Catchup: Part the Stop The Presses: 小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID
The final linkdump to get us up to date is in progress, but something about it being sodding huge is making it take a while. (I reckon tomorrow, maybe Thursday?)
In the meantime, a set of videos popped up today to surprise me - the top thirty or so is suddenly dominated by a whole brace of tracks involving major producers making Vocaloid covers and arranges of songs originally produced by Tetsuya Komuro, one of Japan's most well-known producers, and the only producer ever to have been involved with the top 5 songs in a single week of the Oricon rankings. A little digging reveals that the album they come from is a new release on the 28th, coinciding with the rerelease of some of Komuro's finest works.
And these covers are all absolutely amazing. The producers have pulled out all the stops for this album, and the grand result is a set of breathtaking covers featuring some of the best tuning I've heard in a long, long time. Check under the cut for EZFG's badass Luka, Dios' absolutely astonishing Rin, and a delightful mathru Miku, as well as comm favorites Penguin Project and Heavenz.
小室哲哉 feat. 初音ミク / 「LOVE IS ALL MUSIC」
LOVE IS ALL MUSIC (TK, Miku)
The official introduction to the album, and an excellent way for TK to show off a little and reveal that he's still got it when it comes to belting out an excellent piano track. If he's the one who tuned Miku, then he's also no slouch when it comes to using Vocaloid - Miku's not the best I've ever heard her, sure, but she's far more than servicable and duets along with the backing singers in a gorgeous bit of soft pop.
「TOO SHY SHY BOY!」EZFG feat.巡音ルカ【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】
TOO SHY SHY BOY! (EZFG, Luka)
Yeah, I'm totally biased, but I don't care; I'm going to put this up the top regardless. Absolutely stellar, the only thing I can think to question is why EZFG hasn't ever picked up Luka previous to this; her low voice perfectly fits the grungey, deep rock style of this track and brings out her best side with it.
【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】I BELIEVE【鏡音リン】
I BELIEVE (Dios, Rin)
I'm not fully convinced I can handle this. I realise that Rin's singing on top of a backing group, and that that can help to mask a Vocaloid's issues with pronounciation, but this perky and upbeat pop track has to include the clearest, most gorgeous Rin I've ever heard as she belts out an almost operatic performance.
【初音ミク】恋しさと せつなさと 心強さと【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】
Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokoro Tsuyosa to (mathru, Miku)
While not as immediately startling as Dios' Rin, mathru's Miku is no slouch, and from her intro to the rest of this vocal-and-percussion-heavy track, she puts up a solid fight and doesn't miss a beat. Some of her solo sections are a little jarring with syllables that are a little too clearly defined, but the second half of the song totally makes up for it - I love the super-catchy rat-a-tat march of the drums far too much to put this tune down.
【鏡音リン・レン】DEPARTURES【小室哲哉meetsVOCALOID】
DEPARTURES (hitoshizuku, Rin + Len)
Almost entirely a celebration of high energy rock, Departures is at its best when Rin and Len are belting out verses in duet to excellent guitar riffs, but don't let that stop you from also enjoying the very slightly overwrought but certainly emotive pauses and drops. Possibly one of the more generic tracks on the album, but still an excellent listen that isn't going to disappoint.
【鏡音リン・レン】WOW WAR TONIGHT【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】
WOW WAR TONIGHT (Polyphonic Branch, Len + Rin)
I love the intro to this song something fierce, as hopping dancing chiptunes are the perfect and utterly lively setup for a ridiculously adorable electropop track from the twins, full of distorted electric wobble and high-pitched guitars and a tempo that just keeps on and on increasing - at least until the surprise Hello Planet ending.
【小室哲哉meetsVOCALOID】PENGUINS PROJECT feat. 初音ミク「My Revolution」
My Revolution (Penguins Project, Miku)
If I had to pick one that might not be to everyone's taste, I guess I'd have to say this one? It's squarely in the kind of range that my brain earmarks as 'heartwarming soft pop', which means it's a little slow and a little plodding if you're not the sort to enjoy it. Still, it's a top-notch Miku and it really is a very heartwarming song, full of gentle piano and some fantastic guitars from liam.
「FACES PLACES」 Heavenz feat.初音ミク・巡音ルカ 【小室哲哉meetsVOCALOID】
FACES PLACES (Heavenz, Miku + Luka)
Oooooof. A very gutsy choice for tuning here - my immediate reaction to hearing Miku shouldn't be to wonder what Gachapoid is doing in a song, nor should I be wincing at Luka - but fortunately it's only really a problem for each Vocaloid's introduction. Once the supersoft orchestral track gets going, both of their voices are rounded off nicely, and all the listener has to do is sit back and let the crescendoing guitar take over.
【鏡音リン・初音ミク】 SEVEN DAYS WAR 【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】
SEVEN DAYS WAR (CaptainMirai, Len + Miku)
The intro to this track takes some getting used to, as it'll feel far too stark and certainly not to my taste at all thanks to some tuning issues and general 'bleh'. If you can, though, hold on until the midway mark to have the song open up, turning from a rather empty affair into a genuinely charming soft pop song with a great catch to the chorus and a slow, exultant crescendo.
