Kikuo North American Tour “Kikuoland” at Regent Theater, Los Angeles

Famed Vocaloid producer Kikuo returned to Los Angeles this month as part of his solo Kikuoland North American tour. He closed out the last of his three stops at the Regent Theater in Downtown LA on March 17th. Previously, he came to LA as part of bo en’s Pale Machine 10 Year Anniversary tour in January but only had a limited set list. This time, fans could enjoy a longer 90-minute set that highlighted the full spectrum of Kikuo’s discography.

Prior to the start of the show, the Vocaloid producer spoke with JaME about his time in the US and gave insight into how much work he puts into his performances. “Originally, I wanted to make music for video games, but it didn’t work out well for me,” Kikuo explained. “Once I changed to a self-produced musician for Vocaloid songs, it worked out better."

Before kicking off his tour, Kikuo performed as a special musical guest at SXSW. “I’m glad the people who heard my music for the first time, who don’t know the meaning of the Japanese lyrics, think that my music is fun and interesting,” he said. Unbeknownst to many of the guests having their first encounter with his music, in-between the danceable, catchy electronic sounds of his songs lie dark, disturbing lyrics. Of course, his fans were also there to support him, so the Japanese musician wasn’t playing to a completely unfamiliar crowd.


While overseas, Kikuo speaks directly to the crowd in English. However, he wants to clarify that he can only speak basic English. “I want to tell everyone who comments on my English that I’m panicking when I respond. Please tell them I’m upset! (laughs)” Although he did learn some English in school, he largely consumes the language through memes. “Recently, I’m always watching memes from chess YouTubers because my hobby is playing chess. And of course, I’ve watched 'Queen’s Gambit'.”

However, his music continues to transcend language and genre preference. Although he had a hard time figuring out which song was the most popular amongst the SXSW crowd, the most intense dancing came from his most popular hits. “For my fans it was the usual ones: Aishite Aishite, Dekinai Ko and Kara Kara Kara no Kara. For those who didn’t know my music, songs that don’t have a lot of lyrics were the most popular.”

Admittedly, Kikuo finds every performance challenging and takes extensive notes to help better shape his set lists. “It’s a bit of trial and error,” he said after scrolling through pages of his digital memo pad. “The most surprising thing in the US and Mexico is that they like singing more than the fans in Japan. Since everyone tries to sing, I tried to include more songs in the set list that people can sing so they can feel energized.” Naturally, as a producer, he likes to think about what everyone wants, and what gets the crowd most excited. For example, Kikuo times how long the silent parts between songs should be, and how long people should jump and sway their arms, etc. “I also try to test out Japanese words in every country, starting with Mexico for this tour. I couldn’t do it during bo en’s tour, but I try to see how the crowd reacts to the call and response. During the Mexico stop, the ‘tamashi’ call did very well but ‘mawaru’ did not.”

During this tour, Kikuo has been able to find more freedom in creating his set list. While he was part of bo en’s tour, Kikuo had to condense his discography into only 40 minutes. “I can only play my most famous and popular songs: Aishite Aishite Aishite, Shikabane no Odori, Kimi ha Dekinai Ko, Anagura-gurashi, Gomenne Gomenne, and Pokkan Color.” These six songs already take up more than half the time. But in a longer show, the musician can include songs that reach a different kind of fan. “There’s a greater chance someone will hear the song that makes them go crazy, like their personal ‘maniac song’ that gets them energized. A long set list is more comfortable for me since I can play something for everyone.”


That sentiment was clearly reflected during the Los Angeles show, as Kikuo had no problem promoting Yume Miru Kikai Ningyo as his “most unpopular song.” After performing across the US, he joked that he’s “probably performed more here than in Japan.” Looking back at Kikuo’s comment on having more control over the flow of his set, he took the time to wax poetic during songs with long periods of instrumentals. “Wataame doesn’t seem to work in Japan, but the US and Mexico seem to like it. It’s a slow tempo experimental song.”

In a surprise turn of events, he played two songs from “under a different name.” Both are from his "Asian Melancholic" alias (@asianmelancholic7287), whose last video upload was over seven years ago. The songs crawl to their finish, with a more experimental flare than his published Vocaloid works.

At the end of his concert, Kikuo wanted to dedicate the last portion to connect fully with the audience. As a replacement for an encore song, his character Hoshi-kun came onstage to join in the festivities. For the last song, Natsu no Ame no Hi no Omoide, he had one last chance to make his vision come true. “I gave about a sentence of instruction that turned out to be too complex in Dallas and Mexico City,” he shared prior to the show. “Since I wasn’t able to clearly articulate it before, this time in LA, I have the instructions written in English that will be shown on screen.” To his glee, everyone followed his directions to applaud in a way that perfectly formed the sound of rain.

Footage of Kikuo serving as support for bo en's Pale Machine 10 Year Anniversary tour can be viewed below, and you can scroll down for more photos from the Regent Theater show.