I apologize if this has been posted already (too lazy to scan the thread), but I was surprised to suddenly hear a suite of Kanno's music for Nobunaga's Ambition in one of these concerts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QjAewOAtes&t=56m30s

I apologize if this has been posted already (too lazy to scan the thread), but I was surprised to suddenly hear a suite of Kanno's music for Nobunaga's Ambition in one of these concerts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QjAewOAtes&t=56m30s
Yes, it has been posted here. :)

You can download both concerts here (keep in mind the audio quality isn't amazing due to the source): Thread 220609


And for the hell of it, why not also add one of Kato's recent outputs (one of the outtakes for my 2017 in Concert):

Sayuki Reload Blast: Cinematic Suite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxB9NJjy7DY)
According to the credits he had a couple co-arrangers on this one, like on his score for WorldEnd.



By the way, I saw Phantom Thread today and really enjoyed the score. The theme is really lovely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT_XjcdgT6g

I should have figured it was posted already. I even listened to some of the concert a while ago (up to the David Wise stuff), but never finished it. I had no idea Kanno was still being represented at game concerts since I didn't think Nobunaga's Ambition enjoyed the same level of popularity as the other titles. Image my surprise when it just comes on randomly in the background while I'm working, and with some new arrangements too.

Well since you brought up JAGMO, here's their newly released Castlevania Medley: https://kiwi6.com/file/yl82b6m9il

Has anyone heard the new Iwasaki score for the High School movie? I can't find it online, not even for purchase (I can't buy it from Japanese Amazon or iTunes).

Also; here is an excerpt from Hirano's new saxophone quartet: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dtljf40j5daxr81/%E5%B9%B3%E9%87%8E%E3%81%95%E3%82%93.mp3?dl=0

There are some samples for Mahouka on Amazon, but it's not surprising that nothing has popped up yet since Iwasaki isn't the most popular composer, and Mahouka was far from his most popular work.

On the JP iTunes, https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/1334015328?app=itunes

It's also on amazon.

iTunes: https://mega.nz/#!st9w0Y4A!HQbd_MGLZIIpCpdO_4xZvCA5uBkGWpN_nFphXDu8gPk

Thanks! So the meat of the score (based on the samples, at least of interest to this thread):

Description1
Revenge of the Ballerina
KNMR
kielo
mercy
Opus2
仕方ありませんわね
Moval Suit
AKK
kielo2
Description3
HTDU
SDO

Of course there's quite a few other electronica and RC-style pieces, but surprisingly no cross-pollinating experimentation this time around for Iwasaki.

Now I just need to take the time to hear the full pieces before I can reach a verdict.

Thanks for the link! Will give it a spin later.

After giving it a first round listen, I can say without a doubt that this is the most cohesive score Iwasaki has written since Katanagatari, at least in terms of the orchestral pieces. There is much more thematic unity and development to the pieces, and it does sound scored to scene.

That being said, the whole thing feels very... run of the mill compared to what I'm used to hearing from Iwasaki. Like I said before, there are no extreme experiments this time around. Unlike the TV series, there's barely any dubstep. There are still some electronica pieces, but most of them are more short filler and unusually cliched by Iwasaki standards.

The orchestral pieces are fairly modern Hollywood, but there is some real beauty to them. But none of them are what I would consider truly outstanding, and many of them I feel like I've heard before in older Iwasaki works. The only big difference is that the horn is much more prominent here than before.

Still worth a listen, but leaves me lukewarm, much like Iwasaki's older scores such as Kekkaishi. Iwasaki took this project a lot more seriously than his other recent ones, but it feels oddly constrained.


Listening on the second round, and there are some really majestic moments in this soundtrack, like the last 30 seconds of Seventh Plague. The brasswork in the orchestral pieces really is a notch above the usual Iwasaki soundtrack. And wow, the woodwinds in Mercy...

Jesus, slow down you all, the score is only out for a day!
But I understand, I for one now realise how much I missed Iwasaki last year.

(Of all the promo art they could pick for the cover, of course they picked the worst one)




If "mercy" is any indication how Dead Apple will sound like, we could be in for a treat. I for one always make an exception for my distaste for modern scoring elements when it comes to Iwasaki. He does it not because he's told to or because he is limited to the soundworld, here we have a master of his craft playing games and putting Mad Max Fury Road bombastic action next to gorgeous woodwind play in mercy, simply because he can. The score is an extention and a more focused version of the TV score but as you said, much more cohesive (for Iwasaki).

Mad Max Fury RoadAh, so that's what that slamming percussion and electronic noises was based on this time. Fits with Iwasaki's tradition with taking inspiration from the latest Hollywood blockbuster offering and putting his own spin on it.

Still, even in a "modern Hollywood" piece like The Capsule, Iwasaki utterly demolishes everyone else writing in that style. THAT is how you use horns. Brian Tyler could learn a thing or two.


If someone wants to make a filler-free rearrangement of the cues that contain all the recurring themes and motifs, it would be:

1. Description1
2. The Capsule
3. KNMR
4. Mercy
5. TTY
6. 仕方ありませんわね
7. Moval Suit
8. AKK
9. Seventh Plague
10. kielo2
11. HTDU
12. SDO
13. Opus12 (doesn't really contain any of the themes or motifs, but it's a damn gorgeous piece straight out of Binchou-tan)
14. Revenge of the Ballerina (see above)

Is there any early review for the music of the new NHK Taiga Drama?

Still listening Naotora score almost every day....

I wonder why Iwasaki doesn't score films more often. This was his 2nd film score overall and the first one he's done in over a decade (his previous was Agito in 2006). Luckily we're getting another one in around a month.


There are some really majestic moments in this soundtrack, like the last 30 seconds of Seventh Plague.
It sounds like the intro to "Vespertine Bloom" from the TV soundtrack. :)



Is there any early review for the music of the new NHK Taiga Drama?

Still listening Naotora score almost every day....
Based on the theme it's probably not that great, but can't say for certain until the first soundtrack arrives on Feb 21.

@Zipper:

Enough of dead or bad apples, time for the good stuff ;)



Taku Iwasaki
The Girl Who Summons the Stars
Tokyo Studio Orchestra


(https://mega.nz/#!WogTAKxB!svXYOOPztNTMI-3WnForjySWZYJpKOWdGfatP2C7Kmc)
Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWHiObbYKwY)

I could not separate the elctronics entirely from the score, Iwasaki is a special case afterall.




@kanno82

Short answer: Naotora is classical and Kanno potpurri and far too great for the show. Segodon is film score and fits the show like a glove. I love what its trying to do (end of episode 2 is the defining moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-NGOu8Y7PE&t=2m29s) and it has an insane amount of Leitmotif so far, much more than any other Taiga Drama I can think of at the moment. Also surprised just how much Americana it sounds. The Main Theme is also quite catchy, sure a little rough around the edges, and I could do without the veiling vocals out of nowhere but I like how its going for a "Japanese western" sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AZMvoDTTn8
The show from the opening to the music really tries to go for the oldschool TV aesthetic and from that angle its very enjoyable. Some filler in the episodes so far, but I bet the first soundtrack will have many of the good parts, it's out on Feb, 21.

^Very nice. I also tend to take this for granted with Iwasaki, but the individual pieces are all long and fleshed-out. Unlike most other film scores such as Mitsuda's Black Butler, the orchestral bits are all lengthy and given room to develop an entire event on screen, rather than being 45-second snippets tailored for exactly one scene. For all the modern tropes Iwasaki throws in his works, he is still very much an old-school film composer at heart.


I wonder why Iwasaki doesn't score films more often. This was his 2nd film score overall and the first one he's done in over a decade (his previous was Agito in 2006). Luckily we're getting another one in around a month.I would consider his work on the first Kenshin OVA to be a film score as well, since it's essentially just a 2-hour movie split into 4 parts. But yes, it is strange that Iwasaki doesn't jump on movies as often as the other Japanese composers, though I always assumed it was because of his distaste for following thematic structure and events on the screen. That seems to have all changed now, as stated in his recent Twitter enthusiasm.

Once you move aside the few Mad Max bits, the Mahouka movie has a surprisingly somber and melancholic score. I think that's why I'm not as enthralled by it as some of Iwasaki's other works. The more I listen to it though, especially Vinphonic's compilation, the more I appreciate it. Black Apple is looking just a bit more promising than before.

Girl Who Summons Stars does lack a certain flavor to it, even the orchestral stuff isn't quite up to Iwasaki's standard. If you ask me, beyond Kenshin and Gatchaman, the 2000's WERE the best period of Iwasaki's work, and I would put copious selections from Kekkaishi, Bincho-Tan, Katanagatari, Origin, Angel Heart, Gurren Lagann, Soul Eater, Persona, Kuroshitsuji and even Black Cat several leagues above the very best from this album. And as for the man doing "RC-style compositions" far better than Sawano or Sato or et al, I'm not hearing how in any way whatsoever from this material.

Meh, HDTU AND SDO are kinda nice in their own way, but for all the ballyhoo about it being scored to scene and whatnot, when ya come right down to it, it's just another Iwasaki score, one I find particularly bland and emotionally inert. The music here does little to shake my growing impression that his best years are behind him.

Musical Portrait of Taku Iwasaki
From 1999 to 2009 and from 2010 to 2018



LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!b5xWmBxT!qB1Y21VblKjuHxVC_Ak_VfyTkqMdqM3-cQGfoxDoYOs)


No other composer working today has demonstrated such great love for Bernhard Herrmann, with the skills to back it up. The only other case I can think of is Katsuro Tajima playing direct homage to Citizen Kane in Deadstorm Pirates. And this decade he is moving closer and closer to his idol:

Anime Taxi Driver (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PfNmNXMhoQ)
Anime Psycho (http://picosong.com/wqs8x)

That he also consistently writes opera pieces that are so good they leave me with my jaw on the floor the first time through gives the entire anime industry an air of true artistic expression for composers that without his presence would be far more difficult to see. Many of his orchestal pieces, taken on its own, are among the best things Anime, or any media really, has to offer.

Throughout his career he throws us bone after bone what he could do if he would care approaching an orchestral score in a conventional way. Recently he seems to have mellowed out a bit on the idea of giving it a shot again, perhaps Dead Apple is yet another step in that direction

I also don't believe for a second that he didn't care for Mahouka or any anime score he ever scored for that matter. Regardless what he says on twitter, his street perfomance and the inherent quality in the music speak another language: Animoe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTmU27e36Uw) (he probably spent more time in the studio for this one piece than other composers do for an entire session)

But that's just one facette of his persona which has many more faces. That he can switch from street performer to sound designer to concert master in the blink of an eye sets him apart from pretty much all of his colleagues.

he 2000's WERE the best period of Iwasaki's workI don't agree with this, but I can understand why it would be a popular opinion. From 2010 onwards, Iwasaki has shifted his music from memorable melodies into more strange exercises in textures and unusual combinations of orchestra and foreign elements. The Mahouka movie may have more thematic development, but the melodies are nowhere nearly as memorable as something like Kenshin or ROD. But the problem with Iwasaki's older music is that much of it revolves around string melodies with woodwinds/brass/electronica as more of backup accompaniment rather than being equals. Even on a work like Agito, the strings are what take certain stage most of the time, and pieces like Agito to Kain are in the minority. And his dabbing in other genres, while made with exceptional pastiche quality, rarely ever did anything new. ROD and 009-1 have great jazz pieces, but are they really much different or better than that of the James Bond series? His older combination of orchestra and other genres would also often be simple, usually consisting of a great melody with a backing by electronica or rappers rather than putting them on equal terms. This was about the extent of his older experimentation:

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

Compared to his later works, it's very straightforward. The same can be said of his other pieces at the time like Libera me from Hell, which at its most advanced just overlays rap bits over an otherwise standard orchestral accompaniment. But with pieces like Avalon or Ziel der Hydra or battle4, Iwasaki uses the full orchestra and tries his damn hardest to mix the dubstep and electronica elements evenly with the orchestra, to the point where they're almost inseparable. The pieces themselves also lose the reliance on melody like the older pieces, just listen to the incredible texture of horns, strings, and flutes that marks the beginning of Jojo's Avalon. And even in the piece itself, Iwasaki indiscriminately twists and distorts sections of the orchestra to blend them in with the dubstep. The complexity of the piece never compromises for the sake of the dubstep. The two work in tandem with one another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htDB8SuLrng

Of course, as interesting as this is, it also marks the problem with modern Iwasaki- his pieces are becoming too strange in their evaluation as either orchestra or electronica. For instance, Prospect Theory in C is a very sophisticated piece of swirling orchestral textures that sound as if it came out of Bernard Herrmann's Mysterious Island, but overlayed on top by your usual Hollywood percussion and e-guitar ostinato.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzr3Ey6V-1I

It makes the piece off-kilter in a way where you wish the two elements would be separate from one another because they just don't mix that well, but Iwasaki keeps insisting on these bizarre experiments that are much more challenging to listen to then something melodically smooth like Gurren Lagann.

Iwasaki is such a difficult composer to talk about because there are so many questionable and interesting choices and ideas that make up his music, and even what I've wrote up there only covers a fraction of his musical approach. The other headscratcher is his overraction to Hollywood sound trends, which forces him to incorporate elements of the latest Blockbuster into his works that it often distorts what his overall goal is with the music. Akame in particular was a headscratching mashup of The Dark Knight, Middle Eastern tribal music, and some gorgeous 1950s medieval orchestral score. But even with the questionable choices in his music, it's not so much stagnation as it is just his branching out and experimenting to a bewildering degree. Unlike Kanno, he doesn't discriminate against any kind of music as high or low-brow, which is why he can write something as silly as dubstep opera with as much enthusiasm as a concert piece. It's because of these risks and personal choices that make him the most exciting composer for me currently, even if I always flip-flop how I feel about whether he should continue his current practices. I could summarize my feelings for any other composer in a single paragraph, but Iwasaki will always be the most challenging and fascinating to write about, because I still don't understand him.

