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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Vocaloid Solo Singing Competition

Popular Malaysian 4G Mobile Internet Service Provider, YES, in collaboration with OffGamers and Rimasuri (RMS), recently announced that a Vocaloid Solo Singing Competition will be held as part of the upcoming YES Tech Gaming League.

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The competition will be held at Ground Floor Sungei Wang Plaza, Bukit Bintang, on the 23rd of June, 2012. Participants will stand a chance to win attractive prizes, and all that is needed from participants is to sing a Vocaloid original song on stage.

Details of the competition are as follows:

PRIZES
GRAND PRIZE – RM1,000 + YES Huddle XS + YES ID
1st Runner Up – RM500 +YES Huddle + YES ID
2nd Runner Up – RM200 + Go Starter Pack + RM50 reloads
And 17 Consolation Prizes – Go Starter Pack

HOW TO ENTER
1. No purchase or fee is required to enter this competition.
2. Each contestant must send their registration via email to rmscosplay@gmail.com – titled “Vocaloid Singing Competition” with the following information:

i. NAME: (As in I/C)
ii. NICKNAME: (Profile ID)
iii. CONTACT NUMBER:
iv. Email:
v. Song Title:
vi. Performed by (which Vocaloid):
vii. Reference image of Vocaloid:

3. The competition is open to the first 20 complete entries.
4. Registration will be closed as soon as the first 20 complete entries quota is met. In any case 1 of the first 
20 participants cannot make it, then the invitation to entry no. 21 will be given & so forth.
5. All contestants will be informed by email if you entry is successful.

RULES & REGULATIONS
1. This competition is open to all Malaysians above the age of 13. 
2. Participants under the age of 18 will require consent from a parent or guardian to enter the competition.
3. Song selection is only limited to Vocaloid performed songs.
4. Professional entertainers (union musicians or whose talent is a principle source of income) & those who have sung on a recording which is meant to be sold are NOT permitted to enter. 
5. All information furnished by the contestant to the organizer should be truthful to the best of knowledge of the contestant.
6. Organizers reserve the right to change the rules and regulations without prior notice.
7. The judges’ decision is final. No appeals will be entertained.

If you have a question concerning your eligibility, please contact rmscosplay@gmail.com

COMPETITION FORMAT
1. There will only be one (1) round for this competition.
2. The order of contestants will be determined by the drawing of lots.
3. Song duration must be no longer than 3 minutes.
4. A signal will be given to signify 2:30 minutes passed. Audio playback will be cut off at 3 minutes.
5. Audio playback format can be in CD (clearly labeled with your name & song title) or on mp3 format on a USB flash drive. We strongly suggest having both & even making an extra CD copy as back up.
6. All audio playback materials should be submitted when the contestants report themselves on the event day which is Saturday, 23rd June 2012 at 1pm.
7. After performance, the contestants are responsible to collect their playback materials from the audio console.
8. The organizers will not be held responsible for any misplacement of the audio play back material.

JUDGING CRITERIA

1. Contestants will be judged based on the following criteria:

i. Performance - Confidence, Posture, Facial expression, Stage presence
ii. Vocal Technique - Diction/Phrasing, Tone/Dynamics, Pitch
iii. Song Selection - Appropriate for voice, Level of difficulty, Interpretation
iv. Overall Presentation - Uniqueness, Character, Engaging, Appearance

2. A maximum of 5 points will be given for each category mention above (i. – iv.) which ads up to a maximum total of 20 points.
3. Contestants cosplaying the same vocaloid & same vocaloid version will receive more favour in scoring.
4. Contestants maybe required to perform their song again for the judges should it be requested upon. 

So Vocaloid fans of Malaysia, any of you dare to take up the challenge? If so, do send in your registration as soon as possible before the 20-participant quota is met!

Links:

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Producer Spotlight | kaoling

Hello Hello! The time has come again for this week's Producer Spotlight! Today's spotlight is on Vocaloid producer kaoling. Here's my pick from kaoling's wonderful mylist!

Kami no Namae ni Ochirumono, sung by Hatsune Miku.




kaoling is a producer who specializes in traditional/folk music, not only that, kaoling also writes trance songs! kaoling currently has Hatsune Miku, Gakupo, Gumi, Kaai Yuki, CUL, IA -ARIA ON THE PLANETES-, as for UTAUloids, kaoling is using Sorane Rana and Tsukishiro Hakupo.

Here's kaoling's most recent work, Ame no Niwa (Rain's Garden) sung by IA.


kaoling's works are filled with interesting sounds and it brings out the vocals beautifully. The moment I first heard Ame no Niwa, it just reminded me that how amazing kaoling is. She literally created a 'world' in this song.

Here's another traditional/folk song that I like.

