Vinphonic
10-03-2017, 06:21 PM
The Legacy of Japanese Composers
Yoshihiro Ike
Yoshihiro Ike is yet another Japanese composer with a distinctive voice and much display of classical and film music knowledge. Sometimes you catch him incorporating Dvorak’s New World Symphony into a score or directly quote Silvestri or Williams.
Some of his work can be really hit or miss and he is not one I would associate with great movie themes and he occasionally ventures into RC territory a bit too much but his classical film scoring sensibilities have improved over the years and if he is given an opportunity to do it like in the 80s, boy does he fire the guns. He always had a favor for large choral works in the vein of Verdi or Orff and certainly loves to deploy the orchestra’s low register in full force with cimbassi and contrabass bones.
He’s currently the “in-house” composer of Japanese company “Cygames” and is scoring numerous anime, games, TV-dramas and Live-action films. He also hosts various orchestral concerts of his media work, for example Bahamut or Tiger&Bunny.
A 20th anniversary album of his music was released of which I’ve selected all orchestral tracks for a good introduction of his work.
Rage of Bahamut: Genesis is a Hollywood rollercoaster, going full Mask of Zorro or Carmina Burana. Ike was involved in one of the rare instances of a TV-anime being scored to picture so this is in essence a film score and it sure as hell impresses like one. Bombastic choral marches and villain themes for Demons, ethereal choral passages for Angels and frantic brass action for battles. Bahamut is a dream project for any composer wanting to write like the good old days and Ike delivered here perhaps the best score of his career. I personally can’t wait to hear all of his recent score for Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul and his game score for Tempest of the Gods which is scored in similar manner.
For the game Crimson Sea 2 Ike employs a real symphony orchestra and sends us again on an epic orchestral voyage but more in the context of the concert realm and less the big screen.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms X is another score performed by a big orchestra with much Chinese flair and classic Hollywood moments.
REIDEEN is a modern action score done right with much classical bravado and choral action.
The Great Passage is a full-on romantic detour full of uplifting moments that put a smile on your face. This optimistic drama score certainly lifts your spirit and here Ike employs his matured sensibilities.
Tiger & Bunny is a modern superhero score done right, with catchy themes, great action set-pieces that hold your attention for several minutes, spy-movie flair and classic film music moments. This is a combination of all the scores for the franchise, even including the musical homages to Nolan’s and Tim Burton’s Batman films.
With The Empire of Corpses and The Dark Side of Dimensions Ike continues to evoke the RC scoring style but like Sato he does this with the knowledge of a classical film composer so the result is haunting thrillers with major setpieces like “Playback of the soul” that is in part concerto for organ and orchestra.
Asura is a dark and depressing tale with much modern scoring elements but also symphonic beauty at the end.
Welcome to the Space Show is in parts classic ScFi and in parts Americana score with some real heartwarming moments.
Kamichu! Is a nice and relaxing afternoon score with guitar and chamber ensemble. His melody for the Highschool girls is incredibly catchy and puts a smile on my face.
Rush Hour is a great testament how much Ike’s style has matured. and if you consider his recent output and future projects (something similiar to Super Robot Wars in summer), he’s never been in better shape. Intriguing times ahead.
LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!Zm5ggbiZ!UEofsO_Fs_4wu0Ju8Jw7cJ_T94KMh-fae6V0mTz3-M8)
New releases/compilations:
Yoshihiro Ike's Rage of Bahamut
Presented and remastered by Vinphonic
Part I: Genesis
Download (https://mega.nz/#!7zpiyCLK!B6JXodg2R5x3dpZEDg9BqimyU8b6a1xxr2sjxEMwXY0) / Remastered (https://mega.nz/#!uuwGxYTD!Wlw-gTtL8RfYB_tLSU7jSgSmZP6TWuzf5A1zX1w0aMU)
SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wqdwW/)
This also includes the OVA End Title and an action cue from Shadowverse straight out of Bahamut.
