Vtuber Covers Sometimes

I probably interact with the vtuber scene through its music the most, but other than with a few popular, music-focused talents, I feel like a lot of very good songs and song covers fly under the radar for most people. That being said, I simply want to highlight some of my favourite pieces, so I'm not aiming purposefully to avoid popular songs.

Every day a vtuber cover that I like will be posted, with a few words on why I chose it. On Fridays, an original song will be used instead of a cover song.

The one cover a day thing ended up being difficult to maintain, so now it's just going to be whenever I can manage. I'll stick to the pattern of 6 covers then 1 original though. I'm also gonna keep using the "vtuber cover of the day" tag.

Production is lead by OHTORA as is usual for ReGLOSS, with additional composition and arrangement work done by a number of people: New K, maeshima soshi, DÉ DÉ MOUSE (デデマウス), Ogawa Ryo, and cat biscuit.

This is the second album by ReGLOSS. It features not just group songs, but each member also has a solo piece. The first two singles, Sakura Mirage and Midsummer Citrus, have been re-recorded for the album release, as the original tracks were performed with Hiodoshi Ao, a member who was on extended leave during the production of the album and eventually retired from the group. If you're paying attention, it does make for one or two awkward moments ("Call my name (A-O)") and I think it would have been perfectly fine to leave them as is, but it's an understandable decision.

The group songs are generally up-tempo Jpop with a very modern, Kpop-influenced sound, which isn't a suprise given their past body of work. Although I don't remember if it was ever officially supported, the concept of the group was largely accepted to be Kpop style unit, especially since the two producers they work with the most, OHTORA and maeshima soshi, are well known for their work with Kpop groups. The style I've come to expect from this pair is apparent throughout the album, with strong use of synths and rapid tempos, setting full soundscapes against passages with ample empty space. It might not be a new formula, but it's still a winning one, producing songs which can reliably grab and hold your attention.

The solo songs have a little more variety. They still have a very modern sound, but each is adapted to suit the respective member's image: Raden has an introspective spoken word piece; Kanade sings a bright pop-rock song with focus on the vocals; Ririka a triumphant, bubbly tune; and Bancho has something a bit more moody.

Kaede (楓) by Spitz (スピッツ), covered by Natsuiro Matsuri (夏色まつり) of Hololive and Rikka (律可) of Holostars

Wow! It took longer than I thought it would when I started this project, but this is song number 100! I thought it would be nice to loop back to the beginning of this blog with one of the Matsuri and Rikka duets that got me into vtubers in the first place.

The cover is beautifully sung, both artists conveying the melancholy tone with clear and bright, yet gentle voices. It's impressive how they've improved over the years, considering that they were already starting from such a high place.

Amber Colored City, The Morning of The Shanghai Crab (琥珀色の街、上海蟹の朝) by Quruli (くるり), covered by Ryugasaki Rene (龍ヶ崎リン) of 774 inc, and KOKO (幸祜) of KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO

Baby Blue by Shibata Komugi (柴田こむぎ)

A very modern, catchy, pop song by a very new vtuber. It's very impressive first release for someone who I get the impression is quite young (though I suppose that's not unusual, AKASAKI is 19, Billie Eilish broke out at 14-16!).

Watashi wa, watashitachi wa (私は私達は) by Guiano, covered by Kochou Rei (胡蝶レイ)

Love this song. Guiano is probably my favourite vocaloid producer and I'd love to see more covers of his work (his new album has some real bangers on it!)

This is Alohaii's fourth album, and while I've enjoyed his works in the past, it has been somewhat surprising to find myself returning to Patchwork with such regularity. Though it's best enjoyed in its entirety, especially given the care taken over the overarching story and cohesion between tracks, every song can stand strongly alone both muscially and lyrically. As touched on by Alohaii himself in an interview with Vtuber NewsDrop, I can definitely see (hear!) the step forward taken with this album.

Whilst the electro-pop roots are still prominent, the influences from Shibayan Records' bossa nova shine through, adding a lovely fresh twist. The bass work by Tikaal is second to none, and easily one of the work's muscial highlights. Another of those highlights is of course the strong vocals, which are consistently passionate and emotional. Lyrically, the album wears themes of abuse and the ensuing poor mental health on its sleeve. On occasion it can be a little too blunt for my taste, but more often than not it results in a heart-rending performance.

departure! by Ono Masatoshi (小野正利), covered by Inugami Korone (戌神ころね) and Amane Kanata (天音かなた) of Hololive

In commemoration of Kanata's birthday Korone has released a new duet with her! They chose a great song, suitably cheerful and with poignant lyrics, and their performance is bright and brilliant. The MV is wonderfully made as well, featuring lots of fun illustrations reminiscing on moments between the pair of them.