Mahouka movie is a nice breather in how surprisingly normal and restrained it is by Iwasaki standards, even if it's not of the same quality as something like Agito.

Monster Hunter World's score was performed by the Nashville Scoring Orchestra. A lot of it is too modern/western for my taste and the tracks are far too short (they loop after about 2 minutes).

Still some interesting orchestration though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Scr-DMxP10

This latest Mahouka score was a solid one, but nothing great. I do prefer it over scores like say Black Cat (even if the two or so highlights from Black Cat are very good in an otherwise lacking whole).

My brother has been playing Monster Hunter World lately and it is interesting that this seems to be one of the few games he plays with sound. It was nice to hear an orchestra though I have never been particularly excited by the scores for these Monster Hunter games in the past despite their elaborate concerts promoting them after the fact. EDIT: Yeah looks like they brought back a lot of the same composers so I am not expecting a radical upgrade in orchestral composition.

Intermission from the anime front, for the final impressions of the 2018 Winter season (with carefully selected previews):


Violet Evergarden: http://picosong.com/wy74q/
Actually not scored to picture but I bet key moments are. But the music fits so well it might as well be. A lot of new cues per episode and Episode 3 has a couple ONLY a western composer could write. To hear that distinct touch in an anime is something else. Strong contender for score of the season. The best part? We have not even ventured into the “action & adventure” of the story, have a taste: http://picosong.com/wy746
It can go some places.
The show while certainly a bit melodramatic continues to be an amazing production and a feast for the eyes and ears. It also remains popular so far and that's good news.
Release: March, 28 / http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/LACA-9573

Shinkalion: http://picosong.com/wy74M
A more lighthearted Mazinger with more substantial SciFi score seems to be the case. I really want this to get a soundtrack and Watanabe has enough prestige that it might get released. Let’s hope for the best. Good old mecha.
Release: TBA

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card: http://picosong.com/wy75P
Continues to be marvelous. I also share Tango’s suspicion regarding Tanaka, it just sounds way to similar. It's 24 episodes so plenty of time for showpieces.
Release: No soundtrack yet but a given

M�rchen M�rchen: http://picosong.com/wy75Z
Turned out to be far more than the first episode suggested.
It’s good old anime orchestra in the vain of Dragonar Academy and similar scores with clear classical inspiration and your standard studio orchestra size. It’s by newcomer Rio Okano (rionos), one to watch out for.
Release: March 21 / http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/LACA-15716

Darling in the Franxx: http://picosong.com/wy75M
It continues to be a merge of classic mecha orchestral sound with modern Japanese elements. I’m interested which one will dominate the other in the end. Looking forward to the OST.
Release: No soundtrack announced yet but a given.

After the Rain: http://picosong.com/wy7L9
It has an orchestra :D Ryo Yoshimata is a film composer and not from the anime world which is noticable to some extent.
Did I also forget to mention it not only features Mutta but is also directed by Ayumu Watanabe who you might know from a little show called Space Brothers (he also has excellent taste in music). Easily WIT Studio’s best work (visually Ancient Magus Bride might be slightly ahead).
Release: April 18, but enclosure (a little shame but we have a soundtrack)

A Place further than the Universe: http://picosong.com/wy7VM
Like Yuru Camp, After the Rain and Evergarden (worth watching I think), the music is so well synched to picture and Fujisawa has only shown us a few glimpse at what could turn out to be a rather heartwarming score, even if all brass should turn out fake. The show also continues to be so full of adventorous optimism I haven't felt since Space Brothers.
Release: March, 28 / http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/ZMCZ-11957

Yuru Camp: http://picosong.com/wy7LQ
Pure fun and its scored so well (by Akiyuki Tateyama of Kemono Friends fame)… actually everything about this show is so well put together it just has to make you smile. It actually might be my favorite show this season/year.
Release: March 21 / http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/USSW-84

Hakumei to Mikochi: http://picosong.com/wy72q
It remains lovely with some mix of folk and bouncy chamber pieces.
Release: No soundtrack yet but I highly suspect it

Grancrest Senki: http://picosong.com/wy72m
Lots of modern elements and filler but also a couple of really good tracks. Esily the most enjoybale Yugo since the better parts of Reconquista in G. The “meat” of the score sounds like a different recording so I hope there’s much more. For 24 episodes there’s a high chance.
Release: No soundtrack yet but I suspect it (Blu-Ray)

Fate/Last Encore: http://picosong.com/wy7VP
It certainly makes concessions to the established “Fate sound” for consistency but there’s a decent orchestral ensemble + choir and I imagine, like Tenkai Knights and Captain Earth, a few pure orchestral action pieces along the road. I'm looking forward to Hoashi's contributions.
Release: No soundtrack yet (I imagine Blu-Ray)

Death March: http://picosong.com/wy72d
Despite my suspicion that its fake brass, it’s still a fun fantasy score. Nothing fancy but quite good so far.
Release: No soundtrack yet but it’s not high on my list anyway.

As bonus, here’s what this season’s three minute ecchi series sounds like, namely Seven Heavenly Virtues: http://picosong.com/wy7Xt

Other scores that continue to be lovely: Slow Start / Miira no Kaikata

We still have two netflix series for this season but I doubt Ike's B will be orchestral and Iwashiro's A.I.C.O. could turn out to be another Kado but it looks more like one of his drum machine scores. We'll see (I guess I will watch them).

In regards to anime movies, since the first two of this year are very much to my liking I’m quite optimistic regarding Sayonara, Hi-Evolution and No Game No Life: Zero.


Final verdict: Pretty damn good so far. This might actually be the most amazing winter season I have ever seen all things considered. I can't think of another with so much high-quality shows I'm interested in following by directors that understand how to speak visually and musically, how to use music and when not to use it. A season where Romance scores and Irish/Celtic/Folk sound dominate, either by small ensembles or full orchestra with another huge chunk being orchestral hybrid power in Mecha and Fantasy shows, ranging from Symphonic SciFI and brassy Tokusatsu in Shinkalion to modern but not mundane blockbuster sound in Franxx. I'm satisfied.


Bring on Spring, which is in similar fashion, the biggest reunion of veterans I have ever seen: Toshihiko Sahashi, Michiru Oshima, Hayato Matsuo, Takayuki Hattori, Akimitsu Honma, Yuji Ohno, Yasuhiro Misawa, Taro Iwashiro, Yasunori Mitsuda, Kotaro Nakagawa, Ryusuke Nakanishi, Tomohito Nishiura, Tomoki Hasegawa, Shouji Meguro and Ayumu Watanabe directs a show again (either Sawada, Watanabe or Yoshimita based on his track record), an entire season dominated by the old guard. When was the last time that happened?

Too bad Tanaka is still occupied by his mission and won't be announcing anything soon, would have made it perfect:

Monster Hunter World's score was performed by the Nashville Scoring Orchestra. A lot of it is too modern/western for my taste and the tracks are far too short (they loop after about 2 minutes).

Still some interesting orchestration though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Scr-DMxP10

Sounds like Giacchino doing Williams. There is a lot of staccato in the battle tracks. I wouldn't be surprised if the music was transcribed from midi mockups.

FranXX has so far turned out slightly musically better than what I expected (not that it's enough to be good). That trumpet fanfare in that piece that Vinphonic posted is something Sawano would never do in a million years. Unfortunately, it doesn't change how much of the music sounds temp tracked to typical Sawano cliches, even if they are done by a more skilled composer.

I just had a listen to Hattori's Godzilla. Not a fan of this at all, a lot of clich�d fanfares and suspended cymbal rolls amid a pretty tedious whole, not much of substance here at all. I also listened to two fairly recent Kajiura scores, Fate/Less and Princess Principal and they both are quite weak. A lot of annoying suspended cymbal rolls there too. I wonder if Kajiura has even done a score that is something worth listening to at all? I am not familiar with most of her work which is itself sort of a answer that I am not fond of her. I actually have the same question when it comes to Sawano and Sagisu. None of the music from them that I have heard has been good enough for me to want to revisit it, but admittedly, I haven't heard that much by them. These three composers may possibly be the most overrated Japanese media composers, but I might be forgetting someone.

These are the two things I dislike the most about media scores:

1. "oh" "ah" wordless choir - add text god dammit! Exceptions are rare moments where I can forgive it, say where there is no room really for text, or where wordless choir is desirable to generate a certain mood etc.

2. Suspended cymbal rolls - they are on the tasteless side of things.

Even if some of my favorites scores are guilty of having these two things in them, sadly, they do annoy me.

But the problem with Iwasaki's older music is that much of it revolves around string melodies with woodwinds/brass/electronica as more of backup accompaniment rather than being equals. Even on a work like Agito, the strings are what take certain stage most of the time, and pieces like Agito to Kain are in the minority. And his dabbing in other genres, while made with exceptional pastiche quality, rarely ever did anything new. ROD and 009-1 have great jazz pieces, but are they really much different or better than that of the James Bond series? His older combination of orchestra and other genres would also often be simple, usually consisting of a great melody with a backing by electronica or rappers rather than putting them on equal terms.

That's...not a problem in any way tho. That's just basic, ironclad songwriting, my dude. Like, who cares whether ROD's jazz just sounded like jazz? I never needed it to be anything else, and attempting to be more than a given genre for its own sake has never been what gives Iwasaki's best themes their power. For all his silly or out-there experimentation, his best work has always been straightforward, concise, melodic writing, and even later tracks like Avalon and Ziel der Hydra(which I do like better than Libera me, which suffered mainly from that plinky electric piano and the thin, tinny-sounding rap part. A fresher recording and some more graceful mixing was all it really would've taken to fix things.) succeed less bc he got bolder in mixing orchestra and dubstep and more bc that experimentation is in service of a clear emotional setup and payoff.

The problem w most of his output since 2011 is that his experimentation has wrought diminishing returns, and I'd argue that nah, it IS stagnation, bc it's all just weaker, lazier permutations of his same old tricks. Prospect Color isn't hard to listen to cuz it's somehow compositionally challenging, it's tiresome to listen to cuz it's compositionally tedious. The guitar ostinato adds nothing but the most braindead rhythmic backing, and those horns, that orchestra, aren't actually doing anything or going anywhere. It's grey, muddy storm und drang that does nothing interesting musically, and it's not even new for Iwasaki; that Gurren track you posted is a more succesful attempt at the same sort of thing, more soaring and more distinctive, w more of his actual voice.

Maybe I just value his voice less and less these days. Just talking about Japanese composers, Sawano and Kensuke Ushio write circles around him electronicawise. TECHNOBOYS are turning in better jazz. Even when Iwasaki zeroes in on pure symphonic melody like w this new movie, the results just leave me cold. I feel like I've heard all he has to say. Eh, maybe he'll get a project that pulls him out of his slump soon. Mahouka's score has been drenched in palpable "didn't give a fuck" since the beginning days of the TV show.

Prospect Theory is compositionally simple, because it's just repeating a motif, but the sheer intricacy of the sonorities blows the pants off Iwasaki's usual pre-2010s output. It repeats a motif and builds upon its texture until the final payoff in the last 30 seconds, which has some of the most dense orchestration Iwasaki has ever written, with the interplay between the trumpets and the horns, and swirling string glissandos and harp. By comparison, the orchestra in that Gurren Lagann piece is just a heroic string melody with an occasional horn interlude. The [C] piece is harmonically advanced on a much higher level than even the best of Agito. It is written like something from Bernard Herrmann, who Iwasaki idolizes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG3XEnoAo1s

There is unfortunately one very serious problem with Prospect Theory compared to Herrmann's piece, and that is that Iwasaki's piece doesn't have near the same level of blunt impact. His insistence on shoving the bland e-guitar and Hollywood percussion in front of the orchestra turns all his hard work on those dense textures into distracting background noise that prevents his own intricate orchestrations from being heard and appreciated as Herrmann would have intended. I didn't even notice there were strings in that piece until I put on a pair of headphones. In that sense, the [C] piece is not a successful experiment. But I still find it much more interesting and ambitious than the Gurren Lagaan piece. And when Iwasaki actually gets experiments like these it to work, like in Ziel Der Hydra, it's almost a masterpiece. Whether it's a better approach or not depends on your musical preferences, and I say that for Iwasaki's newer work in general.

Likewise, I can't agree with you at all about Ushio or Sawano having a better grasp of Electronica than Iwasaki. Ushio's work on Devilman was so banal it made me almost quit watching the show, like a poor man's Miami Vice. It's all the cliches of 70s synth music put together without any shred of individuality, with a laughable theft from Kenji Kawaii's GitS to top it all off. And my position on anything related to Sawano has already been well-known. If you had compared Iwasaki to Susumu Hirasawa or Vangelis, I would agree- those two guys are on a whole other level. But Sawano and Ushio? I'd like to see them make a piece with half the creativity of something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA3wB03BKqA

If you're bored with Iwasaki, there is no helping it. But I would take Mahouka any day over Witch Hunter Robin, or any other of his other old works filled to the brim with cheap synth instruments and string melodies with nothing more than percussion backing.

EDIT: Now here is a similar piece to Prospect Theory, Panthers from 009-1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m04vy6I_4oU

It's also repeating a simple motif, but this time with some amazing combination of Herrmann's Psycho prelude strings with Goldmsith's pounding piano arpeggios from Planet of the Apes. Some real magic happens when the violins are played alongside with that piano arpeggio. The percussion also includes, of all things, handclaps. There's a digeridoo in there somewhere as well. It's very much the precursor for something like that [C] piece, and only someone like Iwasaki could think of such a strange experiment, which isn't even that strange by his modern standards.

