Kikuo: one of the best musicians on the Earth

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 04:40:00 +0000

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Hello fellows, long time not to see. A short post about one of my favorites musicians (unnecessary, but for me).

I don’t have a specific reason to write this post, but I’m doing anyway. Today’s subject is not about politics, censorship, or how the world is getting better in economic sense but much worse in terms of individual freedom. On contrary, it is a light, touchy subject. It is about music, one of the wonders the humankind has invented for their own pleasure. Now, a small introduction, a context about what kind of music Kikuo produces.

If you are here, I assume with high probability that you know or at least heard about Vocaloid (don’t say that is cringe!). Vocaloid is a voice synthesizer created in mid of 2000s developed by Yamaha. However, because cute and moe things sell (thoughtcrime.MOE), in 2006 or 7 they launched “personified” voice data that you could synthesize in the program – a character. Since then, the most famous, universally recognized, Queen of All Electronic Music is Hatsune Miku, that I won’t explain what is, just Google it. Well, since that launching, Miku just became the symbol for the Vocaloid software, and many, MANY people – called producers – just used her voice (and from other characters) to create music. Easy explanation, right?

Time goes by, producers also come and go,; some of them still exists, but in obscurity; a minority ditched Vocaloid altogether and only produces real person music (like Hachi, or his real name, Yonezu Kenshi, that nowadays is a superstar in Japan, making music for himself to sing and to others artists); and a few dozen, not to many, still have some kind of popularity and keeps creating music sung by software, including Kikuo, that goes in this last group. It is no surprise that since always many of Vocaloid music had and have dark and disconcerting lyrics and melodies, ranging from suicide and depression, to bullying and despair. Ok, all music have such themes. However, only a few musician really have a distinct characteristic, given both by their technical abilities behind the (musical) keyboard and storytelling sensibility. Kikuo is one that excels at both, creating heart-piercing melodies hard to forget, complex to digest, and easy to fell in love S2.

I won’t tell his entire history, but he was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and released his first album in 2009 (I just found a rabbit hole leading to his past artworks and music and old Twitter and pixiv accounts, and it is so… somber). Initially not using Vocaloid, but instrumental and in collaboration with singers. But I think that when he launched Kikuoworld, the second album under the pen name Kikuo, still without Miku, when we could finally listen his characteristic melody. A dark touch, a line of bass, transiting between electronic and ethereum (?) music. I am the worst to type in words how music “feels”, but let me present you Ankyo (暗叫/Screaming at the Darkness):

kikuo on ThoughtCrime

Kikuo: one of the best musicians on the Earth