Orville episode 3... Loved it. A good meaty story with an ethical dilemma (and the ending you DIDN'T expect - and not because it's a stupid ending but because it's a melancholy ending) - and Joel McNeely's score is great - no outright plagiarism, no taking the mickey. A lovely suspense cue that opens out into a "wonder of space" moment - those score moments composers love writing. Some action. Sounds Goldsmithian, but where Debney copied and didn't take his score seriously in the slightest bit, McNeely scores 100% straight science fiction, AND IT WORKS. (There is one passage which seems to be *lightly* quoting Goldsmith's Alien.) Liked this one better than the pilot.

The green alien who isn't impressed by Bortus yelling at him has instantly became my favourite non-human character in any series or movie, ever, anywhere.

And Alara in the boxing ring is hot.

HAVE A SLIMY DAY!

And yet the critics are still hating on the show. They really don't like Seth for some reason. The audience seems to appreciate the show much more.

Anyways, we're getting the first 2 episodes of Discovery on Sunday. Expecting a disappointing score, but hoping for a decent show.

Glad to hear the music for episode 3 was good. I think we all will receive a soundtrack release with open hands. It eventually has to come, if Fox doesn't want to, I'm sure Seth himself personally will work on releasing it just so the fans can enjoy because he, like us, is a soundtrack/film music fan. Pretty sure he would want us to enjoy this music, too! But I wonder who will release it. Perhaps La-La-Land, in their history of Star Trek releases, as a spoof? They also released Family Guy so they may have a relation now. Who knows! But what's sure is that we're waiting for it eagerly. :)

Are the audiences good with the show? Given Fox's changes of schedules with it, and how the general public seems to hate McFarlane too, it's the trend, I'd expect the show would just rot and not be succesful at all. I'd be surprised if a second season is ordered.

Looks like Gamemp3s released the Kingdom Hearts concert album recently.

To be fair, the Manfred Symphony was an integral part of the story, but I don't think they recorded it specifically for the anime, like they did for Princess Tutu.



I thought about it and I can't find myself to agree. Yamato (especially 2202), Thunderbolt, Rakugo Shinjuu, Shirayuki, Onihei, Gundam The Origin and even the new Cardcaptor Sakura are just like old times!
Especially the remakes have gorgeous designs and music that stays true to the original spirit. Even Tomino's Gundam in G is as old-school as you can get (aside from the music) and even that gets five movies in the coming years.
Kabaneri may be senseless trash but it sure is gorgeous looking senseless trash with designs by Mikimoto Haruhiko, so the "retro" aesthetic is NOT DEAD (as long as the artists live).


So I would say the problem with LotGH is that it fell into the wrong hands. A clueless producer that wants to bank on a certain fanbase and doesn't give a shit about class.

For all intends and purposes they could have drawn the ships in 2D, or at least make the 3D on the level of Majestic Prince. But all the spectacle is pointless because the series lives through its dialogue and characters...

At least they gave it to a director whose done episodes of Yamato 2199 and Arc The Lad, but his main credentials are Kuroko no Basket and Dragonar Academy :/
The screenwriter at least worked on Texhnolyze, Koi Kaze and Baccano! but not exactly epic SciFi.

It only makes sense they would hire a composer in the same vain.

I smell Berserk 2016 happening all over again.


Case in point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc-UPPk5ZPQ&t=12s

Know why this won't suck?! because its directed by Morio Asaka, who not only directed the original series BUT also worked on the original LotGH (the irony) in addition to Monster, Gunslinger Girl and Chihayafuru.

That pattern continues with pretty much all the shows I named. Shirayuki's director Masahiro Ando has a preference for Oshima and worked on many high prestigeous projects. Gundam The Origin's and Thunderbolt's directors worked on original Gundam series. Only Rakugo Shinjuu's director is kinda green in the director's chair but he's been around since Princess Nine, and now he's one I look out for.

In the anime industry its not uncommon that a director works or has worked in all departments of production, from producing to even scoring. Like I said, it's so small they can't afford different unit directors and have to oversee pretty much all things themeselves, which Amika Kubo recently pointed out.

If hypothetically they couldn't get a composer then she would also have to do the music herself, which she very much has the credentials for. I guess that's one aspect I like about anime.

I might be wrong and LotGH will completely turn my opinion around regarding its director but if the music and direction in the trailer is what we end up with, I'm not convinced they truely care about this IP beyond the usual PR talk.






Masahiro Andoh / Keiichi Oku
Arc The Lad: Symphonic Suite
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra



Download [FLAC] (https://mega.nz/#!1n4CEIjT!sSwA3K3cKo91q5fcQkBt9h_3YXuCY-b-MVdjbrTomEg)

The link isn't working for some reason :(

It should work. At least for me it does...



@Tango: First time the comedy worked its charm on me, actually ;) And yes, it's truely a time travel. Delightful score straight out of the 80s and some good drama. I guess I'll watch it for now :D




Really amazing how fast the thread has been these past two weeks, I had to go an enternity back to get to this:


Fate Zero did really take my by surprise at some points. Other than the choir, Kajiura moved away from her usual cliches in that one. The pieces using an orchestra are rather simple, but surprisingly effective.

Now that its out in complete form, this one's for you Zipper:




Fate/Zero [Symphonic Suite] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBV_1AO5PTQ) / Download [MP3] (https://mega.nz/#!4qZhxZTR!6fAw4_dUzJ8ewR_hxVs2Hubtd3YhI1WVDpQWYX6u-u4)

The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Hirofumi Kurita
Arranged by Noriyuki Iwadare

Download: https://mega.nz/#!QU8GULpI!V08e6lU9PhkCX2aDE4PB-ts4bdzYysDlvNfAn8SkHt0

Edit - updated with English localized tags

Thanks for the godlike share!!!

So I have been thinking on music versus score.

The way I see it, score is how music is used to tell a story within a piece of media, while music is...well, the actual music, the enjoyment factor we get from hearing said music. (Okay, I need a better term for this). But when the score factor is done well, we have themes that evolve and change with the characters. As they evolve, so does the score.

But music is irrelevant of that. When I am on my PC listening to a soundtrack, the narrative cohesion of the score means jackshit. Music doesn't have to evolve for it to be enjoyable. I can still enjoy the music for INCEPTION despite how they do not tell a story, because it is just a fun and absurd score.

It's why I think talking about soundtracks is such a multi-faceted conversation. Because when you say "I enjoy X and Y an Z score" you are talking about not just the artistic collaboration between composer, producer and director, but also how you liked the sound of the music. A soundtrack could fail at one component, but totally succeed at the other. Plenty of Zimmer's soundtracks do the bare minimum for telling a story...but I have to be honest guys, plenty of his music is pretty damn fun to listen to. Call it a guilty pleasure if you will, but does something need to be good to be...well, good?

Yes, it must be good in order to be good. It doesn't have to be good for you to enjoy it.

This is the reason I'm currently listening to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8xP-qgNnGU

:D :D :D :D

But how do you define good Tango? Like...does a score need to work for it to work as an album? We can talk about thematic progressions from dusk til dawn, but if it's boring to listen to, then what is the point? I do not think it is an either or situation. The very best of soundtrack work both as a narrative as well as just sheer enjoyment. But...there have been plenty of soundtracks I enjoyed despite them not having any artistic merit. And isn't that the most important aspect of music...that you enjoy listening to it?

When I listen to soundtracks, themes are the last thing I am looking for. "Is this fun?" That has to be number one, because I buy albums to enjoy them, not to admire their artistic qualities. Before any of you get any funny ideas, that does not mean I want soundtracks to eject motifs and beautiful compositions.

But...scores vs music. I think it's an interesting duality when talking about soundtracks. Something can be a good soundtrack and a terrible score. Plenty of times I download a game soundtrack, and I like the music, but I know it's not saying anything about the story. And lots of times I can recognize how a score is a perfect compliment to the movie, show, game, what have you, but it is boring as shit to listen to when I am on my computer doing my writings or filling out applications.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9MLw6-08PU

Looks like Sonic Forces will be counting with an orchestra and none other than the LSO, not holding my breath that much for it either though, just expecting to get your typical couple of fully orchestrated cinematic pieces and ending credits without some of those renown Kontakt "Heavyocity Damage" drumloops that keeps playing unnecessarily on a otherwise quality performance.

Oh dear... at least it sounds nice...






In media scoring, I see music as two categories, music that tells a story and music that sets a vibe.

In both cases you can judge a story in how well its told (orchestral colors, chord progressions, Leitmotif, instrumentation, player skill etc.) and you can judge a vibe by how well the composition is put together and sets the mood (instruments used, tone colors etc.).

What you conclude largely depends on your preferences. This is were the subjective part kicks in.

One of my absolute favorite vibe pieces is Tanaka's Candlelit Journey (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogsdFHBv4r0)


I would also put Pop into the vibe category as well. Technically you could judge a pop piece by "A section, B section, bridge and so on" and how well does it do these parts in color, melody and development. Of course only if you want to, 99% of the time I just enjoy it :D

Some Japanese pop actually employs far more instruments and colors than one would expect from the genre (especially for anime) somehow not to mention in styles long declared as "dead" so that's probably why I'm so enchanted by it despite my distaste for engrish in music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XlYcdQQVmc (years of hard training made me immune to it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uajgIdzTtg (I said immune!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3jw89oIjmQ (the only P4 song I like, because of the massive 60s disco vibe and the lyrics are not about twerking I guess)


For me, pop gets interesting, the more colors, instruments (and skill in employing them) it has. It all depends how well each approach is put together.



Another vibe I love is this little catchy devil:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abg4po17O_s

Or this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvaosZlQqrY (if anyone is thinking modern anime is bad/or inferior to past decades (overall, excluding the quantity of symphonic "story" music) then thats a very narrow-minded accusation).

Or even this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyT2wbvXytk (shame it completely jumped the shark at the end, I guess a competent SciFi series from start to finish is hard to come by these days)


But we have this misconception that vibe nowadays musn't include melodies which goes against human nature, frankly. We, as humans, are engineered to be hooked on patterns and melodies are on paper nothing more than a sequence of patterns.

For me most modern film music is "boring" because it employs a very limited pallet of colors and chord progression. Not to mention it lacks counterpoint and section interplay. I don't enjoy this kind of music. If you use an orchestra you bloody well need to know how to wield it if you have 100 incredibly skilled players at your disposal, especially if I can pull up and listen to the whole of Vaughan Williams orchestral works with just a few clicks on youtube.

If you just make the orchestra play the most infantile ostinati imaginable, then I will simply stop the player and put your score into the trash can, even if you're Benjamin Wallfisch :p

I just see it that modern films put vibe (or in the worst case "music is just something you have to have in your movies") over story in places where it doesn't belong or where story would be more effective. Not even mentioning that in the hands of a skilled storyteller, the music could have added amazing value to a scene and to the whole movie. Nobody can dispute that Don Davis Matrix scores have some of the best "vibe" moments in cinema but in addition it also is mathematically proofable to be interesting music and sometimes it even tells a story (Neodammerung, anyone?).

Now as for vibe, orchestral music is not always my favorite. I hope we don't come across as old grumpy grandpas yelling "back in my own days when Mozart was alive".

But for me a good score that tells a story, even in just two minutes, is never boring. But I don't think vibe has any less value if done competently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9MLw6-08PU

Looks like Sonic Forces will be counting with an orchestra and none other than the LSO, not holding my breath that much for it either though, just expecting to get your typical couple of fully orchestrated cinematic pieces and ending credits without some of those renown Kontakt "Heavyocity Damage" drumloops that keeps playing unnecessarily on a otherwise quality performance.

Well, the little I've heard in that video sounds utterly fantastic. But I really think it's mostly got to do with the LSO's brilliant perfomance. Now, Sonic has had a story with orchestra, starting with Sonic Unleashed the most (though I think 06 had some tones of it, but I wouldn't be on it). Sonic Unleashed's orchestral tracks are pretty fantastic, starting with an amazing main theme, all of it by the Tokyo Philarmonic Orchestra (I think).. Unleashed had the theme song, clear stages, etc.. and just a handful of cutscenes orchestrated. Then followed Colours, done by a european orchestra whose name I forgot. For this game, there were less orchestra themes. Mostly for the Main Orchestra theme, and a couple of level complete cues. And they were good, and so was the melody. After that, comes Lost World, I believe, which actually only uses orchestra for like one dramatic cue at the start of the game, but is also good.

The saddest part of this, is that as we know and I've explained just now, the Sonic games have had hints of orchestra before, even in big scale for the songs that had it, but sadly, never to an extent that the whole game was orchestral. It was merely just a couple of songs, on which the orchestra was used just to add more dramatic feeling to it. As we all know, Sonic games consist in 90% pop rock, synth, etc music, and the 10% of orchestra for the dramatic moments. However, the thing is. Every Sonic game has had amazing 10% orchestra music. So I'm expecting the same with Forces, but I find it extremely dissapointing it's just a little of it. I have nothing against Modern Sonic's pop rock, etc music which is a staple in the franchise, just pains me that it will be overshadowed by the rest of music of the game. But another sad part is that the orchestral music seems to very well written, actually.. or at least, sounds good when you hear it. I don't know how many orchestral cues will Forces have, but I hope there's a couple of them, and that I will enjoy them. But the synth drums kinda ruin the wonderful perfomance by LSO.. really, what's with LSO? It's like they're magic. They perform music so amazingly.

Holy crap---it's amazing you get anything done with that kind of drinking.

ha ha

So Star Trek Discovery finally aired and my dad, being a lifelong Trek fan, watched the first 2 episodes. I was in the room when the second one began, which meant I got to hear the show's theme song for the first time, and hoo boy... I'm trying to stop myself from laughing through text or posting a video of mad laughter, because it truly is hysterically awful.

Let's ignore for a moment how every other Trek series with a theme tune had a specific tone that matched the series in some way (TNG's was heroic and adventurous), a distinctive melody that made even watching the intro feel special (Voyager's was beloved in my house when we used to watch it), or a use of instruments to capture something that couldn't be described with words (the lonely trumpet playing the main melody of DS9's gorgeous theme tune). The problem with Discovery's theme is that it just sounds like every other awful generic theme used in TV shows, films or games since Deus Ex 3 (at least!).

There's an orchestral wall of noise that does nothing but exist, there's the constant, endlessly repeating dun-dun-dun-dun that Western composers seem inexplicably obsessed with, the lack of a distinctive melody that conveys whatever the show's going to be about, and (to top it all off) the quoting of a much more memorable, iconic theme to try and trick people into thinking the music's just as good as it used to be. Let me put it this way: look up the intro to any modern live-action drama on YouTube. Any series, it doesn't matter: Spooks, Once Upon A Time, Scorpion, whatever. Mute it, and play the Discovery theme over it. Chances are, it will fit in seamlessly with whatever intro you've picked; that's how generic this 'theme' is.

Call me presumptuous if you want, but you could replace the Discovery theme with anything and it would be a much better theme. It doesn't have to be from Star Trek, or any sci-fi themed franchise in general, if you're feeling adventurous. This would be a considerable improvement, for a start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9iW5P7fCfY (Just the first 2-4 minutes, at any rate) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9iW5P7fCfY)

I'm not even kidding, I really want to know what you guys think on the matter. What would you suggest for a theme tune to replace Discovery's?

The theme is f*****g hopeless; because it's not a theme, it's some incredibly generic chord progressions.

The score itself was, I think, less bad; in that, it marginally exceeded the low expectations I'd set - it's functional, and has occasional passages which aren't outright offensive - and somehow I find it better than Giacchino's recent efforts.

The show... I *think* I provisionally like it. I particularly enjoyed that the entire first episode took place substantially on the bridge of the ship and was all exploration and tension, saving action to the second episode. I don't like the fact that everything has to take place with all the bloody lights off. I think the re-design of the Klingons is gorgeous but they're not Klingons.

And, on a wider note, I don't feel like this is Star Trek. I'm still going to watch it, though... but Star Trek on TV ended with Enterprise.

What would have made a good Trek theme? Track 2 from Naotora OST 1.

Nah, let a real Trekkie do it :D (then again, maybe Kanno has consumed that as well, but was there ever a Star Trek moment she ripped off?)

In any case, make way for the real theme:

Star Trek Discovery: Now featuring an actual composer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GCb5R00L-Y)

Was Variationen �ber ein russisches Volkslied and Sinfonia Breve by Paul Graener ever posted here in flac? Search is showing this thread.

Anybody still have it? (If you haven't heard these two things, youtube ... recommended)

I thought it was another uploader, but they posted another (really great) Graener collection, just not this one ...

somebody does not have these albums in flac?


Shameless repost; two scores that came up in another thread... and one which I posted over 18 months ago - all old links dead now, of course... so here we go:

Time for a twofer, this evening - these scores may be the best kept secret in orchestral game scoring. Like Outcast, they are mature, symphonic works that feel more like concert hall works than game scores. Performed by the Russian Philharmonia Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, ladies and gentlemen, here is...



Composed and Orchestrated by
YURY POTEYENKO

Sea Dogs - An Epic Adventure At Sea (2000)
Russian Philharmonia Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Alexander Yedernikov
Chamber Choir of Moscow Conversatory
conducted by Boris Tevlin

and

Age Of Pirates - Caribbean Tales (2005)
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Alexander Yedernikov
Choir "Kastalsky-Kapella"
conducted by Aleksey Rudnevsky



My rips. Scans and log included in FLAC edition; scans only in MP3.

MP3 Editions - ZippyShare - (these are my original rips from 2008, encoded with the then-current state of the art LAME 3.97; rips were verified accurate but no logs were recorded. Bitrate setting -V0)

Age Of Pirates: Zippyshare.com - YP-AOP-MP3.rar (http://www70.zippyshare.com/v/2698852/file.html)
Sea Dogs: Zippyshare.com - YP-SD-MP3.rar (http://www47.zippyshare.com/v/75624410/file.html)

FLAC Editions - MEGA - (these are new rips made today, also verified accurate, with EAC log included.)

Age Of Pirates: https://mega.co.nz/#!hwgV1abS!Ga43yxe7jGphFMBZTmnyk2SComsM6SPvIdfU216 rjlw
Sea Dogs: https://mega.co.nz/#!4lYSXAKC!W_OkZxHc-VTQNGTvgTj2vBAK28sBndqFwvVkas5jgGU

Whew, where to begin with these? Yury Poteyenko has written two absolute corkers here - about as far away from the current Hollywood pirate music as you can possibly get, and yet also not at all like the more traditional Korngold swashbucklers. The music is more sea-faring; grand, and highly melodic. The action cues aren't about high-speed orchestral acrobatics; they're precise and stately.

The earlier score, Sea Dogs, is the more energetic score and is also the shortest of the two. It begins with a magnificent main theme first hinted by clarinet and strings but first stated outright by a glorious choir. The centrepiece is a masterful six minute action cue - "Battle Theme - Dies Irae" which wouldn't seem out of place if you programmed it in a concert next to Verdi's Requiem. Superlative choral writing compliment this brassy piece, full of tension and power. There are some "country themes" - which are a thousand times better than the titles would suggest; fully fleshed out pieces evoking traditional melodies of their respective nations. And "Sunrise" is just glorious - a glorious, impressionistic piece which evokes Scriabin, Ravel, and Debussy, all at once.

Age Of Pirates takes a slightly broader approach; the main theme is a grand piece that conjures up images of a beautiful sailing ship, coarsing majestically through the sea. This wonderfully versatile theme is used liberally through the score. There's another "Sunrise" cue, as well - this time a warm, romantic, sailing theme presented first on Cor Anglais and then later on flute, the rest of the woodwinds, brass, and finally with a choral accompaniment. The action cues are a little more... direct... than in Sea Dogs - and there's more of them; Fierce Close Fight, Mortal Combat, and "To Boarding" being some of the highlights.

All in all, two ridiculously good scores - certainly conceived as concert music first and game scores second. This is music that just screams out "quality" - no shortcuts, no cheap tricks, no lowest-common-denominator Hollywood concessions to modernity. Only imaginative, exceptionally well written music - superbly orchestrated and beautifully performed.

Sea Dogs features slightly muddy sound quality but the performance is excellent. Age Of Pirates is a vast improvement in sound quality, with an equally fine performance.

Enjoy! :)

Age Of Pirates: https://mega.nz/#!sGZB1SLS!DRlnOeMSO38tfeRSqax6OZ97I-GFebMJfM1x9xSX3DY
Sea Dogs: https://mega.nz/#!JDQgnDyB!Xksr2K85FB2tO-U_gc5BCfmWWrJ82cLDNkF76fi5UL8

This may or may not suggest that I am going to resume uploading.

Okay, I was giving Knights & Magic a lot of shit but that Robot wink, flying into the sunset and "THE END" completely redeemed it. This was so cheesy 80s optimism that I just had to smile :D At least it gave us Coda's strongest score so far. There's at least 30 minutes of music in there that really shows his potential. Soundtrack is out next month. Now give him something more "serious" and "SciFi" to score and he could knock it out of the park.

Kow Otani tweeted that Shadow of the Colossus will be getting an orchestra concert by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra next year. I originially thought they were going to rerecord the score with the LSO but it seems they go the GuP route.

What would have made a good Trek theme? Track 2 from Naotora OST 1.

(Listens to that theme)

Holy hell, that's actually really good. I think that would really suit this supposed 'Abbrams-Trek' tone that Discovery seems to be going for, considering how oppressive and tense it is at the beginning. It's also (personally speaking) a really good example of vertical development in music; which is something I barely, if ever, hear. Nice pick.


Nah, let a real Trekkie do it :D (then again, maybe Kanno has consumed that as well, but was there ever a Star Trek moment she ripped off?)

In any case, make way for the real theme:

Star Trek Discovery: Now featuring an actual composer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GCb5R00L-Y)

Hmm... It's a good theme, but I'm not sure. Either it doesn't match the tone the series wants to be shooting for, or it needs a completely different intro sequence for it to really work (along the lines of how well the visuals matched up to the music in that Man of SteelxSahashi video you posted a couple of hours ago*). Something about it doesn't sit right with me, but I happily acknowledge that's my opinion in this case.

*Which, if you haven't yet seen said vid, go do so: https://youtu.be/ludvCgexjfE (God, if I had decent editing software, I'd attempt to make a music only cut of MoS using Sahashi's music!)

A cheesy Sahashi score (suffering from some disturbingly poor sound quality that I don't recall being an issue on the album) dubbed over Superman is about the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard in my life, with the Sahashi/Discovery mashup a pretty close second, I'm afraid. Neither work, not even a little bit. Sahashi's music belongs where it belongs. Russo's Trek theme is utterly crap, but you have to admit, it works with the visuals, such as they are, and it makes a clear and concise statement about the mood of the show; in pleasant contrast to Enterprise, which put the world's worst pop song over the world's worst opening titles, and a truly horrible McCarthy piece over the end titles that seemed to be an attempt to re-do Picard's Theme from TNG but with a drumkit and electric guitars. It was a theme that was already twenty years dated by the time it came out and wouldn't have sounded out of place in V.

Compared to that, Discovery's opening sequence almost seems like a work of art.

I notice that the thread is not talking about Discovery, either score or show. Is this because you folks haven't watched it yet, or because you literally find nothing worth talking about?

If a theme is crap how can it fit or work with anything???

On a sidenote, with the Trekkie thing I meant Sahashi, he posted about Discovery and admitted he's a massive fan of Trek and he scored one show that is about a Spaceship which is why I had to do it. Regarding Discovery, I don't think I qualify as a "Trekkie". I watched the films, TOS, TNG and DS9 but I'm not really into them aside from the music (okay, ST2 and TV-Picard's best moments are great). I didn't watch Enterprise and from what I've seen and heard from Discovery its not something I enjoy (Orville is enough Star Trek for me).

I also disagree, at least from a scene analysis the music hits all the important bits, a camera swipe to the left augmented with timpani roll, a visual effect of the font rises with the tremolo dynamics. Same with Superman, the visual cues are in synch with what the orchestra is doing. So I think it fits rather well actually ;)

... I know what you mean. I still disagree.

And you know what, what is it with you and Mike declaring Ultraman film scores "cheesy".





@FrDougal9000: For those two pieces I did do almost no editing. I don't do this mashup often (at all). For those where I actually used editing and put some work into it, I made them for something else entirely.

Here they are: Gladiator X Masamichi Amano (https://vimeo.com/235656474) / Rogue One X Hayato Matsuo (https://vimeo.com/235654541)

Made in Abyss. What a load of crap. Hollow ambient strings bordering on synth coupled with meandering electronica and flat rhythms and ostinatos. Vinphonic was spot-on when he called it a score that would bore even Kawai Kenji. And unlike a typical Kawai score, none of the elements give the score its own identity. Even the vocal elements sound bland. With such a unique premise for the show, I really wanted Kevin Penkin to succeed, but alas...

