In the following blog post, we will answer the question, “What do you mean by Vocaloid Songs about Depression?” and cover topics like what are Vocaloid songs, how has Vocaloid emerged as an independent genre of music, what does it have to do with depression, and examples of 7 Vocaloid songs about depression, and some frequently asked questions about these songs.
What do you mean by Vocaloid Songs about Depression?
For those who are not already familiar, Vocaloid is a singing voice synthesizer software product. It uses synthesizing technology with specially recorded vocals of voice actors or singers.
Imagine! A software that sings what and how you tell it to sing without specially recorded vocals by a singer! That’s pretty cool. To create a song, the user must input the melody and lyrics.
The unique quality of these songs led to forming a genre of its own and its popularity started to grow. If you listen to these pieces, the sounds are very childlike as well as robotic. One would imagine that it almost sounds like a lullaby.
Since the emergence of the Vocaloid was because music producers were too “dependent”, so to speak, on a vocalist. Almost 100% of these songs have electronic music. Take this song for example:
Hatsune Miku – Rolling Girl PV (English Subs)
These songs were most popular and released frequently from 2010 to 2016. Every Vocaloid song has some sort of anime or animated videos associated with them. Vocaloid was a largely obscure program aimed at professional musicians during its initial run.
Hatsune Miku – also called Miku Hatsune, is a Japanese Vocaloid software voicebank. A 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails.
Miku’s personification was marketed as a virtual idol and has performed at live concerts onstage as an animated projection.
As part of the Character Vocal series, she was marketed as the mascot character for her voicebank. She immediately became immensely popular and an iconic character in the anime subculture and sets the precedent for future voicebanks to likewise have character mascots.
These character mascots are precisely why you associate Vocaloids with Anime. Anime took birth in Japan and so did Vocaloid. One would strongly associate with this era, anime, and Vocaloid songs if they are familiar with Japanese culture.
There was a time that animated figures were only made for children’s cartoons but Anime is fit for a larger audience. Viewer discretion is advised in a lot of anime films, shows, and songs.
A lot of Vocaloid songs have depressing and horrific backstories. The visuals can be so detailed and explicit it is just perfect if you want a sleepless night or worse, nightmares.
One such prominent example of a horrifying Vocaloid song is ‘Secrets of Wysteria’
Steampianist – Secrets of Wysteria – Feat. Vocaloid Oliver
This is song is based on the acts of Albert Fish, an American serial killer, child rapist, child murderer, and cannibal. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac, and The Boogey Man.
The song sounds like a lullaby but has a very creepy vibe to it. The backstory to this song is elaborate and horrifying and it can literally take you into a zone of fear.
More songs like ‘Circle you, circle you’, ‘Bacterial Contamination’, and ‘That happy child’ seem to have a lot of explicit and self-harm involving visuals and lyrics.
The expanded niche in this genre is because of the people, especially teenagers who are going through things mentally and emotionally. People who have to self-harm and suicidal tendencies can be influenced by this kind of content. Many Vocaloid songs about depression have scenes of bloodshed, violence, and trauma.
There are many thrill-seekers out there as well that enjoy watching things that induce scary or depressing thoughts.
7 Vocaloid Songs about Depression
The flexibility of the usage of the Vocaloid has led to many directions that a song can take. We are going to break down 7 Vocaloid Songs about depression.
- Tendrils of Tenebrae
Tendrils Of Tenebrae – Feat. Oliver Vocaloid – YouTube
The Lyrics of this song constantly indicate the despair of the artist and continue to talk about being trapped in their own black heart. It sounds like a dying hope and also a cry for help.
“I am trapped inside
This black heart of mine,
I am screaming, I am calling”
“Where’s the future?
There’s no future.”
Depression causes a lot of negative thoughts about yourself and you begin to lose interest in things that you once enjoyed.
“This is my slow descent
Into black-born despair.
But somehow, I just no longer care.
Enveloped in total darkness.”
Feeling worthless or guilty is one of the prominent emotions that Depressed individuals experience all this can eventually lead to Suicidal thoughts, it is very clear in the lyrics and someone going through these emotions can definitely relate.
“I can’t even breathe.”
You cannot help but notice how eerie an effect this vocaloid voice is creating!
- Rolling Girl
Rolling Girl shows that the protagonist, Miku Hatsune is clearly depressed mainly because of the emotional and physical abuse done to her in school. In the music video there are shots of Miku choking herself.
It looks like the other main character is her comfort but it ends on a bleak note. The last lyrics of the song are
“Are you alright now? It’s okay
You’ve slowly gotten tired, right?
Stop breathing, now. Now.”
This song talks about an imaginary but very relatable situation for teenagers in high school where they battle bullying and keeping up with the peer pressure along with their raging hormones.
Lost one’s weeping
Lost one’s weeping talks about the education system really dominating a big part of our lives. Our main character expresses how he is really proficient in Maths and Science but not so much in Japanese. Because of this it creates stress and pressure.
To explain this two characters are reflected in the video. One being an emotionless character with a piece of paper stuck to his forehead and the other one is a very emotional student.