Prospect Theory is compositionally simple, because it's just repeating a motif, but the sheer intricacy of the sonorities blows the pants off Iwasaki's usual pre-2010s output. It repeats a motif and builds upon its texture until the final payoff in the last 30 seconds, which has some of the most dense orchestration Iwasaki has ever written, with the interplay between the trumpets and the horns, and swirling string glissandos and harp. By comparison, the orchestra in that Gurren Lagann piece is just a heroic string melody with an occasional horn interlude.

Sure, but I don't really care about any of that. He can write all the swirling, complex orchestral textures he wants, it won't amount to jack if it doesn't serve the piece he's writing it for or communicate anything to me.

Ushio and Sawano weren't really direct comparisons so much as examples of composers doing more enjoyable things w electronics than Iwasaki has, and have for years. I'm not interested in dueling links, but I'm just gonna point out Tutu is horrendously annoying and I would never ever want to listen to it outside of context. Creativity is not an inherent mark of quality, it merely IS a quality.


And when Iwasaki actually gets experiments like these it to work, like in Ziel Der Hydra, it's almost a masterpiece.
Ehhhhhh...*creaky hand gesture*



If you're bored with Iwasaki, there is no helping it. But I would take Mahouka any day over Witch Hunter Robin, or any other of his other old works filled to the brim with cheap synth instruments and string melodies with nothing more than percussion backing.

To each their own. String melodies w minimal backing has totally been what he's always been best at, thoooooooooo.

https://youtu.be/_4nESyjxjIM
This is the one Iwasaki track I've had on repeat since Gatchaman; a simple, energetic jazz ensemble piece from a score I generally snored at, created from simple rhythms and motifs and replete w musical habits he's had since Now and There, Here and Then, and it doesn't need any more than that cuz it's got great drive and ensemble color and lovely chords, takes lots of fun turns and is just a jam to listen to; all qualities near wholly absent from Mahouka. Simple, effective songwriting is literally all it takes.

Kow Otani talks about his music and a remake of Shadow Of The Colossus.

1:47 - For those who are interested to know what's new was added to the music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tg0mlYxReo

Since I brought up Hirasawa a while ago, everyone ought to give this piece a listen. I consider it the best combination of orchestral elements with electronics I've ever heard, even if the orchestral bits are synth samples. Gatchaman Crowds got nothing on this.

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

Having listened to that song, I think it's finally dawned on me that for whatever reason, I don't like Hirasawa. Don't get me wrong: the man's got a very distinct musical style that makes every song he creates as being 'his', and not similar to anyone else's. He has a unique blend of electronics and vocals that must work very well depending on what you're looking for, or when it's placed against a particular work. But it just doesn't do anything for me, and that song really doesn't do anything for me.

For what it's worth, Hirasawa did create what has become one of my all-time favourite songs, so it's not like I don't get what people see in the guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1o4O2SfQ5g

I think Hirasawa is very good at what he does, but also equally overrated (especially because most of his popularity in the anime fanbase comes from his work on the Berserk TV series, which was banal compared to his later efforts in Satoshi Kon's movies). Like Kajiura, he has a totally distinct style with no clear predecessor, but he also has Kajiura's weakness of most of his pieces sounding very samey because of that. But musically, his style has much more going for it than Kajiura's simple string melodies backed by chanting female choir and light percussion, and also unlike Kajiura, his style is almost impossible to reproduce by anyone else.

When you boil it down though, Hirasawa's music is just very elaborate trance music. It works like a charm in Kon's dreamy off-kilter movies, but forced in the normal dramatic context of something like Berserk, it doesn't fare as well (other than the very ethereal moments). Still a fun occasional listen, and I would love to go to one of his crazy concerts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-et_5qY46rQ

He would have also done a much better job in the chaotic insanity of Devilman Crybaby than Ushio.


On the subject of Iwasaki again, I went through a re-listen of his work for Mahouka's TV series, and in one of his pieces, he takes something similar to Hermann's "Giant Bees" cue from Mysterious Island and puts it against Hollywood percussion? And from 1:35 to 1:43 goes full Hirano. I'm reminded again of how tame the movie is by comparison, where none of these experiments take place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZY7apMnR9c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4USebawHYFQ

Kow Otani talks about his music and a remake of Shadow Of The Colossus.

1:47 - For those who are interested to know what's new was added to the music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tg0mlYxReo
Awesome! I need to get my hands on that vinyl!

I hope nobody minds, but I wanted to ask some more questions for y'all, if that's okay. I loved the answers and discussion from last time round, and I hope that something similar happens with this time. So...

1. What do you consider to be the best orchestra for performing orchestral music, and why? (e.g. Warsaw, LSO, etc.)

2. What is your favourite soundtrack that you came across thanks to this forum? (Be it a recommendation, or an upload of a rare gem)

3. What's your favourite orchestral soundtrack from a decade you otherwise consider to have had unremarkable orchestral music?

4. What's your favourite orchestral arrangement of an otherwise non-orchestral soundtrack?

5. Name a film composer who you would consider should go down in the history books as one of the greats (besides John Williams)?

6. Name a soundtrack you wish could get the best possible orchestral arrangement, and how? (Who would you get to arrange it, which orchestra, etc.)

I can't answer these questions, since I don't know anywhere near enough in most of these areas to give more than a half-hearted guess, but I figured y'all would have something to offer. If you answer these, thank you for indulging me yet again. Otherwise, have a great day!

As you wish ;)


1. LSO for SciFi, Moscow for Fantasy, Warsaw for Drama, Berlin for Classical

2. Tango’s & Herr Salat’s shares, nextday's share of From the North Land and amish’s shares of Yoshihiro Kanno

3. Can’t honestly answer. Every decade had great music, just that since the 2000s the place where they are primarly written has changed. Even if I would believe the 2010s to be weaker (and we still have two years before its over) I couldn't decide between Naotora, Ni no Kuni, Zetsuen no Tempest, LWA, Shirayuki, FFXIII, Fractale, Nichijou, Cloud on the Slope, Deep Sea Creatures, Space Brothers, Broken Blade, Palutena's Mirror, Gravity Daze 2, Virgin Soul, Drifters, Symphonic Gamers... they are all equally great to me. I can only say I would pick LWA, Naotora, Gravity Daze 2 and Ni no Kuni as my favorites. With the other decades its even more difficult.

I can only lay down that the 2010s are lead by Oshima, Hisaishi and Mitsuda. The 2000s were lead by Sahashi, Oshima and Hisaishi. The 90s by Kanno, Tanaka and Amano and so on and so forth, until we get to Ifukube and Takemitsu.
Hollywood from the 70s to the 90s was lead by Goldsmith and Williams and finally Horner since the 80s. Before that it was Herrmann and Rozsa and even before that it was Prokofiev, Korngold and Vaughan Williams. In the 2000s there's been Zimmer and Elfman (what a drop of quality) and now in the 2010s its dead and buried with Giacchino.

4. Orchestral piece in a non-orchestral soundtrack: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure II - Il mare eterno nella mia anima / Yuri on Ice - Aria / Song to Fly - The ship

Arrangement of synth: LSO - Chariots of Fire, City of Prague - Alexander (I just love orchestral Vangelis), JAGMO - Super Mario World / Super Mario 64 Medley, OGC4 - Super Metroid

5. Greatest film composers (no one-hit wonders) in my book:

Western: John Williams, Carl Davis, Rozsa, Elmer Bernstein, Korngold, Herrmann, Goldsmith, Morricone, Horner
Japan: Hisaishi, Yoko Kanno, Oshima, Kohei Tanaka, Sahashi, Yamashita, Asakawa, Sugiyama, Uematsu+Hamaguchi, Hirano, Taku Iwasaki with reservations

6. Orchestral: Simoun by the LSO with Sahashi rearranging it to a 60 minute symphonic masterpiece album or alternativly a Melodyphony-esque album of Sahashi's career with the LSO+Soprano+Massive Choir, 2CDs packed to the brim with arrangements of Steel Angel Kurumi, Simoun, Big O, King of Thorn, Fullmetal Panic, Gunslinger Girl, Cyber Formula, Blue Stinger etc.

On that note, has there ever been a more groovy rendition of Night on Bald Mountain?: http://picosong.com/wqnag

Non orchestral: Aria the Animation/Natural/Origination
Either a collaboration album with arrangements by Kanno, Sahashi, Oshima, Asakawa, Amano, Iwasaki and Hamaguchi or a solo album by Taku Iwasaki (would be both the easiest and simultaneously best pick I could think of)

I don't know about anybody else but I love answering these questions!

1. Difficult to give just one; London Symphony Orchestra, the Halle, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw.
2. Kiroshi Yoshikawa's Nessa no Hoshi. A thrilling oratorio for orchestra that somehow found its way into some dumb Playstation fighting game. The Moscow performance is just delicious; the deep, throaty, rasping Slavic brass is simply perfect.
3. Souhei Kano's Fractale; the last hurrah of the 2010s.
4. VERY tough.
5. Trying to avoid names that already have gone down in the history books... Yasuo Higuchi, pre-2012 Yoshihisa Hirano, George Fenton.
6. I see where Vinphonic is coming from, but I'm not going to go with Simoun because Sahashi had the biggest, best-recorded orchestra of his scoring career for it, and I think a re-recording would invoke the law of diminishing returns. I will not go for anything else which already has a performance that does the score justice. I think I would end up plumping for Souhei Kano's Fractale. Kano himself composing a full 60 minute symphony in four movements derived from the score, to be performed by a full-strength LSO. That would do nicely.

1.LSO of course.but there are a few very good orchestras out there.
2.Oh mann that is a lot.not a soundtrack but johan de meijs symphony 3 planet earth.and escaflowne and aquarion for scores.and countless others.hard to keep track.this thread with the badass name is like the storage room at the end of raiders of the lost ark but for great orchestral music.
3.witches by marc timon barcelo.best non asian score in a looong time.
4.underwater music from dkc2 from orchesral game concert,megaman suite from score swedish concert and techno dungeon from turrican orchestral cd 2
5.Jerry Goldsmith.The MAN.
6.already LSO, but get rid of the lyrics and make a symphony out of rob gardners lamb of god.the score is unbelievebly gorgeous.even the heavy religious focus doenst bother me because the orchestral themes melt my heart like little else can.

I hope nobody minds, but I wanted to ask some more questions for y'all, if that's okay. I loved the answers and discussion from last time round, and I hope that something similar happens with this time. So...

1. What do you consider to be the best orchestra for performing orchestral music, and why? (e.g. Warsaw, LSO, etc.)

2. What is your favourite soundtrack that you came across thanks to this forum? (Be it a recommendation, or an upload of a rare gem)

3. What's your favourite orchestral soundtrack from a decade you otherwise consider to have had unremarkable orchestral music?

4. What's your favourite orchestral arrangement of an otherwise non-orchestral soundtrack?

5. Name a film composer who you would consider should go down in the history books as one of the greats (besides John Williams)?

6. Name a soundtrack you wish could get the best possible orchestral arrangement, and how? (Who would you get to arrange it, which orchestra, etc.)

I can't answer these questions, since I don't know anywhere near enough in most of these areas to give more than a half-hearted guess, but I figured y'all would have something to offer. If you answer these, thank you for indulging me yet again. Otherwise, have a great day!

1. The London Symphony Orchestra followed by The Berlin Philharmonic. Their brass heritage, eclecticism as well as having possibly greater sight-read ability makes me give them the top spot over Berliner.

2. Hm, probably something by Asakawa or Higuchi - I like quite a bit of what I have heard from them so far, I can't mention a title though since I don't have a favorite score by them.

3. No decade so far has had unremarkable orchestral music.

4. Nothing comes to mind, with electronic scores I tend to dislike or reject orchestral recordings of them since it can't compare to the real thing, so why bother.

5. No one will go down in history in the mainstream like Williams, but any living film composer of high quality (Goldsmith and Herrmann have already gone done as greats obviously) are high up on the list, Newman, Goldenthal, Hirano, Iwasaki, Hisaishi etc. No one of them will become a household name like Williams, but most of them aren't scoring blockbusters either or writing the kind of tunes that has a potential of latching on to people's ears like the ones Williams have written.

6. I wish Jerry Goldsmith's Chinatown had a great concert arrangement, maybe if they could somehow make it a 15 minute concert suite or something like that. I would ask any of the leading concert composers, John Corigliano, John Adams etc, to arrange it. Either The London Symphony Orchestra or the Berlin Philharmonic.

1. National Philharmonic. I'm biased because I've been listening to most of their film rerecordings lately, but these guys can do anything with superb showmanship, whether it's the ferocious raw intensity of Herrmann, the triumphant splendor of Korngold, or the intimate romance of Waxman. Comparing their recording of Herrmann's music alone to other world-class symphonies makes the others look like amateurs. It's too bad they never worked on that many projects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq1Uy2OZ1ug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbOCwWrZmKc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BLQMtDeAgs

2. All of Hirano's work. I initially dismissed the guy because I tend to hate atonal and serial music, but after listening to more of his music, I was taken aback by how creative and listenable it was. It was chaotic, but also playful and beautiful, and I would take his style of serial music any day over that of Goldsmith or Goldenthal.

3. I disagree with the premise of this question. Every decade has remarkable orchestral music, but almost none of it is ever mainstream.

