Vinphonic
10-17-2017, 02:37 AM
The Legacy of Japanese Composers
Yasunori Mitsuda & Natsumi Kameoka
Yasunori Mitsuda is one of Japan's most famous composers, known for his game scores and recently anime. He's an influental figure in the Japanese scoring world with his own Procyon Studio and a full orchestra recording hall. To this day Mitsuda sourrounds himself with talented orchestrators, recently Mariam Abounnasr who contributed a great deal to the wonderful sound of Valkyria and Xenoblade 2.
Kid Icarus / Palutena's Mirror (edited and rearranged complete score version) is still one of the greatest game scores to come out from Japan, a collaboration between Mitsuda and Kameoka respectivly. Kameoka's and Mitsuda's arrangement of Sakuraba and friends elevated unusually good music from unusual suspects to incredible levels of fun. It's truely a musical rollercoaster ride full of orchestral thrills and crazy rock, with some nice themes and big Hollywood bombast.
Inazuma Eleven follows in its footsteps (this is a compilation of all their orchestral works so far), while not reaching the same heights, it is a pretty massive Hollywoodesque score that has much to love. Kameoka 's and Mitsuda's solo projects are no throwaways either.
Kantai especially is great military bravado and great Hollywood bombast in a battle for the planet (I should also mention Kameoka is a big fan of Zimmer's Backdraft ;)). Likewise Mitusda's Xenosaga and Valkyria have some really sublime moments while sounding at times like a 90s adventure film. The rest are all fun, or serious, good quality rides (in Kameoka's case beefed up by her superior orchestration skills).
Mitsuda really stepped up his game for Book of the Atlantic (featuring my film score arrangement from those dissatisfying short cues). It's really good film music, classical, elegant and punchy. It makes me really anticipate his score for Xenoblade 2.
LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!wnIEXDqD!XSFlziM1j0ht8xXZwVe02C0sgtyQ1qktU94W3TxU1YQ)
And just to highlight Book of the Atlantic, here's a custom cover by Doublehex:
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)
New releases/compilations:
Yasunori Mitsuda and Nintendo Sound Team
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Orchestrated by Yasunori Mitsuda and Mariam Abounnasr / Arranged by Mariam Abounnasr
Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchesta / Bratislava Symphony Choir / Procyon Studio Orchestra / AN�NA Celtic Choir / Procyon Studio Band
DOWNLOAD (https://mega.nz/#!SIp2gJLC!uw_FcijbpP9feXAHttGwuYt1xw2wOpyPAqDxzmEHrmw)
SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wkwqj)
Hello, I’m Yasunori Mitsuda. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was the biggest and most challenging project I have ever worked on. It consisted of a number of processes, including composing (needless to say), acting as a coordinator (for recording sessions), a producer (managing budgets) and working as a sound director, managing schedules, proofreading every composer’s scores, finaliziing/brushing up the scores and printing them all out, looking at the sound controls for Nintendo Switch, etc. I was careful especially in choosing the musicians, and in being efficient in recording sessions as much as possible. Another point to highlight was that musicians from all over the world were involved, such as a chorus from Slovakia, an orchestra from Japan, vocal songs sung by Ms. Jen Bird, who came all the way from England, and finally the Irish chorus group AN�NA.
All kinds of genres of music were made, so I am sure that the game will not bore you no matter how long you play it.
