DECORATOR EP by livetune.kz

Overview

Does livetune.kz even need an introduction? This man is the King of Vocaloid Dance Music, one of the founding fathers of Vocaloid whose fame and importance are only rivaled by other giants like supercell. Livetune produced one of the most famous Vocaloid hits, Packaged, a mere three weeks after Hatsune Miku was released. He’s even gone on to write various OPs and EDs in anime, but he has never abandoned Vocaloid. His newest EP, Decorator, is his newest foray into the scene. He credits himself as “livetune” without the .kz part, which is interesting, but I’m going to refer to him as “livetune.kz” here for continuity’s sake.

Decorator was used as the opening theme song to Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f2 on the PS3/Vita. The EP is available for purchase on iTunes, so I highly recommend buying it if you wish to have it in your collection. But is it worth owning? Let’s check it out.

Music

1) DECORATOR: As we seem to almost always encounter, the titular track is first. It makes sense though, as the EP is centered on this song. DECORATOR is a pop-dance track featuring Hatsune Miku, as is livetune.kz’s forte. This song is upbeat in tempo and atmosphere, which makes sense as the opening to a dance game. Miku’s vocals are accompanied and supported by an array of synthesizers and special effects, which complement her voice very nicely. The thin, cute, and high-pitched background music matches Miku’s voice without invading her pitch range, allowing us to both keep tempo as well as keep each separate element in the mix distinctly separate without feeling like the sound is muffled. The song lacks a particularly explosive climax of any kind, and is a much more relaxed song than some of livetune.kz’s past work. That’s certainly not a bad thing, of course; DECORATOR will have you tapping your feet and grooving out in no time. The song is as good as a simple dance tune gets. Check out the Project Diva PV here.

2) Packaged (Shipping in 2013 mix): Speak of the devil! Livetune.kz has graced us with a renewal of his original hit that helped launch Miku’s career. The lyrics and tuning of Miku are more or less identical to the original, but the background instrumentals are different. There’s a stronger bass element now, which makes it easier to dance to. There’ honestly not much I can say about the instrumentals; they’re fun, upbeat, and work really well with the rhythm of the song and Miku’s voice. This song is simply a more dance-oriented renewal of Packaged, and it’s great for it. It’s definitely worth a listen.

3) Connection: Oh boy. Miku English. I’m always scared when I hear a song with Miku English, as her failures are much greater than her successes. They didn’t coach Saki Fujita well enough on English, and so she makes many basic pronunciation errors; most notably, she pronounces her “r” sounds with a distended lower jaw (stick your bottom jaw out as far as you can and make an “r” sound, you’ll hear what I mean). Despite being set up for failure, however, livetune.kz works his magic in this song. For one thing, I can actually understand most of what Miku is singing without external help, which is a rare luxury when listening to Miku English. Miku is very well tuned, and her voice is quite cute. There’s a heavy Japanese accent, of course, but that’s inevitable. The background instrumentals are very exciting, with swells coming in and out to build and release tension as the song goes on. It’s a bunch of synthesizers that complement Miku again, which is par for the course. This song would go very well in a club featuring some harder dancing, as it’s much more energetic than the previous two tracks.

4) Pink or Black: Another Miku English song! I guess livetune.kz likes her. This song is a cute, relaxed pop-dance song that floats along like you’re skipping along on a cloud (that’s the best way I can think of to describe it, okay?). I can’t understand Miku’s English as well here, but it doesn’t really distract much from enjoying the tune. Certain phrases that get repeated a lot, such as “pink or black” and “it’s magic” are easy to understand, which anchors you into the lyrics well enough that you never mind. The background synths are cute and bubbly, which lends the song a very happy mood. The pitch range does unfortunately overlap a little bit here, but it’s not a big deal; the song is great for easy listening and is a nice pick-me-up to throw in the middle of the album. There was a really nifty MMD PV made, which you should watch here.