4. Iwasaki's chamber rearrangements of the various guitar themes in Yokohama Cafe. His work on it is essentially a prototype for Binchou-tan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nfKSKuzTrE

5. I also can't answer this question because there are far too many, and they are often neglected. All those composers who worked on the source music for Spongebob for instance; all marvelously talented and could all go toe-to-toe with the best in Hollywood history, and yet they're wasted on source music to be used ironically for some dumb kids shows. That people are heralding hacks like Giacchino to be the "successor" to John Williams in history books irks me to no end.

6. Also too many to list, some of the greatest soundtracks in all of Hollywood were from almost a century ago and have yet to receive any decent updates to make them not sound like a concert heard through a tincan placed against the wall. The brunt of Max Steiner's work for instance. On the anime side of things, I want Asakawa's Five Star Stories to be re-recorded with the LSO, or hell any of Asakawa's work to be re-recored by any world-class symphony orchestra. That the man whose talent rivals that of Korngold never got a chance to wave his baton outside of Japan's 40-piece ensembles is outright criminal.

1. London Symphony Orchestra for film (see Williams/Horner), Royal Concertgebouw for classical

2. Valkyria: Azure Revolution

3. We would first have to establish which decade had the worst orchestral music. Way too subjective to give an honest answer. How about I give my best score for each decade (in terms of how regularly I revisit them)?
1930s: Alexander Nevsky (Prokofiev)
1940s: Scott of the Antarctic (Vaughan Williams)
1950s: Ben-Hur (Miklos Rozsa)
1960s: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Morricone)
1970s: Star Wars (Williams)
1980s: Conan the Barbarian (Poledouris)
1990s: Braveheart (Horner)
2000s: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Goldenthal)
2010s: Onna Jōshu Naotora (Kanno) AKA The death of western film scores

4. The Man With the Machine Gun

5. One of the great film composers? Many of them already are. Goldsmith, Horner, Poledouris, etc. One of the great classical composers? None of them, really. Maybe Goldenthal.

6. It's hard to decide what orchestral soundtrack doesn't already have the best possible arrangement. I've never listened to a soundtrack and thought "hey, this is great, but too bad the arrangement sucks." Maybe you mean orchestration? Or performance? I would have liked to see a re-orchestration of Battle Beyond the Stars with a better orchestra. Maybe McNeely could tackle it and David Newman can be brought back in to conduct. Get the Chicago Symphony to perform those wacky brass parts.

1. What do you consider to be the best orchestra for performing orchestral music, and why? (e.g. Warsaw, LSO, etc.)
Many people have already said the London Symphony, so I'm going to go ahead and choose the Concertgebouw because they recorded my favorite performance of Shostakovich's 8th. Or the Vienna Philharmonic in it's heyday.

2. What is your favourite soundtrack that you came across thanks to this forum? (Be it a recommendation, or an upload of a rare gem)
Once upon a time I would have said Debney's Lair for pure musical candy. Now I would have to say Horner's Krull, which at first I hated because I couldn't get over the blatant similarities to Star Trek II. Then Horner died and all that cacophonous bullshit that surrounded his reputation didn't seem to matter anymore, only the brilliance of the man's music. The "Widow of the Web" sequence is incredibly dramatic, the "Ride of the Firemares" as rousing a cue as ever put to pen. For pure musicality, I also have to mention Kanno's Aquarion, although it's really more a disconnected concert suite than a dramatic score, filled with jaw-dropping moments.

3. What's your favourite orchestral soundtrack from a decade you otherwise consider to have had unremarkable orchestral music?
I can't honestly answer this question, as my interest is almost exclusively Silver Age and onward, which leaves me with basically the '00s and the '10s to choose from. I'm also not nearly as keen on much of the anime music that dominates the thread these days as many of you, which leaves me pretty high and dry of choices on the Western front, other than a few obvious standouts. (Take a bow, JW.) I will say that I greatly enjoyed Jonny Greenwood's lush score to Phantom Thread this year, though so far I have only really experienced it in the film itself. Kubo and the Two Strings also resonated with me, probably because of how deeply I connected to the film's themes on a personal level; it's the only Marianelli score that I listen to. "Rey's Theme" is one of my absolute favorites from all of the Star Wars films, besting anything from the prequels.

4. What's your favourite orchestral arrangement of an otherwise non-orchestral soundtrack?
I really love "The Great Bath" from the Turrican II orchestral album. hater reminded me that I need to pick up the second album, which unfortunately I was unable to back earlier this year. Fortunately, it's on Bandcamp in FLAC.

5. Name a film composer who you would consider should go down in the history books as one of the greats (besides John Williams)?
Michael Kamen doesn't get enough love. I think, like Goldsmith, he unfortunately wasn't hired to score enough "prestige" projects to raise his profile onto projects more deserving of his considerable talents. Band of Brothers is probably the most acclaimed work he was a part of, and the enduring and rising popularity of The Iron Giant will keep his flame burning, alongside of course his action classics with Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. The Dead Zone is a wonderfully melancholic horror score. Costner's Robin Hood may not be a particularly good movie, but Kamen's score is a treat, especially on the new Intrada release. What Dreams May Come is saccharine and ebullient and a personal favorite. A good man that was taken too soon, much like Poledouris.

6. Name a soundtrack you wish could get the best possible orchestral arrangement, and how? (Who would you get to arrange it, which orchestra, etc.)
I wish that someone would turn FFVI into a massive oratorio ala Schoenberg's Gurrelieder or even a full-blown Wagnerian-scale opera. Merrignon Studios have already proven themselves capable with such material, but if we're going to dream big, why not get Goldenthal or whoever-the-fuck-really-is Yoko Kanno to do it. Or... Alan Silvestri could have shoved an oboe up Jerry Bruckheimer's ass before continuing on his merry way to outdo Cutthroat Island and have single-handedly saved us from the past two decades of sound-designed garbage. Either works for me.

I hope nobody minds, but I wanted to ask some more questions for y'all, if that's okay. I loved the answers and discussion from last time round, and I hope that something similar happens with this time. So...

1. What do you consider to be the best orchestra for performing orchestral music, and why? (e.g. Warsaw, LSO, etc.)

2. What is your favourite soundtrack that you came across thanks to this forum? (Be it a recommendation, or an upload of a rare gem)

3. What's your favourite orchestral soundtrack from a decade you otherwise consider to have had unremarkable orchestral music?

4. What's your favourite orchestral arrangement of an otherwise non-orchestral soundtrack?

5. Name a film composer who you would consider should go down in the history books as one of the greats (besides John Williams)?

6. Name a soundtrack you wish could get the best possible orchestral arrangement, and how? (Who would you get to arrange it, which orchestra, etc.)

I can't answer these questions, since I don't know anywhere near enough in most of these areas to give more than a half-hearted guess, but I figured y'all would have something to offer. If you answer these, thank you for indulging me yet again. Otherwise, have a great day!

1. Warsaw. I have a poor ear for that sort of thing, tho.

2. Yasuo Higuchi's Violin Concerto; props to Tango and Herr Salat for the find and post

3. Naotora

4. Was tempted to put FF6 Grand Finale, but although the original music was MIDI, it was also clearly classically-inspired in form to begin with. So instead, I'll go w Masashi Hamauzu's transformation of the spacey trance track Aquatic Ambience into a keening, delicately gorgeous piece for piano, violin and orchestra. From Symphonic Legends. Loved it from the minute I heard it. https://youtu.be/fv1A0rGzsfc

5. Yukari Hashimoto has been doing wonderful work in anime for the past several years. Not top-tier Hermann-inspired stuff, but she's got class and a great gift for melody and emotional range and already has a confident style all her own. Her confident, quirky scores for Penguindrum, Yuri Kuma and March Comes in Like a Lion have been among my fondest in the past couple years, and she's got all the makings of a powerhouse w some more years time. Of all the latest composers to crop up in the past few years, her name always makes me happiest to see. To think what she could do w a large orchestra and free range to go nuts. She'd prolly kill it on a Macross property.

Mina Kubota deserves more props, too.

6. Give Shogo Sakai a huge orchestra, put him on a console Kirby game, and let him do whatever. I NEEEEEED this.

Alan Silvestri could have shoved an oboe up Jerry Bruckheimer's ass before continuing on his merry way to outdo Cutthroat Island.

Ladies and gentlemen, quote of the entire thread. :D

I really love that we all seem to have our one special score; that holds a special place in our hearts. It reminds me of Fahrenheit 451, where people not only memorise, but adopt the identities of their chosen books so that the books live on.

i am correcting my 6. because justice league animated series had no budget for an orchestra but was as great as batman and superman even in that form.so just record the entire show with an decent sized orchestra and i will be very happy.

Seiken Densetsu 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert
Performed by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maiku Shibata
Arranged by Kosuke Yamashita, Natsumi Kameoka, Sachiko Miyano and Naoya Iwaki

(https://mega.nz/#!ChZzgQoZ!74Oh_-J3CW-oo9r-vSL6kLV5sNPNMjbNK6IgriRp0NU)

Sample (http://picosong.com/wqqsp)

Fresh from CD, plus every major orchestral arrangement for the franchise (and a new cover). The new remake of Seiken Densetsu II / Secret of Mana has a rearranged orchestral score by Kikuta and there's rumors of another title in the making so this (again) won't be the last time we hear of this franchise.

Just go into this album as an "Orchestral Anniversary Concert" and from the recent influx of anniversary albums, this is a favorite. It certainly helps the source is really well suited for the symphonic orchestral treatment.

My major gripe is that the newcomer Naoya Iwaki and not Yamashita arranged the most important piece for me (Angel's Fear ~ Meridian Child). But at least there's Vaughan Williams. Even if it doesn't reach the quality of the OGC versions which remain the definitive version (I'm in agreement with nextday on this one) the melodies remain strong and the arrangement, and the whole album in general, is a really nice listen and very beautiful in parts. Well worth my money. Should there be a symphonic album and not another orchestra concert in the future, I hope it will be a solo album by Yamashita, like his SaGa project.


Enjoy

What a development! Much to my surprise, it turns out Asakawa didn't actually completely retire from film scoring or writing music. He composed for two J-drama films back in 2010 and 2013:

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLOWERS_-%E3%83%95%E3%83%A9%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA-

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK82fiU92d4

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A1%E3%81%A5%E3%81%91_(%E5%8A%87%E4 %BD%9C%E5%93%81)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoBkAi0m4tI

Beauitful as always, but it doesn't sound much different from his other scores written for these types of movies from decades ago, so no Golden Age orchestral acrobatics in play here. Still, did these two films ever even get any soundtrack releases?

Now I have to seriously question whether Asakawa actually wanted to retire as a composer to play harp, or if his style of music simply became too unpopular with producers and Japanese audiences to get him more gigs. I would very surprised if it's the latter, but it's not out of the question, as people like Hirano have shown.

Thank you, I'd never heard any music from Asakawa's movie scores - from the trailers, they sound highly competent as one would expect from Asakawa, but very much cookie-cutter drama scores. The old man wailing and crying at 2:20 accompanied by harp and strings... that, right there, is the J-drama scoring cliche. It sounds like Asakawa was testing the waters after a long time away from composing, seeing if he could still find fulfillment writing music the way it's expected now, and by the looks of things, he discovered that he couldn't and re-retired.

I've often said this, but it's always been obvious to me why Asakawa's scoring career didn't take off; he was fifty years too late to the party, and born in the wrong country. As a composer, he is more golden age Hollywood than any; whilst others make nods to the golden age, or wrap up aspects of it in their style, he is pure and completely unapologetic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DOY0zklp2o

This is UTTERLY GORGEOUS - but those days are GONE. Long gone. A score like this was an anachronism in 1993 when it was written, but to the mainstream in 2018 bought up on a diet of Hiroyuki Sawano and naff, bouncy arrangements from poor quality video game scores, it is nothing more than five minutes of cringe. It's music from another time.

I can only imagine the facepalms that were going on in 2000 when the producers of Candidate For Goddess asked for a nice, peppy OP song for their fun mecha show to sell tens of thousands of CDs, and Asakawa turned in this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gjZI1rSLEk

Kohei Tanaka, two years later in Overman King Gainer, knew how to sell CDs AND slip in "under the radar" a big orchestra and a song of genuine compositional interest:

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

Asakawa's options as a composer in 2018 are limited:
1. Wait for the rarer-than-hen's-teeth project that naturally demands exactly his type of music. Maybe one will come along, but if it does it's hard to see that Asakawa, with just a handful of composer credits in thirty years and a well-established career as a performer, will be seriously considered for the job. Asakawa is an analogue composer in a digital world.
2. Forge a new style according to modern trends, accept that the orchestra is dying, and go on as a zombie composer.
3. Give up and make money playing the harp.

It looks like right now it's doing a combination of (1) and (3) after a very brief flirtation with (2) in the early 2010s.

It's a bitter pill to swallow, as we all know that Asakawa the composer sweeps the floor with pretty much anybody currently working in Japan - and, like all of the genuine greats who with a handful of exceptions have either retired, taken other jobs away from composition, or reinvented themselves as lobotomised composers for the new era, he never gets to flex his muscles any more.

Nonetheless, thank you for letting us see these! I don't think they were released.

Kickstarter for Christopher Tin's new album: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/christophertin/new-album-by-christopher-tin-baba-yetu-civilizatio

To be recorded at Abbey Road with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. If you have $2000 to spare, you can even attend the recording sessions.

