A Short Guide to Listening to Vocaloid + Additional Miscellanea

Written by someone who shouldn't be writing guides. Inspired and partially based by ubnubmaster's video on listening to Vocaloid.

Introduction

So, Project DIVA has introduced to some Vocaloid songs/producers, and you wanna break the ice a bit further. Maybe you liked 'Two-Faced Lovers' or 'World is Mine' or 'Absolunote' and you just wanna listen to their works a bit more. Well, hopefully this guide can help you with that, and perhaps introduce you to some more Vocaloid producers (or Vocaloid in general).

Video and Audio Streaming Services/Platforms

So, maybe you found some producers or songs that you like via Project DIVA. At this point, you're probably wondering, "How the hell am I supposed to listen to these guys? Or hell, even figure out where their songs are located?" This list will help provide you with such, and hopefully help expand your horizons a little bit more.

NicoNicoDouga/NND: Pretty much the main central hub for most Vocaloid songs/producers, with you being able to find a variety of music to suit your tastes. Unfortunately, the overall web design isn't the best (and I'm pretty sure they're removing English support within the foreseeable future -- don't quote me on that though.) There's also the Vocaloid rankings on NND, which will help find some of the more newer Vocaloid songs out there. (With the Hall of Legends[www.nicovideo.jp] and Hall of Myths[www.nicovideo.jp] also being a primary ranking for Vocaloid songs as well.)

Vocacolle/Nicobox: My go-to app for listening to Vocaloid songs on mobile, as it basically connects to NND, and allows for the download of songs from NND. You can pretty much listen to most Vocaloid songs via this method, and I highly recommend it to anyone. The only major downside is that the app is ONLY in Japanese (there used to be an English option a couple years back, but after the UI overhaul, it appears to be gone for some reason). The app itself isn't that hard to use (even with my extremely poor Japanese knowledge), so after a day or two you'll be able to use it and appreciate how useful it is. Just know what you're looking for and you'll be able to use it well in no time.

Youtube: By this time that this guide has been written, most Vocaloid producers have already migrated from NND to Youtube, so you'll have no trouble in finding some songs. Even if a certain producer hasn't migrated to Youtube, there are most likely fan reuploads which will probably also have some fansubs attached to them too. I've also had a good amount of luck finding album releases on Youtube, official or unofficial releases/uploads, so I also recommend using Youtube for listening to music.

Spotify: A rather mixed bag when it comes to Vocaloid songs. There are still some albums and producers who are not established on spotify, such as ryo (why?), wowaka (why??), and nekobolo (why???). Even still, the amount of albums you'll see for Vocaloid is rather limited on its own, with -- LamazeP being an example -- ’きがぬげそうなあるばむ’ or 'まえむきになれるきょく’ not being on the platform. Not to harp against Spotify, as you'll still find a decent amount of Vocaloid albums and songs, but it's just not the most ideal platform for Vocaloid.

Miscellaneous Resources

VocaDB[vocadb.net]: A very useful website/database containing the majority of entries pertaining to Vocaloid; i.e. Vocaloid producers, songs, albums, voicebanks. You can also look for the lyrics of songs in Japanese or English, proving to be very useful for interpreting Vocaloid songs.

MikuDB: A place to download Vocaloid albums, both in mp3 and in FLAC. Go find this one by yourself.

Vocacolle[vocaloid-collection.jp] (Vocaloid Collection, not the app): Occasionally, there will be a quarterly event known as 'Vocacolle', which producers upload their songs within a designated timeframe and they'll be automatically put on the Vocacolle rankings. Extremely helpful to find newer producers, as Vocacolle has "rookie rankings", which ranks the most popular songs created by, well, rookie producers. The uptick of music being released during that timeframe will also help with finding certain songs released by established producers, so I heavily recommend checking in on Vocacolle once and a while.

A special recommendation to vgperson's Vocaloid highlights[vgperson.com], which helped me (and can help you) find some excellent Vocaloid songs throughout 2011-present.

