A truly excellent (though deceptively simple) rendition of this most famous of Brazilian songs by the outstanding Maika. The Brazilian-Portuguese lyrics are included, which I found useful in brushing-up on my (admittedly rather limited) knowledge of the language.
This will probably turn out to be useful if I one day revisit the Care Home I went to yesterday, as one of the residents there speaks only Portuguese...
Showing posts with label Maika. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maika. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Trilingual Torinoko
I haven't featured Torinoko City, by 40metresP (usually shortened to '40mP), for a long time; so here it is in three languages by the very versatile – I was tempted to write 'talented' – Maika.
The languages switch at the ends of lines, in no particular pattern, so this is in effect a demo piece for Maika. I get the impression that, although the Spanish and English parts are excellent and very good respectively, her Japanese pronunciation, at least here, is less than ideal, one Italian commenter describing it as having "a rude Italian accent" (whatever that means!)
Meanwhile, Maika has been provided as a 14-day free trial download from this page – but be warned: the ZIPfile installer is over a FigiByte in size...
The languages switch at the ends of lines, in no particular pattern, so this is in effect a demo piece for Maika. I get the impression that, although the Spanish and English parts are excellent and very good respectively, her Japanese pronunciation, at least here, is less than ideal, one Italian commenter describing it as having "a rude Italian accent" (whatever that means!)
Meanwhile, Maika has been provided as a 14-day free trial download from this page – but be warned: the ZIPfile installer is over a FigiByte in size...
Monday, 6 January 2014
Carry On Vocaloid
No, this isn't a saucy British comedy, but a Vocaloid version of the Donna Summer (co-written with Giorgio Moroder) song. This is performed here by that most impressive of newcomers, Maika, masterfully produced by 'VocaloidMaster Guiseppe' who has been doing some great work with Maika, a couple of examples of which I have already featured.
This has previously been done (I think in its original form/language) by Sonika, I understand, though I haven't heard that version as yet, so cannot comment further.
There are no English words provided in or with this Spanish-language video; but the lyrics to the original are easy enough to find, and the subtle changes in this version are obvious, as you'll pick up on as soon as your hear them...
This has previously been done (I think in its original form/language) by Sonika, I understand, though I haven't heard that version as yet, so cannot comment further.
There are no English words provided in or with this Spanish-language video; but the lyrics to the original are easy enough to find, and the subtle changes in this version are obvious, as you'll pick up on as soon as your hear them...
Thursday, 2 January 2014
La Chica Ye Ye
On the morning that many folk will be going back to work after New Year's Day, how's about a bright, bouncy but measured song to get everyone going?
This is La Chica Ye Ye and it's in Spanish, so you don't need to listen to the words – but feel free to be impressed by their clarity, for this is the excellent Maika performing here. It is said that the Sonika version is 'cuter', but this one surely cannot be beaten for its clean sound and clear pronunciation...
This is La Chica Ye Ye and it's in Spanish, so you don't need to listen to the words – but feel free to be impressed by their clarity, for this is the excellent Maika performing here. It is said that the Sonika version is 'cuter', but this one surely cannot be beaten for its clean sound and clear pronunciation...
Monday, 16 December 2013
Music Score Of Starry Space
This is another of those exceptional Vocaloid songs with a cumbersome title(!) This is Maika, here used truly outstandingly, with tremendous feeling and understanding of human vocals, in this song by Daisuke-P that has been uploaded to YouTube just this morning.
It is performed in Japanese, which is an interesting twist: historically, producers have often tried to make Japanese Vocaloids speak and/or sing understandably in other languages. This time it's round the other way.
The English captions have a couple of minor errors ('saving' instead of 'saying', 'thoudsands') but nothing that obscures the intended meaning. It's one of the longer single pieces I have featured here, at just over six minutes, but well worth it...
It is performed in Japanese, which is an interesting twist: historically, producers have often tried to make Japanese Vocaloids speak and/or sing understandably in other languages. This time it's round the other way.
The English captions have a couple of minor errors ('saving' instead of 'saying', 'thoudsands') but nothing that obscures the intended meaning. It's one of the longer single pieces I have featured here, at just over six minutes, but well worth it...
Monday, 9 December 2013
The Girl From Ipanema
This delightfully tuneful classic is here sung in Brazilian Portuguese by Maika, the new Spanish Vocaloid. It is not (yet) very well known that Voctro Labs added some non-Spanish phonemes to Maika's voicebank to make this kind of performance possible. The lady is certainly versatile!
For those familiar with the language (and when I worked on the public counters in Immigration the lady on the next position spoke Portuguese, from whom I picked up a little) the differences in pronunciation in the Brazilian variation are noticeable, and Voctro seem to have done a very good job on this. Her release date is 18 December, just over a week from now (as I write this).
Overall, I think it's a nice treatment, and benefit's from Maika's clear and slightly more mature voice than many of the Japanese Vocaloids have – so here is Garota de Ipanema...
For those familiar with the language (and when I worked on the public counters in Immigration the lady on the next position spoke Portuguese, from whom I picked up a little) the differences in pronunciation in the Brazilian variation are noticeable, and Voctro seem to have done a very good job on this. Her release date is 18 December, just over a week from now (as I write this).
Overall, I think it's a nice treatment, and benefit's from Maika's clear and slightly more mature voice than many of the Japanese Vocaloids have – so here is Garota de Ipanema...