Also, I think this was the only piece where the Vienna Orchestra had any presence at all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp0Qlvvo2V8

Before I call it a day, don't forget the two minutes of interesting music I also mentioned ;)

The Kawai comparison was originally focused on Yokoyama and friends but at the time I was very disappointed that it turned out to be not a prominent orchestral score but a minimalistic approach with the simple synth you mentioned. After a quick glance there is definitely some interesting music in there aside from the one piece I heard from the first episode. I don't think the electronics are that bad at all, since this is a "minimalism vibe" and "artsy fartsy" album, so I'm a bit more lenient. You can clearly hear Mamoru Fujisawa's influence. But you're right, another Izetta this is definitely not.

^I can't see using "minimalism" as an excuse for lazy efforts like this, because effective minimalism always has a standout element that is emphasized. All I see with MiA is a generic Tyler Bates score stripped of its percussion. This would fare poorly against something similar in approach like Breath of the Wild. At least that has some interesting harmonies.

Talking about Wataru Hokojama, apparently, he's working with Mark Mothersbaugh on the Thor: Ragnarok score.

No, Wataru, get away from Hollywood. They don't want your sound nowadays there. Go back to Japan. There, somehow those willing to put money, do care about your sound

Talking about Wataru Hokojama, apparently, he's working with Mark Mothersbaugh on the Thor: Ragnarok score.

No, Wataru, get away from Hollywood. They don't want your sound nowadays there. Go back to Japan. There, somehow those willing to put money, do care about your sound

This is awesome news. Could be one of the best scores for a marvel movie yet.

As for Discovery, I was very drawn into the first two episiodes. Both my husband and I immediately started episode 2 and they went by quite fast. They had enough action to keep us going and the show moved at a quick pace or felt like it. Musically, there was nothing that stood out to me at all though it was still a slight tick better than the music in the shows we typically watch. Madam Secretary is scored by some pop group trying their hand at orchestra and it is so obviously generic every time that I'm glad it blends in as well as it does.

This is awesome news. Could be one of the best scores for a marvel movie yet.

According to IMBD, he's an "additional composer" in the Thor: Ragnarok movie, and had the same job with Mothersbaugh too for the Lego Ninjago Movie.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0389964/

Does anyone here have the Final Fantasy XI Vanacon Anniversary 11.11.11 album? I am mostly interested in the Hirano cues - I am unable to find this album anywhere online.

https://mega.nz/#!VbZkGKwZ!exAvO4mktXFvtAdd2wYcIJkuYIu5zfPzLzmj_AjwrM0

FINAL FANTASY XI Vana♪Con Anniversary 11.11.11 - MP3 at 192kbps.

I do have the original DVD, will rip this later for better sound. :)

Hirano's cues are 4, 12, and 13.

If a theme is crap how can it fit or work with anything???

I do not BELIEVE I'm defending this turd. ;)

I think we've established that whilst melody IS very important, it is not *essential* to conveying a mood in sound, and in making sound that is harmonious with visuals. This is why I've said many times that I think the theme is terrible and utterly fails as a theme, but it *does* function fairly well as a soundscape compatible with the title sequence.

When I say the copy-and-paste music doesn't work, I don't mean that it doesn't fit - but hitting beats is meaningless if the tone of the music is all wrong. We're talking about mickey-mousing, here.


And you know what, what is it with you and Mike declaring Ultraman film scores "cheesy".

I say this as a massive fan of Sahashi. I needn't go into more detail than that; you know how much I respect him and his music.

The guy is many things - sophisticated is not one of them. His music is the epitome of aural cheese - big, dumb, fun and immensely enjoyable, with a few exceptions that prove the rule. His Ultraman scores, in particular - I love them to pieces, but they're scores for Japanese kids TV shows about guys dressed in spandex beating up rubber dinosaurs in a city made of Lego - and it SHOWS. They fit wonderfully in the shows they come from, and musically they're far more interesting and better constructed than they have any right to be considering their progenitors, but play them aside a modern Hollywood movie and they sound ludicrous. Particularly putting it up there with Superman - Sahashi is no Williams, and Ultraman is no Superman; one of Williams' finest scores.

If you scored a movie like Man Of Steel the way Sahashi scored Ultraman, audiences would walk out of the cinema.

For that sort of music to work, you would have to make a completely different type of movie.

^Tango, I'm shocked someone like you would call that "cheesy". Sahashi is big, brassy, and bold. How that ends up being cheesy is up to the director, and I've never seen Sahashi approach Mickey-Mousing territory. It's the same argument used by Media Ventures defenders to bash Korngold and Rozsa and even Williams, because the opinion of his Superman score being "cheesier" than Zimmer's is quite common (with the movie itself not helping).

(though I will agree with you whenever Sahashi breaks out the synth and goes full funk)

@Tango: I know what you meant. I even wrote it ;)

But we know the one thing that makes Japan so interesting is that they take even the silliest things dead serious. His Ultraman film scores are serious Superhero scores. Okay, ONE time he quotes Dyna for maximum camp but otherwise... Sure, against Williams, there's just no way to compete but Man of Steel was a reimagining (that I hate) anyway. In any case the video is more intended as a joke experiment that I find surprisingly fitting.

I agree on the TV scores but even then, they have their moments. I don't care if its labeled cheesy, this is music that still gives me goosebumps, even after Mahler (I'm a simple man too): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CbvheJTZ3E

If you ask me, far more cheesy is the fact that Man of Steel has to justify dressing in leather-hardened spandex is something that can be taken seriously in the first place (not the least of the movies film making sins).




(though I will agree with you whenever Sahashi breaks out the synth and goes full funk

You know, I find it baffling he never released solo albums of his band persona. I would buy it, even for 100 bucks!!!!

https://twitter.com/KTBlade91/status/911781042373185541

Similar to Silvestri, one day to the London Symphony Orchestra. My friends, anything is possible.

https://youtu.be/rrhgUhKT5_8?t=1m50s

As much as I dislike this, I feel like this is where Sahashi's real passion lies.

^Tango, I'm shocked someone like you would call that "cheesy". Sahashi is big, brassy, and bold. How that ends up being cheesy is up to the director, and I've never seen Sahashi approach Mickey-Mousing territory. It's the same argument used by Media Ventures defenders to bash Korngold and Rozsa and even Williams, because the opinion of his Superman score being "cheesier" than Zimmer's is quite common (with the movie itself not helping).

(though I will agree with you whenever Sahashi breaks out the synth and goes full funk)

Ah, sorry, I realise that I kinda expressed five different thoughts in one sentence and they all got rolled up together. :)

I didn't mean that Sahashi does mickey-mousing - I mean, how could he when Japanese composers rarely if ever get to score to picture? I meant that saying a piece of music works with a given visual on the grounds that "beats" match-up is nothing more than an example of mickey-mousing - and that is the path to a score that could synchronise perfectly but completely not work. TL;DR - music synchronising well with visuals is not automatically appropriate music for those visuals.


If you ask me, far more cheesy is the fact that Man of Steel has to justify dressing in leather-hardened spandex is something that can be taken seriously in the first place (not the least of the movies film making sins).

Oh, God, I agree completely - I wasn't defending the film or the style of film-making - only making the point that a movie made that way would completely fall apart if it were scored in Sahashi's typical style of big, brassy, and thematically ostentatious orchestral music. The tone of the film and the tone of the music do not mesh in the slightest bit, and making a special edit of selected scenes from the film which vaguely synchronise up with Ultraman doesn't, I'm afraid, make the case I think you want it to - that big, tuneful scoring needs to come back in Hollywood. 21st Century Superman cannot be scored like a hyper-camp Japanese children's TV show stuck in the 1980s and have anyone take it seriously.

In the same way that taking the score out of The Orville and pasting it into Star Trek Discovery would not fit - it would still be good music but it would be working against, not in concert with, the overriding style and mood of Discovery. At which point, good music suddenly sounds like overblown parody. It works in The Orville because it matches.

As for "cheesy" - Williams' Superman score isn't cheesy. It's note-perfect for the film for which it was composed. Sahashi's music, however, is (predominantly) written for cartoon shows so when you stick it in an overly serious, gritty, modern movie, you have something that sounds stupid.

Korngold and Rozsa aren't cheesy either - but a Korngold score written in the same vain as, say, Captain Blood, would most emphatically NOT work in Interstellar. It *could* work in Interstellar, but Interstellar would have to be a COMPLETELY different movie.

I want Hollywood to make movies where Korngold and Rozsa *would* be a natural fit, more than anyone - but as a static, here-and-now observation, the movies that Hollywood makes today could not be scored in that way.

Hollywood needs to make movies that *can* be scored in that way - but right now, they don't - and that's the source of my comments. :)

https://mega.nz/#!VbZkGKwZ!exAvO4mktXFvtAdd2wYcIJkuYIu5zfPzLzmj_AjwrM0

FINAL FANTASY XI Vana♪Con Anniversary 11.11.11 - MP3 at 192kbps.

I do have the original DVD, will rip this later for better sound. :)

Hirano's cues are 4, 12, and 13.
Thanks a lot!

I think the reason that Discovery's theme tune works as well as it does with its intro sequence is that both are the most generic 'serious live-action drama' thing you could think of (you know how I suggested the song would fit with any 'live-action drama' opening credits bit? I imagine that you could put the theme from any live-action drama show over the Discovery intro sequence and it would fit, by that same virtue). Give it a few episodes, and there'll be enough footage to make an intro sequence that will fit your preferred theme tune.

(I wanted to write something on cheesy music, but I have no idea how to organize my thoughts in a coherent manner. I'll likely be back in a day or two when I figure out what I want to say - though knowing this thread, y'all will likely be talking about something completely different!)

@Tango: Gotcha :)

To be fair, the thread really went off the rails and skyrocketed this month... and without any notable new score release as far as I remember.

However, I will temporarly make this post a placeholder for now... tomorrow it may look different :D

Michael Giacchino to score an anime... sort of.

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/j-j-abrams-your-name-remake-paramount-1202574994/

Yes, my jaw is on the floor too.

That has "bad idea" written all over it. As usual, Hollywood sees something that's popular and wants to remake it without even understanding why it's popular.

Not to mention that the film is barely a year old. It was released in the US only a few months ago.

I agree, it's seriously STUPID.

Meh, talk to me when we have a release date. These announcements are a dime a dozen. How many times have we heard a director was going to do X or Y project only for it to fall through?

Meh, talk to me when we have a release date. These announcements are a dime a dozen. How many times have we heard a director was going to do X or Y project only for it to fall through?

Anime live action adaptations are getting more and more popular these days. The West is finally starting to see the potential in the anime fandom and a lot of popular sites (like Netflix) are capitalizing on it. Announcements like this are becoming more and more likely to be the real deal. Kind of sucks since they amount to nothing more than a cash grab most of the time.

Well hopefully this one ends up in production hell like Akira. I have no faith in JJ Abram's ability to translate Your Name to live action. He would probably ignore the romance/cultural aspects of the story and solely focus on the sci-fi elements. Maybe if it was a different producer I wouldn't be so annoyed.

*sigh*

So, "Michael Giacchino Scores An Anime" actually means "Two companies have bought the rights to develop a live action Hollywood remake of a Japanese anime - six of the sixteen films produced by one of the companies to date used Giacchino as composer."

I'm relieved.

Also... Leatherhead's right - Hollywood plumbing Japanese cinema, television, and anime for ideas because it has none of its own any more... is the new "big thing" - of all the million things to worry about with regards to both Hollywood and Japan, this isn't one of them. Either the film won't get made at all, or it will and it'll be terrible. Either, or. Toho will take the money regardless. :)

OR it will be made and turn out to be good.

It's fine if a film is influenced by the ideas of an anime; The Matrix, Inception, Pacific Rim, and Black Swan are all proof of that. But this is nothing more than a group of lazy producers and their hack franchise director looking for a quick buck before a fad runs out. So far there has never been a single decent Hollywood anime adaptation, and that trend will continue.

Anyway, if JJ is directing there's a good chance Giacchino will be in charge of the music.

Still disappointed we won't get to hear James Horner's Battle Angel Alita.

Vinphonic presents:


GAME SYMPHONY JAPAN No. 23
Studio JAPAN Music Festival


Kenichi Shimura conducts the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra and The Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo
Additional Choir by The Little Singers of Tokyo, Principal Trumpet: Eric Miyashiro

Arranged by Souhei Kano, Ayana Tsujita, Shunsuke Abe and many more
Music composed by Takayuki Hattori, Michiru Oshima, Kow Otani, Kohei Tanaka and many more


(https://mega.nz/#!9rgA0byC!TVLBBNwgBHY598MRLejn34wBtl7lxXDyab87N-M4leM)

Many thanks! I would've liked some more effort going in to prepare the music for concert performance - if you're going to do a symphony, do a symphony - don't just play a bunch of cues one after another and call it a suite. Now, we do that - creating "suites" in editing and in some cases this radically improves the function of a score on album - but if you're actually putting on a concert with this stuff, what excuse do you have? Don't be lazy.

Also... is the orchestra drunk? If that's Eric Miyashiro taking the trumpet solos in Gravity Daze, he really needs to lay off the sake - at least immediately before a concert performance...

Finally, not thrilled about the selections - It's wonderful to hear IQ in concert (despite the poor performance, stupid narration, and twenty years late, but better late than never) and Gravity Daze is welcome, but most of the other selections are poor - in particular, ICO being one of Oshima's poorest scores, Otani getting three times the length for SotC as Hattori did for Qube despite Qube being the superior score, the best piece of Last Guardian (Falling Bridge) omitted from the suite, etc...

Still, I enjoyed the concert. Thanks again!

It sure was quite the hassle to get it, I can tell you... Is it satisfactory, nextday :D

From the video, Miyashiro looked really tired and in bad shape that day. I think it was a great mistake to not open the concert with Gravity Daze instead of playing it two hours later, when everyone was exhausted. Tanaka demands A LOT from his brass players. So you've played for hours and now your trumpet needs to be so high up there ALL THE TIME that I can understand that even a WORLDCLASS musician struggles.

But really, let it sit in that SONY made an orchestral concert one of their main points during their presentation at TGS and also a prominent advertisement of its VR device. Keep em coming, I say :D


@ Kow Otani: A bit sad Shadow of the Colossus will most likely be the score he will be remembered for, when he actually scored Popolcrois Story and Wild Arms, both superior scores (I wish they played that instead), the later the only true western homage in anime. I hope that Colossus concert is actually a full-fleshed Otani concert. And the Tokyo Symphony orchestra recordings are worlds apart in quality, so here's hope he will get his deserved spotlight.

@ Michiru Oshima: Baby, looking good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc0KZv_wTGI

@ Takayuki Hattori: Anybody seen the recent Origin. Christ, now that's CINEMA. And apart from one or two shots where the CGI looked a bit cheap, it's so great seeing essentially a film from the 70s, just with anime theatrics. The music STOPS at key moments where a score woul be too hamfisted and destroying the emotional impact. The film BREATHS and gives a great vocal performance and while Hattori is no Sahashi the rock version of the main theme at the end was effective. The new pieces are drumfree and full-on 70s SciFi with a GREAT classic Hollywood moment at the one hour mark, presenting the Main Theme in its full glory. You won't get that feeling anywhere else on the planet anymore unless its MacFarlane's The Orville :D
If the new remake of the original Gundam continues with the same staff and Hattori can lay off the drums (which he demonstarted this episode), I'm 100% on board.


Needless to say, my copy of Ben-Hur arrived in the mail today... today is a good day, indeed :D:D:D

If episode 3 was McNeely's introverted, subtle sci-fi score, episode 4 is his big fat "OMG OMG OMG OMG SCI-FI AND SPACE AND SHIPS AND WONDER AND BEAUTY OMG OMG OMG OMG BIG ORCHESTRA YES YES YES YES AAAAARGH HOW I'VE MISSED WRITING THIS KIND OF MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shamelessly extroverted, full-on hugely thematic sci-fi score. It is again Goldsmithian, sticking closer to the temp-track than I would want it to - there's a big "beauty pass" cue that was obviously temped with Goldsmith's "The Cloud" (and others) from Star Trek TMP - but McNeely uses the basic orchestral palate template (complete with blaster beam) and overlays some masterful variations on The Orville theme so I can let it go - also, it's THREE MINUTES of continuous score; is that unprecedented in television? The scene shifts from locations seamlessly and the music follows seamlessly. It's partially stolen, but unlike Debney's score where it seemed tawdry and lazy... in this episode I feel like it's sitting on the right side of homage - and there's enough originality wrapped around it to make the plagiarism much less of an issue.

Also, we discover where McNeely cue that was posted on Soundcloud some weeks ago belongs - and boy, does it belong... I honestly don't remember the last time western film or television has given us such a big score "pay-off" scene - not that the music "hides" in The Orville, but this is one of those glorious "LISTEN TO THE FUCKING SCORE!" moments that modern film-making simply doesn't allow any more.

Tango happy.

I told you you still would enjoy it, just for the fact that you just don't hear music like that in any media anymore, even if it's temp tracked, or even if it mimics the greats. I can't wait for the soundtrack release.

I really think episode 2 was just a dud - at least for me; I know it's the favourite of some folk so far. The Orville walks a narrow line; when it does the balance right, I think it's one of the best things on TV. :)

The score in ep 4 is great. It sounds familiar because it uses all the usual harmonic tricks for fantasy/sci-fi scores. Here are the main ones I noticed:

1. The Lydian mode. Play anything in C major, but play F# instead of F. When they opened the dome to see the stars, that's exactly what you are hearing. It's the most common sound used for these sort of fantastical moments. Williams, Horner, Silvestri, Goldsmith, etc. They all used it, and almost always for the same effect.

2. The major-minor shift. Play a C major chord, then shift to Bb minor, then back to C major, then back to Bb minor. This back and forth creates a very mysterious, almost biblical sound.

3. The minor dominant cadence. Play a C major chord, then shift to G minor, then back to C major, then back to G minor. Similar to the one above, but somehow different.

All three of these harmonic effects are used in ep 4 of The Orville. Also, all three are heard in the First Contact track from Goldsmith's score to First Contact. Coincidence?

Your musical analysis is, as usual, spotless and light-years ahead of what I could articulate... but the main reason why the episode 4 score sounds familiar is because all the familiar parts are ripped off. I loved the score, and the ripoffs are convincing and respectful in a way that Debney's Khan-lite score wasn't, but let's call them what they are...

Well, we finally know who's replacing Alf Clausen on The Simpsons... it's exactly what you'd expect:


https://scontent.forf1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22045611_1977995309138925_3956771707846404038_n.jp g?oh=791e1546a85b83eea8cae34f7cdf09c7&oe=5A7DDA20

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1977995309138925&set=pcb.1977995992472190&type=3&theater

"Music by Bleeding Fingers". No name attached to the composition, just the company's, which is an offshoot of Hans Zimmer's music production company. In case you want to hear some of their stellar work (it sounds exactly how you'd expect): https://soundcloud.com/bleeding-fingers/tracks

Disappointing but completely expected. :(

:facepalm:

:facepalm:



I completely don't understand this. I thought they were getting rid of Alf Clausen to either cheapen the coast, and using his thousand of cues over almost 30 years, or wanted to go the synth way.

But no. They did it even worse.. though, with Zimmer involved. Which.. I should expect, since Zimmer has been involved since 2007, but... like.. in the actual show? Man, that was the first one Fox thought of after getting rid of Clausen? Such a really crappy move.. and they're still using something "live" though probably just strings and not a full orchestra.

Let The Simpsons die.

^^^ I 100%, unequivocally, completely, and ABSOLUTELY agree with every single word written above.

https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/7/7a/Triple-facepalm-picard-812.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140613204334

Even if it's one of Hans Zimmer's production companies, he's likely not involved, they just went to that company because they have a close friendship with Zimmer, but literally, working with that company is like.. making the Simpsons have the music from a random music agency like in those cheap ass 80s and 90s cartoons, from people who wrote jingles and sometimes crappy cheap synth scores for them..

It's the worst type of television composition. Having a different composer for each episode of course isn't a problem, but when you have so many composers for a single 22-minute show that you have to give credit to the collective rather than the individual... how is that going to work?

Instead of one composer being attached to the episode, and having him sit down with the video and take notes on starts, stops, characters, the mood of a scene (in other words, designing the music to tell a story from beginning to end), I get the impression that your average Simpsons episode will involve four or five guys all sitting together and saying, "Okay, you can do this cue for this scene... hey you, help me write some percussion for this spot... everyone have their scenes? Okay, see you all next week!" And they all go their separate ways and come back together for recording. Maybe they decide to share a melody or two between each other's work but of course that isn't enough if you want something that really can properly underpin the story.

Also... it means The Simpsons has finally completed its transformation into the exact show it used to laugh at; the focus group-directed cheesy sitcom.

Nice to see there's still live musicians (I hesitate to say "orchestra" because... well... who knows?) but bloody hell, if this isn't the final nail in the coffin I don't know what is.

I mean, this is pretty much what I expected. A bunch of synth specialists from Remote Control coming down to work for less pay and lower recording costs. It's disheartening, but nothing mindblowing.

If you have hit the iceberg, might as well set the ship on fire...




Vinphonic presents:


The Legend of the Glass Fleet
Kosuke Yamashita
London Symphony Orchestra

(https://mega.nz/#!Q3A32JIC!olEkl8O2BOh-LxVEhm3lPQETdYQ2vUWD36MXK4FW2H8)

Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUXifvhTgD4)


Another reminder how phenomenal the 2000 anime era was, musicwise. It launched Kosuke Yamashita on the scene with arguably one of the best SciFi scores in the business. Recorded by a large studio orchestra and featuring an organ and a small choir, this is more a "Space Opera" than a simple SciFi/Fantasy adventure.

It's regal, majestic and grand music full of Imperial Splendour with Shades of mysterious SciFi scoring and christian impressions. The score features a prominent Leitmotif, first heared in the track 3 "Cleo's Mundharmonica", its an omnious, tragic and powerful theme, heared in its full power in track 20 "Cleo, the Swift Wind". While there is a secondary theme, it unfortunately appears only thrice, opening up the score almost Overture-esque and sucking us into this majestic spaceworld with an uplifting and regal tone. A shame it isn't featured prominently in the score, which has its fair share of glorious adventurous fun, full of bold brassy action cues.
But it's piano rendition in track 24 "Michel's Love" is heartwearming.

The score also features a strong section of omnious, mysterious and dangerous SciFi toneworld, with my favorite moments appearing in track 28 "Planet Orleans", channeling Williams STAR WARS, complete with celeste.
It's unbelievable Yamashita was barely 30 when he wrote this. You have to understand, NOTHING in it feels traced or influenced from somewhere other than general standard repertoire. This score is completely made from his mind alone and told with his own unique voice. With this score alone he has cemented himself as one of the future greats. Seldom have I heared a better fusion of classical SciFi as done here. Later he would further develop his ability as a tunesmith but what never changed is his sixth sense for Leitmotif writing, giving this TV anime score a "film score" identity like many of his other works that is sadly a lacking trait by many other anime composers in the field.

As it stands, it's a beautiful and powerful SciFi score, one of the best in the genre, and I can't recommend it enough.


About the remastering: I will admit I'm perhaps overly ambitious this time but aside from a little more reverb from my side than ususal (wouldn't work otherwise) I hope this presents the score in better soundquality with more punch and "air", giving its regal character the adequate accoustic environment.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you find this satisfactory. I'm of course always open for criticism.
No excuse me, I have this urge to rewatch Chihayafuru ;)

TOKYO GHOUL – Don Davis

Tokyo Ghoul Main Title (2:24)
My Mother the Corpse (0:57)
Mado and Amon (1:40)
Ghoul Discussion (1:09)
Eating Human Flesh (5:30)
Touka and the Trash (2:23)
Yoshimura’s Meat Dispensary (1:28)
Hunger for Hide (1:43)
Kaneki’s Despair (1:28)
Eeek (1:14)
Hinami Eating Flesh (2:04)
The Mask Shop Mambo (3:03)
Pre-Teen Lust (2:55)
Clouds of Destiny (1:18)
Ryoko’s Head (4:27)
Touka and Yomo’s Cognitive Dissonance (0:45)
The Surprise of the Rabbit (1:21)
Grieving Ghouls and Hominids Too (2:48)
The Kaneki Metamorphosis (3:37)
My Mother’s Arm (3:10)
SUV Upside Down (0:49)
Amon Amongst Friends (0:42)
Hoist By His Own Quinke (3:54)
Anger Unlimited (3:03)
Sewer Side (2:06)
The Yoshimura Yawn (1:04)
To Infinity and Beyond (0:46)
Hear You [Tokyo Ghoul Main Title Remix] (2:23)

lien upload please !

Dude, it hasn't even been released yet. Calm yo tits.

lien upload please !
I'm pretty sure this guy was a bot who has been banned many times before. Even if he isn't this is clearly a ban evasion.

