#vs <- vocal synth tag

[vipereel]

shay - he/they (tme) - 25

‣ don't follow me if you're under 18

‣ i mainly just reblog random stuff that i like

‣ my personal blog is @arklaums

[vertical-sekai]

Introductory post!

WHAT IS VERTICAL SEKAI?

Vertical SEKAI is a fan made alternate universe of Project SEKAI made by @shiraoyagi .

It is a unitswap based on the number order of each character in the files. These numbers are organized vertically to create new units rather than how they are done horizontally in the original game. To demonstrate (because I couldn't find a more concise way to word this), I created a chart.

The above image shows how the numbers are organized by unit in canon. For reference, 1 is Ichika, 20 is Mizuki, and 21 is Miku.

The below image shows how the numbers are organized by unit in the Vertical SEKAI AU.

DISCLAIMER: I did not shuffle the VS numbers because they serve the same function in this AU as they do in the canon game. Ideally, I'd sort them vertically to determine their default unit placements, but unfortunately, by doing this I would create a massive plot hole in AURORA's lore, so I decided against it.

I don't expect anyone to know the character numbers off the top of their head, so I'll also list the units properly below (with altered unit placements to reflect the story).

re:birth*

Ichika Hoshino (Guitar and Lead Vocals)

Haruka Kiritani (Bass)

Akito Shinonome (Drums)

Rui Kamishiro (Synths)

Three people who have given up on their dreams join a girl who reaches for the faint remnants of hers.

Their SEKAI is the Park SEKAI. Miku and Len are the first to appear there.

Forever Dream!

Kanade Yoisaki

Saki Tenma

Airi Momoi

Touya Aoyagi

An unconventional idol group that aims to save someone with their performances.

Their SEKAI is the Stage SEKAI. Rin is the first to appear there.

(FD!'s Stage SEKAI is significantly different from MMJ!'S Stage SEKAI, they just share a name and a basic concept [a stage]).

AURORA

Tsukasa Tenma (Composer)

Honami Mochizuki

Shizuku Hinomori

Mafuyu Asahina (Lyricist)

An unassuming group of street musicians that took Vivid Street by storm overnight.

Their SEKAI is the Wonderland SEKAI. This SEKAI contains only Tsukasa's feelings. Miku and KAITO have been there a long time.

The Phoenix's Castle of Ashes and Ressurection

Kohane Azusawa (Scriptwriter)

Emu Ootori (Lead actress)

Ena Shinonome (Set, makeup, and costume design)

Shiho Hinomori (Director)

A theater troupe that is keeping the magic of a theme park's oldest stage alive.

Their SEKAI is the Castle SEKAI. Luka is the first to appear there.

day.light

Minori Hanasato (Illustrator)

An Shiraishi (Lyricist)

Nene Kusanagi (Composer)

Mizuki Akiyama (MV Editor)

An online music group that mourns impossible dreams.

Their SEKAI is the Abandoned Livehouse SEKAI. MEIKO is the first to appear there.

(I know I'm bad at naming units, but I tried my best... some of these names may be subject to change in the future)

So now that we have the basic mechanics of the AU laid out...

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS ACCOUNT?

This account is basically how information about the Vertical SEKAI AU will be distributed. It is basically an ask blog.

You can either ask questions to me on this blog directly, or you can ask questions to the characters in the AU, and in that case, I will try to respond as in character as possible.

In Vertical SEKAI AU canon, these questions are given to the characters (when addressed to them) in the form of fragments of feelings that float around their SEKAIs (similarly to how after lives work in canon). This means that in character questions can only be asked to characters who have access to a SEKAI, so... sorry, NPC enjoyers (although I'll still answer questions about them myself)!

Tags on this blog will be sorted as follows:

#vertical sekai au as a general tag for the AU.

#oc ask for questions directed towards the Project SEKAI OCs.

#cr ask for questions directed towards me, the creator of this AU.

#non ask for posts that aren't asks. This is for original content I make and upload of my own will, in other words.