5) Long Way From Here: This song is a little less upbeat in mood than the previous tracks, though it’s not sad or anything. It’s just a mellower dance tune. It’s back to using Japanese Miku now, so no need to worry about deciphering Engrish lyrics. The instrumentals in the background are mixed a bit quieter in this song, lending more focus to livetune.kz’s tuning of Miku, which is stellar always. Interestingly, this song’s Miku doesn’t employ the chorus effect that livetune.kz normally uses to lend Miku’s voice a sort of rich and robotic quality. It’s just one Miku voice singing, and it works well with the song. The synths do a good job of keeping rhythm as well as maintaining a melody line that works well in complementing Miku’s vocals portions. Unfortunately, however, I would say that this song is a little boring. There really aren’t any swells or crescendos except for one small swell near the end, nor are there big rests or pauses. The song ambles forward at a nearly constant pace, and the lack of change makes it more suited to background music than something you’d go out of your way to listen to. It’s not a bad song per say, but I would call it the low point of the EP.

6) Andante: It’s been a long time since we’ve heard livetune.kz compose a song like this. Andante, which is an Italian musical marker meaning “at a walking pace,” is a beautiful and slow piece that harkens back livetune.kz’s hit Last Night, Good Night. Miku’s got that chorus effect going on that I mentioned earlier, and the background instruments are more varied. The song starts out with a delicate piano riff, and is slowly joined by some sort of percussion that seems to be a mix of live drums and synthesizer, as well as a synthesizer that is maintaining some complementary melody lines that work as a counterpoint to the piano (I don’t know enough music theory to tell you if this is an actual example of counterpoint, so don’t kill me if I used the word wrong). Judging by the mighty translating powers of Google Translate, Miku is singing about the beauty of life, despite it being short, and that we should take our time and enjoy everything. It’s a beautiful message that goes along with the heartstring-pulling quality of the tune. It’s by no means a technically complicated song, but that’s part of what makes it so great; it sucks you in and doesn’t let go until it’s done, and you’ll love every minute of the ride. The mood isn’t “sad” like Last Night, Good Night was, but it’s more introspective and may make you start to think about your live. Livetune.kz hits another one out of the park.

7) DECORATOR (TeddyLoid Remix): Ah, TeddyLoid! He’s a really good remixer; I’ve heard him do some tracks for other people, including Jin. He was invited to try his hand at remixing the titular track, and this is the result. This version is much harder and more energetic than the original, and it comes across as much more passionate. There’s a lot of skipping applied to Miku’s vocals, as it often the case with remixes, and she feels like more of an instrument than a singer sometimes (oh, the irony), to cool effect. There’s one part of this remix that is especially cool: there’s a male human singer accompanying Miku during the chorus! I don’t know if that’s TeddyLoid himself or not, but I do know that it sound really awesome. I guess DECO*27 was on to something there. The harder, stronger percussion also gets particular praise from me, as it almost seems to guide the beating of your heart as you listen to the song. The synthesizers in the background sound awesome as well, and all the elements come together to make you feel like you’re flying around above a lit-up city at nighttime (picture it with this song in the background, you’ll get it). There is a bass-drop that occurs in the song that might turn some people off, but I don’t feel like it was done in excess. We didn’t go full dubstep here, but it was an interesting interlude to throw in the song. The dancing back and forth of the male and female vocals during the final chorus is really great, and this brings about a stellar end to the song, and thereby, the entire album. Honestly, I think I like this remix even more than the original.

Final Thoughts

It’s over already?!? What a drag. But, that’s what happens with EPs. As expected of livetune.kz, this EP is a great showcasing of what he can do. The songs are fun to dance to, there’s a real sense of energy going on, and the songs are stylistically different enough to make sure you don’t get bored as you listen along. The album isn’t perfect, of course, but it’s still a great time. Hopefully livetune releases a full album soon instead of another EP (he’s released Tell Your World, Re:Dial, and DECORATOR in succession), and I’ll be waiting eagerly for this to happen.

8/10

Vigbyor by Ryuryu

Overview

Sorry for the long delay in between posts! My winter break from university kept me away from my good sound equipment, and I always like to do my reviews using the best equipment possible to hear all the subtleties in the sound.

Anyway, I didn’t know about this album or this producer until Reddit user ofsaltyvanilla pointed them out to me. After giving “Vibgyor” a cursory listen, I was intrigued and decided to engage in a full review. “Vibgyor,” by the way, stands for the colors of the rainbow in reverse, and the album seems to carry a color/art theme. Without further adieu, here’s the breakdown.