I was invited by the director [Tetsuya] Takahashi (Taka-san) to be involved in the project of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 back on December 9th 2014, which I was very excited about. Three months later, we held a meeting to discuss the direction of the music, and the sound that Taka-san required. Then after a few more months – when the direction and the amount of music were all set – we held another meeting including ACE and [Kenji] Hiramatsu-san to decide who would write for what. Although generally we divided the music equally, I think the decision was made rather smoothly, considering that we wanted the fans to be satisfied, and we did not want to ruin the image that was already set by the first Xenoblade Chronicles. Each composer was in touch directly with Taka-san to communicate about the music they were working on. For some of the demos, I had phone calls from Taka-san, asking for my opinion on the music in question. Then we’d usually have the same thought and agree on something like, “Yeah, maybe that’s not right.” When Taka-san turns down a demo, he tells the composer exactly what is required in a clear way. He does so by putting himself into the composer’s position, and choosing the words he uses wisely, which makes it easy to make any necessary amendments. Another thing is, when I work with Taka-san I always want to bring in some new musicians or music on board, and for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 I wanted to work with the Irish chorus group AN�NA. I thought that with AN�NA, having their distinctive sound, it would be possible to express the mystical and majestic sound which fits well with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 . Surprisingly, AN�NA were planning on coming to Japan for a different project, so I soon asked for their schedule for a recording session. This was an absolute miracle! The vocal pieces, which AN�NA sings, are all important town songs, where the lyrics are written by Taka-san himself. Perhaps you may understand the game fully once you understand the meaning of the words…
The first time that I came across the Irish chorus group AN�NA was from one of their albums released in 1996, called "Deep Dead Blue". Back then I was totally into the music of Northern Europe, including Finland, Ireland, Scotland and the Mediterranean region. Usually world music consists of a land's distinctive instruments, whereas AN�NA found their way of expression through the human voice, which can be considered the original musical instrument. The album "Deep Dead Blue" really gave me a huge impression, as the chorus wasn’t like a classical one, nor Gregorian, or Bulgarian… I felt that AN�NA was a new type of chorus that I’d never heard before. My attention was drawn to the lead singer, Michael McGlynn, and I dreamt about making music with AN�NA one day. After 20 years, my dream came true through the making of the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
A huge chunk of the game's score is symphonic and performed by the Kanagawa Philharmonic and the Bratislava Symphony Choir with thankfully only a few pieces on loop. It certainly is majestic and ethereal. The rest of the score also features a massive studio orchestra and band ensemble from full on Hollywood action cue to celtic folk to smashing rock. Finally there’s the aformentioned celtic choir AN�NA with a couple of ethereal pieces.
This album is all pieces with an orchestra and choir, from symphony to rock band. I edited the score so that the non-cutscene pieces only loop once and the fade-outs sound more natural and arranged all tracks. Everything properly tagged.
To show just how massive this game score is, here's two hours of Outtakes. (https://mega.nz/#!XVRVAI5Y!2aLkgGTSJ_JqT6r3KKZt1O_SXN0LgOfPvInoB2xje-8)
Some orchestral pieces I had to omit (mostly alternate versions) but nothing you will really miss.
The game score itself is basically another Gravity Daze 2 in style, just on a far bigger scale. There's a whole symphonic score in there that might as well be another Xenosaga. The other part is basically the most massive Inazuma Eleven score ever (you will know as you listen along).
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is all I love about Japanese scores: No restrictions/conventions, all full out freedom of expression, from smashing rock to 60s superhero kitsch to pure symphony orchestra to pure choral pieces. It all has Mitsuda's trademark. I would even say Abounnasr does a better "supporting" job than Kameoka did, whose solo path was inevitable. Valkyria, Book of the Atlantic and now Xenoblade 2 make it evident Abounnasr was the best thing that could have happened to Mitsuda.
The symphonic parts are at least equal to Valkyria (but missing special pieces like the Anthem) and evoking majesty, grandour and finishing with a stellar cue "Elysium" which is an evolution of "New World" from Xenosaga. While the hybrid cues don’t reach Gravity Daze 2 level of excellence (then again Tanaka set a new benchmark that will stay almost impossible to ever top for many years to come). This is a score that truely has something for everyone. It's incredibly well made and produced. It's as equally good fun as it is symphonically pleasing.
It is Mitsuda’s biggest project to date and while it is not the thrillride Kid Icarus is, or cohesive classical inspired symphonic film score that is Valkyria and Book of the Atlantic, it is nonetheless a marvelous commendable effort. Great fun all around and at its core, a full symphonic work.