@Tango:

Complete disagreement with almost everything you wrote (:D) but genuine thanks for posting the CfG opening because I now remember how much my brain must have been wired from it since they aired the show on german tv way back when anime was just a novelty. I actually recorded the opening on VHS and had it on constant repeat, the same as I would listen to tapes of the Star Wars and Back to the Future credits non-stop. Even before I came in contact with Korngold, Steiner and Rozsa, the very first time I heard this kind of music was from a kinda crappy Japanese Late-Night Mecha-Anime :D For that revelation you have made my day (For the record I do understand where you are coming from and you have my sympathies)

1. Wait for the rarer-than-hen's-teeth project that naturally demands exactly his type of music. Maybe one will come along, but if it does it's hard to see that Asakawa, with just a handful of composer credits in thirty years and a well-established career as a performer, will be seriously considered for the job. Asakawa is an analogue composer in a digital world.Oh, what I would give to let Asakawa tackle his own Taiga Drama someday. Even Yoko Kanno would cower in fear. Given some of the other questionable choices, it's not out of the realm of possibility for Asakawa to get his shot. And his style would fit like a glove.

http://picosong.com/wqk6F/
http://picosong.com/wqkQm/

But that's just wishful thinking on my part. If nothing else, I'm glad that he has not totally surrendered his composing career yet. A few hiatuses never hurt anyone.

Oh, what I would give to let Asakawa tackle his own Taiga Drama someday

Now, THAT I would like to hear... :D

---------- Post added at 08:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------

I looked back over my post a dozen times trying to find something you could disagree with; I honestly don't know what you could be objecting to. It's all completely intuitive. I admire your unfailing optimism, as ever, but, try as I might to see it from your point of view...


I actually recorded the opening on VHS and had it on constant repeat, the same as I would listen to tapes of the Star Wars and Back to the Future credits non-stop.

Same. My parents thought I was barking mad. :D

http://picosong.com/wqk6F/
http://picosong.com/wqkQm/
He can definitely do the Vaughan Williams-esque pastoral sound. Does he have some good energetic/frenetic tracks like track 4 from Naotora OST 1?

There were a lot of frenetic pieces in Wataru and Candidate for a Goddess, though Asakawa's style generally isn't as dissonant as that Naotora piece. This is the best I could think of along the lines of that:

http://picosong.com/wqYWM/
http://picosong.com/wqYvy/
http://picosong.com/wqYW8/
http://picosong.com/wqYWX/
http://picosong.com/wqYWd/

Asakawa's action music has got a kind of light-hearted flavour to it. Not that there's anything wrong with that, even Prokofiev's Battle on the Ice transforms into a jolly old swashbuckler. I definitely feels like a more Golden Aged-approach to action music.

Yeah, as Tango said, Asakawa is the living embodiment of the Golden Age. Right down to the Corn and Gold (http://picosong.com/wqeqs/). Though to be fair, most of that music was written either for films modeled directly after ones from the Golden Age (FSS) or kid's mecha shows (Wataru or Goddess). Outside of these works, and Tezuka's mickey-mousing Jungle Emperor, I don't think he's ever had a chance to write any serious action music. He was supposed to score the Devilman OVA from long ago, but that job ended up going to Kenji Kawai because Asakawa himself was against writing music for Satan. It would have been a musically interesting experience to say the least.

He did try to write like Herrmann once, which was one of the very few times where I think he wrote a "bad" piece. It's musically sound, but not at all convincingly scary or ambiguous. But once again, this was for a lighthearted kid's movie too.

http://picosong.com/wqeFm/

Well, not everyone can be Iwasaki (http://picosong.com/wqeRF/).


In other news (http://ginei.club/infoDetail.php?iKey=120), this guy just got announced as composer for the LotGH reboot:

https://vgmdb.net/artist/7328

His most notable work? Full Metal Panic Fumoffu's OP and ED themes. As if it wasn't enough of a "Dead on Arrival" already.

And he posted the main theme on the website, saying it was influenced by Brahms, but in a "more modern and epic direction". I'll leave that to your ears to decide:

http://gineiden-anime.com/music.html

@Tango:

No worries, that was more thought than needed ;)

Yeah, maybe I have done a terrible thing with my collection because discovering your favorite music on TV with no internet, no instant download, and just having to be content with a loop on tape, where as I can now go to a dozen places to download CfG in FLAC, and I can listen to it in bombastic yet crystalclear sound on my sound system, is something that truely makes you appreciate how far we have come.

But I will answer in earnest if its a concern for you:

Since there are a million reasons why a composer goes on hiatus or does not get/accept a project, from business (Tanaka) to religious beliefs (Asakawa) to family and personal life (Sahashi), we can't say for sure. Though Asakawa is an enigma anyway, no matter how you look at it.
I'm also pointing out "Out of time moments" or "interesting songs" can still happen, what some would call cringe (Though only Asakawa and Oshima write like they belong in the Golden Age). I don't think they are not envoke or disappearing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOl-90Cy1w4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCUULTF_iNw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSMu3ORly_c
http://picosong.com/wqYip
http://picosong.com/wqYpm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmgIIFwUtrI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNMigs0yPmw&t=20s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20nK_AVLu44
http://picosong.com/wqYM2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqyKLvHt9_I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hor52v6GY7E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNsywoWttoI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxZQOSktM3Y
http://picosong.com/wqYiv

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqm116GirOk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xCXxomtek8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chfeiX9a_EA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCU0aF94giw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyF1EASmETs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJCnpLb1pSc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhpoJuplJVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3iilMik-AA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8VHhM_h8cA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of1SfbWERRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT5AWaEMGAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGCWnMXICrg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ86nzUl8Xg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGGJ9f4qhF8


Also Sawano's influence is overrated (everything about him is). Since Gundam Unicorn he only worked on shows for a Teenage demographic and nothing prestige. He hasn't written music for a Taiga Drama, a prestige anime (Yamato, Doraemon, Godzilla, Mazinger) or a prestige game (Final Fantasy). Does he score any of the new "big thing" Netflix series? Even the one major game franchise he scored for got taken back by Mitsuda and friends with a full symphonic score. If anything Hattori and Ike are far more likely to follow Mitsuda in popularity and prestige projects this decade and be among the leading composers in the next.

Recently Netflix announced a firm collaboration with Production I.G., Bones and WIT studio to produce a plethora of "high-quality anime series" with budgets normal TV anime series only can dream of. Depending on who scores them and how they will sound, we can get a better picture what sound dominates. In this very season... yes there's Sawano (and his show even has some decent pieces by his collaborateurs) but he's a minority in regards to how most shows this season are scored (the spectrum goes far, from Evergarden to FranXX which again, has some decent pieces). When Spring has no remarkable music (for me) by the Old Guard leading it or I'm not having fun listening through a season, that's when I get worried.

It is tragic what happened to Souhei Kano, had he just scored a popular project instead of an abysmal commercial disaster... or Hirano, had he just a director that understands his genius and formed a collaboration... but at least Kano scores a movie this year and Hirano might get back on track with the next projects. Perhaps because I don't value them higher as I would my personal favorites, I don't feel or see the despair (yet).

As long as a new score like CfG is still a possibility and not absurdity, I'm not in despair (yet).


As for game music:

There's a dozen Sugiyama concerts each year, and a couple for Tanaka. Those can be seen as "mainstream" I guess. If you are talking about "bouncy arrangements" I belive you are referring to JAGMO. Keep in mind its a musical unit consiting of mainly 20-30 year olds, from arranger to orchestra to conductor, who just love Games and anime and have a very small fan circle nextday and I just happen to be part of (and that love and passion is noticable despite technical shortcomings). And most orchestra concert albums (who are not advertised or referred to as symphonic albums) these days are made for a rather small niche audience. That Miku Symphony album is as mainstream as you are gonna get.




@Zipper: I told you, the project was dead on arrival the more closer you looked. Even if the new Sakura Clear Card should have no big orchestra, the sound honors the original work. Same with Mazinger and Yamato (dugs behind cover for Tango's incoming fire). The only good point I can think of from this is that some literal who can still come out of nowhere and score big projects and its not terrible sounding and has some interesting moments (and woodwinds) before it becomes bland at the end (though is LotGH even prestigeous in Japan, despite being popular in some fan circles?). In any case, if I look at next season and the other composers assembled, its no hard loss.

Case in point, Sunrise next big SciFi Mecha show will be scored by another literal who?
This is the only thing close to what the show could be about I could find: http://picosong.com/wqCz9/ / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG3x_W7r7ag

My lossless rip. I've included scans, a custom cover, and proper liner notes. A big upgrade from the low quality live stream rip posted a while back. Definitely worth a second listen in high quality!

Sample: Medley I (excerpt) (http://picosong.com/wqCRW/) http://i.imgur.com/v9WfOyB.gif

Download: https://mega.nz/#!oFcxUA6Y!iLhRgtapeW5msh7qvnacvZMh9HEz8ZVY44XkCHgUxx8

This is the only thing close to what the show could be about I could find: http://picosong.com/wqCz9/Not bad at all, the harmonies remind me of Iwasaki. Already sounds more fitting for LotGH than whatever it was that other guy churned out.

He is legit, here's a chunk of his portfolio, of course the standard Jazz and classical pieces raise no eyebrows:

SciFi Planet (http://picosong.com/wqCz9) / Adventure Festival (http://picosong.com/wqPJG/) / Royal Thriller (http://picosong.com/wqP6R) / Chasing Shadows (http://picosong.com/wqP6Q/) / Heroic Courage (http://picosong.com/wqPSH/) / The Public Spirit (http://picosong.com/wqP69)


Regarding Starwing: I imagine since this is a big cross-media project they will spare no expenses. Its been so long since Sunrise announced a big SciFi project with a composer that knows how to write for symphonic brass, I just hope electronics don't overshadow an orchestral score.

He does drama shows the only anime he’d done was Phi-Brain. (V nice by the way)

Netflix just announced that LOST SONG will air on March 31st. Speaking of Netflix, I found it interesting that Yoshihiro Ike's "B: The Beginning" soundtrack will be released in the US before Japan: https://vgmdb.net/album/74640

Times are changing.

They sure am:


Netflix is ​​trying to change animation production from the ground up



"Netflix has transformed the site of animation production."

It is said that the biggest change is that a production company, who is responsible for planning and drawing, has signed a contract with Netflix directly and can directly control the production with an abundant budget than ever before. The creative freedom has also increased significantly. In Japan, television stations, advertising agencies, production companies and other organizations form a production committee, but "change" is also occurring in this mechanism.

Netflix system is to trade directly with a production company:

"NetFlix basically does not ask for rights or control other than distribution, it is a tremendously reasonable way"

Taking the story of executives of multiple animation production companies together, the Netflix method is very simple. Basically, about the work produced by the production company, Netflix gets distribution rights for a certain period. Various conditions are set in relation to this distribution right. The conditions are as follows, for example.

- You can not see the work except Netflix for a certain period of time
- Distributed exclusively at Netflix half a year after release as a theatrical movie
- Deliver exclusively at Netflix at the same time as the theater release

Although it depends on the form of the contract, since the production company contracts with Netflix directly, the work is made with the contract money as the origin, and the right of the completed work remains on the production company side. Meanwhile, the Netflix side does not own the rights of the work and does not involve business other than distribution, so it can be operated with a limited number of people.

As a trend in recent years, packaging sales have declined. According to the statistics of the Japan Video Software Association, sales of Japanese animation DVD and Blu-ray for the general public was about 61 billion yen in 2013, but it decreased to about 41.8 billion yen in 2016. While the sales of packaged works declined, the market size of video distribution has expanded on the right. According to statistics of the Japan Video Association, the market size of anime distribution in 2016 was 47.8 billion yen, exceeding package sales.

Creative Freedom is increasing

With the arrival of Netflix, freedom of expression for the production side has increased.

The original work "DEVIL MAN crybaby" which Netflix started delivering on January 5, 2018 has a lot of depictions of sexuality and violence expressed considerably.

When broadcasting on television, there is a possibility that an unspecified number of people may view these images as problematic, so these expressions are forced to be cautious. On the other hand, in the case of distribution, users can choose to watch themselves and it can be depicted without restriction.

Netflix is ​​regarded as emphasizing the diversity of the huge amount of content to be offered. For this reason, it is possible that even works with drastic content, experimental new expression, from violence to eroticism, more than before, can be added to the lineup. Also, some people say that Netflix and the production company contract directly, so that the intention of the producer side is easily reflected.

In the Netflix system, the number of persons in charge who judge the direction of the work etc. is limited. Although the process of approval / decision of work production has been expedited and highly systematized, there is a possibility of producing sharp works and novelty works, but there is also a loose aspect of checking contents and quality. On the other hand "The committee system" tends to decide to hit the stone bridge by all means, although it is possible to do something safe, it is difficult for a work in disagreement with an overwhelming power.

Positive change

Netflix has published a total of 117 million members worldwide in over 190 countries. Mr. Shiota believes that Netflix brings to Japanese animation a positive change.

"Japan is not good at selling to the world, even if we make excellent works, Netflix has opened up the flowing path, and even an independent studio like us we can now sell the work to the world we otherwise would have no funds or ways to do it."

According to the Japan Video Association, the market size of Japanese animation industry has grown to the right in recent years. In 2016 total amount reached 2.9 trillion yen. Among them, overseas sales accounted for 767.6 billion yen as the largest, and "commercialization" such as goods sales continued at 562.7 billion yen.




What this all means... who knows. So far we have a symphony orchestra by a newcomer for Lost Song, a symphony orchestra by Ike for a Fantasy show coming this year, a big Hollywood-esque studio orchestra by the first western film composer in the anime industry for Violet Evergarden, as well as a possible symphonic score for Knights of the Zodiac (Sahashi?), two possible orchestral scores for B and AICO (but doubtful) and Kotaru Nakagawa with a budget for Sword Gai. And who knows what neflix will announce in the coming months. If netflix handles all distribution, I welcome getting soundtracks close to release of the show and not months/years after the show has aired. And if they can eradicate the Blu-Ray bonus plight (Zetsuen no Tempest still has no official release), more power to them.







