Producer Spotlight: ShippuP

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ShippuP / 疾風P

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ShippuP or Masakuni started early as a Vocaloid composer, releasing fairly successful works since his debut in March 2009. He is mostly known for his work Genzai to Mirai no Dilemma featuring alternating voices of Miku Append. His name "Shippu" means strong winds.

He is probably one of the more interesting Ps I've encountered because of two things. The first one is that his genre is the most popular genre in Vocaloid-dom: rock. However, his style of rock is so distinct, you can't compare it to other rock works -- heck, you can't even compare one of his songs to another one XD. Each of his songs seems thoughtfully written, with a unique melody, beat, arrangement--even a different tuning of Vocaloids each time. Rock as a genre is too wide, and ShippuP's works bridges between rock 'n roll and hard rock. His songs are either dance-worthy like 60's rock and roll, with a slide of wonderful piano-playing, or hard rock with strong guitars, electronic beats and a dash of glam.

The second reason his works are so interesting is because of his tuning. Usually, Miku in rock songs would be tuned with a solid and sharp tone, following the song's crescendo until her voice is really high. However, ShippuP tries to tune his Vocaloids very low to the point of grating. This might sound bad in some songs, especially since a very low tune means also an unstable voice, but ShippuP manages to keep his Vocaloids' diction clear and solid, which makes him a bit different from what we're used to. He uses Miku and Luka in his works, both of them tuned very low with slightly lilting tones.

sample songs
• Negative Positive Cycle (Miku)
• Ai to Shin (Miku)
• Only a Little (Miku)
• Between The Real and Fairy Tale (Luka)
• Utsusemi no Koe

nikki says
I started following ShippuP late, just after his release of that epic "Genzai to Mirai no Dilemma" song. I was very interested as to why he likes tuning his Vocaloids low so I explored his mylist and liked what I heard. I especially like his rock and roll songs (like Ai to Shin) because they sound so upbeat. His more rock-ish songs remind me of NatsuP and Machigerita songs for some reason, probably because of the grand way each song was presented. My favorite song of his would probably be "Only a Little", because the piano instrumental in the middle just kills me with happiness.

Utaite Spotlight: Task

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Task

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Task is a very new utaite, having started covering Vocaloid songs just this year. He is different from the PV/CG-maker Task, by the way XD;. You might have known him if you follow Nano, since they've been in a collab before.

Task has a low, boyish voice and clear diction, a quality similar to ShounenT and Aisu but with a bit of huskiness. He is also known for his vibrato, mostly apparent in his low, stretchy notes. Because of these, he suits singing ballads and slow pop songs wherein he utilizes the smooth charm of his voice perfectly. Still, he also sings rockish songs, which always sound interesting because he often sounds almost short of breath, but he surprises people by pushing through wonderfully. He also seems to have a short range, so he's most fit to sing low-key ballads. He rarely uses effects and adlibs in his covers, although he has an interesting way of phrasing his lyrics differently from the original versions.

While his sincere, straightfoward covers gain only praises for his singing voice, Task doesn't seem to get enough limelight due to the fact that he always sings popular songs usually at the time when people cover the song a lot. Still, for a new singer, he has gained quite an impressive following, not to mention a long list of covers.

sample sovers
• Calc. -piano ver- (JimmythumbP original)
• Mozaik Role (DECO*27 original)
• Namae no Nai Uta (DATEKEN original)
• Hello/How Are You? -acoustic original- (Nanou original)
• fix (keeno original)
• Shinpakusuu #0822 (w/ Nano; ChouchoP original)

nikki says
I followed Task immediately after hearing his cover of Calc. -piano ver-, which impressed me so much. I always like his type of voices (as you might notice from the trend of my spotlights ^^; ) and it's not difficult to get used and love his singing. I just wish he'd be a bit more adventurous and try singing lesser known Vocaloid songs. Either way, it would be nice to see him improve and continue his career as an utaite from here on.

Utaite Spotlight: Kanzentaicell

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Kanzentaicell / 完全体セル

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Kanzentaicell's name is a reference to Dragonball, as he is also known for making vague DBZ references in some of his cover adlibs. He is a reaaaally new utaite, having only started July of this year. He is one of those utaite whose improvement is so obvious, it's a pleasure going through his mylist and discovering how much he had grown in the few months that he's been singing in Nico Nico Douga.

Kanzentaicell is placed under "ikemen voices" according to his fans, having a deep, suave voice that is used to singing low, even notes. However, he also sounds well singing high notes and lengthened notes, without apparent difficulty in singing them. He is mostly known for singing long notes solidly, without faltering, and making his voice a bit whispery at super low parts. If compared to other utaite, he will mostly sound similar to Inakamono and Iinchou.

His early works have often been criticized for being flat and unskillful, but it's a good thing his spirits weren't dampened and he continued singing, for in the few months he's been singing he has grown impressively -- both in voice quality and popularity. Comparing his very first cover to his most recent cover can reveal so much improvement in all aspects and he is undeniably one of the rising successful utaite for this year.

sample songs (from earliest to latest)
• Ie ni Kaeru to Tsuma ga Kanarazu Shindafuri wo Shiteimasu (HobonichiP original)
• Nisoku Hokou (DECO*27 original)
• Net Game Haiji Sprechchor -GigaP mix ver- (Satsuki ga Tenkomori original)
• Senbonzakura (KurousaP original)
• Shiryokukensa (40mP original)

nikki says
I've watched Kanzentaicell's videos in Utaran, where he has become quite a regular, but I never really took the time to look at his mylist until recently. I had recognized that he is an amazing singer from when I was doing the rankings but upon hearing the full versions of his covers, I was so impressed. He manages to keep this cool composure in his voice while singing (like in Senbonzakura) without faltering. His older songs are really lacking, but if you listen to his mylist chronologically, his sudden improvement is like magic. Undeniably, my favorite cover by him is Shiryokukensa, although his Senbonzakura is also worth noting. I immensely look forward to more of his works.