Monday, 31 May 2010

• Hatsune Miku and Animated Musicians

  
  It should go without saying that some of the cultural trappings of Japan are a tad bizarre to our prude Western sensibilities. When it comes to music and entertainment, one of the most popular performers is a young girl named Hatsune Miku. She's mostly seen on Japanese video hosting sites doing covers of popular pop songs. Oh, and she's also a computer program.
  
  
  
  The character of Hatsune Miku was birthed from a voice-synthesizing program called Vocaloid. The original developers wanted to broaden appeal and add some personality to their software, so they created a cast of characters and gave them an appearance to match their respective vocal abilities. Since her release, Miku's character proved so popular that she's performed in her own live concerts in 2009 and again just recently in 2010. Here's a clip of her singing an original song called "Melt":
  
  
  Personally, I find Miku's original songs hard to listen to. I have no problem with music if it's digitized or over-produced, but her voice can sound shrill. I guess it's an acquired taste or something for die-hard fans.
  
  This concept of an "unreal" musician isn't anything new, especially here in the States. Brendon Small's comedy band Dethklok of Metalocalypse fame was popular enough for fans to clamor for multiple nationwide tours. The virtual band Gorillaz is also known for doing performances using special effects.
  
  Are there any other "cartoon" artists that you've heard of? Would you ever attend an animated concert?
  
  

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