FREJYA.sys, sung by CUL and Gumi


kaoling is definitely one of a kind producer, not many approach traditional/folk music in the Vocaloid community. Also, each of her songs uses a lot of voice parts, this makes the song sounds 'thick' and filled with harmony.

Currently kaoling has released one Vocaloid album, "Ochita Watashi no Te wo Hiite" Do support her by buying her album!

Mylist : mylist/14865214
Twitter : @OhkoshiKaori
Piapro : http://piapro.jp/xxx7xxx

That's all for this week! And I might be taking a break from Producer Spotlight next week due to exams. >_< I'll try my best to write next week's article if I manage to squeeze out some time :)

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Weekly Vocaloid Ranking #243

Nanahoshi-san's remix song is in 28th place. I'm happy :3




Naho's Opening Statement

Hello everyone, its time for this week's Vocaran.
Its been a bustling week with the opening of Tokyo Skytree, not to mention the crazy weather.
There was a hailstorm and it made me went "Uhyoo~".

Well then, by the time we realized it we're already entering the month of June.
If you talk about June, its about summer, its a season for a change of clothing and the streets are filled with the smell of summer.
This week's ranking is filled with refreshing songs that are suitable for summer.

Maybe I should change my clothes too..?
Well, we'll meet again in the second half of the rankings.
This week's Vocaran starts off from 30th place.

30(19↓):  【GUMI・鏡音リン】 インビジブル 【オリジナル曲・PV付】
29(26↓) : 【初音ミク+IA】コノハの世界事情【オリジナルPV】
28(New!!) : 【初音ミク】 ダンスナンバーを共に 【オリジナル】
27(6↓) : 【GUMI】妄想するしかない【オリジナル】
26(20↓) : 【IA】想像フォレスト【オリジナルPV】
25(New!!) : 【鏡音リン】腐ってないよ【オリジナル】
24(44↑) : 【初音ミク】アストロトルーパー【オリジナルPV】
23(96↑) : 【初音ミク】少女は鬱屈に傘をさす【オリジナル曲】
22(New!!) : 【KAITO】Mind Scientist【オリジナル】
21(3↓) : 【MV】 じん 「ヘッドフォンアクター」
20(12↓) : 【IA】六兆年と一夜物語【オリジナル曲・PV付】
19(13↓) : 『初音ミク』千本桜『オリジナル曲PV』
18(4↓) : 【初音ミク】 刹那プラス 【オリジナルPV】
17(25↑) : <初音ミク>FINAL DANCE <Original-PV>
16(121↑) : 【鏡音リン】Chikuwa 【オリジナル曲】
15(5↓) : 【IA】孤独ノ隠レンボ【オリジナル曲・PV付】
14(--↑) : 【GUMI】 arachnoid 【オリジナル】
13(--↑) : 【初音ミク】逃避ケア【オリジナル】
12(9↓) : 【GUMI】セツナトリップ【オリジナル】
11(New!!) : 【初音ミク】黄昏ゆく想い【オリジナル曲】


Pick Up(New!!) : IAによるKey作品神曲メドレー!


10(2↓) : 【巡音ルカ】magician's operation【オリジナル曲】
9(New!!) : 【GUMI】カケヒキゲーム【オリジナル曲PV付き】
8(New!!) : 【巡音ルカ】 スウィートタイム 【オリジナル曲】
7(New!!) : 【初音ミク】先天性ブリキ症候群【オリジナル曲PV】
6(1↓) : 【MV】 じん 「空想フォレスト」
5(New!!) : 【MV】 じん 「カゲロウデイズ」
4(New!!) : 【初音ミク】 エンパス144 【オリジナル】


This week in history (Weekly Vocaran #188~#191)
5 : よるがくればまた/くらげP【歌、初音ミク】
4 : 天ノ弱/164 feat.GUMI
3 :【GUMI】 スリープ・スカイ・ウォーク 【オリジナル】
2 :【鏡音リン・レン】アンハッピーリフレイン【カバー】
1 : 初音ミクオリジナルPV曲「修道少女と偶像少女」


3(New!!) : 【初音ミク】お断りしますREMIX【MOSAIC.WAV】
2(New!!) : 【初音ミクSoft】 アイロニ 【オリジナル曲PV付】
1(New!!) : 【IA】如月アテンション【オリジナルPV】


Ending Song : 【初音ミク】あやかしの夏【オリジナル】

Special Announcement

Weekly Vocaloid Ranking will be having a new version!
VOCARAN
Weekly VOCALOID Ranking : Zero

The new Vocaran will be more interesting and exciting.

Zero : Resolution
The new Vocaran supports the new NND Zero resolutions
It will be presented in 864X486 resolution

Zero : Credit
The new Vocaran is not all just about Vocaloid!
Vocaloid producers, illustrators, singers, performers, dancers, PV makers, MMDer and many more will be featured in the new Vocaran

The new Weekly VOCALOID Ranking : Zero will be presented to you, in June.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Album Review - Rhythmism

Right after our dear editor Rei-san wrote her producer spotlight post for the Vocaloid music producer Rerulili (link), I was prompted to write and publish a review for one of Rerulili's latest Vocaloid album - Rhythmism.