This joker has literally not posted a single thing anywhere on the forum except "lien upload please!" sometimes accompanied by the name of an album.

It's like Warstar all over again...

This joker has literally not posted a single thing anywhere on the forum except "lien upload please!" sometimes accompanied by the name of an album.

It's like Warstar all over again...

Oh, I almost forgot about that guy! Thanks Tango, for the happy memories.

EDIT: Okay, might as well make this an interesting post. So I decided to go ahead and try to get a complete soundtrack going for Age of Empires 3 going, right? Go to piratebay, download, install, crack open the folder, find a music folder! Nice, this should be a piece of cake. All of the files are nicely organized into interface, strategy, battle, and are mp3s! Easiest job in the world, right?

Well the game files actually have LESS music than the original soundtrack. They all share the same name as the album release, but there is less of them than the soundtrack. The official release actually has more music than the game. Weeeeeird.

But there are two more folders - xpac X and xpac Y. Obviously X is for the first expansion of the game, "The Warchiefs", and Y is for the second expansion, "The Asian Dynasties". Same folder structure, mp3s, etc, the works.

Now here is where things get really weird. There is less than TEN minutes of music contained in each of these folders. I know for a fact that can't be right, because way back in 2009 or so, I downloaded a promo released by the composer for Asian Dynasties, Stan LePard, that had 40 minutes of music.

I am thinking I am going crazy here, so I decide to take a trip down memory lane and try to re-find this supposed promo that Stan LePard relased on his site. But in the 8 years since, Stan has totally restructured his website, and no download is in sight. I look aaaaaalll over, and I can't find this anywhere.

So here I am, with the game saying there was only 7 minutes of music for The Asian Dynasties, while the folder I have in my music HD saying there were 40 minutes of music.

Guys, sometimes the internet just takes you on a hell of a trip.

EDIT: Okay plotwist, there's a cinematic folder with a shit ton of even MORE folders, and most of these folders have a music mp3 that is called...music. K. They have a wide range of titling methods, but the essence is A/X/Y 1-99. Thing is, most of these music mp3s are less than a minute long, so there's no way they should be big enough to expand the 7 minutes of music for Asian Dyansties to the 40 minute promo that I have.

Oh, and that 7 minutes? It's more like 4, because two of the files are copy and pasted from The Warchiefs!

DOWNLOAD LIEN TELECHARGER PLOAD TEH WARCHEIFS STAN LEOPARD PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry. I know it's an old joke. But sometimes the old ones are the best. ;)

If you have hit the iceberg, might as well set the ship on fire...




Vinphonic presents:


The Legend of the Glass Fleet
Kosuke Yamashita
London Symphony Orchestra
IMG (https://mega.nz/#!Q3A32JIC!olEkl8O2BOh-LxVEhm3lPQETdYQ2vUWD36MXK4FW2H8)

Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUXifvhTgD4)


Another reminder how phenomenal the 2000 anime era was, musicwise. It launched Kosuke Yamashita on the scene with arguably one of the best SciFi scores in the business. Recorded by a large studio orchestra and featuring an organ and a small choir, this is more a "Space Opera" than a simple SciFi/Fantasy adventure.

It's regal, majestic and grand music full of Imperial Splendour with Shades of mysterious SciFi scoring and christian impressions. The score features a prominent Leitmotif, first heared in the track 3 "Cleo's Mundharmonica", its an omnious, tragic and powerful theme, heared in its full power in track 20 "Cleo, the Swift Wind". While there is a secondary theme, it unfortunately appears only thrice, opening up the score almost Overture-esque and sucking us into this majestic spaceworld with an uplifting and regal tone. A shame it isn't featured prominently in the score, which has its fair share of glorious adventurous fun, full of bold brassy action cues.
But it's piano rendition in track 24 "Michel's Love" is heartwearming.

The score also features a strong section of omnious, mysterious and dangerous SciFi toneworld, with my favorite moments appearing in track 28 "Planet Orleans", channeling Williams STAR WARS, complete with celeste.
It's unbelievable Yamashita was barely 30 when he wrote this. You have to understand, NOTHING in it feels traced or influenced from somewhere other than general standard repertoire. This score is completely made from his mind alone and told with his own unique voice. With this score alone he has cemented himself as one of the future greats. Seldom have I heared a better fusion of classical SciFi as done here. Later he would further develop his ability as a tunesmith but what never changed is his sixth sense for Leitmotif writing, giving this TV anime score a "film score" identity like many of his other works that is sadly a lacking trait by many other anime composers in the field.

As it stands, it's a beautiful and powerful SciFi score, one of the best in the genre, and I can't recommend it enough.


About the remastering: I will admit I'm perhaps overly ambitious this time but aside from a little more reverb from my side than ususal (wouldn't work otherwise) I hope this presents the score in better soundquality with more punch and "air", giving its regal character the adequate accoustic environment.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you find this satisfactory. I'm of course always open for criticism.
No excuse me, I have this urge to rewatch Chihayafuru ;)

OMG, THANKS SO MUCH
This is such a hidden gem of an anime and the music is my favorite.
I ended up buying a second copy of the whole anime, just because I know have it in an art box, sadly i dont have the cd yet

https://soundcloud.com/bleeding-fingers/tracks

Thread ruined

My live reaction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljqsWA-dCM0

My live reaction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljqsWA-dCM0

Ditto, tbh

---------- Post added at 05:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:36 PM ----------

Even if the legendary composer David Newman is now sadly only relegated to work on shitty movies, his music is still good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsN4NentE1I

How I wish he would be given more roles in movies that deserve his kind of music, but sadly, today.. it's not a thing :/ Newman was one of my first "composer crushes" as a kid (meaning one of the first whose music I liked a lot)..

Well what do you know, I'm listening to David Newman right now (Out to Sea)... :D

I think he could easily get work for "better" (i.e. higher-profile) films if he wanted, given his seemingly endless list of credits (and the Newman name of course) - he probably just chooses not to. I can only imagine his reaction to being hired for some blockbuster and being told, "We're looking for the Djawadi sound..."

That's probably why we see him scoring less pictures today. Like I said, his type of sound just sadly doesn't go in Hollywood nowadays..

I gave a listen to the MADE IN ABYSS soundtrack.. it divides me. It's got a couple of amazing sounds and melodies in it, but also some seriously stressing, scary mood, offputing songs. Just like the show, really.. so you could say it's really fitting.

I would suscribe to that assessment but would modify in that the interesting parts are far too few and could be so much more. But I also find myself unable to outright dismiss it like with all his other scores. Like Zipper pointed out, if the orchestra could have been more pronounced, it would have won me over completely. It's the same problem with Yuki Kajiura 99% of the time. She has the chops and delivers some pretty good pieces but the rest is autopilot mood piece and autopilot vocal-beat. I really like the core of Princess Principal, but its really just four pieces that fully establish the "spy" vibe and another four delightful string pieces and the rest is just drum and pad machine. However, I do like the fact that its 99% Leitmotif driven (needless to say it has my favorite album cover of the year so far).


EDIT: And now the fall season has started:

And we are off to a good start already. Seems like the staff put a lot of passion into UQ holder, including Kei Haneoka. If you compare it to ten years ago, he clearly has found a spark within him for this project. All the more tragic it has no real brass section (I'm 90% sure) and the string pieces would have been more powerful performed by a whole ensemble BUT I feel "enthusiasm" in his music, with just strings and an oboe he puts pretty much the entire summer lineup to shame, excluding Virgin Soul and 50% of Knight's & Magic. I feel the same thing as when I listen to early 2000 Sahashi, when he grew a beard. I hope he can make it big into anime. He already set foot into the drama world but we all know where the gold is usually found ;)

Is there anything genuinely promising?

Like Zipper pointed out, if the orchestra could have been more pronounced, it would have won me over completely.To clarify, I don't necessarily mean that having a full orchestra ensemble would have made it better. Iwasaki's Witch Hunter Robin with its gothic rock elements is a great example of how you can make a horror score with nothing more than strings and synth pads. It had personality and gave the show a clear identity. Made in Abyss had enough budget for Vienna and all the composer did was noodle out some electronic ambient noises that you would find in any modern horror Youtube B-flick. So why bother with Vienna in the first place?

Intrada has released the complete Shogun by Jarre. I was stunned by the quality of samples and ordered immediately.

Is there anything genuinely promising?


Ask me again in a week or two but right now I'm looking more forward to the winter season (for various reasons).

Also don't expect Warsaw this season, they are most likely busy with Drifters 2, Fafner and potentially the new Godzilla Anime if Sagisu/Amano is the composer. I also hope to god they record new music for Berserk because using the same three tracks for 12 episodes straight is pushing it into abysmally bad territory. It's hilarious that a one minute excerpt from a waltz was all of the new music we got from season 2.

Ask me again in a week or two but right now I'm looking more forward to the winter season (for various reasons).

Also don't expect Warsaw this season, they are most likely busy with Drifters 2, Fafner and potentially the new Godzilla Anime if Sagisu/Amano is the composer. I also hope to god they record new music for Berserk because using the same three tracks for 12 episodes straight is pushing it into abysmally bad territory. It's hilarious that a one minute excerpt from a waltz was all of the new music we got from season 2.

Oh wow, I heard bad things about Season 2 but...oh dear lord.

Considering its Berserk and the potential with a good staff and composer, its just mindboggling how abysmal it turned out. How it got in the hands of essentially amateurs and still got Sagisu/Amano thanks to the Japanese policy of composer continuity is kind of amazing. The Golden Age film trilogy was a professional product, well made movies which got progressivly more Amano and less Sagisu as it went on... but this... wasted opportunity if there ever was one.

At least on the visual department and getting into professional hands will not make the new LotGH suck as hard but it will not be amazing judging by the staff, even if they got Kosuke Yamashita to compose another Glass Fleet.
But it might be more offensive than Berserk, which is just embarassing because of incompetence all around.

Virgin Soul for example is a special case where you had your entire show scored to picture and the first season was full of Hollywood homages and refreshing characters and good high fantasy, so you were expecting something that might change the anime landscape into scoring to picture. BUT again, lets appeal to a certain toxic market and lets change the writing staff to soap opera tier (notice that the entire 24 episodes are pretty much in one location and idiotic romance is the whole point of the show) that will shit on all the good things and characters from season 1. Somehow it ended up worse than Gundam Seed Destiny. Even Ike couldn't save it. That blasting Favaro trumpet at the end was more offensive than everything because we didn't get an adventure! Watch the shortfilms on cygames channel again because that's the show we didn't get. Worst waste of talent I've ever seen.

EDIT: Short story #1 is actually structured like a real epilogue for season 1 and Ike delivers a wonderful adventurous variation of the Main Theme he completely abandons in Virgin Soul: Short Story #1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDoU6AXQRw)
So as far as I'm concerned that's where the Bahamut Project ends for me. Btw Virgin Soul will be released in December, betting on a 10 CD-Box ;)

arkus ~Classic Meets Rock~
iTunes Purchase|17 TRACKS~76:35

Sachio Fujioka Conducting the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

Composer Credit:

Tracks 1-7 (Tarkus): Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Tracks 8-9 (Bugaku): Toshiro Mayuzumi
Tracks 10-13 (String Quartet No. 12 "America"): Anton�n Dvoř�k
Tracks 14-17 (Atom Hearts Club Suite No. 1): Takashi Yoshimatsu

Tracks 1-7, 10-13 Orchestrated by Takashi Yoshimatsu



A rather eclectic selection of music. Emerson, Lake & Palmer was a British progressive rock band - you get to hear Yoshimatsu's take on their famous piece "Tarkus".
Tarkus is only 18 minutes long, so contrary to the album name, "rock" music is only about 1/4 the entire length.

Bugaku is ballet music by Toshiro Mayuzumi (I only know his soundtrack work for the movie The Bible).
Tracks 10-13 are Dvorak's famous American String Quartet arranged for a piano and and an orchestra - it should be a very pleasant listen.
The last 4 tracks are Yoshimatsu's own Atom Hearts Club Suite No. 1. It was also featured in one of the Chandos recordings with the BBC Philharmonic (the better of the two).

Lien please !

Let's all report this spammer so he gets banned quickly.

He's annoying, but the very last thing he is doing is being a spammer. He has made 4 posts over just as many days.

You guys ready for Yugo Kanno's Batman? The wave of prestige projects won't be leaving him anytime soon.

http://www.kamikazedouga.co.jp/archives/news_2017_12.html

Interesting times, especially with Elfman returning to Batman with Justice League as well. Though personally, I would love nothing more than to see Yugo work on Spiderman. I can't think of any other living composer out there whose music fits with that character more than him.

I hope he puts as much effort into his 2018 lineup as he does in his dress attire:



Electronic Yugo long overstayed his welcome. He's incredibly overworked in that department. I also can think of a bunch of composers I would rather see scoring Batman, but if he can return to Birdy mode, it will be something. BUT if he doesn't quote Elfman or Goldenthal AND goes all Zimmer he will lose all of my respect.

There's no reason at all for him to quote Elfman or Goldenthal, who scored - nearly thirty years ago in a style which is dead in Hollywood and in critical care on life support in Japan - unrelated films in a foreign country. Not to mention that the musical identity of Batman on the big screen has, since 2005, been led by MV/RC. It seems safe to assume that we will be getting gritty, grimy, electronica Kanno, not Sunday morning romantic drama TV theme Kanno. It will probably fit within the context of the film - and will be as complex (ie, not at all) as more traditional-sounding Kanno so, to employ some over-used contemporary parlance, it's all good. :)

Then let me rephrase that. Even if he doesn't need to do any of that, if he doesn't play a musical joke evoking Elfman or Goldenthal or at least composes some minutes in the idiom of the "Gothic Hero" perfectly captured by Shirley Walker and only employs electronic tools (not a bad thing per se) which he employs in such overabundance that you sometimes forget he started out with Birdy, I will be severly disappointed ;)

Then again: How can you not write your theme in G for "Gundam in G"... no sense of humor. So you're probably right with what we will be getting (as always).


@Zipper: If Elfman talks about that he will employ Williams Superman Theme and his own Batman Theme for Justice League, does he fully intend to give the middle finger to modern scoring (like he does verbally) regardless if it fits the film at all? I recently got the impression he's finally fed up with having to compose "shit" music, but then again he already predicted the death of film music by 2020 in 2001, so maybe he wants to go out in a blaze of glory.

Or is this just marketing and it will be a drumloop with three notes from the melody?

Elfman's best work is twenty-five, thirty years behind him. Edward Scissorhands (made before Tim Burton became a caricature of himself) and Batman will never be bettered - I like to think that Elfman still has those sensibilities somewhere inside him, but as to whether he'll ever get to write music like that again, who knows? Given that his concert works have infinitely more in common with his newer film scores (more minimalist, less melodic, less creative) my hopes (surprise, surprise) are at an all-time low. Even when he's writing film music entirely for fun (the Trump/Clinton horror skit) it sounds like terrible, modern film music. I just don't think he can do it any more. His mind isn't in that place any more. Can Danny Elfman write an honest, dramatic, theatrical score any more?

Or is it really like now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFzLRP8e4vE

As for Gundam in G... ;)


For starters, the main theme isn't in the key of G. That's a musical joke that is lazy not to crack at this point!
-Tangotreats, April 2015

I'm with tango on this one, besides, Yugo Kano has already done modern Batman (http://picosong.com/w3nUA/), think he won't go for that again?

Have you guys actually heard Elfman lately? The only time he ever gets creative freedom nowadays are with Burton movies (and a few other exceptions), and even then I haven't heard that much of a slightly "substantial" score from him since Oz. Let's be a little real here, if the phrase "composed with Junkie XL" isn't giving us any indication on what to expect from this, then I don't know what it will.

Edit: Posted the last bit without the knowledge that Elfman would be scoring this on his own, yet, it's still relatively hard to keep hope from what he's been doing lately :(

Elfman is not working with Holkenborg on the score, he has replaced him.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/justice-league-danny-elfman-compose-score-1013319

So unless all the sources are incorrect, this is wholly an Elfman score.

There was a great 3-minute action cue at the beginning of The Orville episode 5. It was Debney this week.

This week also sees the return of Conisch to anime scoring. The first episode had some nice music including a really lovely piece for piano, strings, and flute. His unique style of orchestration is always interesting to hear.

Hard for me to admit it but so far this anime season is quite bad, honestly... After UQ Holder (which has fake brass!), almost nothing turned up to my liking. Maybe the second half will turn it around...

I can't enjoy Conisch as much as I would like (mind you it IS lovely) because the orchestra has no horns... what bullshit is that! I want my horn calls! WHY HAS RECENT ANIME SCORING NO HORN PLAYERS!!!! Has Ike a monopoly on them or what is going on???

Suehiro has no real orchestra and it hurts badly, especially the absence of woodwinds for the setting... but maybe it will turn up later in the show. I will still check out the OST in december.

Black Clover (OVA) = The Orville / Black Clover (TV) = Star Trek Discovery

But hey, at least JAGMO is involved with an anime ("Just Because!"). Not their orchestra department so far, just wind band (though they might overlay the piece with the strings for the soundtrack).

As, as I suspected - another shitty season. Oh, well.

I can't enjoy Conisch as much as I would like (mind you it IS lovely) because the orchestra has no horns... what bullshit is that! I want my horn calls! WHY HAS RECENT ANIME SCORING NO HORN PLAYERS!!!! Has Ike a monopoly on them or what is going on???

He has strings, 3 trumpets, 2 euphoniums, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets. That's more than he usually gets. He doesn't usually have horns anyways.

Which further emphasizes my question: Where are the horn players? ;) Trust me, I will still jump at the first sign of a soundtrack :)

Well its only half way through, there's still hope left (however foolish it may be). Also forgot to mention on the positive side that Yasunori Iwasaki has an orchestra (eventhough that means one instrument per section) and sounds like old times! But the show is obscure as hell and will probably not get released (always remember Keijo).

I don't know, maybe it's just his preference?

Linebarrels: 2 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba
Mardock Scramble: 0 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, 1 tuba
Amazing Twins: just 1 trumpet
This show: 0 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 euphoniums

To be honest, I think it's fine. Conisch kind of reminds me of Sahashi because he loves writing for trumpets.

Guess the score I feel the strongest about ;)

But that was a much broader question: Constantly, there's this otherwise pretty neat orchestral score BUT fake horns or no horns at all. It happened far too often to be just poor management. And on the other side you have Ike employing six horns for Virgin Soul. Are horns the most expensive players around?

Also, horns are a big deal. They are a seperate brass section by themselves and for a reason 99% of the time on the other side of the room from the Tps and Tbs to provide orchestral balance and a whole other dimension of combinations. An ensemble doesn't really count as an orchestra for me if the horn section is missing. And Sahashi never wrote a good score without horns (did he even write one without?).

I will give Conisch the credit that he writes to the strength of the ensemble and has some serious chops. It's just that for me, something is missing to make it great ;)

Meanwhile, you get Yoko Kanno working with five different ensembles in five different countries for Wolf's Rain.

I'm not arguing that horns aren't a big deal. I just don't think they're as big of deal for someone like Conisch who is an exceptionally talented orchestrator (very underrated!). Other composers are crippled by smaller orchestra and resort to fake instruments but Conisch seems to adapt his music to whatever size ensemble he is given. Still, I hope he gets a big project soon. Next year will mark 10 years since Linebarrels. I'd love to hear a Macross or Gundam by Conisch.

The reason horns get short-changed is because they're in the middle, and as such it's easier to disguise their absence - either (ill-advised) with synthesizers or (better) by not writing for them at all. The era of anime scores routinely getting a decent ensemble are gone. The middle ground disappeared. Now you have the ultra-cheap shit, and the *very* occasional "money is no object" prestige score like Drifters - but by far the majority is the piffling no-budget crap written by poor composers or by good composers doing poor work.

Netojuu no Susume (the latest Conisch) is nice to hear, but is it a great score? Of course not. And I'm ten minutes into the first episode and they've already repeated the same orchestral cue FOUR TIMES. This is not promising.

The era of anime scores routinely getting a decent ensemble are gone.

More like, there's too much shows made each season and all that work energy would-be better served on fewer shows with higher budgets. Problem is the shows with budgets are still out there, but they go to Tatsuya Kato, Yokoyama, Sawano and Tsutsumi, because they have better PR and networking talents.

But I wouldn't say dead when exactly one year ago we had Keijo, Izetta, Drifters, Fune wo Amu, Brave Witches, Stella no Mahou, Jojo, Soushin Shoujo Matoi and Bungo Stray Dogs. All with at least a decent orchestral ensemble ;)

Also, I believe it depends on the composer. I haven't heard a penny-pitcher from Ike (two shows this season) or Oshima (two film scores this season) in a long time.
I think the anime year 2018 starting with next season will present a better future. Netflix has budget and aquired Ike and Sahashi among others for their shows. Kyoani got Evan Call with his first big orchestral score. Yugo Kanno confirmed a full orchestra for the new Lodoss, Watanabe scored Mazinger and a new show next season, Mitsuda has a big orchestra for Inazuma, MONACA has a fantasy series coming up, Yuru Camp and Cardcaptor Sakura sound very promising, new score by Hamaguchi (GuP) etc.

Netojuu no Susume (the latest Conisch) is nice to hear, but is it a great score? Of course not. And I'm ten minutes into the first episode and they've already repeated the same orchestral cue FOUR TIMES. This is not promising.
I mean, it was one scene repeated 4 times for comedic effect. You make it sound like it was the same cue re-used in different scenes...

But anyways, he says on Twitter that there were 2 recording sessions. For the orchestra session he recorded around 50 tracks (https://twitter.com/conisch/status/846360938924060672) and for the piano session he recorded 22 tracks (https://twitter.com/conisch/status/846364254345211905).

Speaking about 2018, Ken-P tweeted that he has a "game music recording project" with orchestra & choir in the UK (I bet London) next week.

I mean, it was one scene repeated 4 times for comedic effect. You make it sound like it was the same cue re-used in different scenes...

Fair comment, point well made. (Even though it wasn't funny.)

We'll see. The rest of the episode didn't impress me musically at all, and even that one cue (the re-used one) was pitiful in comparison to pretty much anything else he's ever written; the legacy of Linebarrels (which itself was a penny-pincher, but a very good one) weighs heavily...

Orville 5- another episode I like, and Debney's score was less stolen... although what the bloody hell is Goldsmith's "Klingon Battle" theme doing in a suspense cue accompanying two people snooping through someone's possessions? Is it like an official rule of scoring The Orville that you HAVE to sneak a theme from a previous Star Trek score in there somehow?

Also, MacFarlane obviously carries a bulge for Charlize Theron. I mean, who doesn't, but seriously? Creating a series, casting yourself as the main character, and writing an episode where you get to make out with your love interest from the last movie you directed?

Also, MacFarlane obviously carries a bulge for Charlize Theron. I mean, who doesn't, but seriously? Creating a series, casting yourself as the main character, and writing an episode where you get to make out with your love interest from the last movie you directed?

That's gonna give even more fuel to the haters, but... can you blame him, honestly? :laugh:

Stumbled upon this: https://soundcloud.com/tastyisteak/sdorica-main-theme

Theme from Taiwanese smartphone game Sdorica. Music by Yen-Po Chu. The arrangement in this track reminds me of Hamauzu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18oGXTOG8r8

Rayark is releasing a soundtrack later this year along with Deemo soundtrack vol.3 (probably will include Oshima's pieces).

Well, we finally know who's replacing Alf Clausen on The Simpsons... it's exactly what you'd expect:


https://scontent.forf1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22045611_1977995309138925_3956771707846404038_n.jp g?oh=791e1546a85b83eea8cae34f7cdf09c7&oe=5A7DDA20


Sorry to bring this back up, but this has been bothering me for the last week and I thought now would be a good time to ask. Is it me, or does the sheet music look a bit... basic?

I've been doing a music class for the last week, and I've only very recently learnt how to read/write sheet music in that time (only at what I think is at grade 1 or 2), which means that the sheet music in that picture looks vaguely readable to me. And I can't help but think that it looks really basic to me; like it was written by someone who was asked to compose a piece entirely in sheet music, and they had such little experience that they decided to come up with the most generic beginners' piece for a spooky atmosphere. (I'm also aware that this is meant for a cello, so there's a chance that maybe it shouldn't be terribly complex when it's for one part of an orchestra comprised of at least a dozen people.)

Can anyone who can read sheet music help me out here? If it helps, I can try to transcribe what's in that picture and recreate it with an audio file (keeping in mind that some of the music is blocked off).

I think it was posted more intending to show that Bleeding Fingers is writing the music now, than to show that that specific page and a half's content is terrible.

I mean, yeah, cello. That two minutes is boring for them, but that happens a lot to the cello section.
It does tell us that "spooky simpsons theme" isn't a waltz.

