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After a successful Kickstarter campaign for an art book last year, we have more good news for fans of MAIKA: The MAIKA compilation album, MAIKAVERSE, is now available on Spotify, Google Play, Amazon and iTunes!
The new #VOCALOID Album MAIKAVERSE, announced some time ago is already available on Spotify featuring 14 new original @VocaloidMaika songs by amazing producers from around the world: https://t.co/Zx3O3S4ybY
— Voctro Labs (@VoctroLabs) January 14, 2018
There are 14 songs available in the album, all from different producers with different musical styles.
The tracklist for MAIKAVERSE is as follows:
- Imagínate Mi Amour by CYO Style
- Hyperconectados by YZYX
- Like Whatever by CircusP
- Pedrito by AlexTrip Sands
- Vacío Lleno by VNaneP
- Incomprehensible by Marvin Valentin
- Sacrificio by Gurodoll
- Infinity by Nostraightanswer
- Nemezis by Marvyanaka
- Días de Estrés by AkuP
- Half Empty by EmpathP
- Dimensión by AJ/Music
- Escaleras del Saber by Riten Kuroji
- La Audición by Maubox
If you want to listen to the MAIKAVERSE album, you can play it using the Spotify player below, or you can find it here on Spotify.
Album Review
Being a MAIKA fan, I (Jade) wanted to listen to the MAIKAVERSE album myself, so here is my own review with my opinions on each of the tracks available.
The first track, “Imagínate Mi Amour”, is an EDM track by CYO Style which features seamless transitions between more traditional instruments, such as guitar and drums, to various synthesizers and electronic beats.
“Hyperconectados” is another EDM track, this time by YZYX with a more intense and electronic feel. In this song, MAIKA’s vocals are somewhat distorted to accentuate her synthetic vocals, and the producer has also made her sound like she is speaking in some parts.
The next song, “Like Whatever” by CircusP, is also an EDM song which makes use of various synthesizers, distortion of MAIKA’s vocals in some parts, and even some other vocals to harmonize with in places. The lyrics in this song suggest a character with quite a sassy personality, which is especially noticeable in the spoken line near the end which just exudes attitude.
In contrast to the previous songs, “Pedrito” by AlexTrip Sands is a more traditional Latin dance number, which really shows off MAIKA’s Spanish vocals wonderfully. It’s hard to resist swaying with the music as you listen! At around 3 minutes in, the tempo kicks up a notch and MAIKA begins to ‘speak,’ as if to an audience, and the effect is really quite enchanting.
“Vacío Lleno” by VNaneP starts off with beautiful piano track, then gently builds up by adding in synth and then guitar and drums until it feels like an intriguing blend of EDM and rock. The producer handles MAIKA’s vocals well through the changes in tempo, adding power and effects on the vocals in places to further add complexity.
“Incomprehensible” is another rock song, but with more traditional guitar and bass instruments. The song comes in strong from the beginning and maintains a good pace, building and falling where necessary and MAIKA’s vocals seem particularly powerful in the high notes of the chorus.
“Sacrificio” by Gurodoll kicks things up a notch further with a metal track that includes a gorgeous mix of harsh, clean and almost operatic vocals. This is certainly one of the most intense songs on the album. Though MAIKA does not have a Power voice bank or a V4 voice bank with a growl, in some places, you can hear a growl-like strain in her voice that you would expect from a singer if they were performing this kind of song live. I was particularly impressed by the way her vocals were handled by this producer.
“Infinity” by Nostraightanswer brings things back down a little with a more mellow track with a laid back beat and lyrics full of longing. When the synthesizers come in, the song becomes almost trance-like and then the beat builds up in the last third of the song and leaves the listener with a more positive message.
“Nemezis” by MarvyanakaP begins with an atmospheric string melody, and then heavy drums and guitar are introduced as MAIKA begins to sing. And what a surprise it is when you realize that she is actually singing in Polish! After a short intro, the song turns into a proper rock number while still featuring the classical instruments throughout, giving it a somewhat orchestral quality.
“Días de Estrés” by AkuP starts with a gentle melody which sounds reminiscent of traditional Japanese instruments, but don’t be fooled! The intense beat and synthesizers come in shortly after and we are back to the realms of EDM. In this song, we hear quite a range of emotions in MAIKA’s vocals, from soft and gentle to powerful, and even a sort of sing-song voice which gives off more sassy vibes full of attitude. The song closes with the gentle instruments from the beginning again to round things off nicely, as if the song has come full circle.
“Half Empty” is a soft rock song from EmpathP which features themes of sex, drugs and alcohol, which are not typically associated with EmpathP’s work. EmpathP said during a previous live stream that the song is written from two different perspectives, a woman and a man trying to escape their problems through sex and alcohol respectively. The song is rather cinematic, with the lyrics describing the setting that these characters live in and the situations that they find themselves in, so that the listener almost feels like they are transported into their world.
The next song, “Dimensión” by AJ/Music, is another track which blends elements of rock and EDM, with the rock instruments being the most prominent and synthesizers being added in places as more of a melodic highlight. Again, MAIKA’s vocals are made to sound expressive and powerful in the chorus.
The genre changes once more with “Escaleras del Saber” by Riten Kuroji. It begins with what sounds like an old music box melody, and then a gentle, steady beat comes in with whimsical strings that seem reminiscent of traditional French or Russian music. There’s a melancholic quality to the song, but it seems pleasantly calming.
For the final song on the album, “La Audición” by Maubox begins with upbeat acoustic guitar and drums, then gradually brings in piano and tambourine for an additional rhythmic element in the chorus. In the last third of the song, MAIKA’s vocals sound especially soulful. I felt myself swaying along with the music on more than one occasion.
All in all, I am very impressed with the quality and the variety of the songs on offer in this album with the wide range of musical genres and tuning styles it presents. Each song has it’s own unique characteristics due to the unique style of the producers who worked on them. I liked each different aspect for different reasons, but all of them were an absolute pleasure to listen to.
But don’t take my word for it! Be sure to check out the MAIKAVERSE album via one of the links below to experience it yourself.