Daisuke Ehara, Natsumi Kameoka and Tomomichi Takeoka
Tales of Zestiria -Symphonic Suite-
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus

(https://mega.nz/#!ahQXiK4S!7ig6pwsErq9YuO1CzWA3Ko2Zr-wGeO3nksZzMZE_SZM)

Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c5hL36IqfI)


Whatever they put into the tea/sake of the players and arrangers, they need to do it again! Tales of Orchestra 2017 not only is much better recorded than last year and filled to the brim with larger than life songs (if you are into that) but also features some grand symphonic pieces with a massive choir (can you spot Goldsmith's Lionheart? :D). Aside from Kid Icarus, Sakuraba was never this listenable. In general the whole album is spectacular, the other albums just don't compare: http://picosong.com/wqf4y/

There's a certain spark here, maybe its in the recording or the performance (or the fact the entire audience becomes a choir), but I get the impression everyone really cared this time. In any case it has the definitve versions of my favorites from the previous ones. The only shame is that they didn't perform the Shrine Trial Medley again.

Bit of an odd question to ask, but anyone suggest any relaxing soundtracks to listen to? I've got something of a cold today, and I'd like some nice music to have playing in the background to help distract me from it. Thank you!

What this all means... who knows. So far we have a symphony orchestra by a newcomer for Lost Song, a symphony orchestra by Ike for a Fantasy show coming this year, a big Hollywood-esque studio orchestra by the first western film composer in the anime industry for Violet Evergarden, as well as a possible symphonic score for Knights of the Zodiac (Sahashi?), two possible orchestral scores for B and AICO (but doubtful) and Kotaru Nakagawa with a budget for Sword Gai. And who knows what neflix will announce in the coming months. If netflix handles all distribution, I welcome getting soundtracks close to release of the show and not months/years after the show has aired. And if they can eradicate the Blu-Ray bonus plight (Zetsuen no Tempest still has no official release), more power to them.
The interesting part about this is that Netflix is partnering with Bones. Bones has a strong relationship with some interesting veteran directors:
- Takuya Igarashi (Ouran High School Host Club, Star Driver, Captain Earth, Bungo Stray Dogs)
- Masahiro Ando (Sword of the Stranger, Blast of Tempest, Snow White with the Red Hair)

These guys don't compromise when it comes to the music in their shows. Imagine what they would do with a Netflix budget.


Bit of an odd question to ask, but anyone suggest any relaxing soundtracks to listen to? I've got something of a cold today, and I'd like some nice music to have playing in the background to help distract me from it. Thank you!
Not a soundtrack, but here's a rip that I haven't shared before. I think you'll enjoy it:



Sample: Closed Book (http://picosong.com/wq4HL/) (arr. Tomoyuki Asakawa) http://i.imgur.com/v9WfOyB.gif

All guitars played by Gonzalez Mikami and Titi Matsumura
Arranged by Jaques Morelenbaum, Yasuaki Shimizu, Hajime Mizoguchi & Tomoyuki Asakawa

Download: https://mega.nz/#!lYUQ2LTZ!wt5aVSzm7laFG0X2NFHKSduJ2LVfcJniPj-ixSfnPtw

Note: I would only skip track 9. It's an Asakawa track, and his orchestration is wonderful, but for some reason he threw in an electric guitar. Very out of place on an acoustic album.

Bit of an odd question to ask, but anyone suggest any relaxing soundtracks to listen to? I've got something of a cold today, and I'd like some nice music to have playing in the background to help distract me from it. Thank you!

-Iwasaki's Binchou-Tan
-Asakawa's Asian Highway (which I posted some samples from before)
-Oshima's Shirayuki
-Yuji Nomi's Nichijou
-Hisaishi's Spirited Away
-Senju's Red Garden (a bit more melancholy than the rest, but possibly the most beautiful)


I could post more, but this is already plenty of material to listen to.

Ohhh, Red Garden... Time for a listen! :D

Note: I would only skip track 9. It's an Asakawa track, and his orchestration is wonderful, but for some reason he threw in an electric guitar. Very out of place on an acoustic album.I don't think that's enough of a reason to discount the entire piece. The first minute or so is pure Asakawa, not a single guitar to be heard. Probably my favorite of all the pieces in that album, especially how he shoves that horn in the first ten seconds.

Hajime Mizugochi continues to surprise me in how-well made, yet lacking in identity his music is. His work in Escaflowne and Jin-roh and now this sound almost nothing alike.

Anyway, thanks again for the share.

basil poledeuris wind, soren hyldgaards landmarks, flying dreams,tons of george fentons documentary scores,panu aaltios tale of a lake and tale of a forest.nature documentary scores in general.they have big moments but most is beautiful and relaxing.

@Zipper:

Yeah, he's comparable to David Newman. Some of Escaflowne's best moments are actually written by Mizoguchi. But since his divorce with Kanno in 2007, he hasn't worked on anything...

And if you're following FranXX, I would not put Tachibana in the Sawano category. The more I hear of it, the more it sounds like a MONACA score, this piece is basically Star Driver with a beat: http://picosong.com/wqL3m/


In other news, Sakimoto has a full orchestra in some capacity for Valkyria Chronicles 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0MVYBnxlgc (the Main Theme is a new performance and not Eminence to my ears). The question remains, are there just a couple pieces like the first game, or plenty for cutscenes and key moments. I somehow suspect Sakimoto actually wants to employ his basiscape sound for gameplay because why the hell has an unfinished throwaway spin-off a full score by the Tokyo Symphony and for the main series revival/anniversary/biggest title they have nothing. Best possible case, the synth pieces were from an early build/demo version, but unlikely. At least Sakimoto does something new instead of reorchestrating his past work.

In other news, Sakimoto has a full orchestra in some capacity for Valkyria Chronicles 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0MVYBnxlgc
That's a pretty catchy theme in the trumpet. Is that theme heard in previous games?

I don't mind that theme to Legend of the Galactic Heroes...
I also am starting to not mind the theme to Star Trek Discovery but I don't think they really had to put that obvious homage to it at the end. Make it more subtle perhaps? IDK

@streich: Only about a million times :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCaJPqvOcHY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDmHlDXMpCk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbrUMtzuzyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOKYKid2uPg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxtUn1bZ2ns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGPa-HnhDCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5egaEIgwRw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-17Bv9Xuos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxNqD_V0d8o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13zRVJYgjYw (best version)


Needless to say a Valkyria Chronicles Concert would be something.



EDIT: And strangest news of the day goes to Princess TuTu getting an orchestra concert: https://kinkancyoongakusai.wixsite.com/p-tutu

EDIT: And strangest news of the day goes to Princess TuTu getting an orchestra concert: https://kinkancyoongakusai.wixsite.com/p-tutu
On a semi-related note: if anyone here lives near Boston, Kaoru Wada will be attending Anime Boston at the end of next month. There will be a concert performed by the local orchestra and he will give a talk.

I also am starting to not mind the theme to Star Trek Discovery but I don't think they really had to put that obvious homage to it at the end. Make it more subtle perhaps? IDK

That quoting of Courage's theme is what particularly annoys me the most about the Discovery theme tune: I think the tune is a laughably terrible wall of noise as is, but then it has to do that Michael Giacchino quirk of quoting an older, much better theme in a desperate attempt to make you think it's just as good as that piece of music (note for all composers: it's not, it just means that you can't come up with a decent melody if you're mindlessly piggy-backing off of 50-year-old music).

There is absolutely a way to have done a better homage, and for me at least, that would have been to write a theme that evokes that classic Star Trek feel, while also hinting at the darker tone that this new series has been aiming for (and without quoting much better music). I know that's possible because I've done it.

https://musescore.com/user/27541261/scores/4920453

It's a pretty simple piano piece, with not much more to it than a somewhat repetitive main-section, but in theory it's the kind of music that I feel would satisfy the criteria of creating a theme that calls back to the old while also showing what the new is all about. (It's also a bit unfinished, hence why there's no dynamics and why there's a load of unused measures after about a minute - I came up with the theme months ago, and had only transcribed it to musescore out of curiosity)

If it sounds like I'm trying to blow my own trumpet, I'm not. I would only consider myself a sometimes-decent composer at best, and that's the whole point. If someone like me could create a piece of music that evokes the overall intent of the series while also being a more memorable song, there's no reason why someone with far more performance skill and experience shouldn't be able to do the same.

EDIT: On a related note, if anyone could give me ideas to improve the song or where to possibly take it, I'd really appreciate that. Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxtUn1bZ2ns

Empty Loneliness is what I was looking for, thanks. Those harmonies really evoke a feeling of Horner's Four Feathers.

EDIT: On a related note, if anyone could give me ideas to improve the song or where to possibly take it, I'd really appreciate that. Thank you.

Some suggestions:

The parallel fifths in the bassline are not good voice leading. Inner voices should remain at a consistent pitch at all times. Keep the G throughout the entire progression instead of moving to F and Eb. I think that G could be constant through the entire piece, which makes it a good note to do a rhythmic ostinato on (trumpet triplets + snare?)

Measure 1-4 is the anticedent, 5-8 is the consequent. That makes 9-end the ideal time to develop the theme. You did this well in the melody, but not in the harmony. The harmony needs to become more unstable in order to make the final resolution more satisfying. In measure 13 drop that C in the bass down to F, then climb up G in measure 14, leads perfectly stepwise to the Ab in measure 15.

There should be some counterpoint in the inner voices. The simplest type to start out with is echoing the melodic lines of the previous measure, but doing your best to keep in harmony (again, a consistent pitch is best.)

When Spring has no remarkable music (for me) by the Old Guard leading it or I'm not having fun listening through a season, that's when I get worried.

Gurazeni = Akifumi Tada. I NEED IT NOW. oh And please release it somehow, please.

When Ayumu Watanabe directs, expect good choice in composer and music :D (okay, now next season is starting to get ridicolous)

Oh and Shoji Kawamori directs a movie for a smartphone game (Ta ga Tame no Alchemist). Pandora, Macross and Alchemist, the chances for Kanno returning are high.


In other news, seems like business in Saudi-Arabia is already over (google Saudi-Japan vision 2030 if you're curious what that was about).

Tanaka is back in town, directing a Sakura Wars-esque stage production for One Piece, depicting the first story arc (you know, when the music was at its most seafaring):



Combine that with a full symphonic score for the upcoming One Piece RPG and some really good new pieces for the current episodes, and its evident they care about One Piece again :D

Some suggestions:

The parallel fifths in the bassline are not good voice leading. Inner voices should remain at a consistent pitch at all times. Keep the G throughout the entire progression instead of moving to F and Eb. I think that G could be constant through the entire piece, which makes it a good note to do a rhythmic ostinato on (trumpet triplets + snare?)

Could you help me out a bit more with that, if you don't mind? I've kept G as a constant, but I'm not too sure what to do with the lower note. I want to make for an interesting progression, but I don't know what else I should change or leave alone without everything sounding off; and not in a good way. (If it helps you explain your thought process or what I should do, my understanding of music theory and terminology is pretty bad; I seem to have an okay instinct, but my lack of knowledge is one of reasons I decided to start doing a music course in a local college)

Ah, the nail in the coffin. LotGH OP is being done by Sawano.

https://twitter.com/sawano_nZk/status/960507097531076609

They're not even pretending who they're pandering to.

Also, the new Star Wars trailer sounds like Inception, but for now I'm just going to assume that's generic trailer music and not the actual score. John Powell on board doesn't give me much hope though.

Also, the new Star Wars trailer sounds like Inception, but for now I'm just going to assume that's generic trailer music and not the actual score. John Powell on board doesn't give me much hope though.
I don't think any of the new Star Wars trailers have had music that was representative of the score. Williams wrote the main theme for Solo, so hopefully Powell will mold his score around that.

I'm frankly astonished that they went with that awful grinding synth noise that you hear in every other trailer... for Star Wars! That's the one franchise where EVERYONE watching understands the importance of music in the film. But music in Hollywood trailers has been slowly degenerating this past decade, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

>not trusting John Powell

If you had to not trust him, do it because he'll most likely have his balls hung and having to write music as the producers command, instead of doing his own amazingness.

On top of another dissapointment, Joe Kraemer hasn't been called for MI6.

You know, it becomes very apparent that between the recent Tales and Monster Hunter Orchestra concert, there is a noticable tendency toward Film score. With Eorzean Symphony it becomes more apparent than ever. This time its not even subtle since "FILM SCORE" is even listed as arranger. Its an alias for Nobuko Toda, a Hollywood veteran as well as Japanese composer and arranger John Williams personally applauded. She's also the founder of the Filmscore Phil and recently worked on Monster Hunter concert 2017, probably why it was the first time I shared a suite from anything Monster Hunter. I mentioned her before I believe so its nice that she appears more frequently as of late. So without further ado:





FILM SCORE (Nobuko Toda)
Eorzean Symphony: Final Fantasy XIV
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Mih Khetto Chorus, conducted by Hirofumi Kurita

(https://mega.nz/#!mYwjyJzK!1wbL0sLRLMqRNsyGiY_I0xcDfZd-NO244DraYqIBYJ0)

Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2-V7IH_hiI)


It's also a teaser for something coming up soon ;)

Could you help me out a bit more with that, if you don't mind? I've kept G as a constant, but I'm not too sure what to do with the lower note. I want to make for an interesting progression, but I don't know what else I should change or leave alone without everything sounding off; and not in a good way. (If it helps you explain your thought process or what I should do, my understanding of music theory and terminology is pretty bad; I seem to have an okay instinct, but my lack of knowledge is one of reasons I decided to start doing a music course in a local college)
If you email me the midi I can make edits and send it back.

