Concert at SkeCon

This is the video of the concert by Synthesized reality Productions (SRP) at the recent SkeCon event in Sweden. It's a single fixed camera, which could have benefited from being zoomed in a little, but it will do. It isn't shaky, unfocused, distorted or any of the other audience-recorded efforts' failings, and is of high video quality.

The event starts off with SRP's Yume introducing the show, in English, followed by Miku and 'Viva Happy'. Later, Gumi, Rin and Len appear – all three at once for one item – also Luka for 'Just Be Friends'; and near the end we also have Miku's now famous 'Senbonzakura' in her correct outfit for this song. The show is rounded out with Yume re-appearing to dance with SkeCon's own mascot Rosu to dance to 'Happy Synthesizer'. Plenty of goodness is in there for just about any fan!

The whole video is almost an hour long, but I found it better to view in three or four 'chunks', simply because of that fixed, slightly distant viewpoint from which I needed to take an occasional break...

NicoNico Mega Party 2014

This year's Chokaigi (Mega Party) event was really good much of the time, with some very good and audience-grabbing DJ-ing. It was, though, the Vocaloid concert that was the highlight for many, myself included – and then I forgot to post it here!

Well, thanks to a memory jog a few minutes ago, that is remedied now. This year's concert was just half an hour long, but with so much (thirteen songs) crammed into its almost non-stop format that there is plenty for everyone, including original staging, new band arrangements, and Luka playing the harp (very accurately!)

Lots of vocaloids were featured, as is the norm at this event, including the four Crypton Character Vocals (Miku, Luka, Len and Rin), IA, Gumi, Gakupo, Lily, Teto and more.

This is best viewed full screen, and listened to via headphones if possible...

Sing and Smile

It's about time I posted another nice video with good motion, so here's something new: Sing and Smile by Re:nG, featuring an 'all-star' cast of the six Cryptonloids (including the Sakine version of Meiko) along with Teto, Haku Yowane and Neru Akita, all of whom appear in Project DIVA Arcade future tone, from which this derives.

The motion is really good, and Rin's outfit in her initial appearance in the video – starting at 1 minute in – though simple in design is particularly appealing, I thought.

By the way: I have been spending so much time on social media and domestic matters that I haven't been able to keep up with other matters (in case anyone was wondering) – though I have been monitoring a lot of things going on, especially in the local and national political spheres. I shall no doubt comment on at least one or two of those in due course, but for now let's stay with the lighter and more enjoyable world of Vocaloid/Utau...

The Wizardry of OS-TER

If you liked OSTER project's Alice In Musicland, which I featured here a few months ago, you'll go for this similarly-presented version of Music Wizard of Oz, again with the Crypton 'Vocaloid All-Stars' playing all the parts and providing the voices, this time with the addition of Gumi..

It will help to know the original story, as no English words have yet been provided – hardly surprising, as it has only just appeared. No doubt a translation in the form of subtitles or captions will appear one day, and I shall then showcase that here.

In the meantime, it is again a mini-masterpiece, longer than the Alice production at just over twenty minutes..

Decorator

This is the intro song for the imminent (but delayed for three weeks for quality improvements to be made) Project Diva F 2nd game. The song, by kz (livetune), features all six Crypton Vocaloids who also appear in the game – which will now appear (all being well) in late March, at least in Japan.

Meanwhile, we can enjoy Decorator, in a typical setting and style of video for this series of games...

Happy Birthday, Rin and Len

Yes, today (27 December 2013) marks the fifth anniversary of the release of the Kagamine duo, often thought of as brother and sister, though they can of course be considered and used as other male/female pairing types.

Here is an interview with their voice provider, the delightful Asami Shimoda (with slightly 'Engrish' subtitles!), including excerpts from a few of the duo's songs – especially Asami's own favourite Rin Rin Signal...

Voc-Xmas – The First Christmas

Although there are no English words provided, this is such a delightful and uplifting number that I thought it merited inclusion in this season of Vocaloid Christmas songs. This is Len with The First Christmas, by MusukaP.

The video is fairly simple, but effective in the context, with some development including scene changes, which doesn't happen nearly often enough with this style of music-video imagery...

A Flavour of Magic

Here is a video of a couple of very short snippets from each of the songs performed at the recent Magical Mirai 2013 concert, featuring all six Crypton Vocaloids in solos, duets and one trio.

It gives an idea of what the event was like, a lot more broadly than just one song – even though the one I featured here a few weeks ago was the jaw-dropping staging of Ryo's Odds and Ends. Here we have the lot, sampled, and topped & tailed with the aid of some nifty graphics.

It comes as no surprise that the range of models, costumes and some new (to me at least) songs raised the bar yet again, along with the extra-wide screen (just how wide is that thing?) and some completely new motions even for established songs.

On top of that, we once again get to realise, however briefly, just how good the Vocaloid composer/producers are, their material easily up there with the best in the conventional music arena, more often than not. Remember: it hasn't been tampered with by publishing agents, session musicians (though the live band here won't be quite the same as the original released version), recording engineer, studio acoustics and effects, or a human lead performer (or two, or three).