Guess it's never be too late to talk about good (old) Vocaloid albums.



Do check out the short clip below. It's actually the crossfade for the said album which was released on NicoNicoDouga (NND) one day after the official release date of this album!



Fans of Rerulili would know that this talented producer often compose songs with music style of various genres, particularly pop and ballads. While being famous for songs such as Knife (link) and Mr. Music (link), Rerulili opted for a different genre in this album - the jazz genre (a.k.a VocaJazz).

More importantly, check out the song list below!

  1. Rhythmism
  2. Dancing男子!~Latin House Remix~
  3. JOYRIDE ~Rhythmism Ver.~
  4. PassionFruit
  5. 雨が降って。
  6. お金がない
  7. ずっとこのまま
  8. DICE
  9. 翼 ~Rhythmism Ver.~
  10. あの日のままで
It did not came in as a surprise when Rerulili started to compose songs with the vocaloid Gumi as vocals. And the vocal strength of V3 Gumi (Sweet) was once again demonstrated in the song 雨が降って。, where the simple but melodious tune highlighted that sweet vocal. "Kawaii" may be the only suitable word I could think of to properly describe this song~



The next song - お金がない - featured V3 Gumi (Power). The way the drum sounded in this song would definitely leave a deep impression on listeners as it made the song extremely catchy.



But I still believe that Megurine Luka is still the undisputed Queen of Jazz. And Rerulili added another powerful Jazz song - PassionFruit - to further strengthen Luka's position. I am sourcing the video clip below from Youtube though...



But still, do not be contented... not yet! I've saved the best for last!

My most recommended song from this album had to be "Dancing 男子!~Latin House Remix~" which featured the vocals of Hatsune Miku, Megurine Luka and the Kagamine twins! I believe this is a very catchy jazz song that have lots of pop song elements. This would have been a great hit song that would add to the fame of Rerulili if he had release it publicly on NND (such a waste!).

I've just realized that the original song (non-remix) was 1st feature in 2009 as past of the EXIT TUNES PRESENTS Supernova album (link). Anyhow, do enjoy the original "Dancing 男子" song in the link below!



Hope you woud enjoy the complete Rhythmism album (if you are able to get your hands on one)

P/S: Apparently there's a deeper meaning to the title of this album. The album title - Rhythmism - was chosen because it shows the ideology of rhythm by the producer - a tempo that may be shared in several songs from a variety of music styles (source). I guess that definitely reflects Rerulili's great talent in various music genres.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Producer Spotlight | Camellia / かめりあ

Selamat petang! How y'all doing? Its time for this week's Producer Spotlight! Today's spotlight is on producer Camellia! To start off, here's my favourite song written by Camellia. The first 5 seconds of the song blew me away.

Bokura ha Bocchi (We're all alone), written by Camellia feat. Hatsune Miku




Camellia is a producer who's more specialized into rock and techno music. Recently Camellia has been uploading more techno music though. To be more specific, he writes trance, 8-bit, Drum'n'Bass, Nerdcore and many more!  Here's another song from Camellia, a Drum'n'Bass song with a wee bit mix of heavy guitar accompaniment.

Haguruma Philosophy (Cogwheel Philosophy)


Camellia is also a producer who loves to do parody songs and remix songs that you wouldn't wanna even approach lol! Remember the Popopopo~n meme in Japan? Well, he did a remix of it, a techno-ish Popopopo~n....


Its so amazing I don't even know how to express it in words....

So far Camellia has released 3 albums, "Honey Ginger Ale", "TRIPPERS", and "mikUbiquity"

And that's all for this week! Lately the weather's so hot in Malaysia I'm gonna melt orz....

Mylist : http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/16888369
Twitter : @cametek
Blog : http://camtek.seesaa.net/

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Family Mart X Hatsune Miku Collaboration


Earlier today, Family Mart made a sudden announcement, that is a collaboration between Family Mart and Hatsune Miku. The said event is named 'Happy Kuji' (Kuji means lottery in Japanese) Happy Kuji is a lottery where you play a lottery to win various of your favourite character goods. The event will start in the midst of August 2012! Read on for more info!



Special site created for Family Mart X Hatsune Miku : http://famima-miku.jp/
Happy Kuji official site : http://www.h-kuji.com/

The Happy Kuji costs 800¥ per round. There are 9 types of prizes to be won and currently only two prizes are announced.

Prize A
Hatsune Miku Family Mart ver. 1/8 scaled figure.

A Hatsune Miku figure clad in Family Mart uniform produced by Good Smile Company.