Stumbled upon this: https://soundcloud.com/tastyisteak/sdorica-main-theme

Man, those are some realistic sounding samples.

Stumbled upon this: https://soundcloud.com/tastyisteak/sdorica-main-themeCertainly sounds like the work of a big Hisaishi fan.

Why does the new Star Wars trailer sound like it came out of a Marvel movie?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0CbN8sfihY

Why does the new Star Wars trailer sound like it came out of a Marvel movie?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0CbN8sfihY

Maybe because it doesn't? I wish this came from a Marvel movie. The Marvel movies need a halfway decent score (they can manage one or good cues, max, per film).

No, it sounds like a Marvel movie to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72MeeEMDXps

There is absolutely no sign of Williams at all in that trailer piece.

The Star Wars trailer and the Avenger piece you just linked are so different, they may as well be speaking in different languages. There is plenty of signs of Williams in the trailer piece, precisely from the very first second. It screams Star Wars.

^It's funny how that first second in the trailer isn't the actual piece of music. The piece itself begins at the 25 second mark and is constructed the same way as the one in the Avengers- a forgettable fanfare that tries to be a melody, droning horns playing simple chord progressions, thundering percussion, along with the same repetitive string hacking "motif" that is so common place in all modern film music. Williams isn't someone who would sink to that level of garbage.

Well, I guess I can be reassured that whichever hack wrote that trailer piece isn't Williams. Hopefully they don't touch any future installments of Star Wars either, because even Giacchino is preferable to this.

It sounds about one inch ahead of your typical generic piece of trailer garbage, clearly wasn't written by Williams, and screams nothing at all, except perhaps "Crap!"...

Dropping in Williams themes here and there is where the Williams connection begins and ends. It's terrible. We expected nothing more. I look forward to hearing the genuine score. :)

Do you remember when the score composers wrote the trailers to give it a genuine connection to the film's narrative structure, making the trailer almost a work of art... me neither. Oh well, at least the new Star Wars trailer features the actual Williams character themes whenever they are on screen but alyways remember how effective a trailer can be (for the box office money) if the film composer takes over. I wish Hollywood execs would listen to it: Return of the King (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5X-hFf6Bwo)

And on a sidenote, boy I sure miss the 80s: Thor III (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqNn14l7hhA)






Vinphonic presents:

Keiji Inai
Victor Studio Orchestra
Symphonic Oratoria

Arranged and remastered by Vinphonic

(https://mega.nz/#!47ol3bBD!6lLMoIiIl0HOFHBdfPjl7ArcP5ufP4wDzpY1ZtaBu-c)

Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7e0UnhCznA)

With all the soundtracks out, here's my concert arrangent of Inai's finest work yet.
But ladies and gentlemen, that's only the first course, the main event...




Keiji Inai
Victor Studio Orchestra
The Film Music of Keiji Inai

Arranged and remastered by Vinphonic

(https://mega.nz/#!oiYQFAgQ!oi_dsReh_lRkdV9-xooaj0eRuE5XjPxsLKJX1QD4yto)

Inai's career only really started four years ago and he already has much to show for. He is an anime composer in name only, what he does is writing genuine Hollywood music from the 80s and 90s. If he continues to get work (which he evidentely does) and budget, we could witness here the rise of one of the future greats. His music is not only 100% Hollywood but also has spark in many compositions. The potential is definetely here.

So far his biggest work is his Dungeon Project (Familia Myth + Extension of Sword Oratoria), but sadly all the major action pieces with the Main Theme were not recorded with the orchestra because of budget constraints (and scored to picture at the last minute). Nonetheless some wonderful stuff in there.

Alderamin continues with likewise excellent moments that are again undercut by budget issues, but nothing major. One thing to note about his work is his folk/celtic influence similar to Horner he really likes to show. Heavy Object and Tokyo Raven show that even modern Hollywood scores can have some meat to them and especially Tokyo Ravens has many hybrid tracks I quite like. Michael Kamen's "Go Heavy!" is also worthy of note ;)

Outbreak Company is probably hurt the most because of budget limitations but boy does his writing make up for it. It's so good I can stomach any samples. He already has potential written all over it the moment it got released and frankly it deserves a symphony orchestra but what he achieved in just three years after it gives me much hope for the future.

He's pretty much the most busy IMAGINE guy right now (at least on the TV-Anime scene). Here's hoping for greatness to appear in the future.

Bland writing aside, I just am at a loss for why they couldn't at least hire an orchestra for the trailer - silly thing to say about modern Hollywood, though not only is Star Wars the biggest money-making machine in cinema, but Williams's music is also something actually respected by every single viewer. It just seems like a no-brainer to me.

I suppose by using samples it gives the Disney suits more leeway to say, "I don't like that instrument, take it out!" But that's a whole 'nother problem.


And on a sidenote, boy I sure miss the 80s: Thor III (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqNn14l7hhA)

Early reviews for the film are praising Mothersbaugh's score... how often does that happen?? :D

lets never talk about trailermusic again.

Bland writing aside, I just am at a loss for why they couldn't at least hire an orchestra for the trailer - silly thing to say about modern Hollywood, though not only is Star Wars the biggest money-making machine in cinema, but Williams's music is also something actually respected by every single viewer. It just seems like a no-brainer to me.Exactly. The music of Star Wars is so iconic, that it would have been both cheaper and better for getting audience attention if all the editors did was paste one of William's themes onto it. Instead, it tries to sound like every modern film trailer. Apparently even playing some of the most iconic themes of all time in a film trailer is considered by producers to be too much of a "risk".

Praise Netflix Japan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-l_zzjXVng

That dreadful music really wouldn't benefit from the presence of an orchestra. It's the world's cheapest, most generic and worthless trailer music, as heard on every single movie for the last decade, with some Star Wars themes poorly overlayed.

This parody, originally found by Vinphonic around Christmas 2015 when we were all looking forward to TFA, is just as important as ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDKUpulU--Q

Edit: I wasn't talking about what Vinphonic just posted - I was talking about the Star Wars trailer music!

What is this? Yusuke Shirataro? REALLY? More information sought... :D :D :D

What is this?

Fantasy Macross (The Dance stage has a fully modeled symphony orchestra)

EDIT: Okay, this might be just misleading ads... pretty much every big pv has an orchestral piece, so the show might just be 20% (orchestral) pop and 80% score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWEeqQe-S7w
Also noteworthy the music has already been recorded months before a real pv. I also get the impression from the trailers they are really proud of the orchestral score and want to show it off :)


Yusuke Shirataro

Would be out of left field. He might be responsible for the pop and the BGM is someone else. I would bet its at least orchestrated by either Yamashita or Takaki leaning more towards Takaki (then again it does sound a bit like the Kanagawa Philharmonic) BUT if it really is Shirataro alone, then he jumped on stage with quite the momentum. I already have dozens of variations of the main theme playing out in my head, the melody is quite versatile (it feel its an orchestral rendition of a pop tune similar to AKB0048, just with far more budget). The music also really goes in for the larger-than-life, overly-dramatic and over-emotional bursts. Now if Sahashi's scores turn out likewise (Sword of Themis had no budget for live-players), I will forgive Netflix for everything, even Death Note...


More information sought

I'm sure nextday will come to the rescue :D

Themis is all synth? There you go, ladies and gentlemen, the confirmation that Toshihiko Sahashi has retired from serious media scoring.

Edit: Just listened to it. Oh, shit, it's fucking terrible...


I would bet its at least orchestrated by either Yamashita or Takaki

It doesn't sound a thing like Yamashita, and Takaki has never orchestrated for another composer - and it doesn't sound like him, either. Neither are involved. It does, however, sound like a Japanese orchestra...


Yusuke Shirataro

Well, it's only his name turning up as "composer" so who knows? To my knowledge he's never done anything even remotely close to an orchestral score and now suddenly here he is with a full symphony orchestra. You're right, though, it has that nicely orchestrated J-pop sound to it. I hope there is some score proper. And I hope this isn't one of those cheap shit productions with four minutes of orchestra.

Toshiyuki Watanabe's original album is sounding lovely: https://youtu.be/txcgmBvfT2A?t=15

And the latest from the Touhou doujin music scene: https://soundcloud.com/io5uow1ss0ei/413-demo-1
This arranger actually won a contest by JAGMO last year and had one of his pieces played at their concert. His arrangements are a bit too much for an amateur wind orchestra to play but it's been interesting to see live recordings become more common.



Well, it's only his name turning up as "composer" so who knows? To my knowledge he's never done anything even remotely close to an orchestral score and now suddenly here he is with a full symphony orchestra. You're right, though, it has that nicely orchestrated J-pop sound to it. I hope there is some score proper. And I hope this isn't one of those cheap shit productions with four minutes of orchestra.
Yusuke Shirato (not Shirataro) is a pop composer and bassist but his profile mentions that studied chamber/orchestra music in college, so maybe he was involved with the arrangement? None of the orchestrators I follow have mentioned anything about this project. News sites mention there was a full orchestra recording at a concert hall, so they probably recorded more than four minutes of music.

Iwasaki is working on a film right now, and already he feels overwhelmed because the director asked for 150 full-fledged cues and gave him only 6 months.

https://twitter.com/taque68/status/917979995204661250

The ideal course of action here would obviously be to hire an orchestrator, but knowing Iwasaki he would rather work himself to death than let someone else touch his music (though to my knowledge, 150 cues for a single film is insane no matter how many orchestrators you have).

More importantly, I wonder if this means Iwasaki has finally moved past scoring anime. He's been quiet this entire year so far other than his live concert and the Mahouka movie, which hasn't even had a soundtrack release yet.

Yusuke Shirato (not Shirataro)

Oops, I copied a translation of the name from Google Translate, which is probably the dumbest thing you could do if you want someone's actual name! :D Thank you for the correction.


News sites mention there was a full orchestra recording at a concert hall, so they probably recorded more than four minutes of music.

Likely, but I'm just always erring on the side of caution nowadays; it's not unknown (predominantly in game scores, granted) for a PV to come out slathered with orchestral music which we then discover is one of two cues recorded at the session; there's a main theme and maybe a boss battle and sometimes not even that.

This thing needs to be good, at a time when quality music in anime is in decline.


More importantly, I wonder if this means Iwasaki has finally moved past scoring anime. He's been quiet this entire year so far other than his live concert and the Mahouka movie, which hasn't even had a soundtrack release yet.

I would've *thought* that scoring anime was Iwasaki's natural "habitat" - in what other medium would he be able to explore so many different types of music?


150 full-fledged cues and gave him only 6 months

In the Twitter post he complains that the cues are long, but how long is this movie? We assume the film will be ~120 minutes, and charitably estimate that three quarters of it will be scored - so Iwasaki has 90 minutes of music to write in six months. This means the cue length is an average of 36 seconds each. Something's being lost in the translation, I feel.


knowing Iwasaki he would rather work himself to death than let someone else touch his music

His narcissism is entirely his choice. ;)

In the Twitter post he complains that the cues are long, but how long is this movie? We assume the film will be ~120 minutes, and charitably estimate that three quarters of it will be scored - so Iwasaki has 90 minutes of music to write in six months. This means the cue length is an average of 36 seconds each. Something's being lost in the translation, I feel.The director was saying that creating that number of cues in that amount of time was normal for modern film composers, Iwasaki retorted that his cues tend to be twice as long as those composers. Despite all his experimentation with electronica and RC style, he is still an old-school composer at heart who writes longer cues and not 30-second snippets, so I can understand his frustrations. Even then, 150 cues is absolutely insane for a single movie, 36 seconds per cue is assuming that the film has music in every scene. Either the film is at least 4 hours or is a multi-parter.


I would've *thought* that scoring anime was Iwasaki's natural "habitat" - in what other medium would he be able to explore so many different types of music?Well, he does complain often about how his cues get butchered in the editing process quite often, such as back during the infamous case of Jojo's, and he seems to have an immense hatred of Otaku and the anime medium in general (coated within his usual long tirades- he doesn't have many other fellow composers or many fans on Twitter who follow him as a result). He jumped into video games again a while back and I guess he's testing the waters for movies now to see if he enjoys making music for either of them more than anime.


His narcissism is entirely his choice.Yep. =/

https://twitter.com/taque68/status/918041568023478273

I do respect his methods, I just hope it doesn't kill him like it did with so many other prideful artists. And Japanese work culture is even worse in that regard.

Actually, Iwasaki just upholds the ideal composer standard with "composition is orchestration". Want to know what pretty much all of my Legacy composers have in common, except ironically enough Hisaishi in a few cases? They don't use orchestrators at all. The music they write is inherently already orchestrated. And even Hisaishi used it out of time constraints to my knowledge, same with Williams, and nobody could question their raw skill. In fact, I would say the one thing that separates current Hollywood from Japan, is that Hollywood composers can't survive without a machine apparatus supporting them, while many Japanese composers only really need pen and pencil to survive, the rest is already in their minds.

But I'm not denouncing the orchestrator/composer relationship. Afterall, early Hollywood was build on it. And they are plenty of amazing scores out there that are the results of such collaboration. It's just a lofty artistic ideal to me... the ability to simply not need an orchestrator in any way because your writing is already orchestation, and you simply won't anyone else touch it...


And for clarification, it almost broke a good composer like Mitsuda mentally and physically, working without any help on a prestigeous score without orchestrators. That's how good the Japanese A league is in terms of skill (shame they don't get to demonstrate it as often as I would like as of late :().

I really don't take any of his diatribes seriously - they are mainly incoherent ranting unbecoming of a professional. That he can get away with what he does - particularly in Japan where the nail that sticks out gets hammered down - boggles my mind.


The director was saying that creating that number of cues in that amount of time was normal for modern film composers

Not normal, but perhaps even luxurious. Most composers would jump for joy if they had six months to score one movie. John Williams, who writes by pencil and paper in a meticulous and jaw-droppingly complex style light years ahead of Iwasaki, has often said that he would manage two to three minutes of completed music a day if he sets his mind to it. So, in 30 days, he's finished his 90 minutes score. Since a great deal of modern Iwasaki is sound design and synthesizer manipulation, I just can't see him spending eight hours struggling over 180 seconds of dubstep.

The guy IS clever - amazingly clever, but I think he has an overinflated view of himself; as the tortured genius, woe is me, nobody will ever understand what I go through for my art, I am working my fingers to the bone creating divine wonders and nobody appreciates my brilliance. Well, you're writing music for a cartoon, mate. Joke's on you. This stuff happens. It's the industry. Suck it up and move on to the next thing, and if you don't like it, do something else for a career.


...who writes longer cues and not 30-second snippets, so I can understand his frustrations

If he voluntarily choses to write triple or quadruple the amount of music that's required for the movie, and then wants to complain about the workload... I have even less sympathy.


No,,,,I can't separate arrangement from composing. - Taku Iwasaki

Williams does it. Goldsmith did it. Rozsa did it. Hisaishi (sometimes) does it. With a handful of customary exceptions that prove the rule, every media composer of note has done it at one point or another. (I make the important distinction between composers who can't orchestrate and composers who don't orchestrate because they don't have time.) It's his choice to work that way.

Bernard Herrmann was notoriously outspoken about orchestrators and (to my knowledge) never used them - but did you ever see him whining in the paper that his meticulous and pointed superiority to his peers gave him an unmanageable workload?

C'mon Taque, you're choosing to do it this way. Just get on with writing the score. ;)


Iwasaki just upholds the ideal composer standard with "composition is orchestration".

Of course, but additionally, the ideal composer knows how to prioritise and can communicate with an orchestrator to make difficult deadlines attainable. A good composer *can* orchestrate and always *strives* to orchestrate, but equally is professionally and creatively comfortable enough to get someone else to do it when circumstances demand it.

Mitsuda compromised not only his health, but arguably the quality of the finished score, by insisting on doing every part of it himself - including parts that he wasn't good at and could have easily sub-contracted out without ANY loss of face. The orchestration on the score you mention is pedestrian - it does the job and sounds professional enough, but it could've been better. Thankfully, more recently he has demonstrated that he now understands what he's good at and what he's not so good at, works with a team with a diversity of skills, and the finished output is better as a result.

Even then, 150 cues is absolutely insane for a single movie, 36 seconds per cue is assuming that the film has music in every scene. Either the film is at least 4 hours or is a multi-parter.
Keep in mind that it's common for cues to be rejected. I remember seeing an interview by Mitsuda where he said he composed over 200 tracks for a game and the developer only ended up using around 60. That's an extreme case but it still happens.

EDIT:

Yusuke Shirato (not Shirataro) is a pop composer and bassist but his profile mentions that studied chamber/orchestra music in college, so maybe he was involved with the arrangement? None of the orchestrators I follow have mentioned anything about this project. News sites mention there was a full orchestra recording at a concert hall, so they probably recorded more than four minutes of music.
To follow up, I found this tweet: https://twitter.com/sirato10/status/911550423453937664

It has a picture of the orchestra recording and a picture of Shirato conducting.

@Zipper:


He seems to have an immense hatred of Otaku and the anime medium in general (coated within his usual long tirades- he doesn't have many other fellow composers or many fans on Twitter who follow him as a result

Would explain why he's close friends with Kaoru Wada :D (They can't fool me, they are probably closet-otaku themselves, especially Mr. "This-trash-anime-doesn't-deserve-my-concert-music" Wada)


But seriously, the "young ones" LOVE HIM (Suehiro, Tajibana, MICHIRU, Souhei Kano, Takada, Mizutani) and together with Mitsuda they all follow him on twitter (most of the A league doesn't use twitter so its no surprise he has not more followers from the old guard). Maybe he's also just (inside-)joking and everybody in on it knows he's just fooling about ;)


And just in time his "Irregular" Movie score gets released in January :D


@nextday: Now if it please could turn out like Macross Plus... but I guess it depends on the story between the music segments. I'm hopeful however.

Not normal, but perhaps even luxurious. Most composers would jump for joy if they had six months to score one movie. John Williams, who writes by pencil and paper in a meticulous and jaw-droppingly complex style light years ahead of Iwasaki, has often said that he would manage two to three minutes of completed music a day if he sets his mind to it. So, in 30 days, he's finished his 90 minutes score. Since a great deal of modern Iwasaki is sound design and synthesizer manipulation, I just can't see him spending eight hours struggling over 180 seconds of dubstep.I think you are being pretty unfair to Iwasaki here, his style of composition goes far beyond the electronica and dubstep. This is a guy who can literally snap his fingers and alternate from sounding like Nino Rota in Black Butler 2 to a 80s Prog Rock band in Jojo within the span of a single year. Only someone like Iwasaki can take on the same horror/goth theme and spin them into three completely different yet equally distinct execution methods within the a year, as we saw in mid-2008 to 2009 with Soul Eater, Black Butler, and Persona.

Williams, for all his mastery of the orchestra, uses the same devices in all of his music, and therefore much of it is interchangeable from work to work, and much of it can be recycled. If you did a blindfold test and played music from Indiana Jones, Superman, and Star Wars to someone who wasn't familiar with any of these three films, very few would be able to tell which work they originally belonged to. William's ability to give a work its own musical identity rests 90% on the melodies, but all the other aspects such as the orchestration will be very similar from work to work. This applies to not just Williams, but most other composers in general, even the very best from the Golden Age like Rozsa or Korngold. Iwasaki does have certain tropes that he likes to use and reuse in individual pieces, but taken as a whole every single one of his soundtracks speak for themselves. To date, he has not yet made a single soundtrack out of the 50 or so he has composed that is a mere rehash of a prior one, other than for sequels of course. Iwasaki is a different kind of genius who thinks far beyond how to use the same 80-piece orchestra each month, and his dilemma isn't how to write good music in a short amount of time, which he could probably do in a single week if that was the only requirement, but how to write it in a way that gives it an identity unique to everything that he's written so far. As stated by others before, his musical vocabulary and versatility is unmatched, and for the most part completely his own handiwork unlike someone such as Yoko Kanno.


If he voluntarily choses to write triple or quadruple the amount of music that's required for the movie, and then wants to complain about the workload... I have even less sympathy. But it's not more music, it's longer music that he wants to write. Writing short cues is something that modern Hollywood hacks like Bates specialize in. They don't have the ability to write in extended form that goes outside of their "atmospheric sound effect" techniques because doing so requires actual compositional skill. Iwasaki is (presumably) being asked to write in a style that he is not fond of, but is very much the norm for modern films.


Williams does it. Goldsmith did it. Rozsa did it. Hisaishi (sometimes) does it. With a handful of customary exceptions that prove the rule, every media composer of note has done it at one point or another. (I make the important distinction between composers who can't orchestrate and composers who don't orchestrate because they don't have time.) It's his choice to work that way.

Bernard Herrmann was notoriously outspoken about orchestrators and (to my knowledge) never used them - but did you ever see him whining in the paper that his meticulous and pointed superiority to his peers gave him an unmanageable workload?Generally yes, many composers can use orchestrators because these people are used to their style of composition and wouldn't be surprised by anything on the sheet music since they already have a good idea of how their composer's music is structured. Herrmann didn't use orchestrators because most of his music revolved around unique musical textures and unpredictable combinations of instruments. And Iwasaki's musical range and bizarre experimentation goes far beyond Herrmann's (no doubt a product of different times, it would have been interesting to see how Herrmann lived through the 80s considering his enthusiasm for the mundane electronic instruments of his time). And as far as I remember, I've never seen Iwasaki make a comment that matches the level of whining that Herrmann expressed when he belittled a fellow composer's experiences in a war just because he wouldn't play his opera.

I can definitely sympathize with Iwasaki, if he plans on writing 150 unique musical cues and not 3 themes and 147 30-second snippets of the cues played on smaller groupings of instruments at different tempos *coughhisaishicough*.


But seriously, the "young ones" LOVE HIM (Suehiro, Tajibana, MICHIRU, Souhei Kano, Takada, Mizutani) and together with Mitsuda they all follow him on twitter (most of the A league doesn't use twitter so its no surprise he has not more followers from the old guard). Maybe he's also just (inside-)joking and everybody in on it knows he's just fooling about From what I can see, the "big names" like Yugo Kanno, Hayashi, Sawano, Kajiura, Kousaki, and a handful of others steer clear of him.

Big in name only (except Yugo) ;)

Maybe they don't hang around IRL. I've seen pictures of all his followers drinking together (surprise, they all can write and orchestrate).

I think my thoughts on Iwasaki's abilities and skill are well known, and therefore my exaggeration-for-effect would be understood as it was intended.

My point was if Williams can comfortably do three minutes a day at his level of complexity, writing completely with pencil, paper and a piano, I would expect Iwasaki, king of technology for whom complex orchestral music is, at best, a small part of the panoply of styles he will use in a given score, and not writing at anywhere near that skill, should be able to do a lot more. There is nothing in Iwasaki's music that leads me to believe that the composition process should be unusually or excessively time-intensive.

This https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE4uqGl656o is certainly quicker to write and less labour-intensive for its composer as this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgA5jzl3O8E - that was my point.

Maybe they don't hang around IRL. I've seen pictures of all his followers drinking together (surprise, they all can write and orchestrate).

I do recall Yugo once attended one of Iwasaki's concerts a few years ago, so we at least know that he is somewhat acquainted with him before. Maybe Iwasaki wasn't very happy with Yugo because of Jojo, who knows.


One more thing I forgot to mention in my wall of text above, when Iwasaki is talking about 150 cues, that also includes the recording process. It's one thing to write all your cues by piano and then knock it out with a huge orchestra in 2 to 3 hours, it's another to write some combo of jazz/electronica/orchestra and then record each individual section of instruments because Japan has no proper recording spaces. Recording the music for the second Stray Dogs already took Iwasaki at least 6 hours just for a handful of instruments to create 4 or 5 pieces, imagine doing the same thing for 150. And Iwasaki, despite all his usage of electronica, pretty much never uses fake instruments to masquerade as the real thing nowadays. There are no shortcuts for what he is doing.


This https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE4uqGl656o is certainly quicker to write and less labour-intensive for its composer as this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgA5jzl3O8E - that was my point. The problem with your assumption is that you think what Iwasaki is doing with that electronica piece is simple and quick to throw together. That is not the case. When writing Gatchaman, Iwasaki said that this hybrid piece was the one that took him the longest to create, despite the simplicity of the chord progressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-vtOKppCjc

But, for these far more elaborate pieces with no electronica made at the behest of the director mid-series, he made them quickly didn't think much of them at all, and didn't even give them proper names outside of their cue number, and just tossed them into the "leftovers" second soundtrack with very minimal commentary: http://picosong.com/w39S6/ http://picosong.com/w39Qg/

That is the type of person Iwasaki is. His comments about how writing "mere symphonic music" for Gurren Lagann was "below him" was not for nothing. No, he obviously can't write on the same level as Williams (no one else alive can), but when it comes to working with just a pure orchestra, he has a much easier time than any of his usual experiments. But his preferences lie elsewhere.