I will add more sections to this post in the future if any frequently asked questions come up. Thank you for reading!

*update 3/6/2025: re:birth's name has been changed to re:(in)carnation

[xxacidrain39xx]

new pinned AGAIN because i got tired of the last one

hey there! my name is alex. just a blog with the stuff i like with some of my art & thoughts sprinkled into it ^_^

some facts about me! :3

im bigender/nonbinary (idk man labels are weird but i still like using them) & aroace

im autistic so i may post or reblog some stuff relating to it sometimes

im brazilian (MCR COME TO BRAZIL PLEASE ITS BEEN NEARLY 2 DECADES)

im 14 so dont be weird please

im emo but still pretty new to the subculture so any advice/song recs are appreciated!

Interests!!!

𖤐 My Chemical Romance (main special interest)

𖤐 Bandom in general (more casual though)

𖤐 Bats (secondary special interest)

𖤐 Vocal synths (my favorites are miku, luka and ruko!)

𖤐 Drawing (mainly sketching and digital art but im planning on learning how to paint!)

𖤐 Making papercrafts/paperdolls (my hands may be shaky af but im still gluing all those things together)

𖤐 Some anime/manga (lain, evangelion, madoka magica, death note, chainsaw man, tbhk, etc)

𖤐 Some video games (omori, hollow knight, undertale & deltarune, mouthwashing, etc)

𖤐 Books (favorite atm is frankenstein but i also really like fantasy & thriller books. am planning on reading quite a lot of books so i might post about that!)

𖤐 (very basic) Html (am learning it to make a spacehey account :D its kind of hard to code on a tablet though so i might use my grandmas computer to actually code)

𖤐 Shadow the Hedgehog (specifically him. idk why i just think hes cool as fuck)

some info about what ill post

i mainly reblog stuff but i also make some posts myself (either mcr or just random stuff i draw)! i dont really like using the queue so i often end up reblogging like a billion things at once.

im not necessarily an rpf shipper (its complicated) but there might be some stuff kind of bordering that in my blog. most of it is because i think its funny but theres some more genuine stuff too (not really shipping just crazy ass theories because i think theyre fun). if you dislike that than this blog is probably not for you.

uhhhh the tags i use for my posts specifically are “scribbles & scabs” for my art and “yaps & bats” for posts that are just me yapping. if i reblog stuff with blood, flashing lights & etc. i will tag it :3

i also may reclaim slurs and swear a bunch so if thats uncomfortable to you its better to not follow me. your well being is more important than some random stranger online

i dont really have a dni (idk i just feel weird writing them + theres no guarantee that others will actually follow it) but ill block & report people dw

the proship vs anti discourse makes me want to die so ill just say one thing: im neither of those. if you want me to elaborate more then just dm me or something

we can be moots but honestly ill probably be terrible at that (not out of malice i just dont know what to do). also i lowkey suck at responding to vents so ill probably just end up doing nothing or writing the stupidest thing ever

pronouns 𖤐 pinterest 𖤐 youtube (no videos yet but i have some ideas) 𖤐 instagram

debating on having an instagram just for my art but idk yet

hooray! you got to the end of this post! have some blinkies & stamps as a treat XD

[elfhunk]

at this point honestly i think i am going to just keep incorrectly tagging all vocal synth things as vocaloid in addition to their proper label because we just need to force a brand collapse like a bandaid vs. bandage situation already.

[r3ddusk]

INFO POST :D

basic info:

hi, my name is red! i am 16 so dont be weird. my pronouns are he/him, and i am gay gay homosexual gay! im a small artist, musician, and content creator :] you can find all of my other socials on my carrd but just as a warning it might be outdated

side note: we are a system! most posts will be made by red (me!) because im the current host!

interests:

Vocal Synth Programs - mainly UTAU and related software, you can find my UTAU group here!

Band & Music Theory/Education - im a band nerd lol (hi bass clarinets ily)

Music Production - i write lyrics sometimes and when i get the tech ill be making my own music!

