Kikuo, now an icon in the Vocaloid world, explains how it all started, how he got to be the first ever Vocaloid producer to tour the world, and what experiences shaped his artistry up until now.

Hi, this is Naomi from Kaibutsu Music. I had the honour to sit down with Kikuo before his show in Cologne, Germany to chat about what "being Kikuo" really means and to get a glimpse of the world he lives in. Please enjoy our conversation!

Sure, hi, my name is Kikuo, I’m a Vocaloid producer. For some reason I am told that it’s rare but I do all the song writing, producing, editing, recording, mixing and mastering on my own.

I produced the highest played back Vocaloid song ever, right now I’m doing a world tour and I also got featured in the [Japanese] school book. So that’s Kikuo does. Nice to meet you.

I was in my second year in middle school, so around 14 or 15 years old. At the time, I tried a lot of different creative things not limited to music production. For example I tried drawing, programming, making anime and games, different instruments and also dancing.

Out of all the things, the only thing that didn’t bore me was music production. As I kid, I was already looking for ways to express my ideas and create music but biggest thing that stood in my way at that time was that I couldn’t play any instruments. But luckily with music production I didn’t need to, so I thought, "how easy!" Soon enough, I fell in love and quickly became obsessed with it.

Hm, I’ve seen and been inspired by unique musicians and also game soundtracks for example and when I put something out there that strike a surprise reaction by people, I cherish it.

Yeah, kinda. I love to take inspiration from something that not many people do, I think that’s something I love to focus on.

Yes, very recently, I’ve been deeply interested in traditional ethnic music, so I have started to incorporate Gamelan or Indonesian folk music into my mix. For my latest song I have been inspired by Dance organs, a mechanically operated self-playing instrument. What I mean by that is, you see that at dance halls or museums in Europe sometimes, these puppets that turn around and make music.

Another thing I’m fascinated by is the 3D sound. Just by putting headphones on you can hear not only sounds coming from left and right but also from the front and the back, front bottom and so on. There is not that many people that use this technique but I love to use it from time to time among many others.

It usually starts with the deadline approaching. [laughs] If I didn’t have that I’d simply be pursuing my hobbies and just enjoying my free time. [laughs]

In 2016, I had the opportunity to be on stage for 20 min in Saitama Super Arena with about 20,000 to 30,000 capacity. I was up there alone and it was the first time that I performed in such a big venue. All the people were kinda forced to dance to my music. From that point on my need for validation and approval from the outside world just vanished because this moment just filled me up for the rest of my life. [laughs]

Another one was, the song "Boku wo sonna me de minai de" (僕をそんな目で見ないで) which was the first song that really took off. I was so moved by it that I thought, I could die right now.

I love to do things no one has ever done before, so I was and am still very very excited to do this.

All the venues were full of my core fans. But what surprised me was that it was not only them. There were also quite a few people that didn’t know Kikuo before. Their reaction and energy were just so unmatched, I feel very grateful.

Honestly, I loved all the places so far. What surprised me the most though, were places that were completely out of my radar. Countries like Chile and Argentina. This is like the other end of the world from Japan, I was so surprised that people listen to Vocaloid and enjoy my music there. It was the first time I really realised the effect of it.

Yeah, there definitely is! The most simplest example would be in China. I wrote a song called Yūtai Ridatsu and there is a Chinese part in the lyrics that goes "xīng xīngtǐ tóushè wǒ qù kàn nǐle." (A-Astral travel, I went to see you.) The crowd in China went nuts!

The difference between the Japanese and the overseas audience is not the songs they go crazy for, they’re generally the same, but the WAY the go crazy is very different. The Japanese don’t sing along or vocalise at all, instead they like to clap. Everywhere outside of Japan though, they all loved to sing and scream but clapping is not really a thing, which I think is an interesting observation, the cultural difference at play.

I am always so amazed by all the people singing in Japanese. Doesn’t matter which country, they all sing in Japanese. That’s so amazing.

It is crazy. Her voice is so powerful. I’m forever happy and grateful.

I actually used to write Idol songs and it used be my main thing back then. So it was more of nostalgia than anything.

Yeah, actually I have many more Idol songs and also game soundtracks in my discography than all of my Vocaloid songs combined. But it’s not that known. People like my Vocaloid songs more so that’s what I’m famous for but actually I do a lot of projects in this genre, too.

No, not at all. [laughs]

Yeah, it did! That’s not something I ever imagined that would happen. But what I did, was place myself in a position so I can take the chances that I would have never imagined would happen. For example, use platforms like Spotify and Youtube where people from overseas listen to music. I was one of the first Vocaloid producer that actually did that.

It’s now a long time ago but Vocaloid songs were almost exclusively posted on a channel called "Nico Nico Douga" (ニコニコ動画). The ones who simultaneously posted on Youtube got even called out for being stupid because it was the general consensus that it’s pointless. I was one of the first producers to posted on Youtube, while all this name-calling was happening. This went on for a while, people even said that Kikuo turned his back on Nico Nico Douga.

Also making the songs available on Spotify was something outrageous back then. Almost all the major Japanese labels forbade the artists to put anything into streaming platforms because that would affect the CD sales. So all the major Vocaloid producers at the time were not allowed to provide their songs for streaming. I was an exception because I was not bound to any label, so I was free to upload anything. That made me one of the first ones to break the mold.

I went on a little tangent here but my point is, I was always prepared to be heard by people outside of Japan. I, however, never imagined it to actually become true.

It’s getting better. I think the major labels are slowly realizing the power of streaming. Whether you upload your music on streaming or not, the CD won’t sell either way, so I think they are slowly waking up to it.

Many things. There are many things coming. Stay tuned.

Let’s all have fun together! That’s it!