A song very much worth your time is Laurel Halo’s song utilizing the voice of Vocaloid avatar Hatsune Miku, “Until I Make U Smile.” It’s a sparse, slowly building up number featuring the familiar digi-quiver, and it offers something you rarely hear in popular Vocaloid music — space, and a lot of it. It feels off to call it experimental — Miku is still basically just being used as a singer, albeit with all programmed flaws on full display — but it certainly is a different application in the context of the style.
More ideas like this would be welcome in the Vocaloid community, but let’s also take a second to appreciate the other end of successful utilization — embracing the digital-age product and making a really energetic electro-pop song. Producer Osanzi also uses Miku’s voice for “Be Inspired!,” a surging number featuring chopped-up syllables, tights bass notes and a garish dubstep drop. It is Vocaloid pushed to the maximum, but done in a Nakata-like way where every blown-out detail clicks just right, making for something sticky and energetic. Listen below.