Rage of Bahamut is unique in the anime scoring world. The two shows for the franchise recieved true scored-to-picture Hollywood Fantasy scores with a massive budget for a TV show: A 60-Piece Orchestra, a 40-Piece Choir and in total over five hours of film score, 90% of it scored to picture. Ike recorded the respective scores not in a single session but across the show's runtime in various studios. The music uses his instantly recognizable style, from writing (he favors low brass and loves cimbasso) to sound (german gibberish choir) but he certainly found his spark with this franchise. It's just leaps and bounds above his other work, even including the symphonic score Crimson Sea 2. The music is highly energetic, thematic and emotional, especially in Virgin Soul.
Genesis also has perhaps the best soundtrack feature ever, a Blu-Ray with the (beautiful) show's key scenes just with the music, with reverb volumes turned up for maximum effect. I already elaborated on the scores strenghts. And this video is a good reminder: Rage of Bahamut - Music to tell a story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Ce1q5SMiE)
As an alternative listen, I remastered with the greatest care the rather dry and thin Japanese studio sound to a Hollywood accoustic since it just feels "right" with a Hollywood sound (for obvious reasons).
Part II: Virgin Soul
Download (https://mega.nz/#!7ixCwS4Q!1grypVIv5bxZhmYakw7PRczLg-v8VaSCwxhdMMW76II) / Remastered (https://mega.nz/#!j6gg2KKb!RpaLNg2ed7cqpIGH7ecttEio5SDAsJQBJRXrT0ak0Ww)
SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wqdw5)
This includes the entire soundtrack plus outtakes. It has to be said this is not nearly all of the music from the show. A piece I personally missed (and included) was the descant horn piece heard in the first act. Other pieces escape my memory right now but I feel satisfied enough with the amount that's there.
I strongly recommend listening to the two scores in chronological order to get the most out of Virgin Soul. Comparing both, Genesis is more raw and presents the major character themes that carry over to Virgin Soul (Bahamut, Amira, Favaro, Jeanne d'Arc). It's kind of like Star Wars and Empire. Or to be more exact SEED and SEED Destiny. Virgin Soul is more sophisticated, more tragic and has the best theme of the franchise so far (Ike has sense of humor and models his theme for the Dragon Girl after Powell's HTTYD). In technical terms Virgin Souls cues are twice as long as Genesis on average, including some stellar four-five minute cues. The score also gets very operatic. The main villain's theme is presented from the very start, in a smashing opening, immidentally followed by the adorable Dragon Girl and these themes intertwine quite a lot later on, even including a love theme. Other highlights include everything about El and the Angels. The last act is pretty much a nonstop tour de force of choir and orchestra before leaving us with an emotional farewell.
Virgin Soul is without question Ike's best work to date. A shame there's no bonus Blu-Ray like the first soundtrack (then again, apart from the visuals and the music the show was a mess and destroyed any chance of a decent High Fantasy franchise). Considering Cygames prints money and their cardgames are selling like hotcakes, another series in the future is very likely.
Finally, it has to be said that Ike, right now, after Bahamut, whenever he scores Fantasy, is a composer I love:
Rise of Bahamut (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmwbdENv8VA)
Tempest of the Gods (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Yz8aPUajE)
Wonderland Dreams (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q4-KdmbdnI)
Starfold Legends (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhsn-rRUx3s)
Chronogenesis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jj-Y6czhus)
Tournament (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiXZmgdk4NQ)
Dawnbreak (Dawnbreak, Nightedge)
Brigade of the Sky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shIFh6ZSM2o)
They should really hurry up with a new soundtrack for Shadowverse.