Photography/Videography, Writing, and Poetry - mostly passion projects :3

fandoms:

VOCALOID & UTAU [+ related VS Software's]

Zenless Zone Zero

PHIGHTING!

Tokyo Afterschool Summoners/Housamo

Splatoon

Sonic The Hedgehog

Indigo Park

there's more but those are the biger ones

secondary blog:

@r2ddusk <- reblog/secondary account

my tags:

#r3ddoodles <- art tag

#red rambles randomly <- idiot baby babbling tag

thanks for reading alla this, have a gold star ⭐

btw, dni if:

queerphobic [homophobia/transphobia]

racist

ableist

pedophile [im a minor go tf away, and i refuse to use the term "MAP" its dumb as hell]

fat fetishizer [WE ARE NOT THE SAME, YOU DISGUST ME.]

ai "artist" [ur not a real artist]

supporter of israel or russia

there are other case by case dni categories that arent listed but basically dont be a huge fuckin weirdo and i probably wont block you

[daily-voca-recs]

Feel free to describe your introduction and initial impressions in the tags! (Reblogs are appreciated ☺️)

Technically, my first exposure to Vocaloid was through the “PoPiPo Vs. Angry German Kid” Youtube video, but I didn’t look into it until seeing the Fine Bro’s Vocaloid reaction videos in 2013. Hatsune Miku and every other singing vocal synth has been a big part of my life since then 😁

(Heck, I even have art of Miku, Rin, Luka, Teto, Neru, and Haku from when I was 11 😮)

[maareyas]

reading the tags on that rancid vocaloid take 💙💙💙 I have Feelings™️ regarding vocal synths vs. AI-generated voices

Like, maybe it's the weeb phase nostalgia, but I've gotten more of an appreciation for vocaloids and similar voice synths after AI-generated stuff became a thing.

Vocaloid in particular isn't meant to replace human voices but as a "stylization" of it I think. It's not 1:1, and that's the point! Fukase (the vocaloid) and Fukase (the actual vocalist from SEKAI NO OWARI) sound different imo despite being the "same" voice! and I think it's cool!!

oh and y'know. Vocaloid voice providers actually consented + were compensated.

[pridedotexe]

pride icons blog because i like making them... headcanon icons vs personal use icons will be tagged accordingly

headcanon icons - i believe that character is, or would identify with, whatever the flag's term is!

aesthetic/personal use - i try to match specific flags to what characters i think would look nicest with it, or vice-versa! not necessarily headcanon icons, but there can be overlap! (sometimes these will just be sets of commonly used flags, instead of color-matching ones)

whitelist: cookie run, vocal synths, the owl house, pokemon (species only!), five nights at freddy's (animatronics only!), steven universe, homestuck, the binding of isaac, slime rancher, doki doki literature club, poppy playtime.

[myhandisforced]

I'll probably need to rearrange these more and make another post when it inevitably gets too linky. subfandom links will live on the 23rd of october

Fullmetal Alchemist : FMA Ed FMA Alphonse FMA Winry FMA Roy FMA Riza FMA Izumi FMA Hughes FMA Shou Tucker Assorted FMA FMA Alchemy Ed Elric's Height <-BACK

Ghibli : Howl's Moving Castle Spirited Away Totoro

Legend of Zelda : General Zelda (not game-specific) NES Zelda Link to the Past Link Between Worlds Majora's Mask Ocarina of Time Toon LoZ Twilight Princess | Zelda Cuccos

[Honestly, the way my fandom interests in regard specifically to robots align, instead of having a ''gundam'' tag and specific gundams underneath.