Some very powerful lyrics are heard in this song
“Can you even scream the dreams you swore would never go out?
Who was the one who let my hopes just curl up die?
Hey, who could it be?
No, it’s gotta be…
Just open up your eyes, why don’t you grow up and see?
But what the hell is “growing up” and tell me when will I be?
Can a single person out there just explain it to me?”
Not everyone is carved out from the same mold. The character being an elementary school boy questioning the pressures he is facing is not only a cry for help but also a subject that needs to be reflected upon. We are conditioned to give in to the pressure and expectations but not everyone can handle it.
Two-Faced lovers
This song talks about the sexual tale of a girl who thinks she has fallen in love with someone. Her infatuation blurs the line between lust and love and leads to her having a physical relationship with a said lover.
She ends up getting pregnant and the story starts looking like the relationship ends pretty badly. It is possible that she points to getting an abortion when she sings these lyrics
“Questioning myself why you’re always waving, should I be used to goodbyes, baby?”
The unrequited love leads her to believe that hurting herself will make him come back so she turns to self harm. She also indicates to the baby growing in her womb makes her think otherwise.
“The love inside is all for you,
The world around grows bigger too.
Your taste is more than I can chew.
The two sides have grown on to me.
Tighten your chains till I am sore,
Even though my retina sight is poor.
You are the one who I adore
I’d hate to not see you!”
This cheery-sounding metal music is full of rage and has a much deeper meaning than one would imagine!
- The disappearance of Hatsune Miku
Hatsune Miku is obviously the most popular Vocaloid character we mentioned before. Unlike most Vocaloid songs, the lyrics and concept of this song are pretty clear. As the song progresses it begins to talk about how the character is just a program and nothing else.
Due to the insane popularity that Hatsune Miku has had, for the Vocaloid community, this is a really sad moment. The personified character goes on to talk about how she is bound to be the face of the Vocaloid and she is forever obligated to entertain the masses. Probably the saddest lyric in this song is
“Finally, singing is killing me.
I have never felt this
bad feeling before.
I feel alone. My heart
refuses to beat smoothly.
I wish I could be repaired.”
The personified character tells the story that is relatable to most people of being bound to do something because you are grateful for what you have received.
- Spiral
This is a song about how having monotonous days can lead to having a new spiral of thoughts. People who know about or have been diagnosed with depression will know that having a negative spiral is something very common for them.
One tends to lose interest in daily activities and chores and end up having self-sabotaging thoughts. Feelings of anxiety and self-blame for what has happened around us tend to surround and that is exactly what the protagonist is going through.
The lyrics are
“There is no possibility of escaping from inside this drawer
So many dormant futures of mine disappear as if they were only a mirage”
- Leave
Depression and heartbreak are very close to each other and this song has one such story behind it. This is about a relationship that the protagonist knows, is deemed to end.
But the hopeless romantic in her is optimistic and waiting for a miracle to happen.
She also knows that it will eventually end but she continues to stay for the memories she can collect. The denial is very evident.
“If we could meet again after 10 years, then that’d surely mean that we were bound together,
on paths we set out on which will never meet–
the two of us by a red string”
“We knew we’d be separated, yet we had loved,
we’d love another, and just can’t let go, can’t throw these feelings away.
All of mine, I wanted to make you all mine”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): What do you mean by Vocaloid Songs about Depression?
Are all Vocaloid songs depressing?
No, Vocaloid is just a software program used to create vocals and can be about any concept.
What does P mean in Vocaloid?
P in Vocaloid refers to producer and it came for the Idolmaster.
Who is Hatsune Miku?
She is the mascot of the most popular Vocaloid program. She has features that are unique to her personified character – a 16-year-old girl with Twin Turquoise Tails.
Why is Vocaloid so famous?
The Japanese in particular are fascinated by the concept and have even attended live concerts of the holographic image performing. They have a cultural attachment to it and the mascots play a role for them to be able to connect with the character in the song.
Can anyone use Vocaloid?
Yes, Vocaloid can be used by anyone and it is especially used a lot in songs that are related to depression.
Did Hatsune Miku die?
No, the software is still used. The character was shown to have died in a song called ‘The disappearance of Hatsune Miku’.
Conclusion
The Vocaloid community has expanded itself into multiple genres and the representation of a Vocaloid program by a mascot has taken the emotional attachment of its audience to a different level. This software helps Music Producers get recognition because Vocaloid is equivalent to an instrument that has been used by the producer.
The strong connection between Anime and storytelling has created multiple concepts about which songs have been written. Depression is one such topic.
The explicit and expressive graphics and lyrics in these music videos let the people who are going through things mentally relate very well with them, However, whether this is a good thing or not, is debatable.
References
Vocaloid songs about depression https://www.deviantart.com/fangirlotaku7/journal/Vocaloid-Songs-to-Listen-to-When-You-re-Depressed-487428926
Vocaloid songs of depression and mental health playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_vdmUqgn18VSQaQKC30Cg9rL66Mds8OB