Right now he is a composer I closely follow: CANZONE (http://picosong.com/wqUWU/)
Yoshihiro Ike - Shadowverse: Suite for Orchestra and Chorus (https://mega.nz/#!u7gyDCzR!i8N4toW_S55ShMrISxC6kdEX5uedjqj_3hCHgG24D2o)
Yoshihiro Ike
Yoshihiro Ike is yet another Japanese composer with a distinctive voice and much display of classical and film music knowledge. Sometimes you catch him incorporating Dvorak’s New World Symphony into a score or directly quote Silvestri or Williams.
Some of his work can be really hit or miss and he is not one I would associate with great movie themes and he occasionally ventures into RC territory a bit too much but his classical film scoring sensibilities have improved over the years and if he is given an opportunity to do it like in the 80s, boy does he fire the guns. He always had a favor for large choral works in the vein of Verdi or Orff and certainly loves to deploy the orchestra’s low register in full force with cimbassi and contrabass bones.
He’s currently the “in-house” composer of Japanese company “Cygames” and is scoring numerous anime, games, TV-dramas and Live-action films. He also hosts various orchestral concerts of his media work, for example Bahamut or Tiger&Bunny.
A 20th anniversary album of his music was released of which I’ve selected all orchestral tracks for a good introduction of his work.
Rage of Bahamut: Genesis is a Hollywood rollercoaster, going full Mask of Zorro or Carmina Burana. Ike was involved in one of the rare instances of a TV-anime being scored to picture so this is in essence a film score and it sure as hell impresses like one. Bombastic choral marches and villain themes for Demons, ethereal choral passages for Angels and frantic brass action for battles. Bahamut is a dream project for any composer wanting to write like the good old days and Ike delivered here perhaps the best score of his career. I personally can’t wait to hear all of his recent score for Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul and his game score for Tempest of the Gods which is scored in similar manner.
For the game Crimson Sea 2 Ike employs a real symphony orchestra and sends us again on an epic orchestral voyage but more in the context of the concert realm and less the big screen.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms X is another score performed by a big orchestra with much Chinese flair and classic Hollywood moments.
REIDEEN is a modern action score done right with much classical bravado and choral action.
The Great Passage is a full-on romantic detour full of uplifting moments that put a smile on your face. This optimistic drama score certainly lifts your spirit and here Ike employs his matured sensibilities.
Tiger & Bunny is a modern superhero score done right, with catchy themes, great action set-pieces that hold your attention for several minutes, spy-movie flair and classic film music moments. This is a combination of all the scores for the franchise, even including the musical homages to Nolan’s and Tim Burton’s Batman films.
With The Empire of Corpses and The Dark Side of Dimensions Ike continues to evoke the RC scoring style but like Sato he does this with the knowledge of a classical film composer so the result is haunting thrillers with major setpieces like “Playback of the soul” that is in part concerto for organ and orchestra.
Asura is a dark and depressing tale with much modern scoring elements but also symphonic beauty at the end.
Welcome to the Space Show is in parts classic ScFi and in parts Americana score with some real heartwarming moments.
Kamichu! Is a nice and relaxing afternoon score with guitar and chamber ensemble. His melody for the Highschool girls is incredibly catchy and puts a smile on my face.
Rush Hour is a great testament how much Ike’s style has matured. and if you consider his recent output and future projects (something similiar to Super Robot Wars in summer), he’s never been in better shape. Intriguing times ahead.
LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!Zm5ggbiZ!UEofsO_Fs_4wu0Ju8Jw7cJ_T94KMh-fae6V0mTz3-M8)
New releases/compilations:
Yoshihiro Ike's Rage of Bahamut
Presented and remastered by Vinphonic
Part I: Genesis
Download (https://mega.nz/#!7zpiyCLK!B6JXodg2R5x3dpZEDg9BqimyU8b6a1xxr2sjxEMwXY0) / Remastered (https://mega.nz/#!uuwGxYTD!Wlw-gTtL8RfYB_tLSU7jSgSmZP6TWuzf5A1zX1w0aMU)
SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wqdwW/)
This also includes the OVA End Title and an action cue from Shadowverse straight out of Bahamut.