Music

1)      Landscape II: This is a really interesting intro. It’s almost entirely instrumental (Miku’s voice is used to do some “aah-ing” in the background), and it uses a gentle music box to get it rolling. It’s very quiet and almost conveys a sense of melancholy, but as the ambient noise begins to creep in it becomes a very hopeful-sounding track. After that it takes on a standardized rhythm and an upbeat, pleasant sound. It’s quite nice.

2)      For Us All: This track can best be described as “soft and flittering.” Miku’s voice is gentle and a tad shrill, and the song gives the feeling of recounting a story. The background instruments are all light and optimistic, and there are quite a few of them (to the point where it’s tough to identify what they all are). The drums are especially tight, so I give them a shout-out, but there’s some other high-pitched instrument playing the melody lines that also sounds quite lovely.

3)      Hide and Seek: There’s something about the rhythm of this song that I would describe as “African.” The gentle, low-attack quality of the drums combined with a steady and fast rhythm accompanied by slow lyrics makes me think of drum circles. Miku’s voice also has that sort of tribal excitement here (she’s upbeat and engaged without being too fast or loud). There’s a tambourine in the background as well as what sounds like a wooden xylophone. This song isn’t quite as optimistic-sounding as the previous two, but it’s far from downbeat. It’s just a bit slower and not quite as emotional. My only complaint about this song is that there isn’t much variety in its tone. There’s not a big chorus or a noticeable crescendo; it just putters along at its same pace the whole time, and at 5:13, that’s a long while. That being said, it’s still pretty good.

4)      Leucocoryne: “Hide and Seek” transitions directly into this song, which is a very nice touch. “Leycocoryne” is a more bubbly and rhythm-based song, and the drums are sure to have you bobbing your leg up and down. This sounds like a very fun walking song, or just a great song to sing along to. Miku’s voice isn’t terribly differentiated from the previous two tracks, unfortunately, and the lack of instrumental variety begins to make the album feel a little stale. However, it’s not terribly much so, as the bubbly atmosphere this song creates is still charming, and inclusions of infrequently heard instruments such as a brass section and a xylophone keep things interesting. That brass section, by the way, is very well done, and by the time to song reaches its end it feels like fairies fluttering around. There’s a PV with a absolutely gorgeous illustration, so I recommend you check it out.

5)      So Little Time: This takes a more conventional approach in the instrumental section, coming in with an electric piano and Miku’s voice. The song sounds a bit sad; Miku’s voice is very gentle and slightly downbeat, and the song seems like a lament. There are no instruments besides an electric piano, chimes that hold down the rhythm, and a droning wind instrument that is probably a flute or clarinet. It’s a pleasant and slightly melancholy piece that acts as a nice mid-point to the album.

6)      Breathe In: The title is appropriate, as the song begins to pull us out of the sleepy mood that “So Little Time” put us in. The beat is a little more active, and you’ll probably bob your head to it. These are actual drums holding down the beat once more, which makes it feel more active than the chimes and wind instruments relegated to the task previously. The piano is energetically playing a lot of chords, and chimes are running up and down for the melody.  These elements come together to create a pretty, upbeat, and delicate feeling.

7)      Turn That Dream: The song starts with a flute and a pizzicato violin playing together in a way that can only be described as “dancing.” The two are intertwining nicely, and it feels like the plucked violins strings are emulating someone dancing through a meadow in the woods. It gets especially interesting when Miku’s voice kicks in; she sounds more robotic than she did in previous songs, as Ryuryu has applied some sort of chorus effect to her. This quality of Miku’s doesn’t remain this way throughout the whole song, but it’s noticeable anytime she’s singing quality. This roboticism isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it sound interesting, and makes me think that this song is the story of a robot’s dreams. There’s an electric piano holding down the rhythm along with clapping human hands. The drums are there too, though they sound very quiet relative to the other musical elements of the song (you can really only pick out the cymbals unless you try very hard). Miku’s voice carries much of the optimism and brightness seen throughout the album, and these elements work together quite well.