I should have a ''mecha'' tag that covers Bravern UC Gundam G Gundam etcetc

That is going to need its own post when I get to it though. G Gundam alone probably will need one as well]

Mecha | Gundams: | Evangelion

Mythology: The Lindworm | Loki Odin Sigyn Thor (overlaps with the superheroes, unfortunately.) *Seer Cassandra*

Shakespeare : Coriolanus Hamlet Macbeth Much Ado About Nothing R&J * Othello* <-BACK

Soul Eater : SE Maka SE Soul Black*Star SE Tsubasa SE Kid SE Liz & Patty SE Stein SE Crona SE Ragnarok SE Justin SE Weapons

... fuck it I don't want to tag meister and weapon separately every time but I don't want to not tag the weapons when they're in weapon form. I'm going to try out LPKid SoulMaka TsuBlackStar for the leads

<-BACK

Vocaloid/Vocal Synths : Assorted Vocaloid Vocaloid Kaito Vocaloid Miku Vocaloid Rin Vocaloid Len VS Hxvoc <-BACK

misc: The Stig

[skautism]

i love seeing the diff between ppl who tag miku fanart as hatsune miku vs ppl who tag it as vocaloid/vocal synth/idk. specifically in the sense that i do feel a little bit of completely unnecessary superiority

[theprestigegirly]

i’m only doing this for 1989 because it is my favourite taylor album (and one of my favourite albums of all time) and it was my first ever CD and i listened to it through my PS4 did player when it came out when i was a kid (very special album to me basically lol)

i’m going to spare you all by putting it in one post— ranking 1989 tv compared to the original!!

enjoy <3 and i /am/ tagging this with taylor swift tags so please don’t come for me other swifties this is just my opinion and i love taylor to death i am just a nostalgia freak

wtny- 10/10 as good as the original/ (better maybe?) her mature vocals make her seem more confident i think

blank space- 9.5/10 as good as the original so yum but no extra sauce so it doesn’t get the perfect 10

style- 4/10 kind of super bland compared to the original but could have been worse (cough cough ours tv) HOWEVER very happy there’s no feature im very very happy about that (i also lowered my ranking of this after hearing how good the other songs were as well compared to the og— so i didn’t hate this, it just didn’t measure up as well to the others)

out of the woods- 7.5/10 was most excited for this one as it’s one of my overall favs so just a smidge disappointed— just as good with a super satisfying sounding chorus up until the BRIDGE which did not belt like it should’ve </3 i also wanted a “do you rememberrrr 😠😫😤” but still solid

all you had to do was stay- 8/10 i will add it to my taylor playlist but i feel like it didn’t blow my mind like the ones i put as a 10? did like it though i feel like it was just missing a bit of punch

shake it off- 10/10 THE VOICE PARTS were so great they made it as good as the original plus i loved the yeeeaaaaaahhhhheeeeaaaah

i wish you would- 9/10 i love this song to death i feel like the tv measures up to the original in a way where i can’t tell the difference

bad blood- 10/10 i usually do not like this song icl it’s one of my least favourite songs she wrote HOWEVER her vocals in this make it better than the original— it is not a 10/10 song in the grand scheme of the album (it’s still the worst song on the album) but the vocals make it better than the original thus 10/10 compared to the og

wildest dreams- 9/10 came out ages ago, wildest dreams probably one of my favourites of all her songs, as good as the original but has no extra sauce

how you get the girl- 10/10 i fucking love this song to death and her new vocal clarity in this production makes it much more emotive than the original which was more synth bubblegum — also another song which is overhated and i happen to love to death (LIKE SUPERMAN WHICH IS MY FAVOURITE SONG) that i feel she gives more to in tv vocal wise like she’s really giving this

this love- 10/10 i like this for different reasons to the original- this version i feel is more restful? i have this on whole separate playlists as more relaxing vs the original as more romantic

i know places- 11/10 THIS WAS SO GOOD THE BEST SO FAR BUT i have to say the high note techno effect in this production is like nails on a chalkboard for me, however the rest is really good which makes me sooo sad because that stupid high note techno effect bothers me so much. but the GROWL on we run actually made me squeal she gives it so much

clean- 10/10 because it was way too slay 😭😭 usually clean is like depression cry but the production of this plus her gorgeously dynamic vocals made me want to do a little happy jig rather than cry myself to sleep— which i did like a lot i’m sick of my depression era

wonderland- 9/10 really really love this song anyway and this was really good i loved some of the squeaky bits they were giving seagull but i wish she had the same slay in cheshire cat smile (bc that was my favourite part of the song)

you are in love- 9/10 love this song anyway i think this was just a little less emotional than the original but still great i like how you can still hear her smile through each word- but i don’t really like the production of this one icl vocals good production not so muchhh

new romantics- 8/10 she didn’t give the same energy to switch sides like a record changer which again is a part i really liked also the aaaa a aa is a bit too mosquito core icl but i did like i can build a casttleeeeeee