Yasunori Mitsuda & Natsumi Kameoka
Yasunori Mitsuda is one of Japan's most famous composers, known for his game scores and recently anime. He's an influental figure in the Japanese scoring world with his own Procyon Studio and a full orchestra recording hall. To this day Mitsuda sourrounds himself with talented orchestrators, recently Mariam Abounnasr who contributed a great deal to the wonderful sound of Valkyria and Xenoblade 2.
Kid Icarus / Palutena's Mirror (edited and rearranged complete score version) is still one of the greatest game scores to come out from Japan, a collaboration between Mitsuda and Kameoka respectivly. Kameoka's and Mitsuda's arrangement of Sakuraba and friends elevated unusually good music from unusual suspects to incredible levels of fun. It's truely a musical rollercoaster ride full of orchestral thrills and crazy rock, with some nice themes and big Hollywood bombast.
Inazuma Eleven follows in its footsteps (this is a compilation of all their orchestral works so far), while not reaching the same heights, it is a pretty massive Hollywoodesque score that has much to love. Kameoka 's and Mitsuda's solo projects are no throwaways either.
Kantai especially is great military bravado and great Hollywood bombast in a battle for the planet (I should also mention Kameoka is a big fan of Zimmer's Backdraft ;)). Likewise Mitusda's Xenosaga and Valkyria have some really sublime moments while sounding at times like a 90s adventure film. The rest are all fun, or serious, good quality rides (in Kameoka's case beefed up by her superior orchestration skills).
Mitsuda really stepped up his game for Book of the Atlantic (featuring my film score arrangement from those dissatisfying short cues). It's really good film music, classical, elegant and punchy. It makes me really anticipate his score for Xenoblade 2.
LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!wnIEXDqD!XSFlziM1j0ht8xXZwVe02C0sgtyQ1qktU94W3TxU1YQ)
And just to highlight Book of the Atlantic, here's a custom cover by Doublehex:
()New releases/compilations:
Yasunori Mitsuda and Nintendo Sound Team
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Orchestrated by Yasunori Mitsuda and Mariam Abounnasr / Arranged by Mariam Abounnasr
Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchesta / Bratislava Symphony Choir / Procyon Studio Orchestra / AN�NA Celtic Choir / Procyon Studio Band
DOWNLOAD (https://mega.nz/#!SIp2gJLC!uw_FcijbpP9feXAHttGwuYt1xw2wOpyPAqDxzmEHrmw)
SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wkwqj)
Hello, I’m Yasunori Mitsuda. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was the biggest and most challenging project I have ever worked on. It consisted of a number of processes, including composing (needless to say), acting as a coordinator (for recording sessions), a producer (managing budgets) and working as a sound director, managing schedules, proofreading every composer’s scores, finaliziing/brushing up the scores and printing them all out, looking at the sound controls for Nintendo Switch, etc. I was careful especially in choosing the musicians, and in being efficient in recording sessions as much as possible. Another point to highlight was that musicians from all over the world were involved, such as a chorus from Slovakia, an orchestra from Japan, vocal songs sung by Ms. Jen Bird, who came all the way from England, and finally the Irish chorus group AN�NA.
All kinds of genres of music were made, so I am sure that the game will not bore you no matter how long you play it.
