I recently finished writing a new piece commissioned by the wonderful mixed quartet, Cadillac Moon Ensemble, called KAMIKAZE KARAOKE. It’s a suite of five songs with text taken from the journal entries of Japanese kamikaze pilots from WWII. Despite the heavy material the piece is heavily influenced by Japanese pop, or JPop, a genre not exactly known for its depth of emotional expression. But anyone who knows me or my music knows such emotional dissonance is my bread and butter. Along those lines, you might also find my selection of vocalist interesting. To sing my songs with CME I chose the popular Japanese virtual pop star Hatsune Miku, a synthetic singer who one can write for using the vocaloid program, which I used in a new English plugin by Big Fish Audio.
I talk about my motivation and inspiration in this fun video I did with Meaghan Burke, the cellist (and more!) with Cadillac Moon Ensemble. Give it a look:
Also, I put up a little excerpt of one of the movements (a mockup with MIDI instruments) so you can get a taste of the piece. Hatsune Miku’s voice is pretty close to what it will be in the final version:
Matt Marks Music 