform the driver of the speed at which the train may safely proceed or it may instruct the driver to stop.

Application and positioning of signals

Originally, signals displayed simple stop/proceed indications. As traffic density increased, this proved to be too limiting and refinements were added. One such refinement was the addition of distant signals on the approach to stop signals. The distant signal gave the driver warning that he was approaching a signal which might require a stop. This allowed for an overall increase in speed, since train drivers no longer had to drive at a speed within sighting distance of the stop signal.

Under timetable and train order operation, the signals did not directly convey orders to the train crew. Instead, they directed the crew to pick up orders, possibly stopping to do so if the order warranted it.

Manual (band)

Manual is the performing name of electronic musician, Jonas Munk, from Odense, Denmark. Manual's music is considered to be in the styles of ambient dream pop and indietronica. His sound tends to contain a mix of software synthesizers, guitars (sometimes sampled or heavily processed), and various digital signal processing effects. Mixing elements of pop, glitch, and indie music, Manual is compared to artists ranging from IDM artists, such as Boards of Canada, as well as shoegazer groups like My Bloody Valentine.

Munk's output as Manual is strongly associated with the aesthetic of Morr Music, the label that released his first two albums. He also is featured on the Morr Music compilation Blue Skied an' Clear, which was a Slowdive tribute.

In 2004 he joined the American label Darla. Simultaneously, Munk started a psych stoner band called Causa Sui, and they released their self-titled debut album in December 2005.

Influences

In an interview with Pitchforkmedia, Munk mentions some of his sources of musical inspiration. They include: Talk Talk, Simple Minds, Japan, David Sylvian, Brian Eno, Cocteau Twins, U2, Philip Glass, Coil, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.