Rage of Bahamut is unique in the anime scoring world. The two shows for the franchise recieved true scored-to-picture Hollywood Fantasy scores with a massive budget for a TV show: A 60-Piece Orchestra, a 40-Piece Choir and in total over five hours of film score, 90% of it scored to picture. Ike recorded the respective scores not in a single session but across the show's runtime in various studios. The music uses his instantly recognizable style, from writing (he favors low brass and loves cimbasso) to sound (german gibberish choir) but he certainly found his spark with this franchise. It's just leaps and bounds above his other work, even including the symphonic score Crimson Sea 2. The music is highly energetic, thematic and emotional, especially in Virgin Soul.
Genesis also has perhaps the best soundtrack feature ever, a Blu-Ray with the (beautiful) show's key scenes just with the music, with reverb volumes turned up for maximum effect. I already elaborated on the scores strenghts. And this video is a good reminder: Rage of Bahamut - Music to tell a story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Ce1q5SMiE)
As an alternative listen, I remastered with the greatest care the rather dry and thin Japanese studio sound to a Hollywood accoustic since it just feels "right" with a Hollywood sound (for obvious reasons).
Part II: Virgin Soul
Download (https://mega.nz/#!7ixCwS4Q!1grypVIv5bxZhmYakw7PRczLg-v8VaSCwxhdMMW76II) / Remastered (https://mega.nz/#!j6gg2KKb!RpaLNg2ed7cqpIGH7ecttEio5SDAsJQBJRXrT0ak0Ww)
SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wqdw5)
This includes the entire soundtrack plus outtakes. It has to be said this is not nearly all of the music from the show. A piece I personally missed (and included) was the descant horn piece heard in the first act. Other pieces escape my memory right now but I feel satisfied enough with the amount that's there.
I strongly recommend listening to the two scores in chronological order to get the most out of Virgin Soul. Comparing both, Genesis is more raw and presents the major character themes that carry over to Virgin Soul (Bahamut, Amira, Favaro, Jeanne d'Arc). It's kind of like Star Wars and Empire. Or to be more exact SEED and SEED Destiny. Virgin Soul is more sophisticated, more tragic and has the best theme of the franchise so far (Ike has sense of humor and models his theme for the Dragon Girl after Powell's HTTYD). In technical terms Virgin Souls cues are twice as long as Genesis on average, including some stellar four-five minute cues. The score also gets very operatic. The main villain's theme is presented from the very start, in a smashing opening, immidentally followed by the adorable Dragon Girl and these themes intertwine quite a lot later on, even including a love theme. Other highlights include everything about El and the Angels. The last act is pretty much a nonstop tour de force of choir and orchestra before leaving us with an emotional farewell.
Virgin Soul is without question Ike's best work to date. A shame there's no bonus Blu-Ray like the first soundtrack (then again, apart from the visuals and the music the show was a mess and destroyed any chance of a decent High Fantasy franchise). Considering Cygames prints money and their cardgames are selling like hotcakes, another series in the future is very likely.
Finally, it has to be said that Ike, right now, after Bahamut, whenever he scores Fantasy, is a composer I love:
Rise of Bahamut (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmwbdENv8VA)
Tempest of the Gods (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Yz8aPUajE)
Wonderland Dreams (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q4-KdmbdnI)
Starfold Legends (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhsn-rRUx3s)
Chronogenesis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jj-Y6czhus)
Tournament (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiXZmgdk4NQ)
Dawnbreak (Dawnbreak, Nightedge)
Brigade of the Sky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shIFh6ZSM2o)
They should really hurry up with a new soundtrack for Shadowverse.
Right now he is a composer I closely follow: CANZONE (http://picosong.com/wqUWU/)
Yoshihiro Ike - Shadowverse: Suite for Orchestra and Chorus (https://mega.nz/#!u7gyDCzR!i8N4toW_S55ShMrISxC6kdEX5uedjqj_3hCHgG24D2o)