Prize B
Hatsune Miku Family Mart ver. Nendroid.

A nendroid version of the figure, also clad in Family Mart uniform and produced by Good Smile Company.

There are other prizes such as clear file sets, KEI's original 3D posters and many more but there are currently no images for it though, more info will be released soon.

Also!
There will be a special broadcast on NND to announce this event tomorrow.



It'll be aired on the 25th of May and starts at 20:00 hours Japan time, 19:00 hours Malaysian time. There might be special guests appearing in this broadcast.

Source : http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-11936.html
             http://blog.piapro.jp/2012/05/happy.html

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Weekly Vocaloid Ranking #242

[Reigan] Looks like Jin dominated the rankings this week. Also, EZFG's new song!




Naho's Opening Statement

Good evening, its time for this week's Vocaran.
Its been exciting lately due to the annular solar eclipse!

With advanced technology, we can predict when is the annular solar eclipse, its now a form of entertainment for us.
In the olden days, the annular solar eclipse was labeled as a bad omen/bad luck.
Well, the prediction of annular solar eclipse dates back to the early BC though.

We enjoyed the solar eclipse with our special spectacles, I'm sure the Ancient Rome too enjoyed it back in their days.

And now let me deliver this week's rankings
As usual, we'll start from the 30th place.



30(New!!) :【歌愛ユキ】 ブルータワー 【オリジナル曲PV付】
29(14↓) :【GUMI】チェックメイト【オリジナルPV】
28(19↓) :【GUMI】 イカサマライフゲイム 【オリジナル・PV付】
27(5↓) :初音ミクオリジナルPV曲 「冒険少女と箱庭遊戯」
26(25↓) :【初音ミク+IA】コノハの世界事情【オリジナルPV】
25(New!!) :<初音ミク> FINAL DANCE <Original-PV>
24(4↓) :【GUMI】モルモットと傭兵【オリジナル曲】
23(13↓) :【初音ミク】 添い遂げたアンドロイドへ 【オリジナル曲&PV】
22(7↓) :【初音ミク】 閃光⇔Frustration 【オリジナルPV】
21(--↑) :【猫村いろは】さかさまに【オリジナル曲】
20(22↑) :【IA】想像フォレスト【オリジナルPV】
19(16↓) :【GUMI・鏡音リン】 インビジブル 【オリジナル曲・PV付】
18(New!!) :【初音ミク】せかいのはじまりのさいごのうた【ばぶちゃん】
17(New!!) :【初音ミク】Stepmother【オリジナル】
16(New!!) :【初音ミク】ふわりクレヨン【オリジナル】
15(New!!) :【GUMI】 変人王子クロニクル 【オリジナル】
14(3↓) :【GUMI】マダラカルト【オリジナル曲】
13(15↑) :『初音ミク』千本桜『オリジナル曲PV』
12(10↓) :【IA】六兆年と一夜物語【オリジナル曲・PV付】
11(12↑) :「みつば」【鏡音リン・初音ミクオリジナル】

Pick Up(New!!):【鏡音リン】バイオロイド【オリジナル】

10(New!!) :【GUMI】99minutes theater【オリジナルPV】
9(2↓) :【GUMI】セツナトリップ【オリジナル】
8(New!!) :【初音ミク♥】Mr.wonderboy【オリジナルMMD-PV】
7(1↓) :【GUMI】 しわ 【オリジナル!】
6(New!!) :【GUMI】妄想するしかない【オリジナル】
5(8↑) :【IA】孤独ノ隠レンボ【オリジナル曲・PV付】
4(New!!) :【初音ミク】 刹那プラス 【オリジナルPV】

This week in history (Weekly Vocaran #188~#191)
5 :【初音ミク】君がそばにいるように【オリジナル曲】
4 :【神威がくぽ KAITO 鏡音レン】「Arrest Rose」オリジナル曲
3 :【巡音ルカ】 Sacred Secret 【オリジナル】
2 :【GUMI】 スリープ・スカイ・ウォーク 【オリジナル】
1 :【初音ミク】キミトセカイ【オリジナル】

3(New!!) :【MV】 じん 「ヘッドフォンアクター」
2(New!!) :【巡音ルカ】magician's operation【オリジナル曲】
1(New!!) :【MV】 じん 「空想フォレスト」

Ending Song : 【巡音ルカ】  きみはミルクティ  【オリジナル】

Naho's Closing Statement
And that was this week's 1st place~

The long awaited event that unites Japan and Taiwan's VOCALOID fans, "Mirai no Neiro in Taipei - The Sound of the Future 2012-".
This event will be held on the 26th of May at Taipei Guang Quan

There will be talk shows and special screenings using amid screen.
They will also talk about other country's VOCALOID contents, I wonder whether a new culture will be born through this.

And lets look at the rest of the rankings.