There's also this album chart[i.imgur.com] (which I shamelessly stole), and it covers the most "essential" Vocaloid albums for one to listen to. If you're bored and wanna listen to something new, check out that chart.

Honorable mentions to utaites and vsingers; there's a hell of a lot of people who cover Vocaloid songs, and you'll probably find some songs/producers just by listening to an utaite. Personal favorites being まじ͡娘 / majiko and ヰ世界情緒 / Isekaijoucho.

Recommended/Noteworthy Vocaloid Producers (in no particular order)

Well, Project DIVA will already give you a bunch of producers for people to actually look up and to listen to, but here are some personal recommendations to help find some more songs if needed. Feel free to skip this portion.

とあ / toa[vocadb.net] - The producer that basically introduced me to the Vocaloid scene with 'Pizzacato Drops', toa always seems to bring me back to listening to their songs. Bittersweet J-pop would be the best way to describe toa's songs.

Notable Songs:

• ミュージックミュージック / Music Music
  
• ツギハギスタッカート / Patchwork Staccato
  
• ハナレバナシ / Iberis

whoo[vocadb.net] - In my opinion, probably one of the most unique Vocaloid producers that I've ever come across. I absolutely adore whoo, there's a certain feeling or aura that always emanates itself from his songs. If you're looking for some Vocaloid soft rock / math rock, then give whoo a shot! I'm certain that you'll love his songs as much as I do.

Notable Songs:

• Parades
  
• Lights Out
  
• 雀色コンデンサ / Light-Brown Condenser

ねこぼーろ / nekobolo[vocadb.net] (also known as ササノマリイ / Sasanomaly) - Probably my favorite Vocaloid producer; I wholeheartedly recommend anyone to listen to his entire discography (including his non-Vocaloid/instrumental works, e.g. 'Fractal' and 'Obake to Omochabako' being excellent albums)! He manages to cover a hell of a lot of genres, e.g. Post-Rock, Shoegaze, Electronica, J-pop, etc, so give him a shot. The best way to describe his 'style' would be... a tranquil experience within a melancholic atmosphere.

Notable Songs:

• 心臓とクロック / Heart and Clock
  
• 嘘と絵画 / Lies and Paintings
  
• 自傷無色 / Self-Inflicted Achromatic

kous[vocadb.net] - Heavily experimental songs, usually along the lines of electronica/J-pop. Arguably an acquired taste.

Notable Songs:

• スミレの絵本 / Violet Picture Book
  
• 椿姫 / Camille
  
• 浮遊夢 / Floating Dream

keeno[vocadb.net] - Not particularly the most avid listener of his works, but I'd consider him pretty akin to whoo and his works too with his soft rock. Check him out.

Notable Songs:

• longing
  
• wipe
  
• recur

wintermute[vocadb.net] - If you're more into more "shoegaze-y" type stuff, then wintermute has your back. He's well known for being the primary producer for most shoegaze Vocaloid songs, and he does them excellently.

Notable Songs:

• Alchemy
  
• Fall
  
• Diary

Ramune / 村人P[vocadb.net] - An excellent J-rock producer that has the tendency to create some bittersweet lyrics with the most playful instrumentals ever. He's also extremely damn catchy. (Also check out ハチビットサイダー / 'Eight-Bit Cider', probably his most enjoyable album.)

Notable Songs:

• 人間方程式 / Human Equation
  
• ナキムシロボ / Crybaby Robot
  
• ナイトウォーカー / Night Walker

いよわ / iyowa[vocadb.net] - The best way I can describe iyowa is "Extreme electro-drug", and he nails it pretty damn well.

Notable Songs:

• わたしは禁忌 / I am Taboo
  
• 終末のお天気 / Weather of the Apocalypse
  
• 今際の際 / IMAWANOKIWA

sea-no[vocadb.net] - If you're a fan of more ambient electronica, sea-no has your back. She's made some absolutely ethereal songs, which I wholeheartedly recommend! (She also published a picture book with beautiful art for anyone to enjoy! -- or at least anyone who is somewhat proficent in Japanese.)