OVERALL— 10/10 i was actually set up to hate this one the most because im both a nostalgia freak plus 1989 is my favourite album but overall i would say this is her BEST taylor’s version. this really still sounds like how i think classic taylor swift of my childhood sounds and i really really really like it im so so happy!!!! thank you for reading my shit if you did!

[red-moon-at-night]

Thanks for the tag! <3

This is surprisingly hard to think about because I know some topics I could talk about for a while, but for a whole hour? Tricky. Very tricky indeed.

BIRDS. Birds. Anything about birds. Many weird and wonderful facts to tell and time spent gushing about how cute/weird/scary/funny they can be. Also adjacent to that, birdwatching and birdwatchers. That'll fill up an hour, right?

The Brontë sisters and their novels. Not sure I can do an hour but if I delve into how Wuthering Heights is not so much a romance novel as it is a family feud thriller drama epic, and maybe about Jane Eyre vs Wide Sargasso Sea then maybe I'll be okay.

Helen and Paris from Greek mythology. Need I say more?

Vocal synth music and the evolution of it. The meta of Hatsune Miku and what she represents. The decline and resurgence of it and how happy it makes me that Sand Planet can be seen as a song of its time rather than an accurate prediction of vocaloid music dying.

My favourite indie games (e.g. hollow knight, stardew valley, inscryption, the hex, will you snail, unpacking, gris, etc. etc. I could go on lmao)

I won't tag anyone in particular but if any mutuals/followers see this feel free to do it if you want to!

List 5 topics you can talk on for an hour without preparing any material!

Thanks for the tag @hobbitwrangler! This is such a fun idea.

1. Tolkien’s works; let’s be real. 😂 Especially if we’re discussing Lúthien- Fingon- Samwise Gamgee parallels.

2. The Epic of Gilgamesh and its takeaways for contemporary society!

3. Star Trek and its inspirational nature 🌟

4. How much work I have 🤪

5. How Buddhism’s philosophy on happiness can be helpful✌️

And I will tag @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras @dragonridersofficer-fiammag @shnooooz and whoever wants to do this; you can say I tagged you! 😃

[sailor-strawberry-moon]

Hello!

I'm so glad you could find me here on Tumblr!

INTRODUCTIONS

Name: Kitsune Aliases: Kit, Kitsu, KitKat, Aimer, Sailor Birthday: 9/25/09 Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual Personality Type: INFP-T Region: United States of America (Type EUROPEAN, Half-Irish) Languages: English (Native), Spanish, Japanese, Latin, French, Korean, and a little bit of German and Russian Other Social Media (Crossed out text means: not as active on the social media): Character.ai, Wattpad, Online Sequencer, Music Box Maniacs, YouTube Boba Fett Fanclub

INTERESTS (Biggest interests/hyperfixations are in bold)

The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants Friday Night Funkin' (Especially Mid-Fight Masses) Countryhumans/Countryballs Gumby VeggieTales (Especially LarryBoy) Sailor Moon My Little Pony (MLP) SEGA (yes, all of it) Star Wars Anything starring Bruce Lee (especially Fist of Fury, from 1972) The Terrible Two (a book by Mac Barnett and Jory John) Minecraft Dumb Ways to Die Unikitty Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss AVGN (Angry Video Game Nerd) Vocal Synths (Vocaloid, Utau, SynthV, etc.) Spy vs. Spy Dog Man Futurama Kelton (a series by a user named "inkspecco") Interland (a game made by Google) FNAF: Security Breach Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K) Bibleman "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" by Art Spiegelman The Owl House Teen Titans (2003) Thomas & Friends

DNI (DO NOT INTERACT) IF YOU...

