- おふろ ♨ タイム -

Before we do this spotlight, let's have some sort of discussion about Engloids. English Vocaloids are voice synthesizers released outside Japan and are meant to sing English songs. You might recognize some of them: Big Al, Sweet Ann, Sonika, Leon, etc. Despite the number of Engloids released, they're not as popular and they are not used as often as the Japanese Vocaloids (actually, more Japanese producers seem to use Engloids even if the target market is the non-Japanese side ^^;).

Now, I don't know much about Engloids to be honest, and I am very choosy when it comes to their songs (especially Big Al). There might not be a lot of songs using Engloids, but there are definitely good ones if you know how and where to dig (:D!). My favorite Engloids are Sweet Ann and Prima.

As far as I know I've never featured any producer in the spotlight who uses Engloids (English Vocaloids) regularly (Nem doesn't count with his Sonika XD). So, I decided to give you guys a sort of intro to Engloids and why they can sound cool, starting with ISD-san, also known as Ann-MeltsP.



Ann-MeltsP / アンメルツP

mylist | youtube | piapro | blog

ISD started uploading Vocaloid songs sometime in 2008. His circle GCM means "Game Crosses Music". His name Ann-MeltsP was from his cover of "Melt" using Sweet Ann.

ISD's main genre is eurobeat, although he also delves into rock and dance pop/disco. His songs are very, very catchy regardless of who is singing it, so it's always a pleasure to listen to them. In eurobeat, I don't have much to describe in terms of instruments, but the beats of his songs are definitely unique from each other and from other eurobeat composers like samfree. His songs are often of soft, happy messages, but there are times his lyrics become thought-provoking and speak generally about issues in society. As Sweet Ann is an English Vocaloid, most of his songs involving Ann are in English, which is kind of amazing.

As you might have guessed from his name, ISD uses Sweet Ann a lot and has tried making her sing in eurobeat, dance pop, rock and even RnB/rap. Aside from Ann, he also uses the Kagamines frequently, usually with Len singing rock and Rin on the more pop-ish songs. He also uses Luka, Miku, GUMI and Big Al. As I have not enough experience in Engloids, I can't give an accurate description on the tuning, but his Kagamines are definitely tuned solidly and a bit edgy.

Aside from composing Vocaloid songs himself, he also tunes Vocaloids for other people and uploads the ever popular Vocalomania Speed, a long, long medley track feat. popular Vocaloid songs arranged into similar beat reminiscent of DanceMania. He also participates in a lot of Vocaloid collabs, like Debutante and the upcoming Kagamination project.

sample songs
• Baby Bear (Rin x Big Al)
• Not a Wonderful World (Sweet Ann)
• Pandora no Kibou (Kagamine Len)
• Saihate -English cover- (Sweet Ann)
• Anata no You ni Naritai (Kagamine Len) <-- surprisingly a ballad!

sample medleys (warning: very addictive)
• Vocalomania Speed 3
• Rin/Len Mania 3


nikki says
As I said I don't know anything about Engloids and I feel bad about it, since when Sonika was released I realized how so much potential they have. I'm amused that Japanese producers use them more liberally, too. Anyway, I'm not very knowledgeable with Ps who specialize in Engloids and Ann-MeltsP is one of those few I know. I was surprised when I realized he does those addicting Kagamine remixes I loop a lot XD.

His works definitely contributed to my slow but eventual liking of Engloids, especially Sweet Ann (because I'm kind of a first impressionist and didn't like the first few songs with her). While most of his songs are really upbeat you'd want to dance to it, their messages often talk about reflections of the self and of today's society. His only (?) ballad /points above, by Len, is dedicated to his grandfather, which is why it sounds so poignant.

Finally, I think one of the good things I admire in his works is his large effort to bring forth Sweet Ann's potential by letting her sing in English. Now, we all know that writing lyrics in one language and trying to reproduce them exactly into another language is very difficult. Despite the language barrier and of course, the limited knowledge of the language, he manages to make songs with clear messages. The wordings are not often exact or even poetic enough, but I think it adds to the charm of his songs and gives them a characteristic vagueness that matches his electronic beats. Even if you're not into Engloids, I think you should give his works a listen, if only for the high quality music he does.