BANG!!! by EGOIST, covered by Hizuki Yui (緋月ゆい) of Neoporte

Tokimeki by Vaundy, covered by Fura Kanato (風楽奏斗) of Nijisanji and Hanabusa Lisa (英リサ) of VSPO!

A really brilliant duet by these two! They capture well the bubbly, upbeat energy of the song, and carry it even in the more mellow passages. Their harmonies throughout blend beautifully as well. Overall a very refreshing listen!

Chiki Chiki Ban Ban (チキチキバンバン) by QUEENDOM, covered by Natsume Eri (なつめえり)

First up is SPICE OF LIFE by Harusaruhi of KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO, with ASOBOiSM on as composer for all of the tracks. Production is done by S-kit, and the jacket art is done by Utomaru. If the style feels familiar, that's because Utomaru also illustrated for the Oresama albums!

The album is a collection of short tracks, mostly 1 to 2 minutes long. It has an interesting origin, in that the majority of these were made slowly over the past 3 years, with ASOBOiSM making the beat, Harusaruhi writing lyrics and singing, and Utomaru making an illustration for each one. This album is a bit more than just a compilation of that project though, as the songs have been rearranged, a few new ones have been written, and extremely tidy transitions have been made between each track. In listening, the album almost becomes one thirty minute song with 19 beat switches. And I'm not complaining about that. This shit slaps.

The vibe is overall very chillwave, but higher tempo on average: synths and 808s dominate the tracks, with healthy amounts of reverb used to fill out the soundscape. Harusaruhi serves up a mix of singing and rap on a medley of topics with a focus around the doldrum of everyday life - such as having a rough day, spending an afternoon napping, looking forward to getting home, having a drink after work, and seeking comfort with a pet cat. A very easy album to put on whilst working and bop your head to.

As always, Suisei uses this opportunity with lots of eyes on her cleverly, and reveals an incredible number of projects and plans to us all at once. There's lots of exciting things going on, so lets go through them one by one.

First of all, the acoustic live was fantastic! Stellar stellar will forever be spectacular to hear, and the acoustic treatment serves it well. The little medley of past MVs was a touching addition. What stood out to me though was Yoru wo Matsu Yo. I think it had the most stark contrast to the original song, but still worked *so* well. Suisei mentioned she was looking forward to seeing how the arrangement of Soirée would turn out (amazing), and I think débutante ball is another option that would turn out well.

The new song is also, to no one's suprise, great. To leave the music aside, I really like the direction Suisei leans towards for the MVs - the sort of retro-futurist cheeky pop diva aesthetic is both cool as hell and suits her image well. I've also noticed she often likes to use analogue tech imagery and depict herself as a mechanic or engineer in her MVs, like in aim and shoot for the moon recently, and in the Midnight Grand Orchestra MVs.

Speaking of Midnight Grand Orchestra, they're brushing the dust off of that project as well! This might be the thing I'm most looking forward to, as I'm quite a fan of their work together. The planned concert may just be for Starpeggio, but I reckon they'll put out another mini album at some point.

And Suisei has an arena tour coming up as well. Again, I'm not expecting it soon but I feel confident predicting that there's a solo album in the works as well. Maybe we can get a global tour out of that one! And then a global tour that travels outside of east Asia and the U.S....

Then finally, the biggest news of the day is the establishment of Studio Stellar! It's interesting to speculate about how this will affect her activities: how the scope might change and what obstacles might be lifted. I think it's clear the move is centered around facilitating Suisei's ambition for greater heights. But in the end it's definitely a case of waiting to see what will happen. The more interesting question will come after that: how is this move going to influence vtubing activity and structuring as a whole? In Cover's statement write that they work to "[elevate] VTuber culture", which isn't surprising since the more popular vtubers are the more money they make. What it indicates though is that they think Suisei can achieve greater popularity and success with more independence and separation from Cover. That might be a tough pill to swallow for other vtubing agencies.

Anta ni Akkanbe (あんたにあっかんべ) by Hifumi (一二三), covered by Sakeko (さけこ)