We've heard for quite a while how resoundingly popular the VOCALOID voice banks (and their related music-producion software) have become across the years. Living in a global free market, however, the rise of competing music-production software was all by inevitable, with a few choice songs joining the Taiko family across the years that owe their existence to competing synth-music-production assets.
We've already touched this subject two times prior, but today will be the first time to check off another of those competitors!
Phony Tsumiki feat. Musical Isotope KAFU
フォニイ／ ツミキ feat. 音楽的同位体 可不(KAFU)
| Game | Genre |
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Nijiiro (Y3) NS2 (MP) PTB |
 |
★3 (141) |
★4 (230) |
★5 (416) |
★7 (574) |
★9 (921) |
170
kfphon (KAFU - Phony)Many, many, many years ago, we've already come across a contest-winning Namco Original which has drawn Kasane Teto vocal samples from Ameya/Ayame's shareware UTAU/Utaloid synthesizer (with Calculator) and we even talked about a Vocaloid song that was actually developed for a non-Yamaha synthesizer, Aquest's AquesTalk (Kamippoi Na, still counted in Taiko as Vocaloid due to the Miku voicebank's origins). With today's track, however, we'll have a proper Vocaloids-detached synthesized digital singer to talk about, being one of the many available assets in 2021's text-to-speech-based CeVIO software family. All still being delivered by a mainly-Vocaloid producer, mind you!
Phony is the first 2022 solo single from the 1997-class Vocalo-P Tsumiki (ツミキ), or more specifically her first song to be released as a single after the artist's first album release, SAKKAC CRAFT. Currently, Tsumiki also produces works as a member of the NOMELON NOLEMON unit, with Maria Miki (ぷらそにか) from Plasonica (みきまりあ). This composer from Osaka, Japan wanted to compose 'something universal' while making the song, in line with her admiration for the works of the late wowaka (of World's End Dancehall fame). Phony even got a number of notable covers across the years including "Taiko veterans" like Vtuber Suisei Hoshimachi and the Wagakki Band!
As stated before, we're no strangers to some Japanese artists' Vocaloid roots, just as well as we've additionally become aquaintaed in more recent years to the world of Vtubers. Through the CeVIO software suite's music-making CeVIO AI, however, it has become possible via many of the collaborating external companies to employ the use of voice banks based on actual Vtubers! This is where the voice banks from Kamitsubaki Studio fall in line, starting almost two years ago from today (July 7th, 2021) with KAFU (可不) AI, also used for Phony. As also noted by the song's subtitle in Taiko grounds, the "Vocalo-like adaptation" of Vtubers as voice banks is treated by the company as a "musical isotope" of the actual digital personality which is respectively based on but with a different name, with the KAFU voice bank being based on the 2018-class Kaf (official YT channel).
Phony was already a dear aquaintance to the music gaming scenario, most notably for the playable covers in BanG Dream! (by Afterglow x 96) and Project Sekai (as a solo/unit piece by Nightcord at 25:00 members). More than a non-Taiko musioc game party, however, wanted a share of the Phony pie as its original version, which so far has been the case for both SOUND VOLTEX and Sega's non-Miku-based arcade music gaming trilogy.
The Taiko turf's latter end idea of charting plays it safe with a 1/16-focusedcharting approach dear to 2nd-gen J-Pop/Pops songs... but just you wait to get a hold of its Ura- some might mistake it for a 2nd-gen 10* Oni due to the relentless barrage of notes to hit, alongside the choice scrolling shifts and 1/24 bursts!