8)      Watercolor: This song might be the most well-known of the bunch, as Ryuryu released it first via his Bandcamp page to give people an idea of what the album would be like. Unfortunately, it might be my least favorite of the bunch. If I had to summarize it, I’d call it “standard.” Nothing about it seems to really stick out at all. The drums and synth do a good job of keeping down the beat, and Miku’s voice is acceptable. The beat is nice, admittedly, and Miku’s voice will have you bobbing along, but that’s really all there is to the song. Nothing sticks out as being particularly good or bad about it, and it doesn’t have any special points. The flittery-ness of the song is much like what almost every other track on the album features, and it doesn’t differentiate itself much at all. It’s not a bad song in its own right – someone looking for a chill Miku song will undoubtedly enjoy this song, as it is good – but it just doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself from the other tracks on this album for me to give it a firm recommendation.

9)      Juvenille: This track is a slow burner, with a prolonged start featuring slowly escalating chimes. The rest of the song follows suit with musical parts coming in and developing the piece one by one (It’s a “Juvenille” song at first that grows into its own!). This effect is pulled off really well, and the end result is quite cool. “Juvenille” is the longest track in the album, clocking in at an impressive 6:43. Miku’s voice is exciting and meshes very well with the rest of the instruments, particularly when he has her sing “la la la” as a rhythm element. There’s a great variety to the soundscape, including drums, chimes, electric piano, and Miku’s voice utilized for rhythm and melody at different times. It’s a great semifinal song, and it’s probably my favorite song on the album.  My only real complaint is that the outro feels a little too long, but hey, the Beatles did it with “Hey Jude,” so it’s not a big deal, right?

10)  Vibgyor: And here we are, the titular track that serves as the end. “Vibgyor” starts off very quietly and gently, and it’s pretty much just Miku’s voice, some chimes, and a viola/violin combo for a while. As the song progresses, it picks up more sonic elements, much like “Juvenille” did. However, “Vibgyor” is much slower and more downbeat/soft. Right around the halfway mark, however, it crescendos, and the drums kick in as a more dominant sonic element. Miku begins “la la la”-ing again, and it sounds wonderful. This song feels very much like a “farewell” song, even more so than Juvenille did. The last 30 seconds of the song are a musicbox quietly playing us out before the final silence.

Final Remarks

     This album has a very definitive and unique sound to it. Ryuryu uses some unorthodox instruments to great advantage, such as flutes and xylophones. Miku;s voice is also used well, as it sound quite pretty and goes well with the themes of the album (or at least, what I interpret them to be. It seems to me to be about a robot who is awakening and seeing color/dreams for the very first time. I could be completely wrong, of course, so please let me know if I’m off the mark!) The album is not without its drawback, however. Ultimately the tracks do little to differentiate from each other, and the differences can be subtle enough that a listener might not even notice that the tracks have changed if they leave the album on in the background of whatever they’re doing. Sometimes this gets to the point where, in certain songs such as “Hide and Seek,” it almost seems like the song is just dragging out forever. In the end, however, this is a solid album that showcases a very unique style for a very unique producer.

7/10

ケビョウニンゲン/Kebyou Ningen by Suzumu

Overview

            Hey again readers! It’s time for another of my album reviews! Now that we’re done with the Kagerou Project material, I want to step over to a recent favorite producer of mine: Suzumu/スズム. Suzumu’s been active on the scene for a while, and he operates within the KEMU VOXX circle as a music producer. His stuff is quite good; recently he made a big splash with へたくそユートピア政策/Unskilled Utopia Policy. This song featured Rin and had a stunningly gorgeous PV.

            That being said, Kebyou Ningen/ケビョウニンゲン is Suzumu’s first solo album, and his fans are all quite happy to see him put it out. The album wasn’t a very expensive purchase either – it only ran me about $15 dollars from Amazon.jp, which is rather low for a Vocaloid album. But was it worth the value?

Music

1)  Myth: As many skilled Vocaloid composers are choosing to do these days, Suzumu opens the album with this nifty instrumental piece. It’s a cool way of hyping up the rest of the album. “Myth” treats us to some of Suzumu’s excellent piano playing over grungy guitar riffs in the background. The synthesizer also makes its due appearance, and the combination of these elements leads to a vivid and exciting intro. The drums are certainly quite nice as well, and they tie everything else together.