I was invited by the director [Tetsuya] Takahashi (Taka-san) to be involved in the project of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 back on December 9th 2014, which I was very excited about. Three months later, we held a meeting to discuss the direction of the music, and the sound that Taka-san required. Then after a few more months – when the direction and the amount of music were all set – we held another meeting including ACE and [Kenji] Hiramatsu-san to decide who would write for what. Although generally we divided the music equally, I think the decision was made rather smoothly, considering that we wanted the fans to be satisfied, and we did not want to ruin the image that was already set by the first Xenoblade Chronicles. Each composer was in touch directly with Taka-san to communicate about the music they were working on. For some of the demos, I had phone calls from Taka-san, asking for my opinion on the music in question. Then we’d usually have the same thought and agree on something like, “Yeah, maybe that’s not right.” When Taka-san turns down a demo, he tells the composer exactly what is required in a clear way. He does so by putting himself into the composer’s position, and choosing the words he uses wisely, which makes it easy to make any necessary amendments. Another thing is, when I work with Taka-san I always want to bring in some new musicians or music on board, and for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 I wanted to work with the Irish chorus group AN�NA. I thought that with AN�NA, having their distinctive sound, it would be possible to express the mystical and majestic sound which fits well with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 . Surprisingly, AN�NA were planning on coming to Japan for a different project, so I soon asked for their schedule for a recording session. This was an absolute miracle! The vocal pieces, which AN�NA sings, are all important town songs, where the lyrics are written by Taka-san himself. Perhaps you may understand the game fully once you understand the meaning of the words…
The first time that I came across the Irish chorus group AN�NA was from one of their albums released in 1996, called "Deep Dead Blue". Back then I was totally into the music of Northern Europe, including Finland, Ireland, Scotland and the Mediterranean region. Usually world music consists of a land's distinctive instruments, whereas AN�NA found their way of expression through the human voice, which can be considered the original musical instrument. The album "Deep Dead Blue" really gave me a huge impression, as the chorus wasn’t like a classical one, nor Gregorian, or Bulgarian… I felt that AN�NA was a new type of chorus that I’d never heard before. My attention was drawn to the lead singer, Michael McGlynn, and I dreamt about making music with AN�NA one day. After 20 years, my dream came true through the making of the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
A huge chunk of the game's score is symphonic and performed by the Kanagawa Philharmonic and the Bratislava Symphony Choir with thankfully only a few pieces on loop. It certainly is majestic and ethereal. The rest of the score also features a massive studio orchestra and band ensemble from full on Hollywood action cue to celtic folk to smashing rock. Finally there’s the aformentioned celtic choir AN�NA with a couple of ethereal pieces.
This album is all pieces with an orchestra and choir, from symphony to rock band. I edited the score so that the non-cutscene pieces only loop once and the fade-outs sound more natural and arranged all tracks. Everything properly tagged.
To show just how massive this game score is, here's two hours of Outtakes. (https://mega.nz/#!XVRVAI5Y!2aLkgGTSJ_JqT6r3KKZt1O_SXN0LgOfPvInoB2xje-8)
Some orchestral pieces I had to omit (mostly alternate versions) but nothing you will really miss.
The game score itself is basically another Gravity Daze 2 in style, just on a far bigger scale. There's a whole symphonic score in there that might as well be another Xenosaga. The other part is basically the most massive Inazuma Eleven score ever (you will know as you listen along).
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is all I love about Japanese scores: No restrictions/conventions, all full out freedom of expression, from smashing rock to 60s superhero kitsch to pure symphony orchestra to pure choral pieces. It all has Mitsuda's trademark. I would even say Abounnasr does a better "supporting" job than Kameoka did, whose solo path was inevitable. Valkyria, Book of the Atlantic and now Xenoblade 2 make it evident Abounnasr was the best thing that could have happened to Mitsuda.
The symphonic parts are at least equal to Valkyria (but missing special pieces like the Anthem) and evoking majesty, grandour and finishing with a stellar cue "Elysium" which is an evolution of "New World" from Xenosaga. While the hybrid cues don’t reach Gravity Daze 2 level of excellence (then again Tanaka set a new benchmark that will stay almost impossible to ever top for many years to come). This is a score that truely has something for everyone. It's incredibly well made and produced. It's as equally good fun as it is symphonically pleasing.
It is Mitsuda’s biggest project to date and while it is not the thrillride Kid Icarus is, or cohesive classical inspired symphonic film score that is Valkyria and Book of the Atlantic, it is nonetheless a marvelous commendable effort. Great fun all around and at its core, a full symphonic work.