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
New Maika Track
Just up on YouTube today, here is Ni Una Sola Palabra ('Not A Single Word'), performed by new Spanish vocaloid Maika, ahead of her imminent release. There are no English words, so this is also an exercise in how good your Spanish is (or isn't!) though understanding isn't vital for enjoyment of the track.
Once again, the editor is shown as it plays through the song, behind Maika's image – said image having been provided by artist Noriko Hayashi a.k.a. 'Noririn'.
The song itself is not new, having been released in mid-2006 and performed then (and many times since) by Paulina Rubio, who among others is formally credited within the video.
It has been a while since we last had something from Maika, so this is very welcome. Her voice is one of the clearest I have encountered – although I admit I am having to assess this is Spanish, which isn't straightforward though eminently possible even for me...
Once again, the editor is shown as it plays through the song, behind Maika's image – said image having been provided by artist Noriko Hayashi a.k.a. 'Noririn'.
The song itself is not new, having been released in mid-2006 and performed then (and many times since) by Paulina Rubio, who among others is formally credited within the video.
It has been a while since we last had something from Maika, so this is very welcome. Her voice is one of the clearest I have encountered – although I admit I am having to assess this is Spanish, which isn't straightforward though eminently possible even for me...
Monday, 21 October 2013
Tell Your World – in Spanish
A very good effort here, fully translating the kz (livetune) classic Tell Your World into Spanish and having new Spanish vocaloid Maika perform that version. Once one has accepted the 'different' voice, it seems to suit her remarkably well; and I foresee more of this type of exercise to complement the native tongues (Spanish and Catalan) songs.
It's an interesting video as well, with several sections as it goes along, and is very enjoyable overall...
It's an interesting video as well, with several sections as it goes along, and is very enjoyable overall...
Saturday, 19 October 2013
More Maika
To complete this hat-trick of Maika songs, here is No habrá nadie en el mundo by Concha Buika. This is nice and light, with an acoustic guitar-based backing, and shows how musical the Spanish language can sound: it is well suited to this medium.
Incidentally, there are other Maika songs on YouTube (and no doubt elsewhere) in addition to the three that I have featured today, but these are the best that I have selected. One of the others has a fuzzy image and an overpowering and intrusive bass line, for example, so wasn't good enough for here: I am quite picky!
Incidentally, it is interesting to read in the comments to this video that some think of Maika as sounding like IA. Clarity of voice-wise I'd agree, but beyond that there are quite marked differences, so I think those views are a little off the beam. Let Maika stand in her own right: the lady deserves that...
Incidentally, there are other Maika songs on YouTube (and no doubt elsewhere) in addition to the three that I have featured today, but these are the best that I have selected. One of the others has a fuzzy image and an overpowering and intrusive bass line, for example, so wasn't good enough for here: I am quite picky!
Incidentally, it is interesting to read in the comments to this video that some think of Maika as sounding like IA. Clarity of voice-wise I'd agree, but beyond that there are quite marked differences, so I think those views are a little off the beam. Let Maika stand in her own right: the lady deserves that...
Maika Song
Following hard on the heels of my previous post, here is a Spanish song sung by new Vocaloid Maika. This has a gentle, cool jazz mood, and is very well done musically, with an extremely good job of mixing. In fact, the mix here is one of the best I have so far encountered in the Vocaloid world of music.
The song is called Cruz de Navajas, and was written by someone known as 'Mecano', and apparently well known at that – at least in Spain. The logos on the video's main image are for Voctro Labs, who created Maika, and BlancaNegra ("White-Black") whose involvement doesn't seem to be explained anywhere...
The song is called Cruz de Navajas, and was written by someone known as 'Mecano', and apparently well known at that – at least in Spain. The logos on the video's main image are for Voctro Labs, who created Maika, and BlancaNegra ("White-Black") whose involvement doesn't seem to be explained anywhere...
New Spanish Vocaloid
This is Maika, whom I have briefly mentioned before as (at that time) being 'on the way', but this bilingual – Spanish and Catalan – Vocaloid is now with us.
The demo song in this video is Fantasia, by Manu Guix (real name Geronimo Stilton – but I suppose that sounds too much like what you'd call out when launching a parachute-equipped English cheese from an aeroplane).
If you listen very carefully and follow the Catalan subtitles, you'll find that the pronunciation doesn't always seem to match, including the same word from one line of the song to the next. I gather that this is just a part of how Catalan is pronounced, and I suspect there is also a little bit of artistic licence in the mix as well.
Maika has a very clear mature voice, by which I mean full adult, not middle-aged(!) I'd put her at late twenties or early thirties, age-wise. No doubt an official pseudo-age will be announced for her when fuller details (including perhaps the usual back-story and favourite food, companion and/or toy) appear at the Vocaloid Wiki and elsewhere...
The demo song in this video is Fantasia, by Manu Guix (real name Geronimo Stilton – but I suppose that sounds too much like what you'd call out when launching a parachute-equipped English cheese from an aeroplane).
If you listen very carefully and follow the Catalan subtitles, you'll find that the pronunciation doesn't always seem to match, including the same word from one line of the song to the next. I gather that this is just a part of how Catalan is pronounced, and I suspect there is also a little bit of artistic licence in the mix as well.
Maika has a very clear mature voice, by which I mean full adult, not middle-aged(!) I'd put her at late twenties or early thirties, age-wise. No doubt an official pseudo-age will be announced for her when fuller details (including perhaps the usual back-story and favourite food, companion and/or toy) appear at the Vocaloid Wiki and elsewhere...
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