2) 独りの君と一人の僕に/To the Lonely You and Lone Me: This song’s sung by Miku, and she’s tuned quite well. Her vocals have an interesting touch of sass in them at certain parts of the song, and they compliment the song’s story well. The guitar makes a pretty good show in this song, though the other instruments don’t really stand out that much. It’s an enjoyable song overall, though nothing remarkable. Check out the PV here.

3) ハロウィン遅刻パーテイ/Halloween Chikoku Party: The twins make their spectacular entrance! “Halloween Chikoku Party” is exciting, upbeat, and fun to listen to. Suzumu’s spectacular keyboard work propels the tune forward, and the twins are tuned very well. Halloween-esque sound effects are used to great musical benefit as well, and the piece is super fun to listen to. The drums are also quite lovely, though we see little of the guitar/bass that crop up in some of his other work.

4) レベル100のイケメンにありがちなこと/Level 100 no Ikemen Niarigachi na Koto: It’s rather rare to see Len exclusives these days, but Suzumu gives us one here. It’s very peppy and addictive to listen to; Len’s voice has a sort of staccato quality that sticks out nicely. It’s a rock song, so naturally the drums and guitar are the most powerful instrumental elements of the song. They’re not particularly special, but they compliment Len’s voice well. The most interesting section of the song comes at about 2:30, when Suzumu drops the bass and gets a little dubsteppy. I must say that while I’m no dubstep aficionado, the style’s been growing on me in certain cases recently, and I think it’s used well here. This song proves that dubstep-type sounds can be used as companion effects to other songs and sound pretty good.

5) Eden: “Eden” is an instrumental piece played out primarily through synthesizer effects and the piano. It’s quite nice, and has a very ethereal quality to it that matches its namesake quite well. It does get a tad repetitive, especially given its short length, but it’s still a nice interlude for this section of the album.

6) 世界寿命と最後の一日 (Album ver.)/Sekai Jumyou to Saigo no Ichinichi (Album ver.): This is one of Suzumu’s most famous songs reworked for this album release. It features GUMI’s vocals, which are awesome. Her voice explodes in the chorus in that magical GUMI-esque way that just ropes you in and gets you hooked. The song starts off with a piano riff that tricks you into thinking it’s going to be soft, and then it explodes into an upbeat rock song with vigor and energy. The guitar and drums beat as the heart of the song, filling the lyrics and soundscape with life. The synthesizer and keyboard take it from there, jolting the piece into movement as GUMI’s voice resonates with the listener. It fun, it’s cool, and it’s very well composed. My only complaint might be that the elements are all so strong that it might be hard to notice any particular one without repeated listening. The PV is quite cool too, and you should watch it. (Note that this is the PV of the original version, which is presumably slightly different from the album version, though I can’t really see any differences to be honest).

7) ケビョウニンゲン/Kebyou Ningen: The titular track of the album is another instrumental piece. This time, it’s another rock song with a bit of aggression in there. The guitar riffs bite hard through a thick layer of distortion and bare their fangs against your ears. Almost as if it’s a battle, the synthesizer and keyboard work stand strong and bright against this grunginess, and the two switch back and forth for sonic dominance. Perhaps it’s meant to show an allegory between the battle between illness and wellness. The drums underscore the whole piece like a referee, present but not prominent. The piece is a full-length song too, which is an interesting touch. It makes for a nice halfway point to the album.

8) へたくそユートピア政策 (Refine)/Hetakuso Utopia Seisaku (Refine): Suzumu’s popular his has been remastered for the album. Rin’s voice helms the vocal section of this song, and the keyboard and drums are the primary instrumental accompaniment. The instrumentals are as lovely as Suzumu’s work always is, and they carry the hopeful tone that Suzumu seeks to imbue into the tune. A chiming bell in the background helps out at certain points as well. Unfortunately, however, the reworking of Rin’s vocals is a mixed bag. At certain points it just sounds like Suzumu is trying too hard to make it sound different, and it comes across of overdone and melodramatic to the point of being silly. Rin’s voice fluctuates a little too much; you can hear it in the opening verse as her voice shifts up and down like Yoko Ono having a seizure. There are some nice touches applied to the chorus and the buildup toward the end, but ultimately I like Rin’s original vocals more. It’s far from a bad song, but I wonder if this song really needed such a refining, and my gut is telling me no. The wonderful original PV is here, and I recommend you watch it and compare it to this remastering. Let me know what you think, as I’m very interested in hearing other people’s opinions on this one!

