2 Project Diva f theme songs

Has the silence on Miku;Zen been disturbing? I hope not!

Greetings everyone! It has certainly been rather peaceful over here. Now that Miku's birthday is here, I should inject some life back into this humble Vocaloid space. And what better way to do that than to share the recently released Project Diva f theme songs!

Good ol' Vocaloid goodness from the likes of ryo, Jin, kz and 8#Prince, all after the jump!

The Project Diva split singles

Anyone here still remembers Kocchi Muite, Baby by ryo and Yellow by kz? Those two were part of a split single released for the 2nd Project Diva game. This time, for Project Diva f, we're not just getting one split single — we're getting two split singles! And everyone knows that two is better than one, right? *ahem*

While both ryo and kz get to strut their musical prowess again for the new Project Diva title, having an additional split single means the opportunity to have more producers join in the action! The two other producers involved this time are none other than Jin and 8#Prince.

The Prominent Producers

The four producers featured are all quite well-known, I'm pretty sure. There's no one in the Vocaloid universe who doesn't know ryo(supercell), kz(livetune) and 8#Prince. These three are veterans, and they've been around creating great Vocaloid music for as long as I can remember.

Jin, on the other hand, might be a bit of a new face compared to the other three, but make no mistake, he's quite the popular producer as well. Some of you might know him as 自然の敵P instead. His songs all have a few hundred thousand views at least, not to mention it's been announced that there is going to be an anime adaptation based on some of his songs. Pretty big achievement, don't you think?

I'm not too big of a fan of Jin; the first song I stumbled onto from this guy is Headphone Actor from the IA album, and I wasn't all too in tune with his music. I've tried listening to a few others, including the incredibly popular Kagerou Days (which is slowly growing on me), but nothing has made me fall in love yet. Perhaps you might have had a much better experience with his works.

Anyway, enough about the producers, let's move onto the split singles!

ODDS&ENDS / Sky of Beginning

#	Track title	Producer
1	ODDS&ENDS	ryo
2	Sky of Beginning	Jin
3	ODDS&ENDS (Instrumental)	ryo
4	Sky of Beginning (Instrumental)	Jin

View the track list on VocaDB

ODDS&ENDS by ryo

I think the progression in the beginning is great, with the way introduces new instruments into the song. The prominent, crisp piano is laced with a bell-like sound, while the other instruments, such as the electric guitar, discreetly backs the piano up in the background. Soon, the ambient sound builds up quickly, transitioning into the band's more energetic opening, effectively setting the pace for the rest of the song. Sweet stuff. The rest of the song doesn't fail to impress, and the video is decent to boot!

Somehow, it feels like it's been a while since I've really enjoyed a Vocaloid song from ryo. At any rate, I think he's got a winner here!

Sky of Beginning by じん

Now we have Jin's song! On this side, it is a more regular, fast-paced Rock song; nothing too special to me. The choir effect towards the end of the song is a nice touch though. Perhaps the song would grow on me as I listen to it more often.

I kind of have a love-hate relationship with the way Jin handles his Vocaloids' voices in his music. At times they seem really hard to listen to, yet at times they feel like a unique trait that makes his songs stand out instead. For Sky of Beginning, however, his Miku sounds more standard and isn't as out there as his last few songs.

Weekender Girl / fake doll

#	Track title	Producer
1	Weekender Girl	kz x 8#Prince
2	fake doll	8#Prince
3	Weekender Girl (Instrumental)	kz x 8#Prince
4	fake doll (Instrumental)	8#Prince

View the track list on VocaDB

Weekender Girl by kz x 8#Prince

The part with Miku jumping into the air looks really weird to me...

Onto the song! One can't really get enough of kz now, can he? This time, we have a collaboration between him and 8#Prince. It's kind of hard for me to tell who did what, though I think kz's most distinct influence shows in Miku's voice, particularly when she starts to hit the higher notes at the chorus.

On the whole, it's a nice song with the usual quality that one can expect from the producers involved.

fake doll by 8#Prince

Here comes 8#Prince! The almost-incoherent mumblings right at the start make me think that this is indeed an 8#Prince track — it's pretty characteristic of him to include those in his music.

My favourite part of the song is from 2:00 to 2:25: first, the instruments die down a little to give way to Miku's voice. Then, because of that, 8#Prince could create a progressive build-up from 2:05 until 2:11. The beats that follow through until about 2:25 are highly enjoyable too. That portion made me give the song extra bonus points.

With a song like this, 8#Prince definitely isn't letting kz hog the spotlight all for himself!

Goodness on the whole

Four prominent producers, four great songs, happiness for the Vocaloid music scene. Overall, both split singles are a pleasure to listen to. I'm sure all of us expected no less from these talented musicians.

As usual, if you're able to, support them by buying their CDs! Otherwise, you can get both albums at Taggleburr's. You could also check MikuDB for ODDS&ENDS / Sky of Beginning — they don't have Weekender Girl / fake doll yet, but we all know it's just a matter of time. Be sure to thank them!

Hope you've enjoyed the music! (:

In other news, Miku;Zen reaches third-year anniversary! To be more specific, it was two days ago... ^^; My apologies for the lack of post for the last few months, but as you can see, I'm still around here and there. I've got a few albums of interest I'd like to share, hopefully I'll be able to find the time though!

Alright, everyone, see you next post!