I don't need to tell you all of this, we both know Iwasaki is capable of like you said. My point is that what he wants to write for those 150 pieces isn't a question of ability, it's more of his uncompromising need to do something other than writing "mere symphonic music". I'm sure in the future when more information about this project comes to light we'll know what the big fuss is about, but for now this is what it looks like.

If that's what I actually said, I would agree with you that it was a mistake. I did *not* say that I thought the electronica piece was "simple and quick to throw together" - I said I saw no reason why it would take *longer* to create than a fully symphonic, orchestral piece composed in the traditional pencil-and-paper method.

And here, we come back to the Iwasaki problem - the Emperor's New Clothes. He *is* talented, more than most people (including you and I) give him credit for and certainly more than the majority of his fans who probably approach that piece with a critical ear no more sophisticated than "OMFG SOUNDS LIKE SKRILLEX!!!111" - that, combined with the personality cult he's created for himself, "propels" him into the territory of a musical savant, which I do not think he is, not by a long shot. He wants to be, and he's frustrated by the fact that whatever he does and however good he is, 99.5% of the people listening to his work won't even care that it's there at all. Everybody knows the adage "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" and it's the same for music; for your listeners to think you're smart, you have only to be a little smarter than they are - and most of them are daft as a box of frogs.

Need we look any further than the comments for the track you posted - "Taku Iwasaki is living proof that God exists."

There you go, the theoretical creator of the entire universe and everything in it, and a guy who mixes dubstep and 90s rave with a small orchestra for a cartoon series, are of equivalent levels of majesty.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fascinating track and manages to combine half a dozen different and light-years-apart genres in such a way that's quite convincing and surprisingly satisfying - but if he spent longer writing that than Williams did writing The Asteroid Field, there's something badly wrong. If he spends more time buggering about with his samplers and going nuts trying to make new and crazy sounds than he does thinking about melody, development, contstruction, and storytelling... there's something badly wrong.


My point is that what he wants to write for those 150 pieces isn't a question of ability, it's more of his uncompromising need to do something other than writing "mere symphonic music". I'm sure in the future when more information about this project comes to light we'll know what the big fuss is about, but for now this is what it looks like.

I never said he wasn't able - my whole point all along was that I think the time allotted is reasonable and that if he considers it not reasonable but won't or can't work with minions to get the work done faster, that's a decision upon his own head and not one that's going to cost me sleep worrying about him being grossly overworked by "the man". All "the man" wants is some fun-sounding noise to put on his movie, and any idiot could do that, and in a quarter of the time. Iwasaki thinks he doing some miraculous thing - the jury's out on whether he is or not, but that's up to him. :)

Regardless of how smart he is, denigrating symphonic music as "below him" is a clear sign of narcissism; the words of a vainglorious windbag.

(Incidentally... I've been wanting to get "vainglorious" into a post for ten years now. PHEW.) ;)

I think we've had similar arguments about Iwasaki like this before, so I don't really have much more to add that hasn't already been said by others. But, I do agree with you that Iwasaki seems a bit overtly conscious about trying something "new" very often, and the fanbase of the anime he works for are usually not the brightest (though the same can be said of what most anime composers have to deal with, Hirano has it far worse). Iwasaki is very good at what he does, but there are moments when he just throws out stuff like this at a whim and I really have to question how much of his true talent with an orchestra he is hiding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP_Bbz1thJM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8J4iZRfG6k

Maybe when he grows old and gets tired of all his experiments, he will create some kind of symphonic masterpiece. But that won't be happening anytime soon.

The ridiculous thing is... he could do it. He's good at it. I'm definitely reading in my own biases here, but I don't get how someone could be SO GOOD at writing symphonic music, be in a position where they get to write it and record it all the time, and actively fight against writing it.

Oh, well... :)

Re: minions: well, if That Weird Iwasaki Thing is still so new and difficult that he's unique, then it makes sense that he doesn't have help, because it's too new and unique for help to exist yet. Has anyone else managed to copy his technique yet? If only he does this, and he doesn't use orchestrators, then no orchestrators have the experience yet, right?

And likewise, if he's unique, then even from an emotionless professional point of view, being asked to do orchestra-only work has a steep opportunity cost. Give up his main strength to do something that, yes, he's good at, but so are a dozen others. At the expense of not adding to the Weird Iwasaki Thing portfolio that's been getting him work so far.

This logic is simply flawless...

:smrt:

Has anyone else managed to copy his technique yet? If only he does this, and he doesn't use orchestrators, then no orchestrators have the experience yet, right?Well, as far as standard no-frills orchestral Iwasaki is concerned, it wouldn't be hard to find an orchestrator. Unfortunately, that side of him makes up only 20% of his music nowadays.

Iwasaki has always struck me as a very strange person. Yes, he is very arrogant and possibly a bit delusional, but I believe he probably has some of the best technical skill out of all the composers in Japan. If he wants to write huge symphonic score that could sit right at home with the very best of Golden Age Hollywood, he easily could. He didn't receive one of the most prestigious composition awards for his college musical achievements for nothing. Those incredible concert pieces from the second season of Stray Dogs a year ago are just proof of his skill. If Iwasaki was serious about consistently writing for an orchestra, he might even outdo Kanno. Listening to something like Akame is so aggravating because there is so much skillfull display in there using a fairly sizeable ensemble that is unfortunately all muddied by the ridiculous attempts to outdo Zimmer at percussion banging and ethnic chants. This piece is the prime example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpNIotPSd1M

A majestic intro with woodwinds and brass, and then suddenly it dips in to The Dark Knight? What? And then just to rub the salt in even further, at the 1:35 mark it morphs into an entirely different and dramatic golden age piece for about 20 seconds before jumping back into Remote Control mode. It's almost as if Iwasaki is taunting us all by showing us how the entire soundtrack would have been had he not treated it as another long experiment.

Iwasaki, from his music and Twitter, strikes me as someone who despises the pomp that surrounds the concert scene, and deliberately tries to avoid writing in that style, but unconsciously does it from time to time because of how much he was trained with it. As much as I like his experiments, Iwasaki's true calling has always been the symphony orchestra, something he is desperately trying to run away from (seriously, I don't know anyone else who has ever titled their music "Escape from the Hollywood Complex"). In a way, he is the polar opposite of someone like Giacchino, who loves the orchestra and its long tradition, but doesn't have slightest clue in how to use it despite all his best efforts.

Exactly. Wouldn't you just love to interview Iwasaki? But a proper interview, where no topics were verboten and in a hypothetical world in which you spoke Japanese at a completely native skill level and therefore wouldn't get any lost-in-translation confusion.

That cue you posted... The orchestral stuff is glorious. Why would you write like that, and why would you know HOW to write like that, if you hated it so much? Or is it like a rebellion-in-music type-thing - where he's symbolically beating the orchestra to death?

Keiji Inai
Victor Studio Orchestra
The Film Music of Keiji Inai


Thanks!! ;)

Intentional contrast, maybe? Glorious orchestra, breakdown into chaos, return to glory?

If you really want to cry, it might be time for a relisten to his old Kenshin stuff. I can't believe someone who could write that - and who still does a few tracks like that, fifteen years later, even for shows he complains about being bad - hates orchestra specifically.

Exactly. Wouldn't you just love to interview Iwasaki? But a proper interview, where no topics were verboten and in a hypothetical world in which you spoke Japanese at a completely native skill level and therefore wouldn't get any lost-in-translation confusion.That would be a dream. Add Asakawa and Kanno to that interrogation table and I think we will have the talk of a lifetime. Get to the bottom of Asakawa's decision to trade in his baton for a harp, and Kanno's... everything. And if we have time, toss in Amano as well for some drunk confessions about his involvement as Sagisu's pedestal.

On a side note, when I first heard the interview with Hirano I was surprised to see that, unlike his music, he was a normal, humble human being and not some kind of extreme personality like so many other top-tier composers. I half expected the reincarnation of Schoenberg to pop up in that talk. =)

Takayuki Hattori is in charge of the Godzilla anime movie. Hmm...

@nextday: Wow, Gundam AND Godzilla! Could be quite something. Please no drum machine!!! (who am I kidding).





Masato Coda
Knight's & Magic
Studio Orchestra

(https://mega.nz/#!9qAinAIa!vb-AhalcJtXmrD7wjapjpyKyOOT1nkXrSLcGl8EAeLU)

Samples (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQeqQqyTFwA)

Arranged and remastered film score album. 60 minutes of score. Nice fantasy score for orchestra & choir with some Kanno influences and other obvious Escaflowne cashgrab moments ;)

Enjoy.

Meanwhile, Michiru Oshima is premiering a new work Orchestral Suite "Sama" next week with the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra.



I pray it gets a CD release like Yugo Kanno (same conductor and orchestra as his symphony).

@nextday: Wow, Gundam AND Godzilla! Could be quite something. Please no drum machine!!! (who am I kidding).





Masato Coda
Knight's & Magic
Studio Orchestra

(https://mega.nz/#!x7IyGR4Q!LHTFarVTtB4mXhavuQ5ELixOWu_3UyBrZqR59b9ifvg)

Samples (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQeqQqyTFwA)

Arranged and remastered film score album. 60 minutes of score. Nice fantasy score for orchestra & choir with some Kanno influences and other obvious Escaflowne cashgrab moments ;)

Enjoy.

Thank you so much!

The director was saying that creating that number of cues in that amount of time was normal for modern film composers, Iwasaki retorted that his cues tend to be twice as long as those composers. Despite all his experimentation with electronica and RC style, he is still an old-school composer at heart who writes longer cues and not 30-second snippets, so I can understand his frustrations. Even then, 150 cues is absolutely insane for a single movie, 36 seconds per cue is assuming that the film has music in every scene. Either the film is at least 4 hours or is a multi-parter.


Maybe I lack circumstantial information, but absolutely nothing on his twitter implies that this lonely tweet refers to a single job. Merely that his schedule for the next half year is crammed with about 150 pieces he has to write which is a bit brutal in his case (but usually should be an expected workload) since he packs more "information" into his compositions than most others, and has the cues be about twice as long as much too.

ie.: I'm so busy the next couple months damn I need meds now so I manage to even get through it all and its even my fault because my music is more complex than that of these other dudes *sniff*

^He was referring to a singular director who told him to write that many cues, so it is most definitely for one work. Whether that work will be split up into multiple parts a-la Kill Bill is the only detail that remains murky.

He wasn't referring to anyone/anything specific outside of "the coming six months", hence I was wondering about a respective source that leads to that conclusion?

Interesting. I just put the original tweet through Google translate, and it does indeed read like Iwasaki is referencing GENERALLY his workload of the next six months but does refer to a specific person telling him that it's a reasonable amount of time.

Unless this movie is eight hours long or four different movies, 150 cues seems like a lot, particularly for a Japanese production which tend to be lighter on music than Western movies are these days.

Could it be a translation error / oversight at work here?

Funny, my translation also gets out of it that he is overwhelmed with work the next six months, which would be no problem for him writing 150 short cues but his cues are twice as long as normal...

If its a film trilogy "as a single project" that would be understandable, but a single film doesn't add up.

Solution: Read everything translated by a machine with skepticism or just ask nextday :p

In any case we should be happy that Iwasaki is still a busy bee and still fights for his music to get soundtrack releases not to be condemned to Blu-Ray. He REALLY cares about the music he writes.



Speaking of Blu-Rays, Kado's bonus cd is just a couple of score cues. I hope to god it gets a soundtrack release because I hate to see Iwashiro's best effort recently unreleased, especially that amazing "Birth of the Universe" cue :(

Why not just put it on iTunes? Keijo, likewise, had character songs and the whole package, so why not release the score digitally to get at least some extra money out of your underperforming show...


EDIT: Totally forgot to adjust the volume of K&M. Had it set to "concert level" instead of "soundtrack". Updated it.

Why not just put it on iTunes? Keijo, likewise, had character songs and the whole package, so why not release the score digitally to get at least some extra money out of your underperforming show...
Because the Japanese have been very slow to adopt digital downloads and streaming.

https://qz.com/711490/why-japan-has-more-music-stores-than-the-rest-of-the-world/

Japan’s odd consumer behavior is a prime example of the Galapagos syndrome, a business term that takes its name from Darwinian evolutionary theory. It explains how the country’s geography, history, and culture have come together to create a love for a technology that the rest of the world has all but forgotten.

For instance, Japan had phone cameras, email, and 3G years before the rest of the world. But it meant that the industry clung to flip-phone models, resisting black-slab smartphones until years after the West. This would have knock-on effects on related markets, such as online shopping and web design, where sites were designed for feature-phone screens, with clunky user interfaces.

Something similar is at work in the Japanese music industry. It has been slow to take up digital downloads and streaming—8% of Japan’s total music revenue, compared with 68% in the US—despite broadband access being almost universally available since 2000. Japan has evolved its own unique music market, and for several decades the change-averse Japanese character has kept the seemingly odd status quo.

Its nice that the CD won't die over there in a decade but there are plenty shows each season that have their music digitally distributed. I guess, just-like with anything anime-related, it depends which label and artist works on a given show. Still, the Bonus CD is called "soundtrack selection", so that makes an official release at least much more likely in the future than Keijo.



Fall anime season overview:
Not as bad as I feared.


Some notes first:

Just Because! is scored by newcomer Erika Fukasawa, concert composer and director of JAGMO. But in typical JAGMO fashion, everything commercial has jackshit to do with the actual orchestra.

Sho-Bi is scored by Takizawa Shunsuke, newcomer who studied under Akira Senju and Katsuhisa Hattori and has payed the bills with anime-pop arrangements so far. The first episode has some lovely Piano and strings as well as smooth sensual sax play (I dig it!) but nothing substantial (yet).

Inuyashiki: The Last Hero scored by Yoshihiro Ike has two or three cinematic cues with a full orchestral ensemble suggesting an orchestral score. Rest is "electronic hell" aka filler.


Now on to the good stuff this season:

So far Mahou Tsukai no Yome (Matsumoto Jun`ichi) and Anime-Gataris (Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi) have potential. Keigo Hoashi employs an orchestra pretty much solo with additional music by Kuniyuki Takahashi (who pulled Mummy Returns for Tenkai Knights). This could very well go the Tenkai Knights route... but could as well end up as another Denpa.

Kekkai Sensen 2 (Taisei Iwasaki) continues with the delicious potpurri of styles from Jazz to orchestra. Soundtrack is out Dec, 13.

UQ Holder (Kei Haneoka) has very strong string writing and even a real trumpet appeared! Looking forward to the OST.

Net-juu no Susume (Conisch) has good lighthearted orchestral acrobatics and two or three standouts should appear very soon. Soundtrack: TBA (please!)

Urahara (Yasunori Iwasaki) continues to be just like old times and full on orchestra from start to finish with delicious synthy SciFi gimmicks. Soundtrack: TBA (pretty please!)

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou (Kenichiro Suehiro) does have woodwinds! (and more). I feel it! Very "Hollywood-esque" cues crossed with some Masumi Ito / Kow Otani's esotheric vibe. Soundtrack out on Dec, 20.


On to the (potentially) great stuff:

Baja no Studio (Unknown?) is oldschool Cartoon goodness by Kyoani: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAveMbE53yM (Soundtrack: TBA)

With Girls und Panzer: Das Finale & Filmkonzert (Shiro Hamaguchi) Elmer Bernstein continues. Soundtrack: TBA (Konzert Dec 20).

Yamato 2202 (Akira Miyagawa) is far more substantial than 2199, and even more Trek than the first project (which taken on its own was massive fun for me, with a great series and film to boot). Soundtrack out on Jan 24, 2018.

I already gave rave reviews for Gundam The Origin V (Takayuki Hattori). The original score cues from this episode are likewise fantastic and drum-free.
Strangely this piece was missing (perhaps episode VI): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewO6_IPkEDA&t=28s (Soundtrack: TBA)

Godzilla: Kaiju Wakusei (Takayuki Hattori). Completely unexpected. Could turn out to be either another Codebreaker or another Gundam Origin I-IV (which are GOOD!). If there's even one piece as great as "To a New World", its worth my money. Soundtrack out on Nov, 15.

Haikara-san ga Toru (Michiru Oshima) is an instant buy with this moment alone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCz8QRWaTcg&t=36s Soundtrack out on Nov, 08 (Now Rose of Versailles next please).

Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome (Michiru Oshima) is Tatami Galaxy Vol. 2... (Soundtrack: TBA)

Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution [PART 1] (Naoki Sato)
Instant buy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJXbR1beElM&t=1m57s (Soundtrack: TBA)



Thankfully next season looks more promising by the day, now with Go Sakabe returning for a high-profile show, directed by veteran Junji Nishimura (Simoun!). Here's hoping it turns out special.
We also have Shoji Kawamori's next project for 2018 revealed very soon. Hopefully Yoko Kanno returns.

Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome (Michiru Oshima) is Tatami Galaxy Vol. 2... (Soundtrack: TBA)
Not being released unfortunately. Blu-ray comes out this week and there's no soundtrack CD included. It's crazy how soundtracks by Oshima, Hisaishi, etc. still go unreleased in this day and age.

Btw, there's a good chance a clip of Oshima's new work will be shown on that "Enter The Music" TV show. The host of the show is the conductor of her new piece.



Godzilla: Kaiju Wakusei (Takayuki Hattori). Completely unexpected. Could turn out to be either another Codebreaker or another Gundam Origin I-IV (which are GOOD!). If there's even one piece as great as "To a New World", its worth my money. Soundtrack out on Nov, 15.
Is it too much to hope for a throwback to his old Godzilla scores? :)

Hey guys, Don Davis' TOKYO GHOUL got relased (check out download-soundtrack.com) but the cover stinks. I whipped up something better.

()

Is it any good?

It's Don Davis. Of course it's good.

(It doesn't compare to the Matrix trilogy, but that was his magnum opus. I'm having fun with Ghoul.)

@nextday: Old Hattori? Haven't heard of him in ages ;)

@Doublehex: Thanks! Lovely cover.

I bet you guys can't guess what I think of the recent season... ;)

Orville 5: McNeely again, with the darkest score of the series so far, and perhaps also the weakest overall. I love the introspective trumpet, swirling woodwind, and dissonant strings - I do not like the electronics. Thefts are back to Goldsmith and Horner's respective Alien/s scores.

The episode I truly adored, though I'm fairly sure that religious people will hate MacFarlane even more than they already did after this one - particularly for the line "Generally, when a civilization becomes more technologically advanced, their adherence to religion declines."

Ed and Gordon trying to be inconspicuous posing as Krill officers and failing miserably, love it. "For God's sake, shut up!" - love it. "We were literally just sent here to make Xeroxes!" - love it. Difficult moral dilemma - love it. Imperfect outcome to moral dilemma - REALLY love it. This is something that sets Orville WELL APART from TNG - that things sometimes don't work out with a neat flourish and all loose ends tied, and sometimes the aftermath doesn't completely work out for everyone. Bortus doesn't want his child to undergo the sex change operation, his partner does - a very TNG-esque court battle ensues but Bortus loses and his child does indeed go through the operation. Alara and Isaac negotiate the release of Ed and Kelly and one adolescent prisoner, but the other prisoners aren't freed. Ed and Gordon manage to save the children on the Krill ship but almost everybody else dies, and the sole adult survivor points out that the children will grow up to despise the humans who killed the others.

Not being released unfortunately. Blu-ray comes out this week and there's no soundtrack CD included..For such a high-profile film in Japan, that's inexcusable.

This is something that sets Orville WELL APART from TNG - that things sometimes don't work out with a neat flourish and all loose ends tied, and sometimes the aftermath doesn't completely work out for everyone. Bortus doesn't want his child to undergo the sex change operation, his partner does - a very TNG-esque court battle ensues but Bortus loses and his child does indeed go through the operation. Alara and Isaac negotiate the release of Ed and Kelly and one adolescent prisoner, but the other prisoners aren't freed. Ed and Gordon manage to save the children on the Krill ship but almost everybody else dies, and the sole adult survivor points out that the children will grow up to despise the humans who killed the others.
I knew after episode 3 that we were in for a treat. It's the ending you expect, but not the ending you want. I'm glad that the writers didn't cop out and give it a "happy" ending. Same for the latest episode.


For such a high-profile film in Japan, that's inexcusable.
Her score for 125 Years Memory, performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music at the 2015 Japanese Academy Awards (the film received 10 nominations and won 2). The score was not released in any form. :-(

More tragedies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoaRce6n-wA (unreleased)

Oh and Buddha too :(

If Orville 3 has been TNG...

The tribunal rules in Bortus' favour and during the final denouement, Klyden sees the light and understands why Bortus was right all along. The Moclan prosecutor loses gracefully, and in the final scene visits Bortus and Klyden, telling them that he's glad he lost as now society can, at last, start to move forward, beyond the closed-minded traditionalism of people like himself. He tells them that he has resigned his position as prosecutor and that he has a lot to think about, and thanks them both for opening his eyes. Klyden and Bortus stand together, hand in hand, looking down at their daughter as she sleeps, and they talk about how, when she grows up, she will change the world. The camera pulls back through their quarters and into space, and the score ends on a triumphant major key flourish.

More tragedies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoaRce6n-wA

Oh and Buddha too :(
There's plenty of great sounding scores that never get released. It's easy to find old NHK specials with nice themes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNshOC-L4_w

Buddha is supposedly a trilogy but there's been no news about the third movie. I figured it a soundtrack was going to be released, it would be after the final film... but now even that looks cancelled.


If Orville 3 has been TNG...

The tribunal rules in Bortus' favour and during the final denouement, Klyden sees the light and understands why Bortus was right all along. The Moclan prosecutor loses gracefully, and in the final scene visits Bortus and Klyden, telling them that he's glad he lost as now society can, at last, start to move forward, beyond the closed-minded traditionalism of people like himself. He tells them that he has resigned his position as prosecutor and that he has a lot to think about, and thanks them both for opening his eyes. Klyden and Bortus stand together, hand in hand, looking down at their daughter as she sleeps, and they talk about how, when she grows up, she will change the world. The camera pulls back through their quarters and into space, and the score ends on a triumphant major key flourish.
I'm not big on Trek, but I'll take your word for it. ;)

Her score for 125 Years Memory, performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music at the 2015 Japanese Academy Awards (the film received 10 nominations and won 2). The score was not released in any form. :-(Given her long career and connections within the music industry and international concert halls (name one other Japanese composer promoted by Hilary Hahn), Oshima has more than enough personal power to demand her music get released. Does she just not care? Iwasaki would be fighting tooth and nail.

I think you over-estimate the amount of pull exerted by one person who works in a dying industry. The soundtrack market is contracting, orchestral music within the soundtrack market is a niche, and that niche is dying, the orchestral score in general is dying, music budgets are being squeezed tighter and tighter each year, and the cost of getting a (good) performance is rising. I'm sure she cares to a certain extent, but not to the level at which she would make a nuisance of herself in the industry in order to get a release. What a film composer really wants is to write music for films, and have that music serve the film as well as possible. Getting a soundtrack release just isn't their priority and if they can choose between putting their energies into writing the next score (bearing in mind that every fairly-well-budgeted score could very well be the last in this current climate) and kicking up a stink to get a CD pressed, well, they're going to get on with composing.

Sad... but true.

Let's hope she gets her recent concert work released at least. The cd releases were teased a while back.

@Tango: Really? In a world were Natsumi Kameoka flies around the world recording left and right (which apparently disappears into the void because we ain't hearing it), Oshima working now more proactive than ever, Nintendo employing live ensembles in pretty much all their high-profile games, Square Enix producing concerts and orchestral albums now more than ever, Orchestral concerts multiplying like flies etc. And if you look past Hollywood and films, orchestras still record and play. Just pay various amusement parks a visit ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ays7FEo1W8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85pt0zgGFVM

Various orchestral companies, inside and outside Japan are forming themselves, providing and securing projects for Japanese media (as discussed on SoundtRec's TGS 2017 pannel). Maybe the talent is missing but the sound ain't dead yet!



Oh and here's a treat (in FLAC of course)





Yasunori Mitsuda
PROCYON STUDIO ORCHESTRA

Black Butler -Book of the Atlantic-
Original Motion Picture Score
Arranged by Vinphonic

(https://mega.nz/#!s3ohmTKR!2uYqCy-NedIRSpENQKEFuRKZMVmlJ1mmNoUUTLPH8uw)

EDIT: I replaced Track 16 since its from an old attempt. Wasn't quite happy with it. If someone already downloaded it, here's just the track (https://mega.nz/#!1y5i2TYT!fvEVfzVCvf7C0fwb7tLG-pUrwbRzJVrnkgr3k6Ckg5s).