Basic dni (racist, sexist, ableist, MAP/lolicon/shotacon/pedophile/child fiddler, zoophile, lgbtphobe, nsfw accounts, all that jazz) Proshipper (this includes, but is not limited to, minor-adult shipping, incest, and/or sexualization of minors regardless of if they're fictional or not) Support the Westboro Baptist Church, PragerU, Autism Speaks and/or PETA Neo-Nazi/Anti-Semitic Use disorders/disabilities/mental conditions as an aesthetic MCYT/DreamSMP stan (the kind that made up fake sexualities and races based on Dream and/or ship DreamNotFound) Call the UN and/or other do-gooder organizations "the antichrist" and harass supporters of said organizations for it only slander me for my toxic past (mostly dumb shit i did when i was too young to be using the internet) Use the "fatherless" term as a way to describe people who are cringe Wish to spread negativity about my interests (especially TETOCU and VeggieTales)

THINGS I'M IFFY ON

K-Pop stans Go!Animators/Vyonders People who used to be friends with people i don't like but got away from said people People who were my friend for a while but left because i didn't make them comfortable anymore People who use "Jesus" as a slang word (I am, or at least am considered, half-Christian-half-Buddhist for context, and I was always told to not use Jesus's name as a slang word) People who preach religion too much to the point that it sounds like they're forcing the religion on others

OTHER STUFF

If I tell you my past at any point in time, it means I have a certain amount of trust in you

If you're gonna be my friend then please tell me what it is that makes me uncomfortable to be around before asking me if we should end the friendship

sometimes i dont know the best way to respond to things and sometimes when you talk to me i'll need you to include a tone tag since i cant immediately figure out your tone

I don't take art requests because one, I want to feel independent, and two, I don't want to accidentally butcher anyone's ideas in my own artstyle

I use curse words and I'm used to hearing curse words, so if you berate me for using curse words yet don't berate others for the same reason, consider yourself blocked

I'm a very curious girl so expect to see me reblog things that interest me

Before you send me an ask, I would like you to read this post about why I don't allow anonymous asks ===========================

Have fun on my profile and remember, A smile makes every day worthwhile!

[joanofarc]

ten songs from shuffle vs. five i actually listen to

i was tagged by the wonderful @kodachromism to participate in this game, and while i usually struggle doing these, i turned off my mind and had fun writing. the rules are self-explanatory. songs i don’t get to choose and then songs i do get to choose (somewhat)!

i shuffled my 2021-2023 listening log spotify playlist, which is 10,000 songs tall and full of songs on albums i’ve only heard once. i’m not tagging anyone, but if you see this and want to do it, do it. here we go.

1. q quarters (the associates)

kind of a bad start, since i don’t have a lot to say about this one. there’s a lot of aesthetic brilliance to adore the associates for, but i’m too twee to be a goth outright. there’s nothing that really grabs me here, unlike the following track ‘tell me easter’s on friday’, which i love.

2. the fast one (tindersticks)

actually literally fast, and not very stand-out. i really don’t remember this song from my first listen. sounds like fucked up spy music, with wailing violin, melodica and groove. pretty gothic lyrics, here, too. did i have a phase or something and didn’t realize it?

3. quicksand (hatchie)

this is apparently the most-listened tune on hatchie’s debut, which is crazy, given ‘this enchanted’ is strictly better. but while the album is based on various pop modes (some from the 90′s), ‘quicksand’ is basically the most literal application of current radio pop trends. it’s not a bad song but it’s really boring when you get to the meat of it.

4. wings of heaven (rose mcdowall)

the third track on rose’s post-strawberry switchblade solo release is sincere, really. it emphasizes moving to a place of freedom, and i really love that from her. it’s not packing the same punch as ‘crystal days (/nights)’, but i’d rather have a full 80′s rose mcdowall pop album than just a single and scattered tracks, so.

