Revisiting the Classics: A Review of “Re:MIKUS” by LiveTune.

For many of us, the pandemic has turned our year upside down.

Any event arduously planned for has been scaled back or cancelled, including major anime conventions.

For many of us, convention-going is more than the event itself. It requires meticulous planning, budgeting, and even a wishlist for what we hope to snag at the dealer’s room.

With conventions canceled and budgets hanging precariously, I decided to tide myself over with an item that’s been sitting on my wishlist for a solid year now: “Re:MIKUS Livetune ft. Hatsune Miku”.

When I first began listening to VOCALOID music all those years ago, I first encountered Livetune’s songs, including “Last Night, Good Night” and “Packaged”. I remember being captivated by the upbeat and fast-paced music combined with Hatsune Miku’s refreshing vocals. A sound like that of a wide blue sky on a sunny day. A sound that feels like home.

During times like these, when it is almost alluring to sink into a mire of gloom and sadness, I found that listening to these songs has given me some reprieve.

Revisting the Sounds

Since her debut in 2007, Hatsune Miku has come a long way, and her voice bank has evolved tremendously and has forayed into new genres. Revisiting Miku with her original voice bank is like a step back into time—she definitely came across as more synthesizer than human-sounding back then.

However, the album seems to lean in and embrace these qualities, and in turn, highlights the synthesizer-sounding voice.

Complements of RapBeat, for instance, in “Last Night, Good Night” brighten the song and enliven it with more energy. This remix also seems to give a new interpretation to the meaning of the song. It also reminds me of IA’s “Higher” which also features rap-like beats and vocals.

The album ends on “Saihate” by Kobayashi Onyx which seems fitting. The normally slow, poignant song is remixed by kz. The remix adds in a faster beat along with more rhythm. The result is a song that is made more hopeful and “glistening” than melancholic and somber.

Released in 2009, the album features fourteen songs all featuring Hastune Miku, save for one song featuring RapBeat. All of the songs are remixes of Livetune’s previous album “Re:Package” including two songs remixed by kz.

What gives these songs new life are the remixes—really fun plays on classics. The album features different producers such as ryo (supercell), RAMRIDER, RapBeat, The Standard Club, Hanasoumen-P, imoutoid, and baker. While some of these producers have stepped away from the VOCALOID spotlight, others have proliferated, and even more producers have joined the bandwagon. So many that it almost seems like the VOCALOID was looking at its own demise, or rather too many producers were trying to get there hands on such a popular commodity, as referenced in “Dune”.

I purchased the album on ebay for about $20.00(USD). The album came brand new in plastic packaging and an album sleeve. Artwork by redjuice is featured on the cover and on the album insert. The artwork is stunning and matches the sound of the album perfectly (if you’re hankering for more redjuice please see their Deviantart and Tokyo Otaku Mode pages). The album also includes a large square sticker of Miku gazing up at the moon. This was definitely worth the money.

Final Thoughts

Though “Re:Mikus” is at this point eleven years old, the album serves as a reminder of the potential that still lies in Hatsune Miku and in VOCALOID as a whole. I’m not sure if I would describe these songs as timeless, but they have a unique quality to them. Part nostalgia, part hopefulness, and part yearning. I highly recommend giving the album a listen, whether you’ve heard the songs a thousand times or have never heard them before.

 A lot has changed since the time of its release, and a beautiful community has flourished as a result of VOCALOID. During these strange times, a reminder of that community and its humble origins is joyfully refreshing.