In the meantime, a set of videos popped up today to surprise me - the top thirty or so is suddenly dominated by a whole brace of tracks involving major producers making Vocaloid covers and arranges of songs originally produced by Tetsuya Komuro, one of Japan's most well-known producers, and the only producer ever to have been involved with the top 5 songs in a single week of the Oricon rankings. A little digging reveals that the album they come from is a new release on the 28th, coinciding with the rerelease of some of Komuro's finest works.
And these covers are all absolutely amazing. The producers have pulled out all the stops for this album, and the grand result is a set of breathtaking covers featuring some of the best tuning I've heard in a long, long time. Check under the cut for EZFG's badass Luka, Dios' absolutely astonishing Rin, and a delightful mathru Miku, as well as comm favorites Penguin Project and Heavenz.
小室哲哉 feat. 初音ミク / 「LOVE IS ALL MUSIC」
LOVE IS ALL MUSIC (TK, Miku)
The official introduction to the album, and an excellent way for TK to show off a little and reveal that he's still got it when it comes to belting out an excellent piano track. If he's the one who tuned Miku, then he's also no slouch when it comes to using Vocaloid - Miku's not the best I've ever heard her, sure, but she's far more than servicable and duets along with the backing singers in a gorgeous bit of soft pop.
「TOO SHY SHY BOY!」EZFG feat.巡音ルカ【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】
TOO SHY SHY BOY! (EZFG, Luka)
Yeah, I'm totally biased, but I don't care; I'm going to put this up the top regardless. Absolutely stellar, the only thing I can think to question is why EZFG hasn't ever picked up Luka previous to this; her low voice perfectly fits the grungey, deep rock style of this track and brings out her best side with it.
【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】I BELIEVE【鏡音リン】
I BELIEVE (Dios, Rin)
I'm not fully convinced I can handle this. I realise that Rin's singing on top of a backing group, and that that can help to mask a Vocaloid's issues with pronounciation, but this perky and upbeat pop track has to include the clearest, most gorgeous Rin I've ever heard as she belts out an almost operatic performance.
【初音ミク】恋しさと せつなさと 心強さと【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】
Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokoro Tsuyosa to (mathru, Miku)
While not as immediately startling as Dios' Rin, mathru's Miku is no slouch, and from her intro to the rest of this vocal-and-percussion-heavy track, she puts up a solid fight and doesn't miss a beat. Some of her solo sections are a little jarring with syllables that are a little too clearly defined, but the second half of the song totally makes up for it - I love the super-catchy rat-a-tat march of the drums far too much to put this tune down.
【鏡音リン・レン】DEPARTURES【小室哲哉meetsVOCALOID】
DEPARTURES (hitoshizuku, Rin + Len)
Almost entirely a celebration of high energy rock, Departures is at its best when Rin and Len are belting out verses in duet to excellent guitar riffs, but don't let that stop you from also enjoying the very slightly overwrought but certainly emotive pauses and drops. Possibly one of the more generic tracks on the album, but still an excellent listen that isn't going to disappoint.
【鏡音リン・レン】WOW WAR TONIGHT【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】
WOW WAR TONIGHT (Polyphonic Branch, Len + Rin)
I love the intro to this song something fierce, as hopping dancing chiptunes are the perfect and utterly lively setup for a ridiculously adorable electropop track from the twins, full of distorted electric wobble and high-pitched guitars and a tempo that just keeps on and on increasing - at least until the surprise Hello Planet ending.
【小室哲哉meetsVOCALOID】PENGUINS PROJECT feat. 初音ミク「My Revolution」
My Revolution (Penguins Project, Miku)
If I had to pick one that might not be to everyone's taste, I guess I'd have to say this one? It's squarely in the kind of range that my brain earmarks as 'heartwarming soft pop', which means it's a little slow and a little plodding if you're not the sort to enjoy it. Still, it's a top-notch Miku and it really is a very heartwarming song, full of gentle piano and some fantastic guitars from liam.
「FACES PLACES」 Heavenz feat.初音ミク・巡音ルカ 【小室哲哉meetsVOCALOID】
FACES PLACES (Heavenz, Miku + Luka)
Oooooof. A very gutsy choice for tuning here - my immediate reaction to hearing Miku shouldn't be to wonder what Gachapoid is doing in a song, nor should I be wincing at Luka - but fortunately it's only really a problem for each Vocaloid's introduction. Once the supersoft orchestral track gets going, both of their voices are rounded off nicely, and all the listener has to do is sit back and let the crescendoing guitar take over.
【鏡音リン・初音ミク】 SEVEN DAYS WAR 【小室哲哉 meets VOCALOID】
SEVEN DAYS WAR (CaptainMirai, Len + Miku)
The intro to this track takes some getting used to, as it'll feel far too stark and certainly not to my taste at all thanks to some tuning issues and general 'bleh'. If you can, though, hold on until the midway mark to have the song open up, turning from a rather empty affair into a genuinely charming soft pop song with a great catch to the chorus and a slow, exultant crescendo.