Creator Interview: P∴Rythmatiq

Have you heard of Vocaloid? It is a voice synthesizer developed by Yamaha. The virtual singer voice bank "Hatsune Miku" became a worldwide phenomenon and found her way into illustrations and cosplay by fans.

"P∴Rythmatiq" is an old doujin music circle in its fifth year of activity. It mainly uses the software Vocaloid to produce house music. The circle consists of three members: Eru, Yu, and Noah, and they each produce their own songs. Tokyo Otaku Mode interviewed members Eru and Yu, who have been active in doujin circles since the early stages of the popularization of the Internet.

Creator Introduction
Name: P∴Rythmatiq
Creators’ Portfolio Pages:
P∴Rythmatiq
Yu

TOM: How did you start P∴Rythmatiq?
Eru: We learned about Vocaloid through Nico Nico Douga from a friend while on a photography trip with a bunch of friends who shared similar interests. The friend's videos on Niconico received a lot of views, so we thought, why not try out Vocaloid? Since it'd be more efficient with more people, I formed a circle with Noah. We also had an unofficial member, Shiro, who would draw jacket illustrations for us. At that time, there were only two of us and we had a different name. Yu started participating enthusiastically as a guest member, and eventually we became a three-member circle.

TOM: And you started with Vocaloid back then?
Eru: That's right. Our first event was producing a CD for summer Comiket. It didn't sell that well, so we thought we'd work harder with Vocaloid (laughs). It was our first time composing club music as well. We decided to try out the Techno-pop genre made popular at that time by artists such as Perfume and Kz.

TOM: Is there anything you're particular about when composing?
Yu: We compose as "creators." At work, we have clients, and the songs are based on commissions. However, in doujin work, we get to express ourselves freely. Even though we are a three-member circle, we compose independently. We never criticize one another's style and we're always encouraging one another to try new things. Anyhow, it's an interesting combination that creates lots of sparks.

TOM: How do you compose?
Yu: We compose for the sake of composing, as a way of experimenting with the voice of the Vocaloid. Sometimes I start from the instrumentals, sometimes I start from the voice. After I finish the music, the lyrics flow naturally too.

Eru: Recently, songs that tell a story or perspective are popular on Nico Nico Douga, and many songs have been novelized. We want to make something similar. However, I feel like the way we think and work is somewhat different from the young people today.

TOM: When did you start composing?
Yu: I began when I was in high school. At first, I composed using the music production game Kanade-ru on the Super Famicom. I never learned music when I was younger, but I really liked copying and playing the theme music to games. Sometimes I'd compose on the computer, but at that time, the computer wouldn't work and the sounds that came out would be all weird (laughs). Also, the network was really slow back then, and I had to work with really small bits of MIDI data.

Eru: I already knew Yu back then. We first met through friends we made online. We used to arrange game music together (laughs). There were copyright issues, and rules were made as to how MIDI music could be used online. As a result, the doujin work on game music died down. For some reason, the Final Fantasy franchise was unaffected, and I remember there were lots of contests back then (laughs).

Back then, there weren't SNS. We all had our personal sites and contacted one another through online boards and emails. It wasn't that easy to communicate and it felt like we became tighter because of that. I still have many friends whom I met during that time.

TOM: Is there anything you'd like to do from now on?
Eru: Before this, I heard that Vocaloid is really popular abroad as well. We also heard from a DJ who visited from Indonesia. We couldn't visit then because we couldn't afford it. We'd like to take part in events abroad, too!

TOM: A message for our international fans please!
Yu: Enjoy music made by us Japanese otaku!

Eru: Let's enjoy music together!

Check out our picture collection of the talented P∴Rythmatiq, and don’t forget to SUKI them! Keep it here for even more interviews with some of the most prominent creators in the otaku world!

Creators’ Portfolio Pages:
P∴Rythmatiq
Yu

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.