Digital Holiday: Manatsu No Wakusei Dai Chokuretsu’s Summer Vacation EP

Another entry in the “Vocalid used intriguingly” files. Manatsu No Wakusei Dai Chokuretsu finds artists Matsu Kasa and Yoshihisa Hirata teaming up to create an oddball bit of Vocaloid coming from a label known for dabbling in singing-synthesizer rap. To that end, Summer Vacation EP comes complete with skits, ranging from robo classrooms full of mean teachers to discussions about Yellow Magic Orchestra. But the main draw are the songs pushing digi voices to the front, such as the pleasant pop of the title track to the hip-hop-inspired brain melt of “Kiokusoushitsu” (complete with human voices jumping in the digi fray…and Vocaloid saying skrr skrr). It’s a creative use of the technology, but more importantly they create something good from it, standing out from the crowd (both Vocaloid and Japanese rap). Get it here, or listen below.

Also worth checking out — the poppier stylings of Yoshihisa Hirata’s recent solo album utilizing Hatsune Miku. Get it here.