Review Summary: Vocaloid's Virtuoso
For those of us who think critically about music, there's always a risk of becoming pretentious, of looking down on certain genres, styles or instruments as lesser due to their popularity in the mainstream. Too often, we see the "best" music as edgy and different. We think the best music has to make a statement or challenge norms of composition, or other related nonsense. In such a purist pursuit we lose sight of the beauty of making great music for the sake of making great music. If we can appreciate Yo-Yo Ma's mastery of the cello as he plays a Bach cello suite, why should make a master of vocaloid any less worthy? All instruments have their virtuosos, and vocaloid's is revealed in Treow's outstanding album of detailed, deliberate music. It's jazz, it's IDM, it's heavily J-Pop and features the most famous robot of our generation. It's an excellent work, perhaps even the brightest future for vocaloid, though Miku's infamous cameo on Letterman will live on for generations.