The key to making an interesting progression is to have an interesting bassline, and to keep as many notes in the harmony as stationary as possible. If you're interested in the theory you should look into four-part choral writing. I can see four lines in your score, but they are pretty simple at the moment (octaves and fifths). By keeping the two inner voices from moving too much it will create more interesting harmonies. If a note sounds bad or doesn't fit, you can try moving it a semi-tone or tone in either direction, thereby creating step-wise motion (the type of melodic motion doctors recommend most.)

Eorzean Symphony

WTF, Chicken Run?!

That must be the most random piece of Japanese cribbing I've ever heard... :O

Also, something happens twice and it's a "noticeable tendency" but I look at a trend that's happened over twenty years and that's nonsense because Drifters and Naotora were good? ;)

C'mon man...

For reference, here's the original version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-_iFflBYdg (You know, its pieces like this that REALLY make me appreciate Sakimoto more than ever)

Night and day from the arrangement: http://picosong.com/wqgZk


The concert was uploaded to youtube, but its the livestream version and not the full version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g7-j179qtE&t=1h11m17s
EDIT: Nevermind, I have it in HQ. Will update soon.


... that's quite a thick wall isn't it ;)
But I never discredited your theory as nonsense... I said I get where you're coming from. I just so happen to have a different viewpoint of the situation and a theory of my own for which I also did research (not to mention personal taste) and have no reason of seriously doubting it (so far). Also, should your theory in the distant future turn out true (which I right now think unlikely), its game over anyway. So how about an armistice until spring :)

Oh! I thought that was done by the orchestrator, but it was Masayoshi Soken's fault. (Or one of the fifty thousand people who helped him, as apparently he's not even smart enough to make a fake orchestra inside his computer - he even needs "arrangers" to help with that!)

The concert isn't too bad; Soken is a step up from Shitimoto, and the orchestrators have done a good job of polishing this turd, so at least it's listenable. :)

Oh! I thought that was done by the orchestrator, but it was Masayoshi Soken's fault. (Or one of the fifty thousand people who helped him, as apparently he's not even smart enough to make a fake orchestra inside his computer - he even needs "arrangers" to help with that!)

The concert isn't too bad; Soken is a step up from Shitimoto, and the orchestrators have done a good job of polishing this turd, so at least it's listenable. :)
Some good news for you then: Ishimoto retired from Square Enix at the end of 2017.




Edit: I found this old theme from the 1978 live-action film Hinotori and thought you guys might enjoy - http://picosong.com/wqu6E/

Quite gorgeous. Thank you.

I also updated my Eorzean Suite (including Akihiko Yoshida's gorgeous art ;))

Forgive my ignorance, but was a live orchestra used for any of the original game soundtrack to Final Fantasy XIV?

Iwashiro Taro (岩代 太郎) best album: Tact II - Soundtracky
included unreleased soundtrack from The Sands of Kurobe (黒部の太陽) and Children in the Dark (闇の子供たち).



aac@320k (174mb)
Download Tact II Soundtracky.zip from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way (http://www.sendspace.com/file/xh8m3k)

Can someone reupload this?

@cornblitz1: Only a couple of cutscenes and songs to my knowledge.





Symphonic Legacy
Japanese Orchestral Game Concerts




An extension of my “Symphonic music in Japanese Video Games” segment and a mostly a recent phenomenon. Aside from my fellow German Game concerts of Japanese music (which I will elaborate further), with just two exceptions, any album in this rather massive collection is not even three years old :0

Nearly twenty orchestral albums have been produced in the last 30 months, ranging from honest symphonic arrangement to silly bouncy Jazz-Rock. In total well over 50 concerts were held in Japan in those 30 months about orchestral game music, from new founded units (Game Symphony Japan and JAGMO) to century old units (Tokyo Philharmonic).

Among those Sugiyama holds the record with most performances (Dragon Quest), followed by concerts which feature from small to big degree Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda and Kohei Tanaka.

If you look at the timeframe it just is simply astonishing.

And it shows no sign of stopping. From public TV appearances to private concerts, Japanese Game Concerts are not on the rise, they are an established component of Video Game Culture in Japan. A culture with genuine and skilled artist in all fields making everything from silly light-hearted fun to Renaissance, Expressionistic and Impressionistic Inspired Art. Games are celebrated in the concert hall, in theater, in cafe and bars. From Stageplay to Big Band evening, Games (and Anime) rule the cultural scene in Tokyo. In music celebration, concert audiences are polite and considerate, the people behind it enthusiastic and passionate. For some, even making Game Music into a new “Classical Genre” is a personal agenda.

And there is certainly potential: FFVI - Dancing Mad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O-9U_QKhgA)


Aside from the concert world, symphonic game albums have also been produced in these 30 months:

- Final Symphony (Wanamo/Valtonen) with the LSO
- Dragon Quest XI (Sugiyama) with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
- Aeral Legends (Michiru Oshima) with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra
- Granblue Fantasy Orchestra (Tsumo Narita) with the Tokyo Philharmonic
- Orchestral SAGA (Kosuke Yamashita) with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra
- Kingdom Hearts Orchestra album (Kaoru Wada, Natsumi Kameoka) with the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague
(- Symphonic Suite (Kosuke Yamashita) for Scarlet Grace with the Kanagawa Philharmonic)


During these 30 months:

- Mitsuda had a full recording session for Valkyria Revolution, two hours of orchestral score and at least the same amount for Xenoblade II.
- Kohei Tanaka had over two hours of big orchestral ensemble (and all kinds of kickass) for Gravity Daze 2 last year and this year a full symphony orchestra for One Piece: World Seeker.
- Joe Hisaishi recorded hours upon hours of orchestral score for Ni no Kuni II
- Go Shiina recorded 90 minutes of bombastic Hollywood with a huge orchestra (butchered in mastering) for God Eater 2, and now has roughly the same amount for another God Eater and Code Vein.
- Takeshi Furukawa had a full recording with the LSO for Last Guardian
- Masako Otsuka and friends recorded over 90 minutes of orchestral score in Budapest for Nobunaga’s Ambition: Taishi
- Yoko Kanno and friends recorded over 90 minutes of orchestral score in Budapest for Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII


The video culture of Japan brought me many of my favorite orchestral albums in the 21st century, from Final Fantasy to Katamari, from Ni no Kuni to Nobunaga’s Ambition, from Valkyria Revolution to Gravity Daze 2.

In addition, it is also full of individual directors and artist whose work you notice at first glance most of the time:

- You don’t play the trademark Shadow of the Colossus or Last Guardian, you play ‎Fumito Ueda’s work
- You don’t play the trademark Gravity Daze or Silent Hill, you play Keiichiro Toyama’s work
- You don’t play the trademark Dark Souls or Bloodborne, you play Hidetaka Miyazaki’s work
- You don’t play the trademark Nier, you play Yoko Taro’s work
- You don’t play the trademark Persona 5 or Catherine, you play Katsura Hashino work
- You don’t play the trademark Ni no Kuni and Layton, you play Akihiro Hino’s work
- Even a game I have no interest in playing (FFXIV) has gorgeus art by some of my favorite Japanese artists


One cannot stress enough the important factor of personal voice and style and the sense of absolute artistic freedom I get from each of their works. Not to mention understanding of classical film directing, classical art and music. And that is also the case for a bunch of anime directors.

Taking everything I’ve seen over the years, the level of care and cultural importance Video Games receive in Japan simply doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.

What started in 1991 with the first Orchestral Game Concert and with the first Symphonic album by Sugiyama in 1993/4 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra has in just 25 years evolved into a full-fleshed Video Game Culture in Japan that has a value and love for classical/film art and music. It would also be remiss of me to not include Sugiyama latest symphonic work:


Koichi Sugiyama
Dragon Quest XI
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra



LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!7toyTApQ!HTenkIDJ7bfsyZapvw5H9jOD_Xf36tfNBh_72PBYn04)


Again with much Silvestri and Goldsmith and many more. He still is a master at his craft and the whole symphonic suite to me has some sort of semi-finality to me. I dearly hope he can finish another suite with a grand send-off, but this symphonic album could function just as well. It's a best-of of everything I love about his music and sending it all of, Silvestri style would be his final loveletter to the Hollywood of the past.




Part 1: German Game Concerts (not about German games!) and Japanese youth in JAGMO



LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!vRZz0Yha!9qkOa6zM9sXprMZ1mpSuFxru-D5qhkNJutHfs52haLQ)

One interesting aspect of the early 2010s is the rise of German Game Concerts about Japanese music, a given, certainly, given our historic ties. Germany is actually (after Japan of course) the first country to establish a Video Game concert scene. Thanks to the wonderful Thomas B�cker, concerts of Japanese games are now being performed all over Europe, with serious intent to produce concert-grade arrangements of worldwide known video game pieces. The pinnacle of this development has to be Final Symphony but Symphonic Fantasies, Legends and Odysseys and Selections are of course also some of the best video game arrangements you can find. Thomas B�cker, Eckard Stier, Jonne Valtonen and Roger Wanamo are household names for me for truly pushing the limits of game music and whether or not that trumps the pure approach of Hamaguchi+Uematsu (I think it doesn’t reach it), it nonetheless is marvelous to hear. Hopefully this won’t be all we will hearing from the team of “Spielemusikkonzerte”. Final Symphony II takes quite a while to get released but right now there are numerous concerts announced in Germany and Austria.

The second interesting aspect I want to elaborate is the establishment of an orchestral youth scene in the Japanese concert world, and that scene consisting of mostly 20-30 year olds, from player to arranger, is insanely passionate about games and anime, to the point they played over three hours straight for Sakimoto (Final Fantasy Tactics) and left him utterly in tears.

Some new names from this scene are Ajana Tsujita who wrote a mini-opera for Fire Emblem Echoes (but we will probably never hear it unless they hurry up and produce a symphonic album for Fire Emblem) and Erika Fukasawa, who is chief arranger and director of JAGMO, who gave me my favorite arrangement of anything Mario. JAGMO’s national broadcast on NHK certainly left an impression (to worldwide recognition). I hope Symphonic Gamers becomes an annual event for many years to come.

On the sidelines we also have the ever increasing “Game Symphony Japan”, now renamed to “Anime and Game Symphony Japan” and the “New Japan Game Philharmonic” following in the footsteps of the "Press Start" concerts of the 2000s (also unreleased).


Part 2: Symphonic Arrangements



LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!DcYiQS5Q!3Aq3A9tbfzktMDOPNJY2ZbhYpVKyojJqU5ylc2sDl8s)

The one composer and arranger leading the symphonic video game arrangement scene in Japan is concert professor Kosuke Yamashita, conducting and arranging the most prestigious concerts in Japan (Nobunaga’s Ambition, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Monster Strike Symphony and The Legend of Zelda, Secret of Mana). He is without a doubt, the leading figure in Video Game arrangement these days, following in Shiro Hamaguchi’s footsteps.

Natsumi Kameoka and Sachiko Miyano are also prominent names, providing a level of class to certain pieces that sometimes makes it baffling to listen to the original for comparison.

On the performance side the Tokyo Philharmonic under Hirofumi Kurita has established itself as the go-to choice for an “Anime and Game Orchestra performance”. Also what once was a scene of a certain strangeness on their faces during their first performances is now replaced by genuine smiles while performing, most recently in Eorzean Symphony (they give a shit now, probably why Tales of 2017 sounds much better than in previous years).

The most experimental concert and probably the most interesting to watch has to be Monster Strike Symphony. It has everything from Piano Concerto to frantic Jazz to symphonic movements. It certainly was a crazy evening, full of Japanese weirdness in the best possible way.

Overall, the concert I enjoy the most has to be Tales of Orchestra 2017 (and best of from 2015). Sorey’s Theme never had the power and catchiness it has in 2017 and you can’t beat Go Shiina’s exuberant larger than life piece, even if they are as far away from sophisticated as you can get, but that’s fine. In addition there’s quite a lot of grand symphonic pieces, expertly arranged to a level the original source is laughable by comparison. This version is a best of from every Tales Concert so far. I’ve arranged it so that it even becomes some sort of Fantasy film score.

The most quality can be found in Nobunaga’s Abition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Spanning a legacy of over 30 years, much excellent music has been written for them and Yamashita brings it to light with the Kanagawa Philharmonic.

Zelda has many excellent pieces and while not all arrangements deliver, it’s a quality listen of some of my favorite childhood melodies. Same goes for Fire Emblem. In both there’s good old class and good old Fantasy. I’ve also included every concert performance of its Main Theme (hurry up with the Symphonic Album, Symphony No. 5!!!)


Part 3: Film Score and Bouncy Arrangements



LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!DFQh3QzA!3SwWTGLIJaCEj1kO-0hbNlQD_V8OqjoerqS-_QyTk9Q)

With Eorzean Symphony and Monster Hunter, there’s certainly an air of Film score in the arrangements, brought to light by arranger Nobuko Toda. Not to say Masato Koda’s pieces don’t function well either. Eorzean is a good case that everything “sounds” great with a skilled arranger. I especially like how operatic it’s trying to get. And Monster Hunter never sounded this bombastic.

Seiken Densetsu and Kirby are a bit more on the bouncy side but nonetheless full of beautiful and grand moments with little snippets from classical pieces and full of strong melodies and some really heartwarming moments.

Final Fantasy XV got a special media concert with the LSO which came completely out of left field but some really nice moments. I wish the game score had a fraction of that level of quality. Thankfully the DLC scores made up for it.

There’s plenty of Gyakuten Saiban concerts but 2008 is just a cut above the rest for me, so I’ve chosen it as an example of single concerts that happened every now and then in the past decade but certainly not in the quantity they do today.