These works are essentially straight from the composer's thoughts and intentions for his or her creation to the audience – which is perhaps the single strongest reason why the fan community is so dedicated without (except in a few cases!) too 'fannish'. Here we go...

Miku and Friends at Gateshead

This is all but the first few songs of the Gateshead concert put on by MikuUK (or 'UK39' as they now prefer to be called), video-ed from within the (somewhat chatty at times) audience. Yes, the focus drifts from time to time, but it gives a good idea of how it went.

Actually, for a fan-based vocaloid concert, it's quite good, and some is really good. Rin and Len at the start are rendered extremely clearly, brightly, and do have a three-dimensional appearance that is getting on for as good as one gets at the official events.

The motion is generally good quality, if a little unambitious much of the time (these aren't the 'official' motions for these songs) and in a couple of numbers Miku appears to be rollerblading (that 'sliding feet syndrome' I have discussed before), but overall it's a good effort. More motion capture would make a world of difference, rather than trying to create motions by bone manipulation(!)

The live band is welcome, and are quite good, though unsurprisingly not in the league of the now-legendary 39s who performed at several of the big concerts in Japan in 2011 and (I think) early 2012. The sound mix is nearly always excellent, unusually well done, I'd say. It is clear that the whole team has put a lot of hard and dedicated work into their events, in fact, breaking new ground for us here in the UK.

Anyway, here's 35 minutes of the Gateshead event, which I hope you'll enjoy despite the technical issues of focus and audience chat in places...

Trick AND Treat

This creepy song reminds me of why I have never been keen on trickery – which is why I detest this American idea of the similarly-named 'trick or treat' activity that we seem to have permanently imported into Britain in recent years, especially for this particular day of the year.

As in this item, there is always the threat ('treat' with an 'h' added, notice!) of something nasty being done by someone who has temporary power over you, whether on your doorstep or having drugged and then blindfolded you deep in the forest. Follow the subtitles to see what I mean.

I am reminded by this kind of scenario of the advice that the lady who jointly ran Byker Grove youth club with Geoff would say to her female charges: "Never let anyone put you in a position where your choices are taken away from you".

This jolly-sounding but actually quite ominous song is a good showcase for the Kagamine duo in its own right, so can be enjoyed on that level. Just don't forget the underlying message carried within it...

Fire Flower

This is probably Len's best song (though there are at least two others often considered to be his 'signature' numbers), and in this live performance from the 2011 Sapporo concert – with English subtitles – we can get a feel for just how good a stage presence he has. I think it's an excellent song, and very well suited to Len's lower registers in particular, which we don't get to hear as often as perhaps we should.

It seems strange to write about such things as 'stage presence' about someone who doesn't really exist, at least not in the conventional way, so has no physical presence as such;  but in situations such as this what I said above is so obviously true anyway. Watch this and you'll just have to agree...

A Pair of Wintery Winds

Well, that's how it's been written at the video's YouTube page, though I'd have opted for 'Wintry' myself. The Japanese title is Tsugai Kogarashi, it was written and arranged by Shigotoshite-P, and was originally performed by Meiko and Kaito.

Anyway, this is a traditional style of Japanese song, well performed by the Kagamine duo in a very appropriate setting with some delightful action and scenery.

Although the up-loader has not provided English words, a link to them has been supplied, and it is worth following that link sometime to get the flavour of the song. It doesn't need it at first viewing, but is probably useful before a subsequent view...

End of Solitude

Rin, playing a mean guitar, is accompanied by Len on bass guitar, in a quite tuneful rock song End of Solitude.

It works well, and shows something of the versatility of Rin (here with a dark bow for a change, and six hair clips instead of the usual four), which is no bad thing.

Vocaloids can become typecast just as much as human actors and other performers, so it is a good idea to stretch them in non-customary genres. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't – but it is nearly always worth making the attempt...

NicoNico Party 2013

Six months ago, almost to the day, I brought you last year's so-called MMD multi-Vocaloid concert, (the 'MMD' standing for MikuMikuDance, the famous character animation software).

This year's has been up on YouTube for over two months, so there appears to be no problem with having it there, and embedding is allowed. Therefore I feel I can safely place it here.

It is much the same concept as last year's such event, and its full title is NicoNico Cho Party – by now you can no doubt suss out where the 'NicoNico' part originates, as I've mentioned that website a few times in recent months.

The very start is slightly unorthodox(!) but leads onto the trade mark (for these partyicular events) Miku sitting on a crescent moon supported on two ropes, like a swing. The sixteen songs this time come one immediately after another in most cases, and we have twelve Vocaloids and UTAUloids this year – one up on last year's eleven. Alphabetically they are: Gakupo, GUMI, IA, Len, Lily, Luka, Meiko, Miku, Ritsu, Teto and two others I haven't yet been able to identify, though I am fairly sure that one of them is the UTAUloid Yowane Haku.

There are good solos for Teto and IA (and watch the latter's eyes, by the way) and an interesting version of World's End Dancehall, with different choreography and some other variations, by the Kagamine duo.

