Hey everyone! 2016 hasn’t been the best year so far to say the least, however, in the world of Vocaloid, I believe some of the best Vocaloid/Utaite albums have come out. Today, I’ll be telling you about my favorites. I hope you enjoy this article, and will consider listening to some of these too. I’ve left the MikuDB.moe links for most, as you can find demos of the album and more information on them.
*edit* I have set up a tumblr where I’ll post things like this and more, more often. Just a disclaimer in case you find this exact article on there.
1. HATSUNE MIKU EXPO 2016 E.P
Type: Vocaloid
Release date: 9/3/2016
This album has a more modern approach to Vocaloid, for most of the songs, compared to a piano medley like some other vocaloid songs. This E.P shows some new artists and some old ones, and what I think is a revamp of “Hatsune Miku no Shoushitsu” as well. I love how Miku’s english voice is used as well, and many other versions of her voicebanks. My favourite songs from this album are:
- Blue star (八王子P)- not only do I love this song, but I love the remixes included in the E.P as well.
- Sharing the world (BIGHEAD) – This song is slightly controversial, as not many people are that keen on Miku’s english use in it, or the meaning in that sense. Eitherways, I disagree as I like it for both those reasons.
- Glass wall (Guitar Hero Piano Zero) – This song fortunately isn’t the live version, which is a gorgeous rock remix of the song accompanied by a woman in the audience screaming. Nonetheless, the studio version has a very sentimental meaning behind it, and this is what I like most about it.
Should you get it? – Definitely. This is a great showcase of producers if you’d like to discover some new music, that’ll keep you asking for more. You can hear a song that most people will recognize too, so it’s not all completely new either.
2. 灯響プラグレス/Tokyo Plugless
Type: Utaite
Release date: 17/2/2016
Going onto one of my favorite albums of all time in general, this album consists of some beautiful pieces, from piano covers of familiar songs and vocal covers of new ones. It actually consists of a few different artists. It is one of my favorites, because of softness of the piano tracks with voices that can vary their strength – I cannot express how much I love it! To me it just sounds so pure and innocent, and the album cover is so pretty to compliment it. My favorite songs include:
- アストロノーツ/Astronauts (奏 feat. すぃ) – The longest song in the album is a piano cover of the song by Powapowa-p/Reol. It’s completely different to the original, but sounds amazing nonetheless.
- 心拍数#0822 (kain) – Unlike the original Miku version, this version focuses more on piano like most tracks. It doesn’t include the drumkit, but the piano dynamics make up for this.
- ひまわりの約束 (すぃ feat. kain) – Rather than piano, this track has an acoustic guitar. I love this track because of the varying vocals, and I love how they harmonize and sing in unison too.
Should you get it? – If you’re looking for a more acoustic sounding album with no fancy synthesizers, and just pure vocals stripped down with simple instruments played wonderfully nonetheless, then of course you should. However, you might find this album isn’t for everyone, as some people may prefer Vocaloid over Utaite.
3. αβ叫喚/Abikyoukan
Type: Utaite
Release date: 27/1/2016
This (along with a previous album by あるふぁきゅん as well) is one of the strangest I’ve actually heard. Of course, there are familiar songs like “Tokyo Teddy Bear”, and some wonderful covers as well, but it has some strange songs to say the least. It is an incredible album for the sheer diversity of all the songs. My favorite include:
- ハートブレイカー (SHIKATA, nomi-R-key feat. あるふぁきゅん) One of my favorite things about this song is Alfakyun’s voice, as they can vary it so quickly from low to high, and they have a such a powerful voice within this track.
- しんでしまうとはなさけない! with クプラ (じーざすP, ワンダフル☆オポチュニティ！ feat. あるふぁきゅん。, クプラ) This is one of the strange songs I was talking about, there are so many different voices in it that I assume play different characters, and It reminds me of a pantomime, with all of the funny characters. There are different parts sung by each of them, and all the singers can vary their voices to suit the style instantly. I definitely recommend that you listen to this one, as it is such a different type of song.
- ロストワンの号哭 (rearranged) (Neru feat. あるふぁきゅん) – I like this song as it is a simpler version of the chaotic song we already know. I feel like that gives it a whole different feel, however there is still the power of Alfakyun which keeps with the songs theme anyways.
Should you get it? – If you’re looking for an Utaite who can cover songs with an incredible voice that seemingly can reach a massive range of notes and tones, sure. But if you prefer traditional songs without the twist, maybe not.
4. ウォルピス社の提供でお送りします/Wolpis Sha no Teikyou De Ookuri Shimasu.
Type: Utaite
Release Date:27/1/2016
(Unfortunately, there is no longer a MikuDB link for this. )
Now, If you thought that Alfakyun’s voice was powerful, wait until you hear Wolpis Kater. They are already one of my favorite Utaite singers, for tracks from this album and others like “-ERROR” from Fun Club. Their voice’s power and tone send shivers down my spine, so giving one of their songs a listen may be a great option to discover an amazing singer. However from this album, my favorite songs include:
- CANDiES – This is an awesome opening track that throws you straight into the album. Completely different from most songs in this list, this song has a more metal, death-core sound to it. Wolpis Kater’s voice and a strong backing track go well together for it.
- 夜明けと蛍/Yoake to Hotaru – A much slower song with a simpler melody and the main strength being the vocals, “Yoake to Hotaru” is one of my favorites because of this and the lyrics behind it.
- 7th – Faster paced instead with a polyphonic sound, this is one that you can’t resist not singing along to. It’s incredibly catchy, and the other instruments play pretty well too.
Should you get it? – For some catchy songs and ones that could just plain make you want to cry, this is an album that has impressed me more than I could imagine. Wolpis Kater is one of my favorite Utaite singers overall, so you should listen to some of their stuff as well.
I hope you all enjoyed this short list, and maybe you’ve heard some of these already. Feel free to leave ideas for future articles or your favorite songs/albums of 2016 as well!