5. giuseppina my dear (papiro)

i love this album but i’m also kind of a sucker for certain kinds of lounge-influenced indietronica. super schmaltzy stuff on this tune, with a sneaky bit of morricone hiding in the main synth line. so, another interlude, but a cute one.

6. i remember when (k. hand)

one from the late and great kelli hand. as the penultimate track (and at nine minutes), it leaves a bit to be desired, but i remember this coming on at work and it instantly put me in the zone.

7. summer holiday holocaust (kalle j)

oh, fuck, what a song. kalle j was never part of the sincerely yours / labrador rosters, but this song deserves to be in the annals of swedish balearic pop next to hits by the embassy, air france, the tough alliance, etc. good vibes throughout, chillwave adjacent, certainly fuzzy. i recommend this one.

8. apricots (the high llamas)

the final track on 1992′s santa barbara. i think a lot about microdisney -> the high llamas, and i see the lineage well-represented, here. it’s a bit too cynical to be brian wilson, you know? it’s got that irish flair! i’m observant. it’s an okay tune.

9. wandering (oranger)

oh, interesting. this is the final track on the very-new 2023 oranger album. i remember this album being fairly hit or miss, but listening again, i’ve got this fondness for mike drake’s vocals that’ll always make oranger accessible for shuffle. speaking of shuffle, the interplay of acoustic guitar and drums really works here for me.

10. panic (sophie rimheden)

i remember not liking this album at all, which sucks. i tried so hard to get into sophie rimheden because i love early aughts glitch pop. there’s hooks here, but no chops, which is something i really appreciate from contemporary barbara morgenstern. this song is just one idea stretched out for five minutes with no real payoff. just a whole lot of keyboard slap bass.

vs.

1. no way down (air france)

cool, i mentioned this group earlier. ‘no way down’ follows the immense ‘no excuses’ with no desire to cruise to similar heights. during its main refrain, it’s still subdued and chill. handclaps, whistling and vocal samples. a hipster’s dream, yeah? but you can’t end on an absolute banger, so this song and ‘windmill wedding’ are perfect balearic pop breezers to close out the minialbum.

2. love theme (from the world that never was) (the secret history)

michael grace, jr.’s creative direction and lyricism pairs perfectly with lisa ronson (daughter of legendary mick), creating 80′s pastiche with indie pop trends of the 2000′s. you’ll want to hear this if you’re a fan of 80′s romance movies. or if you’re a goth that wears too much pink. i was super grateful to do an interview with mgjr for my radio program, i just wish i asked more about the secret history!

3. probleme (the feelings)

hey you! you’ve got a problem. i know because i’ve got that problem, too. this CD is really for the sillyheads out there, because the feelings aren’t really that serious about things, blending pop rock with sloppy indie raps and beep boops. ‘probleme’ is probably one of the less cringy tunes on the album, so it’s safe to recommend to you.

4. delete it (mspaint, militarie gun)

ah, you remember when this came out? post-american was like a shock to the system. the hattiesburg band really upped the production and came into that rap-rock catchiness they sought to revive. the song ends without anything truly explosive, but i bet it makes yr head buzz live.

5. the face of youth today (squire)

DID I TELL YOU I’M THE FACE OF TODAY? this band singlehandedly convinced me of mod revival... i don’t know why i was so late to it, but jesus, it’s just so catchy. i still maintain i wanna’ cover this song and make ‘indie modtronica’... my band name will be the contraptions. keep that in mind.