What a film composer really wants is to write music for films, and have that music serve the film as well as possible. Getting a soundtrack release just isn't their priority and if they can choose between putting their energies into writing the next score (bearing in mind that every fairly-well-budgeted score could very well be the last in this current climate) and kicking up a stink to get a CD pressed, well, they're going to get on with composing.This I can begrudgingly agree with (not so much the tired old "anime music industry is dying" talk), as much as I dislike that philosophy . Oshima seems like the type of person who finds the greatest personal joy waving her baton in the concert hall and recording room. Everything that comes after is not nearly as important. Oshima clearly has the power to get it done, but I suspect she couldn't care less.

[]

I saw your post before it was deleted, and I know you don't want to keep going back and forth, but to restate my main point: if Iwasaki can do it, Oshima, who has been in this industry far longer than him and is not any less popular, could also do it as well. She simply prefers not to because she doesn't want to stress herself out. That is my hypothesis. I know Tanaka, who is far more popular and revered than both of them in Japan, has quite a few unreleased soundtracks as well, and if he wanted to he could also easily fight it out to get them released.

Regardless, the end result remains the same: no Oshima music. :(

So am I the "make decent anime covers" guy?


()

No objections from my side! (you flatter me too much, I'm blushing :p)

Now we just need someone with fluent Japanese to contact Aniplex ;)

We also have Shoji Kawamori's next project for 2018 revealed very soon. Hopefully Yoko Kanno returns.
PV sounds very much like Akiko Shikata. The first and last time she did something orchestral was 10 years ago so this score is going to be dead on arrival. RIP

At this rate, Macross 2018 is going to be dead too.

Could that be the opening though, the first part of the pv sounded "ok".
Oh well, let's hope that the apparently 30 Netflix originals next year have Kanno on board...







Yoshiaki Fujisawa
Vatican Miracle Examiner
The Orchestral Score

(https://mega.nz/#!5q4AUBab!1gZC8fWZPLovIfgW1Y-nl0V6UbzTeJeiyp58JKNNKh4)

SAMPLES (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfUobLJhmdY)

The trick is to pretend his scores are early 2000 JRPGs, then the brass becomes bearable.
Needless to say, this would be baller with a full ensemble, just like GATE.
Btw his show this season is fake brass too so fuck that...
I hope he returns for Love Live! Season 3 because apparently that's where the real brass is at :/

See this poor fellow, his name is Yoshiaki Fujisawa, he loves classic epic Hollywood, but gets no brass players, this is the face he makes ever since GATE:


Will someone please help this poor fellow...

30 Netflix originals next year
Netflix brands everything as a "Netflix Original Series" even when their only involvement was buying the streaming rights. It's a marketing gimmick.

Even if they were more involved, why expect anything great? I've watched many Netflix-produced series and don't remember hearing any interesting music.

I know... but with Lost Song we went from "will be idol trash" to "suddenly there's a symphony orchestra", so pleasant surprises can happen.
Also netflix Japan caters to a Japanese audience and there is more chance for good stuff or "out-of-date" styles, like "Sahashi funk".

In a year where Yoko Kanno wrote her most sophisticated and glorious score and certainly has momentum, Kohei Tanaka wrote a glorious genre mix (opinions I know), Mitsuda evolving as a film composer, Oshima writing yet another lyrical violin love theme and continuing writing concert pieces, Nobunaga no Yabou continuing with class, Monster Srike Symphony dropped and Yasunori Iwasaki scoring like the old days, why so pessimistic as if 90% of scores will sound like Bleeding Fingers ;) There's far more scores to disappoint than back in the old days, but if you filter out the trash, I'm sure a small quantity of good scores will turn up among those netflix series.

If I'm wrong and next year all turn out to be trash, then by all means, call me out for the hopeless fool I was ;)

Hard to be optimistic when you know Japan has so many great composers that aren't being used. It feels like all the would-be film composers are writing concert music. Listen to some of the wind orchestra music coming out of Japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezSPsLSgTEw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZfdIseDoN4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78xcjavDWQo
etc.

And yet the best that anime producers can come up with is Sawano and Yokoyama? It's so depressing.

^I can't say I find those three pieces impressive at all. They all sound like watered-down versions of Shinji Miyazaki.

Japan has a long history of appreciating symphonic music, so in a way it's not too surprising that composers can find jobs for it outside of the anime industry. Maybe the concert hall commissions pay better now. I'll be willing to bet that 90% of composers working in the anime industry only do it for the income, not for the love of the medium.

@nextday: But I can make that argument for literally anything. Just like how Hendrik Schwarzer didn't end up in Hollywood scoring Marvel movies chainfree:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fDyZjoZZK4 (Imagine Thor)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cqGBbTpXRA


Or like how Children of the Whale sounds bland as shit and I want 2000 Iwasaki back to score it Agito-style.

But I would be here all day, listing things that would be better for all of us, the production side and the entertained viewer side. But in 99% of cases those are changes very unlikely to happen. It's all a mindgame anyway, so instead of "what if" I'm trying to focus on "what is there" (which is hard I give you that) but "truth" is there is still honest music by skilled professionals written and orchestras are not going out of style anytime soon outside of LA.

@Zipper
It's a sampler taken from my Youtube recommendations. I didn't cherry pick them or anything. If I delved into the thousands of pieces on Youtube, I'm sure I could find something to impress even you ;). The point was more to illustrate that there are many symphonic composers that never leave the concert hall. There are a few who manage to break out - for example, Souhei Kano was a wind orchestra composer before being selected to score Fractale and we know how that turned out.

@Vinphonic
Yeah, I know. But it's just a bad situation that doesn't seem to be getting any better. I have you on one shoulder telling me everything is going to be okay, and tango on the other shoulder telling me it's all doom and gloom. I find myself agreeing with tango more and more often these days.

Edit: A scary thought - the average age of retirement in Japan is 62. The "old guard" are all in their late 50s and early 60s. It won't be surprising when some of these guys start falling off the radar in the coming years.

ALL please calm down. I actually went through the trouble of researching every anime season to put my fears to rest a long time ago.


Here's a list of scores (or parts of it) I enjoyed (or will check out on the OST this year) as well as a whole decade earlier in the "glory years" that feature an orchestra in any shape or form or are otherwise outstanding in vibe, for example YK's DtB.



Scores with an orchestra or "wacky, funny Jazz" in 2007:


Winter:

- Sain October (Hiroshi Takaki)
- Reideen (Yoshihro Ike)
- Mina (Yamashita)
- Yes Precure 5 (Naoki Sato
- Manabi Straight
- Les Miserables (Hayato Matsuo)
- One Piece Movie 8 (Kohei Tanaka)
- Dorameon Movie (Kan Sawada)
- Tesujin 28 (Akira Senju)
- Beetle movie (Masamichi Amano)

Spring:

- TTGL (Taku Iwasaki)
- DtB (Yoko Kanno)
- Claymore
- Romeo X Juliet (Hitoshi Sakimoto)
- Heroic Age (Naoki Sato)
- Ookiku Furikabutte (Shiro Hamaguchi)
- Blue Dragon (Megumi Hoashi)
- Moonlight Mile (Kan Sawada)
- Kaze no Shoujo Emily (AKira Miyagawa)
- Koutetsushin Jeeg (Yoshihisa Hirano)
- Shin SOS Dai Tokyo Tankentai (Michiru Oshima)
- Shagukan no SHana (Kow Otani)

Summer:

- Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
- Sword of the Stranger (Naoki Sato)
- Piano no Mori
- Rental Magica

Fall:

- Dragonaut the Resonance (Kosuke Yamashita)
- Yes Precure 5 movie (Naoki Sato)


pft... Fall of 2007... anime sure is dying and won't be around in ten years ;)



Scores with an orchestra or "wacky, funny Jazz" in 2017:


Winter:

- LWA -TV- (Michiru Oshima)
- Youjo Senki (Shūji Katayama)
- Masamune-Kun no Revenge (Tatsuya Kato)
- Urara Meirochou (VA)
- Chain Chronicle: Haecceitas no Hikari (Masato Coda)
- Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2 (Masato Coda)
- Yowamushi Pedal: New Generation (Kan Sawada)
- Onihei (Kohei Tanaka)
- Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis - Short Story (Yoshihiro Ike)
- Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt
- Mahoutsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito OVA 2+3 (
- Yamato 2202 (AKira Miyagawa)
- Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu-hen (Satoru Kosaki)
- ACCA (Ryo Kawasaki)
- Rakugan no Shinju
- Kuroshitsuji Movie: Book of the Atlantic (Yasunori Mitsuda)
- Gyakusatsu Kikan (Yoshihiro Ike)
- Hirune Hime: Shiranai Watashi no Monogatari (Yoko Shimomura)

Spring:

- Sword Oratoria (Keiji Inai)
- Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine (Keiji Inai)
- Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka? (Tatsuya Kato)
- Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho (AKito Matsuda)
- Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism (Hiromi Mizutani)
- Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul (Yoshihiro Ike)
- Seikaisuru Kado (Taro Iwashiro)
- Hinako Note (Yukari Yashimoto)
- Frame Arm Girls (Monaca)
- New Warau Salesman (Kohei Tanaka)
- ID-0 (Takayuki Hattori)
- Mobile Suit Gundam Origin IV (Takayuki Hattori)
- Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head: Kidou Kyuukyuu Keisatsu (Yoshihisa Hirano)
- Crayon Shin-chan Gaiden: O-o-o no Shinnosuke (Kow Otani)
- Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Movie: Hoshi wo Yobu Shoujo (Taku Iwasaki)
- Blame! Movie (Yugo Kanno)
- Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome (Michiru Oshima)

Summer:

- Made in Abyss (Kevin Penkin)
- Fate/Apocrypha (Masaru Yokoyama)
- Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni (LoveSound)
- Knight's & Magic (Masato Coda)
- Vatican Miracle Examiner (Yoshiaki Fujisawa)
- Princess Principal (Yuki Kajiura)
- Isekai Shokudou
- Jikan no Shihaisha (Evan Call)
- Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic
- Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ (Elements Garden)
- Mahoujin Guruguru (Technoboys)
- Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen OVA
- UQ Holder OVA (Kei Haneoka)
- Sound Euphonium 2 movie
- Uchiage Hanabi, Shita kara Miru ka? (Satoru Kosaki)
- No Game No Life: Zero (Yoshiaki Fujisawa)
- Seitokai Yakuindomo Movie (Mori Yuya)
- Black Clover OVA (Mori Yuya)
- Hibike! Euphonium Movie: Todoketai Melody (Akito Matsuda)
- Zunda (Akifumi Tada)

Fall:

- Mahoutsukai no Yome
- Kekkai Sensen 2 (Taisei Iwasaki)
- Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara (Tatsuya Kato)
- Inuyashiki (Yoshihiro Ike)
- Robomasters (Yoshihiro Ike)
- Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou (Kenichiro SUehiro)
- Net-juu no Susume (Conisch)
- Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau (Tsutsumi)
- Koukyoushihen: Eureka Seven - Hi-Evolution 1 (Naoki Sato)
- Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season (Tatsuya Kato)
- Animegataris (Keigo Hoashi)
- UQ Holder (Kei Haneoka)
- Urahara (Yasunori Iwasaki)
- Wake Up, Girls! Shin Shou (Satoru Kosaki)
- ClassicaLoid 2nd Season
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin V (Takayuki Hattori)
- Yama no Susume: Omoide Present
- Baja no Studio
- Fate/stay night Movie: Heaven's Feel - I. Presage Flower (Yuki Kajiura)
- Code Geass Koudou (Nakagawa, Hitomi)
- Godzilla: Keijuu Wakusei (Takayuki Hattori)
- Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka??: Dear My Sister (Ruka Kawada)
- Dance with Devils Fortuna (Elements Garden)
- GuP: Das Finale (Shiro Hamaguchi)
- Haikara-san ga Tooru Movie 1: Benio, Hana no 17-sai (Michiru Oshima)
- Yowamushi Pedal: Re:GENERATION (Kan Sawada)



Out of all these titles, I selected the "Film Scores" for another list. I would suggest comparing those two after all has dropped, evalutating if they are of inferior quality by sound or writing skill and then come to the conclusion regarding the question "is anime music dying?"


2007:

- Romeo X Juliet
- Heroic Age
- One Piece Movie 8
- Doraemon movie
- Moonlight Mile
- Dragonaut
- Sword of the Stranger
- Les Miserables
- Beetle
- Rental Magica
- Piano no Mori
- Koutetsushin Jeeg
- Tesujin 28 movie
- TTGL
- Reideen


2017:

- Little Witch Academia (TV)
- Haikara-san ga Tooru Movie
- Kuroshitsuji Movie: Book of the Atlantic
- Doraemon movie
- Eureka Seven - Hi-Evolution
- Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul + Sidestory
- Godzilla: Kaijuu Wakusei
- Gundam Origin V
- Seikaisuru Kado
- Sword Oratoria
- Royal Tutor Haine
- Yamato 2202
- New Wataru Salesman (and Onihei)
- Sound Euphonium 2 movie
- Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Movie
- GuP: Das Finale
- Seitokai Yakuindomo Movie
- Baja no Studio
- Mahoutsukai no Yome: (Hoshi Matsu Hito + TV)
- Net-juu no Susume
- Urahara
- Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou
- Knight's & Magic
- Vatican Miracle Examiner (see above)
- Chain Chronicle: Haecceitas no Hikari
- Youjo Senki
- Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka?





I also want to add the important notion that the reason many anime scores get the budget-shortstick is because there are simply too many projects each year nowadays for the limited number of tiny studios and musicians. I was only joking that Ike was holding all horn players hostage but upon realizing how tiny this industry really is despite all of its global appeal and content it produces, that's in fact no joke at all. Ike's horn armada might be all that's available for all average anime projects a season. Afterall anime is still is a niche market (slowly becoming a major industry) so a show like Vatican Miracle Examiner, which has not even 1% of a Hollywood movie budget and no high-profile music contractors, simply had "no brass in town" for recording, because they were all occupied in other projects with better profiles or quicker acquisition. I think that's important to keep in mind.


@nextday: I wouldn't worry about age in the "composer business". Goldsmith was still kicking it in his 70s. And Williams wrote Hook in his 60s and last time I checked he's at it again with the most anticipated film score of the year ;)

I agree with Vinphonic, but I guess Tango might agree with Iwasaki about something for once:

https://twitter.com/taque68/status/246164825888133120

On an unrelated note, I wonder if Kanno still has access to her vast worldwide resources anymore. Naotora was done with a domestic orchestra, and it is her latest work. Are her days of flying to five different countries for one soundtrack over?

^
Yeah it sure is dying, that's why he wrote "Il mare eterno nella mia anima" soon after and nowadays not only takes on the mantle of "film composer" but keeps on with his opera genes for recent anime projects and recently is also crying of overwork.

I'm glad twitter was not around when Evan Call had an idol obsession with Iwasaki, imagine... no Evergarden (yeah, yeah judging a score by a 30 second trailer, not the brightest of ideas).

Afterall anime is still is a niche market (slowly becoming a major industry) so a show like Vatican Miracle Examiner, which has not even 1% of a Hollywood movie budget and no high-profile music contractors, simply had "no brass in town" for recording, because they were all occupied in other projects with better profiles or quicker acquisition.

Come on, mate, seriously... :(


Goldsmith was still kicking it in his 80s

He died at 75.

Oops... meant 70s. Sorry for the bad memories.

New Kawamori mecha anime. Doesn't sound like Kanno. =/

https://www.youtube.com/embed/40iTG4JRKAA

On an unrelated note, I wonder if Kanno still has access to her vast worldwide resources anymore. Naotora was done with a domestic orchestra, and it is her latest work. Are her days of flying to five different countries for one soundtrack over?

It's felt like Kanno has been winding down and moving away from symphonic scores of late - Naotora was her first substantial outing with a traditional symphony orchestra in nearly a decade. But I don't believe her sporadic scoring appearances give us enough to judge whether or not she's still the international jetsetter of days gone by. Taiga scores almost exist outside of the rest of the industry - only rarely do they receive overseas recordings and the main theme is always played by the NHK Symphony. The bulk of the score is usually recorded domestically and Kanno's orchestra for Naotora was bigger than, I believe, any of the more recent domestic recordings - and was recorded on Japan's best (arguably, Japan's only) scoring stage.

I am very interested to hear what she does next, but instinct suggests that as budgets continue to contract, her appearances will grow even less frequent.

Vinphonic: Your list actually confirms the problem, even with your conservative 2007 selections and liberal 2017 selections. If I may elaborate, with added comments - theatrical releases and "wing-and-a-prayer" scores we haven't heard yet but hope will be good, excluded for clarity.


2007:

- Romeo X Juliet - TV, full symphony orchestra, substantial and lengthy score, arguably composer's magnum-opus - first and last time to say that he's written something that good
- Heroic Age - TV, large domestic ensemble, substantial and lengthy score - most substantial Sato TV score to date
- Moonlight Mile - TV, large domestic ensemble, substantial and lengthy score, Sawada's only large-scale score aside from Doraemon films, and his most substantial TV score to date
- Dragonaut - TV, large domestic ensemble, not Yamashita's best but a very solid score overall, Yamashita has only written a handful of TV scores since and none of them are at this standard
- Les Miserables - TV, large domestic ensemble, Matsuo's romance magnum-opus
- Rental Magica - TV, very large domestic ensemble, short orchestral score but what was there was enormous and musically fascinating, last score of this nature by the composer to date
- Koutetsushin Jeeg - TV, large domestic ensemble, substantial and lengthy score, Hirano's symphonic sci-fi magnum-opus, second last score of this nature by the composer to date (most recently Break Blade in 2010)
- TTGL - Iwasaki, not much of it was much good
- Reideen - Ike, not much of it was much good



2017:

- Little Witch Academia (TV) - two large orchestras, but highly underwhelming score
- Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul + Sidestory - sequel, but large domestic orchestra and Ike's best work, but it's Ike...
- Gundam Origin V - sequel, only ten minutes of good music in the episode
- Seikaisuru Kado - large symphony orchestra, one of Iwashiro's best works, but it's Iwashiro... NO RELEASE
- Sword Oratoria - large domestic orchestra, only a few minutes of decent score - no release NO RELEASE
- Royal Tutor Haine - domestic orchestra, low-key but a good listen, not anywhere near what Inai is capable of - no release NO RELEASE
- Yamato 2202 - sequel, big franchise, terrible composer, and we haven't heard it yet
- New Wataru Salesman - sequel, substantial re-use of original 1980s score, barely orchestral
- Onihei - barely an orchestra
- GuP: Das Finale - not a score, but a concert of existing music written for 2012 anime
- Mahoutsukai no Yome: (Hoshi Matsu Hito + TV) - we've only heard one episode and so far, it's tolerable
- Net-juu no Susume - small domestic ensemble, vastly inferior to composer's previous works
- Urahara - small domestic ensemble, we've only heard about 30 seconds of orchestral music so far and I doubt this will be in any way substantial
- Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou - fake orchestra
- Knight's & Magic - small domestic ensemble, steady improvement, first decent score by Koda
- Vatican Miracle Examiner (see above) - fake orchestra, boring score
- Chain Chronicle: Haecceitas no Hikari- haven't heard this one, reserving judgment
- Youjo Senki - haven't heard this one, reserving judgment
- Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? - large-ish domestic ensemble, best work so far by terrible composer, tolerable in parts

See the problem here?

For bonus points, take any 2007 score and any 2017 score from your list, and imagine a thought-experiment world where you had to choose one to keep in your collection and another to never heard ever again. Are you keeping more 2007 scores or more 2017 scores?

Personally, I'd put Romeo x Juliet ahead of the entire 2017 list combined.

Have it your way and paint it all black ;)


In terms of "sound" and "score moments" this year, orchestral music is to my assessment, NOT DYING.

I stand by what I observe and feel is NOT a decline in the long run and I will not cast final judgment until everything is available (roughly January 2018 but I suspect it will take longer for Sato's Hi-Evolution).

And this is coming from the guy who sings the highest praise for 2000s anime to the point of lunacy ;)

I highly respect your opinion but calling Akira Miyagawa a "terrible" composer is pushing it....

See the problem here?Yes, the problem is that you changed the argument from quantity of orchestral music to whether or not you like it. 2007 may have had "better" music, but that is not what we are talking about. I see no signs of it dying at all, just it not fitting your tastes as usual (and even then, putting something like Moonlight Mile, comprised of short and simple light military themes that someone like Sahashi would laugh at, above TTGL, one of Iwasaki's most thematically and melodically driven scores and arguably one of his best scores, is completely absurd- does your opinion on the guy do a 180 in every post?). Vinphonic is absolutely correct that the quantity of symphonic or scores with decent orchestras has gone up dramatically from 2007.

As for Kanno, I don't want to accept that she is more or less retired, but given her recent circumstances, who knows. :(

OK, you've beat me. I give up.

Once again, I saw your whole post, and once again, and I think you've misinterpreted my point. Your assessment of those scores on the last page consists mostly of phrases such as "decent", "underwhelming", "good music", etc... the only conclusion I can come to is that you are talking about the quality of the music itself. If we were talking about the quality of the orchestral writing going on decline, then you would have a point. But Vinphphonic's point was that orchestra players and composers are still active and working in Japan and not on the decline at all, and that is indisputable. Certainly, Hollywood has more resources and musicians to be used when an orchestra comes together, but the opportunities for them to do so are far less than before, and certainly far less than Japan. The whole Simpsons situations sums things up perfectly.

(The whole TTGL thing was an aside, my point with that is that it does count as a symphonic score, with a clear theme and proper variations and development of them, even if there is a lot of fluff on the side. If you had said something like Soul Eater I wouldn't disagree.)

I feel as if you think I am bullying you, please rest assured that is not at all my intention here.

I don't mean to post and then sneakily delete, by the way - I just put down a bunch of stuff, take a deep breath, and think "I really can't deal with the fallout that this will probably generate..." so I wipe it - and I thank you for your apology even though I didn't think you were bullying me. You're a gentleman and I appreciate that. :)

It does get frustrating - immensely so - as I feel like pretty much every post I ever write is going to be misinterpreted. If I had �1 for every time someone managed to pervert my words into a meaning that I believe is perfectly clearly not what I intended, I'd be able to fund the next ten years of anime scores and record them all with the Warsaw Philharmonic.

I have never denied that the musicians themselves still have work - but you can't, with a straight face, tell me that a studio musician in 2007 playing on, say Kotetsushin Jeeg, is going to feel the same sense of achievement and accomplishment playing on pretty much anything from 2017. It's a living. Just like the poor guys in Hollywood; they're busy - they're in that studio every single day playing music that is killing them inside. We see videos of Hollywood scoring sessions with 100 people sitting in a recording studio looking like they genuinely wish they were dead. That tired looking violinist in the Hollywood Studio Symphony orchestra who has played the same ostinato day in and day out for the last twenty years, and sucks up to Michael Giacchino because he knows a little brown-nosing here and there keeps a roof over his head and food in the larder... he can play Sarasate and not break into a sweat. Those Japanese studio ensembles who pack into Sardine Tin Studio A, they're the best musicians in Japan and some of the best in the world. And three quarters of the scores they end up playing on don't even have a full ensemble, or they get a nice big orchestra and a stupidly talented composer but only enough budget for fragments of music (any Inai score you could mention). Different countries, same shit... :(

To further refine my point, the formation of an orchestra - strings, woodwind, brass, harp, percussion as a baseline - and its deployment in the recording of a substantial-length traditional, symphonic score written by a composer generally skilled in such a discipline, is on the decline. CD releases are on the decline. Anime budgets are on the decline. I will leave my point there as I believe it has been made many times, and I have no wish to be "that guy"...

If I had to say one of my favourite orchestras, that would be the London Symphony Orchestra. It's like, almost everything they touch, they perform amazingly.

Regarding the budget thing, again, I see you painting the world more bleak than it really is. I understand your fears with all my heart (my rants on fsm I would like to put behind me), but I do not see it.

For the sheer number of projects each year, its amazing how much orchestra there actually is and Oshima, Hattori, Sato, Matsuo, Tanaka, Watanabe and all other "high-profile" composers no longer get penny-pitchers. Listen to the sound of Keijo, Onihei, Godzilla, ID-0, Hi-Evolution, Kado, Haitara-san or the new Mazinger.

Budapest is being more and more frequented for anime projects, Boston SoundtRec has aquired well over 20 projects in the comming years. Warsaw is still around and even London is still a possibility. In addition to domestic recorded scores sounding BETTER overall. The quantity of scores has exponentially increased the past few years. THAT is fact ;)

Mitsuda has formed his own orchestral recording studio and orchestra and is now writing film music for anime, or did you not count Book of the Atlantic because its a good score in 2017;)

Btw have you noticed that the OVA and film scene is massivly gowing the past couple of years as well and will soon be on par with the TV department.