As before, because the character motions are produced in MMD, which is designed for display on computer screens and PlayStations rather than for life-size projection, the quality isn't as good as the SEGA in-house professional software used for the what are usually referred to as the 'official' concerts. It's still good, though, and some is very good indeed, including the motion quality (which is variable, but never poor). The stage is superb too!

Anyway, this is a good way to spend forty minutes, probably best once the sun has gone down...

Where It All Started

The Vocaloid era for me, that is: it started with the Sapporo 2011 concert, and I have just gone through it again. It genuinely was brilliant, helped a lot, I think, by the lighting that brought out the performers much better, brighter and clearer than in some other events of this nature.

I previously featured this here last year, so it merits a reprise – deliberately without the distraction of captions or subtitles as this is an event to be enjoyed as it stands. You'll understand as you go through it.

High spots for me, now that I am more familiar with the scene: Miku's wonderful blue yukata (and check out the back of it!), Rin's equally wonderful blue eyes and wavy bow in her hair, the sheer emotion in Time Machine and Even Though My Song Has No Form, Miku's a-capella section of the beautiful Starduster, and the fun stuff such as the 'Ohayo hayo' bits in Hello Planet and the upbeat, happy Yellow and Melancholic.

Do have a go at this, even if just for a short way in, or broken into chunks over a period rather than all in one go. The purity of the direct connection between composer and audience is something that no human performer can ever equal or even approximate – except possibly those who compose their own material, and even they are bound to have a 'performing ego' that can get in the way, as I suspect at least some of them would readily acknowledge.

I still find this familiar (to me) event makes my heart melt even more than ever, and all those hundreds of 'I love Miku' comments on YouTube become less surprising as time goes by. No wonder this is one of the very biggest phenomena in the sphere of music worldwide that there has ever been...

Butterfly On Your Right Shoulder

I featured this song almost six months ago, but without English subtitles. That omission has been rectified in this version, which features Len Kagamine (whose song it truly is, and indeed it is widely considered to be his signature song) in a live concert performance.

It's one of those songs that definitely grow on you, and deserves to – trust me on this!

Alice in Musicland

Now here's one I've been saving for a while. You might recall the opening track of this musical version of Alice in Wonderland as the intro to one of the (several) live Vocaloid concerts I have featured here in recent months.

This is the extended version, by no less than OSTER Project, telling much of the original story in music, presented in a kind of pantomime stage format with the Crypton Vocaloids personified by a simulation of animated cardboard cut-out figures. We have the White Rabbit in a hurry, the Mad Hatter's tea party, and the Queen of Hearts, and a few other parts of the Lewis Carroll story as well. There are English subtitles throughout, so it's easy to follow.

It really does have the flavour of the Wonderland story, and is a mini masterpiece, well worth twelve minutes of anyone's time to watch and enjoy. It's infectious...

The Rocking Kagamine Duo

Perhaps it's my age, but this immediately made me think of a Status Quo stage performance (which we've had here at Rochester Castle Gardens, in recent years) as Append models of Rin and Len Kagamine rock with their guitars (Len on bass. Rin on lead) like a couple of old troupers.

The song is called Kodoku no Hate, which I don't know what it means, and there are no English words – but who cares? Just enjoy it!

Just one question I'd like answered, though: what is it with the oddly-placed furniture?

Servant of Evil

Just in case anyone tries to suggest that I am being gender-discriminatory (or any shorter form meaning the same thing), here is the sometimes underestimated Len Kagamine, who tends to be overshadowed by his other half, Rin, who (as it happens) puts in a short appearance toward the end of this song.

This is Servant of Evil, a famous Len song, and it comes here from the live concert in Sapporo in 2011. It is a good showcase song for Len, whose vocal compass is used to good effect in generating what comes out almost as two different voices. Interestingly, it makes reference to his 'sibling' as the queen of a faraway place, which we of course recognise is her portrayal of the 'tiny princess of 14 years' from Rin's complementary song Daughter of Evil.

This has English subtitles, though they do sometimes overlap the Vietnamese ones but are still readable.

Incidentally, Len has his own selection of songs not just written for him but best performed by him, most notably Butterfly on Your Right Shoulder and Fire Flower, as well as several duets performed either with Rin or with another of the ladies such as Miku or GUMI. We mustn't make the mistake of thinking his range of dedicated songs and indeed his (often almost fiercely vocal!) fan base is less than just about any of the other Vocaloids, short of Miku, and they all add something to the culture base...

Hallelujah Chorus

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Dr Robert Schuller, Crystal Cathedral)

This version of Handel's world-famous Hallelujah Chorus works very well overall, with the chorus being provided by nine Vocaloid voices (three male, six female), none of whom had an English voicebank at the time this was produced, which was a little over three years ago as I write this.

The fellas are Gakupo, Len and Big Al, and the ladies are Miku, Rin, Luka, GUMI, Miki and Sonika (a Vocaloid from Zero-G of whom I had been essentially unaware until now), and I think they do a credible job – though there are a very few occasions when the English subtitling is helpful. It's a superb uplifting way to go into a Sunday – or any other day, but it rightly starts here, on Sunday..

Handel would approve...