Notable Songs:

• ツキクサ / Tsukikusa
  
• 温室魔法 / Greenhouse Magic
  
• 色彩と割れたグラス / Hues of Color and Broken Glass

lemm[vocadb.net] - Atmospheric/ambient electronica, DnB, and a sprinkle of piano. Reminds me of Treow's[vocadb.net] works too.

Notable Songs:

• nATALIE
  
• IroniA (also plays within the trailer for Project DIVA)
  
• ASTER

ミルストーンズ / millstones[vocadb.net] - Think lemm, but more upbeat. Focuses more on electro-pop, house, and DnB.

Notable Songs:

• 可能世界のロンド / Rondo of Possible Worlds
  
• アフターマス / Aftermath
  
• カガリビト / Kagaribito

sasakureUK[vocadb.net]- Already a staple Vocaloid producer, sasakure usually sticks to his electronic/chiptune/J-pop and executes it fairly well. He also made a collection of -- what I like to call -- "narrative songs", which tries to weave and write a story through a collection of songs, (e.g. the Doomsday series and the Hito to Kijin series). Heavily recommend.

(Slight sidenote here, I've only noticed these "narrative songs" are mainly derived from Vocaloid, most notably the 'Evillious Chronicles' series, the 'Kagerou' series, and the '∞ nighT' series; which I find very fascinating. Wonder why these types of things are mostly contained to Vocaloid.)

Notable Songs:

• 否世界ハーモナイゼ / Non-World Harmonize
  
• タイガーランペイジ / Tiger Rampage
  
• しゅうまつがやってくる！ / The (Week)end is Coming!

もちうつね / mochiutsune[vocadb.net] (might have previously been under the alias けだるぎ / Kedarugi[vocadb.net]) - Taking electro-pop and denpa to another level.

Notable Songs:

• おくすり飲んで寝よう / Let's Take Some Medicine and Go to Bed
  
• 風呂入るプロファイル / Bathing Profile
  
• ご教示ください？ / Please Kindly Advise?

Honorable Mentions:

• まももP[vocadb.net]
  
• みきとP[vocadb.net]
  
• baker[vocadb.net]
  
• lemo[vocadb.net]
  
• 翁[vocadb.net]
  
• kinoue64[vocadb.net]
  
• 古川P[vocadb.net]
  
• yuxuki waga[vocadb.net]
  
• Pulot[vocadb.net]
  
• おかゆ[vocadb.net]
  
• szak[vocadb.net]
  
• 宮沢もよよ[vocadb.net]

Thanks for Reading!

I hope you'll have fun exploring the extreme vastness of the Vocaloid scene (especially during this 'Vocaloid Renaissance') and find some new songs to listen to!

Please comment if you want this guide to be updated with any extra info, and I'll be happy to oblige.

[LUVS2SPWGE]

:( good thing local files exist

[Blank2point0]

Yeah, the record label that wowaka was under at that time -- specificially 'Balloom' -- went defunct I believe, so I doubt they'll be signing any deals anytime soon. Same reasons why you won't find some of OSTER project's or Fullkawa's albums on certain streaming services.

[LUVS2SPWGE]

that was before he died, i imagine KARENT didn't sign him before for whatever reason and now they obviously can't, which is why the mikunopolis Ura Umote Lovers is on spotify as Karent have that, but not any more wowaka

[Blank2point0]

I mean, yeah, but the record labels should still be able to allow streaming of his albums no? That's how so many vocaloPs (retired or not) were able to have their albums on Youtube due to KARENT. Hell, samfree even has his only album associated with KARENT on spotify before he passed away.

[LUVS2SPWGE]

i have an idea as to why wowaka hasn't yet established himself on spotify...