They (mostly) aim for the classic Hollywood sound: http://picosong.com/w3Q4b / http://picosong.com/w3QSM/

In this Corner of the world, Gundam Origin, Kancolle, Hi-Evolution, Godzilla: Kaijuu, Pop in Q, Hibike 2, Haitara-san. They all aim for classic Hollywood as far aesthetic and "feel" is concerned. Even Suehiro's Girls Last Tour (NOT FAKE to my ears) is aiming for that spot. How can one not acknowledge Re:ZEro for the wonderful things it did and shrugg it off just like Episode 15 never happened. Or like Rage of Bahamut and Drifters never happened. Virgin Soul, despite being a trainwreck had a glorious divine scene, a glorious classic romantic flight and a florious climactic showdown and I don't get how you can not marvel at a TV-ANime getting scored to picture for 24 episodes!!!!

Have you seen Kyoani's film posters and the art of Yamato 2202/GtO and how they really push-up classic "retro" aesthetic mixed with modern capabilites. I can not comprehend how you can find that "terrible", I just can't. I've seen the decades of anime changing and for me, who can only really enjoy media products with good music and tries to avoid listening to ANYTHING modern/RC to the point I switch out game scores for my personal improvement, I'm not seeing gloom and doom.

I honestly enjoy picking up a random anime title like Anime-Gataris and hearing classical waltzes and "generic" heroic Hollywood music from the 80s or how Suehiro has completely dropped any electronics for Girl's Last Tour. Or how UQ Holder is full of the warm and heroic "Top Gun" feel in the music, despite all things being synth. Or how in the recent episode of Black Clover the last couple of minutes have "the right idea" with a cinematic landscape shot scored just like you would expect in your generic 80s Fantasy film.

And that a "concert composer" and director of a Japanese Anime and Game Orchestra is entering the anime business with pretty much their own orchestra already ready to record on the fly, is now a possibility.

Even the absolute worst people we complain about in this industry are levels above the trash we hear in Hollywood: http://picosong.com/w3QL5/ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PqemDa_If0 It's bland but not banging-your-head-against-walls terrible.

I could also nitpick various scores from 2007 you listed. In my opinion last years Shirayuki and Drifters wipe the floor with them aside from Romeo X Juliet (the parts that are not synth) and 50% of Heroic Age (the action is really poor by Sato standards), I don't think the rest are exactly "masterpieces").

Today, LWA, a score I overall adore despite its shortcomings still has moments that are on par with the previous decade: http://picosong.com/w3QgA/

At least this year even gave me my fourth Kajiura score I like (other than Xenosaga III, Anne and Fate/Zero).

Regarding Kanno, I could also make the argument that Nobunaga no Yabou is "outside the industry" as well, with the fact we still get symphonic music performed by a large ensemble for every new title.
Or is Sentai also outside for the fact it still employs orchestral ensembles with some glorious moments (this year by Yamashita)...


And to be honest, if a score is 60 minutes long or just 20 minutes of good stuff doesn't matter to me.

Korngold's Violin Concerto in D is about 24 minutes long and better than 90% of all film scores...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcGEGl5bdbk&t=17m15s


Do the 30 minutes of Bungou Stay Dogs not impress you?, Do the five minutes of full Herrmann in Noragami not impress you?, do the 20 minutes of orchestral action in Kancolle: The Movie not impress you?, do the 30 minutes of Warsaw in Drifters not impress you?, do the 20 minutes of Inai for Danmachi not impress you?, do the 20 minutes of substantial Tanaka in GD2 not impress you?. Does Shiro Sagisu/Amano's Animator orchestral pieces and their Attack on Titan score not impress you?, do the twenty minutes of orchestra/opera in Yuri on Ice not impress you?. Do the 60 minutes of good film score in Bahamut not impress you?, Does Ni no Kuni 2 not impress you? (from what we've heared so far), do the five minutes of Kado's Birth of the Universe not impress you?, Does Mitsuda's Book of the Atlantic not impress you?, does the fact that Valkyria is a game score over 60 minutes performed by a symphony orchestra not impress you? Did the trailer for Lost Song not impress you? Did Takaki's Mahou Girls and especially Kiseki no Mahou not impress you? (Just One Year ago) Did Monster Strike Symphony, Orchestral Saga, Fire Emblem Symphony not impress you. Did the 30 minutes of GuP der Film not impress you? Did the 30 minutes of score on the first Uchu Sentai Kyuranger not impress you? Did SaGA Scarlet Grace not impress you? Did Shirayuki not impress you (just one year ago)?

We also have mobile games now with true symphonic scores and big-budget orchestras playing for them, from Oshima to Kameoka, so again, why so pessimistic...



Btw the first of various SoundtRec projects is Code Vain:

https://twitter.com/cnago/status/919710206896074752


Also reporting that Tales of Orchestra concert and Miku Symphony continue... of course only if you're into the whole "orchestral pop" thing.




This year alone we have a dozen concert albums released from video games alone, not to mention the dozens of anime concerts we just can't hear because they are event-only:





How the last twenty minutes of Naotora, Volume 1 doesn't make anyone look forward to the future is beyond me.

I will answer in greater detail tomorrow, as I should've gone to bed two hours ago already... ;)

...but I will make a handful of points.


Regarding Kanno, I could also make the argument that Nobunaga no Yabou is "outside the industry" as well, with the fact we still get symphonic music performed by a large ensemble for every new title.
Or is Sentai also outside for the fact it still employs orchestral ensembles with some glorious moments (this year by Yamashita)...

Sentai... I just don't understand how it continues to exist. Around the same time Sahashi was fired off Ultraman and all the scores suddenly got terrible and cheap, the Sentai orchestra got bigger and then people like Hiroshi Takaki and Kosuke Yamashita started to appear. It's not ALL doom and gloom. I never said it was. I said that the overall trend is towards more doom and more gloom. We still get snowy days and cold winters even though global warming exists.


or did you not count Book of the Atlantic because its a good score in 2017

No, I didn't count it because - as explained - I excluded theatrical movie scores from both 2007 and 2017 lists as movies *tend* to be where the budgets go and the problems there are less felt than in television anime - hence my concentrating on TV anime scores. ;)

And yes, it's a good score... I'd really like to hear a great one again.


Does XXX not impress you?

In most of the cases you cited (even the ones which you grossly over-exaggerated) yes, they impress me - once again, in a downward trend one can still observe peaks.


And to be honest, if a score is 60 minutes long or just 20 minutes of good stuff doesn't matter to me.

My point is that IT'S A TREND. I wonder if "IT'S A TREND" is going to be on my grave stone... ;)

The number of minutes is going down because BUDGETS are going down. I cannot remain optimistic when scores which we are classifying as quality orchestral scores are 80% synth filler with just ten or fifteen minutes of orchestra. I'm grateful for those ten or fifteen minutes, of course, but who doesn't want more? Don't you yearn for another big orchestral score - big in scope, big in ensemble size, and big in duration? Don't you yearn for another Super Atragon, or another Aquarion, or another Glass Fleet? Doesn't it bother you that it's almost impossible that those scores could happen today in that form?


Like how Oshima's score in 2007 was ACTUALLY poor

What score do you refer to?

Thank you, gentlemen, and good night. :)

Good night :)


But tomorrow, I'm looking forward how you explain the fall of budgets in the last couple of years with 90 minutes of orchestral recorded score for Kantai
And the 90 minutes of recorded score for Mahou Tsukai... let's list them:

Major Score
90 minutes of recorded orchestral score for Kantai
90 minutes of score for Mahou Tsukai
60 minutes for Kado
50 for Arslan (excluding the Symphonic Suite by the Tokyo Philharmonic)
60 for D.Grey-man Hallow
60 for Shirayuki (Paris)
60 for Rokka no Yuusha (Moscow)
80 for LWA (Boston, Paris)
60 for Tenkai Knights
60 for Keijo
60 for Akagame ga Kill
50 for Bungo Stray Dogs
60 for Danmachi (even if you only like 20% of it)
60 for Heine (even if you like only 40% of it)
60 for Fate/Apocrypha (Approximation, and Budapest)
60 minute concert recording for Hibike 1
90 minute concert recording for Hibike 2
90 for Gundam in G
60 for Izetta
60 for Chain Chronicles
60 for Knights & Magic
60 for Princess Precure
50 for Prison School (Hollywood)
60 for Macross Delta
60 for Net-juu (approximation, he doesn't write for horns so it counts)
60 for Mahou Tsukai no Yome (60 minutes approximation, it's a small ensemble but it's real brass)
60 for 91 Days
60 for Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou (approximation but woodwinds and strings are real and recently he shared pictures of recording something at Toho so this could be it)
50 for Akito the Exiled
60 for Love Live
60 for Yujou Senki
90 for Re:Zero
...
...
It goes down really far...
...
...
The 240 minutes of orchestral score for Virgin Soul

Minor Scores
60 for Konosuba (1+2)
50 for Maria the Virgin Witch
60 for Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka
90 for Denpa Kiyoshi
60 for Urahara (60 minutes approximation, tiny but real ensemble)
50 for ID-0
60 for Happiness Charge
60 for Yuwamushi Pedal
50 for Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle
50 for PriPara
60 for Schwarzesmarken
50 for Brave Witches
60 for Princess Principal
...
...
...
I goes down really far too.....


AAANNNND that's excluding movies and OVAs.



Now to the scores that got the "no-budget-brass":

Major Scores
Endride (60 minutes of score, only partially, the rest is missing the horns, a tragedy no doubt)
One Piece: New World (90 minutes of score, that one's a tragedy as well)
GATE (120 minutes of recorded score. If you ask me this one is the real tragedy)
Ars Nova (60 minutes of score)
Zero Kara (90 minutes of recorded score)
Vatican Miracle Examiner (60 minutes of score)

Minor Scores
Shirobako (40 minutes of score, and only the Horns are missing)
Ore ga Ojo-sama (50 minutes of score)
Akatsuki no Yona (50 minutes of score)
UQ Holder (60 minutes of score, approximation, and the trumpet is real)
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (60 minutes of score)
Aikatsu Stars (50 minutes of score)
Probably a couple more but you get the idea ;)

If I'm liberal you can add 10% from Danmachi, 50% of Sword Oratoria and 20% of Alderamin, and here's OVAs and Films too:

Pop in Q
Pripara Movie (fake Horns)
Ars Nova Movie

Of course I could also list the other side starting with 90 minutes of recorded orchestral score for Girls und Panzer der Film (including the marches) ;)


Rather than a problem with the industry itself, it seems like IMAGINE and Fujisawa occasionally just have trouble getting decent contractors (this problem goes back to the previous decade, remember Tamiya Terashima :()
So nothing really changed for the worse and there's nothing to worry about in regards to budget in the long run :)


@Oshima

Ah, my fault for going through every season list for my arguments and getting tired while doing it...

I mistakeingly credited "Chikyuu SOS" (2006) to Ike and "Shin SOS" (2007) to Oshima when it was actually the other way around. I should have realized sooner, because there's no way I would have ever deleted something by Oshima....

But then again... A bad Ike score in 2007 and a composer I didn't think much of... and ten years later I pick one of his scores as TV score of the year unless The Orville gets released to smack its ass :D




And does nobody find it reassuring that these days media composers are still writing concert works on the side, from Iwashiro's Arslan to Oshima's Viola concerto to Yamashita's Waltz to Watanabe's new chamber album. Its also not unexpected for honest opera pieces to appear, written by either old veterans or relative newcomers in the Anime-business: http://picosong.com/w3E4z/ (Hiromi Mizutani)

If this piece of music (http://picosong.com/w3QAS/) is apparently from one of the BAAD ones this industry offers, then sign me up....

I also think you are all gravely mistaken if you think anime composers are in it for the money, look at Akifumi Tada, the dudes hardcore into it. Iwasaki is doing JoJo posing on stage (and all other silly stuff on his street performances), Tanaka is a hardcore Otaku etc... if you care about money AND quick fame AND status, look elsewhere. If you want to have fun, hang out with your music friends from college, drink together, and jam a session, and you have a good chance to get an opportunity to express yourself freely with an orchestra, or you just want to score something like it's the 60s and 80s again, and get decently payed for it, it might be just for you. Have a listen (http://picosong.com/w3QAM/) (Kosaki is so yesterday :D)


Perhaps its also the wrong occasion or place to say it but I also think a huge chunk of Anime-Pop this year has been really good as well... incredibly brass heavy to say the least and covering everything from Baroque to 50s Rock n Roll. Ever heared the pop ballad and wind cover for The Only Melody, or Princess Principal OP, or ACCA, or Kizumonogatari III end credits. I see no decline in a genre of music that is usually the first indicator if things go downhill... quite the opposite in fact.

And what about the diverse quality of game scores, from Nier:Automata to Aerial Legends. The RC sound is usually so small that I can not only call it a small minority but its usually far more interesting too. Yujou Senki and the action pieces of Re:Zero being prime examples.


Oh and just for the record, please notify me instantly if Rei Ishizuka scores ANYTHING: http://picosong.com/w3QNB/



Finally, cheer up everyone, we will get our Naotoras in time. In the meantime why not try to be a little more cautiously optimistic ;)

Interrupting with some new Deemo pieces by Oshima

Little Love (http://picosong.com/w3EjD/)
Lonely Pianist (http://picosong.com/w3EgC/)

The first piece is stunning but the fade-out ending doesn't sit quite right with me. I wonder if there's more pieces to come?

Edit: GSJ is going to be selling a Blu-ray of their Persona concert from last year.

I wonder if these Deemo pieces all came from the same session... that would make a lot of sense and hopefully suggest there is even MORE to come...

In the spirit of not beating a dead horse or slamming my head into a brick wall any further, I choose not to comment further (past this post) on your completely exaggerated list of cold-ish days that prove global warming doesn't exist; if you're happy with the current state of scoring, I'm very happy for you because that means you still find something to enjoy in the genre, but to me, the things that distinguished the genre have almost completely died out and as such, I am no longer interested in Japanese media scoring - of course, I still have interest in a few ongoing and upcoming projects but these are now the exceptions, not the rules. Until another score comes up that's even close to the calibre of Glass Fleet, Romeo x Juliet, Jeeg, Atragon, Gundam Seed, Aquarion, Escaflowne, Giant Robo, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kamatari, Fractale, Real Drive, Tytania, Reign of Revolutions, or dozens of others, I will continue to be disappointed.

I expect, as ever, that there will still be the odd good score turning up from time to time; I predict that they will get fewer and further between, and that they will continue to get shorter. I want to be wrong, but if I look out the window and see that it's raining, I'm going to say "it's raining", and if it's raining more often, on average, than it was ten years ago, I'm going to say "the weather is getting wetter" - and I'm not going to wheel out desperate excuses like "Well, the only reason it's raining more is that it rains so infrequently that it has to rain more!" or "Well, it's sunny today and there's another sunny day forecast in a couple of months, so I wouldn't worry..." or pretend that a day where it rains for 8 hours constantly with thirty seconds of sunshine and my house floods is no more rainy than a day of beautiful hot sunshine with a light shower at lunchtime, because I am selectively re-defining the meaning of "sunny day" to be "we saw sun at some point today" whilst ignoring the duration of sun versus rain, the intensity of rain, the ambient temperature, and other such inconvenient metrics.

I will continue to be happy when something good happens, but I no longer feel that it is sensible to *expect* anything good, or believe that good things will arrive with any predictability, frequency, or of equal "goodness" to the good things of yesterday.

Nonetheless, I take my hat off to those who continue to be optimistic for the future and I *endlessly* admire Vinphonic's drive and passion, and the obvious masses of effort he's put in to making his argument. I don't agree with you, and I think you're guilty of faulty reasoning and faulty logic, but I am awed by your conviction.

I will simply end with this thought; in the mid to late 90s, I was optimistic about the future of Hollywood even though the glory days had clearly passed and the writing was already on the wall; I saw new names like David Arnold and noticed that the old guard like Goldsmith, Bernstein, and Poledouris were still active and semi-active and still putting out pretty good scores that, even if they weren't nearly as good as their work from twenty or thirty years prior, they were still awfully good, and that the 80s synth fad has dried up and almost every score was getting performed by live musicians and in a respectable-sized majority of cases, fairly large ensembles - and I figured that things would be OK in the end. That didn't turn out too well...

We can agree on one thing with certainty... I give up.

Wow! JAGMO is more awesome than I could have imagined.

1. Suikoden Medley ~Journeyer's Recollection Suite ver.~ (http://picosong.com/w387Q/)
2. Suikoden II Medley ~Journeyer's Recollection Suite ver.~ (http://picosong.com/w3876/)

Arranged by Kunio Matsuzaki, a 25 year old composer, arranger, violinist, violist, and pianist. Performed by the JApan Game Music Orchestra.

And here I thought they don't release their orchestra works...

I wonder how long its gonna take for JAGMO's second TV performance Symhonic Gamers 2 to appear.

Any news on the 2017 composer festival?

It was released on Chakushin Uta, Konami's online music store. As JAGMO says on Twitter, this is a first for them.

http://uta.573.jp/artist/800952/

Well that Bach moment was certainly unexpected...

I'm very curious about their Touhou works so I hope it continues.

Now the next steps is for them to appear in a game/anime. NJBGP already did it, and now the wind department can be heared in Just because! Hopefully sometime soon.

People on Twitter are already requesting Touhou from them. Maybe it will happen eventually. There's a lot of music from that concert: :large


Well that Bach moment was certainly unexpected...
There's also Dvorak and Smetana according to Mr. Matsuzaki. ;)

A man of culture :D (25 years old)

I wonder if he will also turn composer soon like Ms. Fukasawa.


Needless to say I'm also getting (very) early Sahashi vibes from Shunsuke Takizawa for Sho-Bi. He has a real ensemble, can you imagine it...

And we can finally confirm Evan Call made it big time... another show in winter (given his adoration for Iwasaki, I expect a little homage to Binchou-Tan):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfgeznlm6jU



In regards to the last pages: For anyone who hasn't heared Chain Chronice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRjd_uQ4hEo&feature=youtu.be) and Yujou Senki (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRHCOWMOjYM) yet.

Also some minor inaccuracies: Heine gets a 2CD soundtrack in January, 26. GuP: Das Finale is actually a new OVA series for the franchise. Unless you're talking about CD releases Sword Oratoria Vol 1 and 2 are out there.

It looks like Victor have hosed the Chain Chronicle video... Please don't tell me these nutters are going after Youtube videos as well, now... :(


Das Finale is actually a new OVA series

I stand corrected. I still don't understand how you include it in the list of 2017's masterpieces when we have yet to hear a single note of it and we have no confirmation that new music has been or will be recorded. Nonetheless, I accept that there is a reasonable chance of there being more Hamaguchi score and the possibility of more Hamaguchi (let's hope he gets a movie-style budget) is always appealing. (Even if it's no Ah My Goddess The Movie.)


Heine gets a 2CD soundtrack in January, 26

I stand corrected again; though to my knowledge it's not a very good score. I stopped skimming the show after the first couple of episodes because I found it so completely underwhelming.


Unless you're talking about CD releases Sword Oratoria Vol 1 and 2 are out there.

Are you quoting a post I deleted? :P

Yes, I know they're "out there" but for the purposes of the point I was making in that post, "release" means a CD you can go out and buy. If I have to get an overpriced Bluray of a show I don't care about in order to get access to five or ten minutes of quality score, I consider it to be substantially not worthwhile. In 2007 almost everything was released, in 2017 a growing number of scores aren't being released or are turning up as God-forsaken bonus CDs.

JAGMO stuff yet another missed opportunity but good in parts - and yes, that really is the nicest thing I can think of to say about it... Is there a proper release planned, or are we looking at some online lossy thing?

JAGMO stuff yet another missed opportunity but good in parts - and yes, that really is the nicest thing I can think of to say about it... Is there a proper release planned, or are we looking at some online lossy thing?
I have it in hi-res FLAC. I just converted it to mp3 for easy listening. There was a Castlevania suite played at the same concert, so I guess that will be released in the near future (since that's another Konami title).

If you clear some space in your PMs, I can send the FLAC to you. I won't be posting it here quite yet.

Thank you!

Mailbox cleared. :)

In the spirit of not beating a dead horse or slamming my head into a brick wall any further, I choose not to comment further (past this post) on your completely exaggerated list of cold-ish days that prove global warming doesn't exist; if you're happy with the current state of scoring, I'm very happy for you because that means you still find something to enjoy in the genre, but to me, the things that distinguished the genre have almost completely died out and as such, I am no longer interested in Japanese media scoring - of course, I still have interest in a few ongoing and upcoming projects but these are now the exceptions, not the rules. Until another score comes up that's even close to the calibre of Glass Fleet, Romeo x Juliet, Jeeg, Atragon, Gundam Seed, Aquarion, Escaflowne, Giant Robo, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kamatari, Fractale, Real Drive, Tytania, Reign of Revolutions, or dozens of others, I will continue to be disappointed.Jeez man, what happened to your spirit from 3 years ago?


Japan produces a lot of crap. It has terrible composers who produce terrible music. It were ever so! There has always been many, many times more garbage than gold. Garbage keeps the lights on and the pilot light aflame.

Japan has given us the likes of Hiroyuki Sawano... but from the same generation, we have Souhei Kano, Yoshihisa Hirano, Kosuke Yamashita, Kentaro Sato, Yugo Kanno, and Wataru Hokoyama.

This is the new generation; these guys born in the mid seventies, early eighties, and flying the flag for real music. I have yet to see a "trend" in Japan towards bad scores and sub-standard composers in general - the rot is quite obvious in Hollywood, of course... but in Japan, in the same year Hiroyuki Sawano farted out Gundam Unicorn, Yoshihisa Hirano gave us a powerhouse avant-garde symphonic extravaganza sci-fi score in Break Blade. In the year Sawano scored Guilty Crown, Souhei Kano made his anime debut with Fractale - one of the best scores ever written full stop. In the year Sawano scored Kill la Kill, a member of the old guard Toshiyuki Watanabe wrote Majestic Prince, one of the most old-fashioned, shamelessly tuneful symphonic sci-fi scores in recent memory.

The trash exists. It's not a case of "new composers are crap" - some of the new generation of composers are right up there with the best ever... and they are producing music of exceptional quality that you don't have to justify the same way you do when a Hollywood composers writes something faintly orchestral in a sea of Hans Zimmer and electronica sound design: "Well, it's better than the other crap!"... It's just good music; it stands up on its own, it stands up when compared to the great works of the past. Good scores are a "going concern" - good composers are getting work, and they're getting to write good scores.

The problem for new, untested composers is as it always was; nobody wants to commit an enormous budget score to an unknown - so the newbies toil away on rubbishy shows for a few years until they get older / more experience. Occasionally, somebody takes a risk with a new guy and something amazing happens (Fractale) - but by and large the expensive stuff will go to the people who've done it before and proven they can. In Japan, you work up the ladder. If you work hard, and get noticed, better work comes your way. Kousuke Yamashita started off as a copyist for Kentaro Haneda... then he helped out on a Sentai score... then before you know it, he's off doing things like Garasu No Kantai and Xenosaga. Some people's careers never seem to take off the way they should but some people skyrocket. Some surprise us with something wonderful. Some let us down badly.

I'm not worried about Japan - yet. If Sawano gets the next Warsaw score, or Oshima's next sounds like Gundam Unicorn, I'll be worried... :)

They can not beat me, never surrender, fight on the beaches... :D

Chain Chronicle (https://vimeo.com/239197620)

This is pretty much a 35 minute symphonic film score album but don't expect the rest of the 90 minutes of score to be on this level.

My other album (no arrangement) I shared earlier this year:

Masato Koda
Chain Chronicle: The Light of Haecceitas
Remastered

(https://mega.nz/#!R6Z1BbQY!LZ5-yaIstVmDuCkAgKfDecjTh36rzZc-nn_EQH2GW9Y)

Overall, I actually prefer it to Knights & Magic, partially because its more substantial, has more fantasy score cliches I dig, a real villain march and even a strong leitmotif. It's also a score for an OVA series and I keep telling that OVAs and films are stronger than ever and are usually much more likely to include the "good stuff" than TV in the coming years. In fact pretty much all high-profile composers switched to OVAs and films.






@Zipper:

I will try one last time to make Tango (and everyone) look forward to the future, then I will give up for good this time. But I can also accept an "agree to disagree" at this point after giving it some consideration. Afterall, if you live and die by Higuchi, Sugiyama and Asakawa and have a specific taste in film music, AND witnessed the fall of film scoring in Hollywood far longer than I have, I can get why Tango has fears or begins to lose interest.


@Tango:

My point from last time with all those crazy lists was not that there are more masterpieces than before and "OMG greatest time to be alive as a film score fan in human history!", my point was strictly that the quantity of scores with decent budgets, many of which I judge good, very good and even some great but that is irrelevant in this case, is not declining but actually increasing. Exponentially, the facts don't lie.

As for where are the great works this decade and the quantity of good scores:

Kanno's Naotora is for me a clear step above Frontier, Wolfs Rain and Ghost in the Shell and only rivaled by Aquarion.