9) 続・へたくそユートピア政策/Zoku – Hetakuso Utopia Seisaku: This is some sort of interesting continuation to the previous song which utilizes both of the twins. It’s a slow and ethereal tune that borrows musical elements from its predecessor. This doesn’t come across as lazy as all; it’s skillfully done and serves to link this with its parent song in the listeners mind even if they don’t know the lyrics. The sound is “conclusive,” and it feels like Suzumu is ending whatever saga the previous song began. I assume it’s the aftermath of the story that unfolded for the girl in Hetakuso Utopia Seisaku’s PV. Interestingly, 150P helped Suzumu arrange this piece, and they did good work together.  The ending outro is a long section of “la la la’s,” which remind me a lot of “Hey Jude.” There’s also a little train sound at the end, and I’m curious as to what that was supposed to mean.

10) Avarice: A jazzy and upbeat piece, this song is written in ¾ time, making it fun to tap your feet to. It’s got a darker piano component that is less ominous and more intriguing, which makes for a nice ride. The song’s a bit short, clocking in at under 90 seconds, but it’s really cool.

11)  過食性:アイドル症候群 (Album ver.)/Kashokusei: Idol Shoukougun (Album ver.): This is another one of Suzumu’s big hits, and it’s a fast-paced romp that warns of the dangers of becoming arrogant as an idol. It’s a rare combo of GUMI and MAYU for the vocals, and the most prominent instruments are the synthesizer and drums. The vocals carry an element of swing to them, especially during the chorus, which get the body grooving. Steady drums help this greatly, and by the end of the song it’s hard not to at least tap your feet. The guitar helps out with some riffs that fill out the soundscape, making the song feel quite rich. Perhaps it might be a little too rich, as it can be a tad overwhelming if you’re not in the mood for it. However, it’s still a great song, and the PV is worth a watch.

12) 桜色タイムカプセル/Sakura Iro Time Capsule: This piece reminds me a lot of good 90’s rock. “Sakura Iro Time Capsule” is a song sung by GUMI that stats off slow and pretty, but becomes and uplifting and pretty rock piece. The guitar and drums are the most prominent, but the keyboard’s got nice little background riffs that should not be forgotten. GUMI’s vocals are up-tempo and proud, and they have a sense of optimism that carries the mood of the song. Suzumu uses those bells in the background again to create this uplifting feeling as well, and the elements come together nicely. The bridge of the song stands out as being the best prechorus on the album.

13) 嘘つきピーターパン/Usotsuki Peter Pan: This is a Vocaloid album by a Japanese producer, so we couldn’t have it be ALL upbeat; we had to get our quota of sadness in there somewhere. And boy is it pretty. Miku performs the lyrics, and accordingly they are very gentle and comforting. Miku’s voice has a certain magic quality that wraps the listeners in a security blanket for them to quietly cry in when used right, and it’s used damn well here. The drums, piano, and guitar all work together to create a calm and mournful atmosphere, but not one devoid of energy. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a Vocaloid song that does this good of a job at being emotional. The PV is beautiful as well, and you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to watch it.

14) Lost: This is the end of the album, and it carries a certain sadness to it as we say goodbye to Suzumu for now. It’s short – not even a minute – and it’s a piano instrumental. It’s dark and comforting, and it does a good job of signing off.

Final Thoughts

For a first album release, this is great. As expected of Suzumu, the instrumentals and song compositions are great, and the album is an interesting ride from start to finish. Several different styles are showcased from soft ballad to hard rock, and they’re all well executed. My only gripe with the album is that certain “remasterings,” such as Hetakuso Uptopia Seisaku weren’t needed or particularly great. Other than that though, it’s worth it.

8/10