[elfhunk]

I'm generally out of the vocaloid circles since a few years after Miku. What would you recommend for someone to dip their toes back in?

i recommend MY MUSIC i mean honestly that lack of a clear entryway back in is kind of what has made the age of the original miku boom so appealing, i think?

it used to be a really densely compacted fandom... and now... it's not...

the vocal synth space was so consolidated into effectively one language & set of voice banks and at the height of miku's power there was just no competition. there was pretty much just the crypton crew... and gumi, and sort of gakupo. fanart consolidated around a narrower set of songs, translations & reuploads were all localized...

it's funny as hell to look at the full timeline of when people who weren't diehard fans couldn't keep up with the sheer amount of shit coming out, even as the landscape was getting genuinely super exciting across so many new supported languages & diversity of characters.

it's a fascinating history with a lot of ebbs & flows!

but we're currently experiencing a bit of a renaissance... because, uh, an elephant in the room of machine learning models making this software rapidly a lot better. here's a good twitter thread explaining where we're at, and how we currently understand this software is being developed.

the moral of the story is that it ain't even vocaloid anymore. we've all scattered to the wind across a bunch of different software. synthesizer V! cevio! voicevox! maghni! it's getting confusing!

hence, why a lot of people prefer to tag as "vocal synth" or something, because it's an annoying kleenex vs. tissue situation.

regardless, here are some of my recent favs:

my friend @hoshizukiyo111 made a playlist of teto songs that i have been liberally enjoying. teto you'll recognize from UTAU days, but she's gotten a huge spike in popularity with her SV port being so dang good.

2. i've been obsessed with like_a_basyauma's work with akane & aoi kotohana. these two are actually more famous for being text to speech characters who then got SV voice banks! the take of them as doing their best while sharing a brain cell is unbelievably charming.

3. OSTER project has been an idol of mine for like a decade now, and her most recent song with zundamon's voicevox library has been stuck in my head since it released. it's so true. zundamon is a girl. OSTER is the #1 purveyor of lesbianism in the vocal synth space and i thank her for her service every day.

honestly, it's mostly a game of just training your youtube recommendations to launch you into the right part of the internet. a lot of the uploading has consolidated onto youtube the past few years, so trawling NND isn't as necessary as it used to be...

you can also check out the #vocalonew tag on twitter, where people will post their new releases.

best of luck on your journey!

[cuntess-carmilla]

i’m a baby goth in LOVE with mors syphilitica’s sound (female vocalists in general are my everything). do you have any recs of artists with similar sounds?

Ok so I’m gonna be honest, I’ve only gotten more into Ethereal Wave relatively recently (it takes me a while to get into new music because I’m decrepit and also have chronic fatige which leads to massive brain fog) so I don’t know that many bands to rec on this end BUT, from my more limited knowledge compared to Darkwave and Gothic Rock, this is what I can recommend.

If you’re interested in music that’s more of the more “dreamy” songs by them like Spinning on Ribbon (”dreamy”) vs The Vain Stroke (darker) from what little I’ve heard of them, Cocteau Twins are pretty splendid and they’re a classic. SRSQ isn’t that similar to Mors Syphilitica, but she has the same dreaminess of Cocteau Twins except in synths instead of acoustic instruments, with also beautiful vocals.

If you’re more into the darker stuff by Mors Syphilitica, there’s no better place to look into than Requiem in White, the band that Lisa and Doc Hammer were in before Mors Syphilitica. They didn’t have exactly the same sound, Requiem in White mixed Ethereal with Deathrock, they’re definitely more rock-based and much more consistently dark, but they were SO good.

Besides Requiem in White, there’s Rhea’s Obsession, This Ascension and Faith and the Muse. I haven’t listened to Rhea’s Obsession too much, but This Ascension has a very similar sound to Mors Syphilitica with gorgeous music, and Faith and the Muse is one of my all time favorite bands in the world. They make/made such beautiful music and while William does vocals occasionally too, it’s mostly Monica singing.

Now, I can’t for the life of me get into Dead Can Dance, but they’re another classic Ethereal Wave band that you can’t ignore if you’re interested in the subgenre. Others I haven’t listened much to either but that seem like very good alternatives are Love is Colder than Death, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Love Spirals Downwards and This Mortal Coil.

Since I’m decrepit and absolutely stuck in my old ways, I’m one of the few people who still uses Last.fm. Here’s the bands listed under the ethereal tag, and here’s the similar artists page of Mors Syphilitica.