Last decade had Fullmetal Alchemist, Xam'd and Nabari but this decade has Zetsuen no Tempest, Little Witch Academia, DEEMO, Aerial Legends, Shirayuki, Rokka no Yuusha, Patema and many more that I feel are much more refined, certainly less raw and powerful like 80s Williams but more akin to 90s Williams (but really the more equivalent western composer for Oshima would be Ernest Gold).

Hisaishi gave us this decade Ni no Kuni 1 + 2, Deep Sea Creatures, Cloud on the Slope, Tenchi Meisatsu, Kiseki no Ringo, Wind Rises and various other projects. He also gives concert performances around the world.

Sato scored for one of the biggest and most prestigeous franchises in Japan this decade (Doraemon), he achieved his dream of being a respected film composer and is now on road to greater hights after scoring Friends and Priceless and is continuing with two possible great scores for Eureka Seven and Destiny.

Takayuki Hattori loves to experiment but really, its mostly his choise to be more a wacky artist Iwasaki-light-style but if you distance yourself from the idea how a great a film score for ID-0 could have been, are the sounds we hear really inferior to what he was doing in past decades? Did he not give us Codebreaker and demonstrated with his Sanada Maru Concerto he very much can give us the music we love if he just puts his mind to it. The fact that he has consistent work with many high-profile projects this year at least makes it much more likely for great stuff to appear than in the previous decade where we barely had anything as great as his 90s period.

From Katanagatari to Akagame ga Kill to Bungou Stray Dogs to his first film score since Agito in 2018, Iwasaki consitently puts more Herrmann into his works than previously and really refined his genius and now also consitently writes opera pieces for his work, a trend in anime scoring that is now more pronounced than in the previous decade.

Masato Koda gets better witch each passing year. From Ars Nova to Chain Chronicle is a clear improvement. Konosuba has some really strong moments too: http://picosong.com/w3A7J

Ike continues to get better, the previous decade he was mostly uninteresting for me but now I really dig his music and I love the highest moments in Virgin Soul.

Watanabe is on a roll this decade too, with Space Brothers, Majestic Prince, Mazinger and two anime projects in 2018, compare that to Space Travellers and Marple. Much more active now, much more potential.

Kan Sawada still scores as strong as ever and his next score for 2018 is a Swashbuckler!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TXbUvMHijc

Tanaka is still a busy bee, I count GD2 as one of his greatest works and he recently teased a symphonic album with the Royal Philharmonic. He recently demonstrated he is also still King of Pop.

Iwashiro got out of his drum rot the last couple of years, wrote perhaps the first Symphonic Suite for a TV-Anime in years and a whole score like it for Kado. Given that he annualy composes for anime now, I'm looking forward to his next work in 2018.

Matsuo returns after ten years with a new Warsaw score, scored Keijo (I will rip it next in the coming months if no soundtrack will be announced) and he will do it again very soon (the new Drifter episodes teasing S2 should be up soon, hopefully new pieces).

This decade Hamaguchi scored Princess and the Pilot and Girls und Panzer, two scores I utterly adore and feel much stronger for than Goddess, despite it being the superior score with superior sound. His choral piece for Hanasauku Iroha is an annual christmas listen, his Goldfish Title a great orchestral single and despite his young age (in composer terms) he already achieved legendary status.

Yamashita also has not declined as his recent Sentai score proofed, he gave us Orchestral Saga, Scarlet Grace, Wriggling Waltz, Ozuma, CHihayafuru, Gokaiger, Nininger, Renai Neet and Beauitiful world this decade and is recently occupied being a music lecturer and tutor and still finding the time for scoring something.

This decade Amano gave us Magi and Berserk, two scores I put above Stratos 4 (was Holst anyway), SIN and Aurora from the previous decade and the last time we heared him record in Warsaw was just a year ago.

Sahashi... well to be fair, Sword of Themis was a last-minute TV-special scored at the last-minute, all the while he's busy writing his opera for Anne in 2018 (and possibly FMP). I imagine he has different priorities. But Go Sakabe has a chance to show his worth next season with the same director Sahashi wrote his arguably finest TV-score. And this very season Shunsuke Takizawa is the biggest surprise to me, that funky orchestral piece, the delightful sax and the playful trombone combined with the classical Eyecatch and string piece in the middle of episode 2 with real brass appearing out of nowhere... That a shameless (I respect that) ecchi series can be scored like a 90s TV anime should be very reassuring.

I hope you forgive me if I actually count Fractale among this decade as well and Kano will score a new project in 2018.

Hirano scored Broken Blade, Tanbken Driland and HunterXHunter this decade in addition to sublime piano albums, just recently he let (me/us/everyone) down. But its not too late for him to make a comeback and he's at least still active on the scene.

The occasional unexpected Warsaw score (Fafner 2) still shows up.

Anime still is the new homebase for Jazz, from Thunderbolt to Kekkai Sensen & Beyond.

Akito the Exiled outclassed Nakagawa's Code Geass by a considerable margin (also one of the greatest uses of CGI in anime I've ever seen), and even he returns for a new season together with Hitomi for 2018. For interest, I actually shared my Nakagawa collection (in FLAC for the most part) here: Thread 219938

Yugo Kanno became a poppy concert composer and the classical pieces he hides in his anime scores are good stuff.

Akito Matsuda improves as well, and especially his string writing is as classic Hollywood as you can get these days. If you compare his Bahamut Chronicle, Zero kara and Only Melody with what he started out as the previous decade, its clear where the journey is going... up.

Even though you don't enjoy his music, Suehiro for me is a candidate for one of the future greats, he clearly gets the budgest (Live-Action) and has chops. I feel that after episode 2 his Girl's Last Tour has potential too, he is one to watch out for. Next year he scores a fantasy action series and I'm looking forward to it.

Evan Call made it big and from the sounds of the PVs has decent budget and obviously the chops for giving us good stuff. Schwarzesmarken was a good modern action score in my book, and his orchestral pieces for various Japanese TV scores are giving me much hope.

MONACA actually is on the right track again, especially Hoashi getting a real orchestral ensemble this season and next season's Death March has potential for their greatest work since Captain Earth.

Mitsuda has clearly improved this decade, from good video composer to very good film composer. Kid Icarus is one of the greatest orchestral hybrid rides ever, with 80% "scored to the scene". Valkyria and Atlantic show he has made it very far from his early SNES days.

Nobunaga no Yabou shows much promise, Smartphone games get orchestra scores, Arcade games get the LSO, Kentaro Sato is entering the scoring business with confirming a recording for orchestra and choir for a game project etc

MICHIRU leaves a strong impression and scored this year two anime projects, two films and continues this winter with another anime series. The potential is there.

Natsumi Kameoka not only scores balls to the walls Hollywood bravado for Kantai, she will do it again for S2 in 2018/19, and she still has two recordings in London as well as various others from big scoring stages for projects she just can't announce yet. We will hear more of her work next year I'm sure.

It's a small thing but Sakimoto actually got his game scores rerecorded (I know, a false advertisment but the score is nonetheless much improved) and recently his Dragon's Crown score gets revised and a real orchestral rerecording (according to news sites).

Also Urahara is from my observation orchestra from start to finish, its just very tiny with 20 second interruptions of poppy synth.

Lost Song has potential.

Pokemon (TV) continues strong as ever.

Orchestral Game concerts multiplying like flies and giving us the rise of various orchestral companies with arrangers and composers who are young AND have chops and those are entering the media scene (as well as Taku Matsushiba, Tajibana etc.)

Tatsuya Kato recently improved and became much more conventional as a composer in additon to reminding us that he does have credentials for a reason.

Akira Senju is really the only one close to retiring, but he's pretty much more content with being the King of Campus, concert composer and living the quiet life anyway and yet he still occasionally scores something (Tree House, Valvrave, Battery).

Eromaga-Sensei and about a dozen other shows also demonstrated that NOTHING has really changed in the anime world in terms of spirit, its still an industry where corporate greed is not overwhelming profession, passion and art and many scores feel more like a Jam session of musicians just having fun than any board-meeting telling them what they should play.







Meanwhile, on the other side of the world...

Ever heared the recently much hyped Thor Ragnarok... Jesus Christ, Hokoyama, get out of there as fast as you can.
Needless to say its actually among the better things you can hear today.

And do you not hear what the western game world has become (most obvious case of brown-nose from a conductor I've ever seen): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOSLCegKQiE
Needless to say this is actually among the better things you can hear today.

And do you not hear what the western game world has become (most obvious case of brown-nose from a conductor I've ever seen): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOSLCegKQiE.That was just painful to watch. Imagine going from Ni no Kuni to this.

Sahashi confirmed for FMP!

https://youtu.be/KiT4YE7FR0E

Unfortunately, all the cues so far we've heard in the trailers are from the old show. I really hope they're not cheaping out here.

The music in that game does not look that horrible. I mean it's an indie game. It fits. And it's good to have some live music to it nonetheless..

@Zipper: Called it ;) Would actually support my theory that he has not recorded it yet because he's busy with Anne (wait, episode 1 was confirmed with "live-orchestra" so I don't know why they are holding out on us). Call his retirement after 2018, the most promising anime year I can think of with every new snippet of info.

Ponyo: Yes, its not really terrible (considering what is possible today). It even has the right idea BUT notice all the signs that made me give up on our side. That a composer "with no live experience = playing an instrument together in an ensemble with others or at least knowing what they sound like live and not on a computer and what and how they like to play" and "the sound didn't turn out as intended = I can't change it on the fly because I only know working with a computer DAW" is sadly the norm today. All those expensive equipment and incredibly skilled staff.... wasted on an amateur or pretender that gets blown up to be far better than he really is (Giacchino the next Goldsmith and that Film Concert in London, are they kidding me?). It's normal for our young generation of media composers by and large to have no experience actually composing something with just an instrument you play and not having chops to adjust a score on the fly during recording because either no talent or no formal education, wasting everyone's time and nerves.

If you compare that to the Japanese Gaming industry with JAGMO, Taku Matsushiba, Tajibana and a dozen otheres of the "very fresh" generation of media composers today, its shocking how vast the difference is.
No I'm not forgetting Grant Kirkhope (Rabbits is really 50% Japanese and he was given a little pad on the head by Nintendo "better try harder with your transcription"), Gordy Haab (Mostly just Williams impressions and nothing else), Lennie Moore (doesn't work on anything, Outcast is decades old), James Hannigan (does jackshit), Mike Verta (recently switched over to Japanese projects), Tilman Sillescu (Anno 1800 shows potential), Kevin Kasaka (only scoring B-movies ) and Austin Wintory (the only one with decent output), but on the other side I hear Hisaishi, Oshima, Tanaka, Kameoka, Mitsuda, Nintendo Sound Team, Namco Sound Team, Tajima (Dead Storm Pirates), Kentaro Sato, Hokoyama, Nobuo Uematsu, Takeshi Furukawa (Last Guardian) and Masako Otsuka. I know which side I would bet on for the future ;)

Thank you for your comments; I make an honest plea: I have written a response; would you like me to post it?

If you would, I will do so - I can assure you that it's every bit the way you think it might be. ;)

If you would not, I will delete it and we can declare a truce and move on from here, without any feeling of malice on my side - and I will do my best to avoid commenting on this topic in the future.

If everything I listed (even 10% of it) does not change your outlook then I feel your no doubt reasoned response (everything will fall down in ten years, there's nothing I look forward to, they new ones are all terrible and trash, the upcoming ones are not even a fraction as good as the previous generation, 2018 will suck just like 2017 just like 2016 etc, and I'm probably saying goodbye) would just make it all the more pointless.

Since I don't want you to delete your effort you spent quite some time on, post it in spoilers (I will do the same with my previous posts), others can read them if they want to or not and find themselves agreeing with either side but I think I got your point (Oh screw me, I will read it ;)). I don't agree and I'm honestly awed how you can uphold your relentless pessimism, probably just like you can't comprehend my optimism, but I nonetheless respect your opinion. Cheers :)

THE END OF THE WORLD
JOE HISAISHI
MP3 320K VBR V-0
https://img.discogs.com/9G-B1ZrbMNB3aC3w9_cGndxgrTg=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():qualit y(40)/discogs-images/R-8876052-1470594280-6067.png.jpg


Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - Hymn -Homage to Henryk G�recki- (6:48)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - The End of the World for Vocalists and Orchestra I. Collapse (8:51)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - The End of the World for Vocalists and Orchestra II. Grace of the St.Paul (8:56)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - The End of the World for Vocalists and Orchestra III. D.e.a.d (5:47)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - The End of the World for Vocalists and Orchestra IV. Beyond the World (7:22)
Arthur Kent and Joe Hisaishi - The End of the World (6:15)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - Porco Rosso (1:53)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - Madness (4:12)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - Dream More (5:18)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - Symphonic Poem NAUSICA� 2015 (21:02)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - Your Story 2015 (4:10)
Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra - World Dreams for Mixed Chorus and Orchestra (5:03)


https://mega.nz/#!LIQQwChZ!0b8_3EOvT8_EsHMN0aR98ONRGULm8Ij4OYFW4kmW7dE

A really fantastic Hisaishi concert. Some of the stuff we are familiar with - such as the suites from some of his animated films. But it also has a bunch of new material, such as the collection of music that is the album's namesake. There are some pieces that strikes me as a bit strange and experimental, but overall this is a really superb addition to any Hisaishi collection.


"NARCISSUS & ECHO" and "RELIQUARY (FOR BURBERRY)"
THE CLASSICAL MUSIC OF ILAN ESHKERI
MP3 256 VBR
https://is3-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music122/v4/27/7e/fb/277efb74-d2dc-822c-a47a-279b283b8488/UMG_cvrart_00028948153343_01_RGB72_1800x1800_17UMG IM84077.jpg/268x0w.jpg


NARCISSUS & ECHO

Ilan Eshkeri - Overture (2:22)
Ilan Eshkeri - Theban Dance (5:30)
Ilan Eshkeri - Intermezzo 1: Sunset & Echo (3:31)
Ilan Eshkeri - Waltz Of The Nymphs (3:54)
Ilan Eshkeri - Intermezzo 2: Allurement (0:52)
Ilan Eshkeri - Divertimento: Nymphs & Thebans (5:06)
Ilan Eshkeri - Pas de deux: Narcissus & Echo (5:27)
Ilan Eshkeri - The Pool: Reflections (8:02)
Ilan Eshkeri - Metamorphosis 1: Echo (4:00)
Ilan Eshkeri - Metamorphosis 2: Narcissus (2:01)


RELIQUARY (FOR BURBERY)

Ilan Eshkeri - Cantus Firmus (For Burberry) (4:12)
Ilan Eshkeri - Motet (For Burberry) (5:46)
Ilan Eshkeri - Antiphon & Chorus (For Burberry) (4:32)

https://mega.nz/#!2NwClLpQ!PXnfRzeSq4pJsotyB_wLCFmQFFqeKxqrJyWDCOzmGTQ

Doublehex, I fear its not save to post stuff outside the thread anymore :(

I've prepared multiple steps against it, and so far the most effective way for me is to share the links in a text file and just share the file. None have been taken down.
Inside the thread, my mediafire links from SEVEN years ago still work, so its safe to say everything you exclusivly share here, as long as nothing goes out of service, STAYS here.





Hendrik Schwarzer
WODAN
Belarus Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Conducted by Bernard Fabuljan

(https://mega.nz/#!wuJ0TBrI!_JBeBFGYuBHFQrKZiOWsSUhdMuEQ_jLYZMDU0yO1nU0)

SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/w3Zpd/)

Make way for the REAL Thor. Arranged by myself. Update: Fixed the audio glitch at 2:45.
Yes, for a rollercoaster ride. We have a bit of Japanese spirit after all ;)
And just to put it into perspective, he was 25 years old when he wrote this.




Hendrik Schwarzer
The Time Carousel
The Prometheus Ensemble Berlin

(https://mega.nz/#!wuBwXSQD!rjcsKEZ-RC_zDicbZjBtGR2l3riurMVS8bNHKcJa-GE)

Sample (http://picosong.com/w3ZqH)

Just three years later, another orchestral thrill ride. Update: Fixed the audio glitch at 12:36.

Europa Park also started making its own films, and last year Schwarzer scored his first full-fleshed film score, not even 30 years old: https://vimeo.com/230193284 (Suite, not the film score, its below)

There's a new attraction on the horizon as well called RULANTICA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW-TxMQUeV8) with every bit of great 80s adventure film cliches you can think of. Stay tuned for future releases (if you like hypercharged Williams).

His concert works are also quite the thrill ride ;)

And like I discussed earlier: This is music by someone who is educated, plays an instrument and understands players: https://vimeo.com/230290342

And finally, around 50 seconds it begins, Horn players smiling while playing, Schwarzer with a smile as bright as the sun, the conductor smiling and afterwards gushing out, the director changing the picture to the music: https://vimeo.com/231294273
If everything about this video doesn't make you optimistic about anything, I don't know what will...

And be sure to expect Time Carousel and Rulantica with full-fleshed film scores too in the future.

Europa Park, or to be exact MackMedia (http://www.mackmedia.de/) is an entertainment company covering everything from full motion pictures to games and stage musicals, all under the musical leadership of their inhouse composer Hendrik Schwarzer:
Spook Me: The Musical (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8xLL3NSW4E&t=37s) / Voletarium: Sky Explorers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2xz12AjunU)

I've also tried to buy his newly remastered Europa Park orchestral work but I can't get the Shop website (https://shop.europapark.de/cgi-bin/cosmoshop/lshop.cgi?action=showdetail&wkid=15086754206892&ls=de&ssl=1&artnum=EP_Klassik) to work. If others want to try their luck, then by all means, volunteer :)










Evergarden!!!!!!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcgxyvX1rVU)

Invisible Victory (Toshihiko Sahashi)
Date A Life S3 (Go Sakabe)
Basilisk (Go Sakabe)
Violet Evergarden (Even Call)
Hakumei to Mikochi (Evan Call)
Kantai S2 (Natsumi Kameoka)
Fafner Beyond (Tsuneyoshi Saito)
Doraemon Movie 38: Nobita no Takarajima (Sawada, Swashbuckler)
Mazinger (Watanabe)
Shinkansen Henkei Robo (Watanabe)
Drifters S2 (Matsuo)
Haitara-San Part 2 (Michiru Oshima)
Lost Song (Yusuke Shirato)
The Piano Forest -NHK- (If they tarnish Keisuke Shinohara's work I will be the first to rant ;))
Saint Seiya: Saintia Shou (Sahashi?)
Knights of the Zodiac (Sahashi?)
Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple (Iwasaki)
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei (Iwasaki)
Girls und Panzer: Finale (Hamaguchi)
Gundam The Origin: Finale (Hattori)
Code Geass R3 (Nakagawa/Hitomi)
Macross 2018 (depends on who scores it)
Last Encore (Kosaki unusally mature but I dig Kizumonogatari so sign me up)
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen
DxD Hero (Ryouske Nakanishi) WARNING, first PV I share that's NSFW, but Baroque and boobs are two things I just can't resist :D:D:D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aar0gru143M&t=57s (mock-up, but that final statement of my favorite melody from the franchise... and here I was planing a best-of, sadly that will have to wait a little longer)
Death March (MONACA)
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Take on Me (Akito Matsuda, given that he had a full orchestra for the first film)
Liz to Aoi Tori (Akito Matsuda? but worth keeping up to date for the film poster alone)

And that's roughly just 40% of projects either announed so far or I'm looking forward to for next year on the anime front alone. Needless to say, also looking beyond anime (and Japan), I have a good feeling about 2018 :)

Damn, they really went all out for Violet Evergarden. The animation, the music, everything has a sort of movie-like quality. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

And thanks for the music of Hendrik Schwarzer. I was not familiar with this composer so it's a nice surprise. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.

^Hmm, still too early to judge how Evergarden is going to sound. So far it definitely doesn't isn't like that "big Hollywood orchestra" that everyone was going on about in the preview screenings.

I don't remember hearing anything about Hollywood, just that it had a full orchestra. Trailer seems to confirm that much.


Other news: it turns out that Mahito Yokota was not the composer of Mario Odyssey. Lead composer is Nintendo newcomer Naoto Kubo. From Kubo's profile:
"At Berklee, he studied Jazz theory, Classical music composition, Arrangement, Orchestration, and film scoring technique in Hollywood style."

So it should be in good hands.

So has anyone here given Thor Ragnarok a listen? I've been listening to it and on first listen it seemed quite good.

I enjoyed it alot. It's ridicules, absurd and over the top. It's like someone got drunk on some 80's pop song and the score is basking in the afterglow. It knows what it is, and asks us to roll with it - and man, I was up for the ride.

Definitely one of Marvel's better scores. That's not saying alot, I know.

There are certainly a few crazy synth tracks but what grabbed me was the orchestration in some of the orchestral tracks.

No suprise since they are from Wataru Hokoyama ;)

There are certainly a few crazy synth tracks but what grabbed me was the orchestration in some of the orchestral tracks.

The synth is the last thing on my mind. It's the entire tone of the score. It is just a mad, octane ride of music.

It would be interesting to know just who wrote what in Thor: Ragnarok. Especially Hokoyama's cues.

No suprise since they are from Wataru Hokoyama ;)
I wonder if they are from the Abbey Road session he mentioned back in July? I was hoping for something more than just a few pieces of additional music.

God I hope not, but you're probably right on the mark :(
At least Kentaro Sato got out of there.



Is it too much to hope for a throwback to his old Godzilla scores? :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYwAbBI0r5o&t=19s

Maybe this one will make up for ID-0's lack of substantial film score (not saying it isn't good for what it is ;))

Hopefully samples will be up soon to finally clarify if he can stop his drum machine for once.

At least Kentaro Sato got out of there.
It was just for another Final Fantasy arcade game.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYwAbBI0r5o&t=19s

Maybe this one will make up for ID-0's lack of substantial film score (not saying it isn't good for what it is ;))
I can't really form any sort of opinion based on 15 seconds of music. I hope it turns out good, but I have no expectations. Soundtrack is out in just over 3 weeks time.

It was just for another Final Fantasy arcade game.

Do you mean the recording session from last week?

If so then that lowered my expectations by a considerable amount.

Do you mean the recording session from last week?

If so then that lowered my expectations by a considerable amount.
Takeharu Ishimoto tagged him in this post: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1903053876373295

There was a full orchestra recording the following day but it looked pretty small (maybe 40 players at most).

In any case, it will probably take years before we can hear what its for, remember how happy we were for Kameoka in London? Still TBA.

Or worst case, remember Amano's grand glorious Hollywood session...

Just want to thank everyone for the music here. I do not know enough about different composers or scores/themes, I am not even familiar with most of the terms.

I do know that I enjoy the way the music sounds and am super appreciative of this thread.

Or worst case, remember Amano's grand glorious Hollywood session...
I kind of want to know the story behind that one. I'm friends with his son (Sho) on Facebook. Maybe I can ask him about it some time...

To think that there's Hollywood Amano tapes wasting away in some Hollywood storage facility. It makes me wonder what other hidden gems exist in their archives.


Just want to thank everyone for the music here. I do not know enough about different composers or scores/themes, I am not even familiar with most of the terms.

I do know that I enjoy the way the music sounds and am super appreciative of this thread.
Don't worry. That's all that counts. I'm not the best with descriptions and terminology but I'm still here, posting away, enjoying the music and discussion. :)

...

How the **** did you manage that?! :D

Hendrik Schwarzer
WODAN
Belarus Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Conducted by Bernard Fabuljan

(https://mega.nz/#!wuJ0TBrI!_JBeBFGYuBHFQrKZiOWsSUhdMuEQ_jLYZMDU0yO1nU0)

SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/w3Zpd/)

Make way for the REAL Thor. Arranged by myself. Update: Fixed the audio glitch at 2:45.
Yes, for a rollercoaster ride. We have a bit of Japanese spirit after all ;)
And just to put it into perspective, he was 25 years old when he wrote this.

Thank you so much for WODAN. The first time i had a ride on this Rollercoaster i instantly just loved the music.
You don�t happen to have the Dreams of Music in FLAC maybe? :)

...

How the **** did you manage that?! :D
Most people don't even know Amano has a son. He is 34 years old and the leader of a symphonic rock opera band (one of their recent songs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TGtEYUx8bU)). He also works in the anime industry a bit, providing chorus on some of Hiroaki Tsutsumi's soundtracks (Tsutsumi was once a guitarist in his band). He recently assisted with the orchestration on Sagisu's "Attack on Titan" a couple years ago. His focus is mostly vocal/chorus, but he studied composition, orchestration, piano, and conducting in college. Not sure if he ever plans on getting into the scoring business, but I'd be curious to hear it.

Now this is interesting, live jazz concert for Gundam Thunderbolt in NYC:

http://animenyc.com/gundam-premiere-concert/