Part 4: Encore



LINK IN DESCRIPTION (https://mega.nz/#!rIR03CKZ!obO-PChe9nViK5Q31Jo2YwqHPg3Yqu7x6BCsQuBx57I)

Kantai Classical certainly starts with class and for what the music is (throwaway mobile music) its really listenable on this album, thanks to excellent arrangement work.

Traveling August is one of those Japanese enigmas, its completely obscure and only thanks to nextday and my combined efforts it is even brought to light outside of Japan. Let it sink in, a proper orchestra concert for a Doujin (visual novel) Game circle is certainly something else. This was a passion project above all else and it’s just too cute not to include it.


So that about does it. Considering the quantity of orchestral game concerts and now more and more anime concerts popping up, I expect it to gain quite the momentum. If Tutu gets an orchestra concert (and a CD release!), that opens the door for quite a lot of candidates of the 2000s.

Next up (beside the obligatory concerts for Dragon Quest) are concerts for Shadow of the Collossus, Xenogears, Phantasy Star 30th Anniversary, Wild Arms, Arc The Lad and many more that probably won’t get a release.

I anticipate a Valkyria Chronicles concert sometime in the future.



With this I also finished The History of Symphonic Music in Japanese Video Games (Thread 221190).



Carry On!

Monster Strike is definitely the most interesting concert currently. They just did a wind orchestra concert earlier this month which added names like Souhei Kano and Go Sakabe to the arrangement roster. Also, every time they do a mini concert at an event, they seem to add a new piece to the program. With the first orchestra concert being titled "Prelude", I expect we'll see another full-scale concert in the future.

That would be something. But I also have this suspicion that "Prelude" might just be a fancy english word in the title, given how liberal the Japanese are with musical terms.

On another note, after episode 5 of Shinkalion I think I don't need to watch/listen further, I believe this is the perfect representation of the score:

http://picosong.com/wqbm7/

Keijo is one thing (Matsuo can make up for that with Captain Tsubasa) but this needs a release! Kids stuff rarely gets a release but considering how much they are promoting it and how much attention they gave to Watanabe, this little SciFi cracker needs to get out somehow.


I'm also consistently impressed with Violet Evergarden in how much the music feels scored to picture but actually isn't. I guess with the netflix budget came more time for the sound director to match it to the scene (though I read somewhere that some moments were modeled after the score and not the other way around):

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3L4GoF4VSI)

Surprised to see Kanno and Mitsuda nominated by the IFMCA this year: http://filmmusiccritics.org/2018/02/ifmca-award-nominations-2017/

The most quality can be found in Nobunaga’s Abition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Spanning a legacy of over 30 years, much excellent music has been written for them and Yamashita brings it to light with the Kanagawa Philharmonic.

Is "War Relations" in Romance of the Three Kingdoms a new arrangement? I don't think I've heard that one played by full orchestra before. Maybe it was synth and small orchestra previously?

Also, if anyone listened to the Star Wars Symphonic Suites played by the Japan Philharmonic, is Asteroid Field a new arrangement as well? If so, it doesn't sound like a concert arrangement by Williams. Maybe my memory is starting to go.

So how about an armistice until spring

I agree to your terms and I look forward to reviewing the endless sea of disappointing (but we have to remember that... [excuses]) scores that will arrive in April. ;)

Shinkalion is terrible and does not need or deserve a release of any kind. It's absolutely nothing we haven't already heard from Watanabe before. It's a cookie-cutter Watanabe score where every other cue is destroyed by pandering electric guitars.

Violet Evergarden may be the most bland, over-hyped score in the entire history of film music. It sounds nice enough, and it's got a decent budget, but it doesn't ever do anything or go anywhere. Evan Call fails yet again.

Violet Evergarden may be the most bland, over-hyped score in the entire history of film music. It sounds nice enough, and it's got a decent budget, but it doesn't ever do anything or go anywhere. Evan Call fails yet again.Was it really hyped much to begin with? All we knew is that it had a promising budget with a decent composer. I don't think it's a good show, but the music is on par with something like Shirayuki. You don't go into Charlotte Bront�: the Anime expecting any kind of orchestral bombast.

@streich: I imagine so. Tie Fighter Attack also sounded different. Maybe the new arrangement came from the two JW Birthday concerts last year by the Filmscore Phil.

@Zipper: In regards where the show is going, Charlotte Bront� with a Battleaxe, then its accurate :D (despite the kitsch, I follow the show for its art and music and so far it does not disappoint)

@Tango: I would have prefered no senseless killing before the negotiations but it's fine. At this point, however, you inflated "terrible" so much I actually take it as a recommendation from now on :D



Listenting to the samples again, I know this must be from a Hollywood piece. Maybe its just pastiche but I swear I heard it somewhere before: http://picosong.com/wy746/
My first instinct was Broughton but that's not it.

Listenting to the samples again, I know this must be from a Hollywood piece. Maybe its just pastiche but I swear I heard it somewhere before: http://picosong.com/wy746/
My first instinct was Broughton but that's not it.

I listen to a lot of Hollywood, know Broughton inside and out, and I have never heard this before.

Then maybe it is in fact my memory that is starting to go :0

Listenting to the samples again, I know this must be from a Hollywood piece. Maybe its just pastiche but I swear I heard it somewhere before: http://picosong.com/wy746/
My first instinct was Broughton but that's not it.
Maybe Mouret's Rondeau? Same key: D major.

That could be it. If it was not used in a Hollywood film/TV show that would at least explain the instant familarity I had with this piece.
And by the way things are progressing, they will upload the entire score on twitter before the show is finished.


On the western front, Kingdom Come has plenty of Leitmotif and is more Hollywood than I expected (in fact the whole cutscene music is basically a film score). The soundtrack selection should have some of it but a full soundtrack has yet to be announced.




On the Japanese gaming side, another big title in 2018, another big orchestral score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5CTlRKa1SE (but if you're not a fan of Shimomura's work, this will do little to surprise you.)

And finally, in regards to my favorite research subject, here's a recent example of the literally dozens of game concerts held each year that are not commercial (like Final Fantasy Tactics):

Gloria Angelicus Philharmonic Concert ~ Music from Xenogears



"Gloria Angelicus is an informal group formed by volunteers of classical musicians with the aim of playing music for Mr. Mitsuda. We are a group of game music fans. There exist no ties to Mitsuda or Square Enix. We will hold the concert at Toshika Symphony Hills Mozart Hall, February 11. The entry is free as long as seats are available. Mr. Mitsuda will be there as our honored guest. But please note we will refuse visitors who cosplay firmly. We want no annoyance to other customers."

The music used in this Kingdom hearts III trailer is from the Kingdom hearts Orchestra World tour that was held last year , which is good but nothing new so far.

The music used in this Kingdom hearts III trailer is from the Kingdom hearts Orchestra World tour that was held last year , which is good but nothing new so far.

Yeah, that's what they have been doing for a while now. Love that album

That could be it. If it was not used in a Hollywood film/TV show that would at least explain the instant familarity I had with this piece.
And by the way things are progressing, they will upload the entire score on twitter before the show is finished.

Who does one have to follow on Twitter to hear this?

https://twitter.com/Violet_Letter

After each episode there is some sort of mini making-of with a score cue.

@Saladinos: Thanks for the clarification. Maybe they will actually use that recording for the game?

http://variety.com/2018/film/news/johann-johannsson-dead-dies-theory-of-everything-sicario-1202694567/

Never been a big fan of his works, but this is some sad news. He had an even shorter life than Horner. :(

https://twitter.com/Violet_Letter

After each episode there is some sort of mini making-of with a score cue.

@Saladinos: Thanks for the clarification. Maybe they will actually use that recording for the game?

in a very recent interview the producer of kingdom hearts 3 said that musically speaking its sqaure enix biggest project yet.and by far the biggest kingdom hearts game.fingers crossed.it looks incredible. walt disneys bayonetta.

http://variety.com/2018/film/news/johann-johannsson-dead-dies-theory-of-everything-sicario-1202694567/

Never been a big fan of his works, but this is some sad news. He had an even shorter life than Horner. :(

I was just about to grouse at you for an earlier post, but I utterly and unconditionally withdraw my complaint... this is terrible. :(

I didn't really like his music, either... but these cases just hit a different place when it's somebody young who passed away unexpectedly. When we get news that a composer in his nineties has passed away, we can at least say that he lived long, and he had his fair shot at life. Johannsson was just 48.

RIP.

Gloria Angelicus Philharmonic Concert ~ Music from Xenogears



"Gloria Angelicus is an informal group formed by volunteers of classical musicians with the aim of playing music for Mr. Mitsuda. We are a group of game music fans. There exist no ties to Mitsuda or Square Enix. We will hold the concert at Toshika Symphony Hills Mozart Hall, February 11. The entry is free as long as seats are available. Mr. Mitsuda will be there as our honored guest. But please note we will refuse visitors who cosplay firmly. We want no annoyance to other customers."

OMG that is awesome!

There is an anniversary xenogears concert by mitsuda planned for April too.

I hope that they will make a concert cd. I have myth orchestral xenogears album and it is really great. Obviously xenogears is my favorite game of all time

Not only two concerts but also a remaster of the original soundtrack by Mitsuda as well. Mariam Abounnasr is credited as arranger. It certainly gets some love this year.




Kingdom Come: Deliverance is quite an experience, ever since kickstarter I had faith in the project and its wonderful to get a 100% historic RPG game released, made with passion and love, removed from all the world's bullshit, with a grand symphonic film score, with even a love theme to boot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN4DKskK-o0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu7W6kU8EfA

Criticism would be that the theme is quite generic but in these times I don't care. In my (very very sparsly growing) western game collection, I would rank it below Outcast and Age of Pirates but at least on similar footing with Everquest II and others. I will be diving into the game in earnest soon but I know at least the music will not disappoint. On the soundtrack selection there is actually a fair chunk of the cutscene score. It's been shared in FLAC on the shrine already: Thread 222748

I've kinda been wanting to ask this for the last few days, but I always got a little bit scared as to how I should word it. Well, since it's late and I'll be off to bed soon, I'll throw this out there and see how it goes.

Considering that we're pretty near the tenth year anniversary of this thread, alongside nearly hitting the 20,000 posts mark, what do you guys think about doing an album of some sort to celebrate the occasion?

I don't know whether we would do an album full of music composed by those of us who visit the thread who also compose music, or if we compile a collection of our favourite cues from our favourite soundtracks (or both); but I think it'd be a pretty cool way to celebrate how long this thread has been going on for, to celebrate the contributions of everyone who's ever participated on this thread, and to encapsulate what this thread's all about.

Maybe this sounds silly, but I wanted to throw it out there and see what happens. Let me know what you think - I'm genuinely curious. (as a warning, I don't know if I should take charge on this; I wanted to suggest the idea, and that was about it)

Happy Birthday, Mr Kohei Tanaka!

May he keep on composing wonderful music for years to come. :)

Not even Joe Hisaishi writing a sequel to one of his finest scores now gets a full-size orchestra or a concert-hall recording; here is the "Tokyo Philharmonic" (or, half of it) squashed in AVACO 301 Studio. (At least it's not Sound Inn...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2nqrS44vHs

Nonetheless, I hope that one of Hisaishi's final orchestral scores will still be very enjoyable.

Yoshihiro Ike's Rage of Bahamut
Remastered by Vinphonic






Part I: Genesis

(https://mega.nz/#!yFgUDJSJ!J4L7aOQlTeoOPSr2zYtD6vULcqR3f9LRlCkVGFSfsm4)

SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wqdwW/)

This also includes the OVA End Title and an action cue from Shadowverse straight out of Bahamut.



Part II: Virgin Soul

(https://mega.nz/#!XQIXGKLA!h8WXRGzEp8wWvBXD3gJpT5-WAJgI4CQmnliUzxpqQtY)

SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wqdw5)

This includes the entire soundtrack plus outtakes. It has to be said this is not nearly all of the music from the show. A piece I personally missed (and included) was the descant horn piece heard in the first act. Other pieces escape my memory right now but I feel satisfied enough with the amount that's there.




Rage of Bahamut is unique in the anime scoring world. The two shows for the franchise recieved true scored-to-picture Hollywood Fantasy scores with a massive budget for a TV show: A 60-Piece Orchestra, a 40-Piece Choir and in total over five hours of film score, 90% of it scored to picture. Ike recorded the respective scores not in a single session but across the show's runtime in various studios. The music uses his instantly recognizable style, from writing (he favors low brass and loves cimbasso) to sound (german gibberish choir) but he certainly found his spark with this franchise. It's just leaps and bounds above his other work, even including the symphonic score Crimson Sea 2. The music is highly energetic, thematic and emotional, especially in Virgin Soul.

Genesis also has perhaps the best soundtrack feature ever, a Blu-Ray with the (beautiful) show's key scenes just with the music, with reverb volumes turned up for maximum effect. I already elaborated on the scores strenghts. And this video is a good reminder: Rage of Bahamut - Music to tell a story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Ce1q5SMiE)

With the greatest care I adjusted, tweaked and remastered the rather dry and thin Japanese studio sound to a Hollywood accoustic, and now I cannot listen to the original anymore because it just feels "right" with a Hollywood sound (for obvious reasons).

I strongly recommend listening to the two scores in chronological order to get the most out of Virgin Soul. Comparing both, Genesis is more raw and presents the major character themes that carry over to Virgin Soul (Bahamut, Amira, Favaro, Jeanne d'Arc). It's kind of like Star Wars and Empire. Or to be more exact SEED and SEED Destiny. Virgin Soul is more sophisticated, more tragic and has the best theme of the franchise so far (Ike has sense of humor and models his theme for the Dragon Girl after Powell's HTTYD). In technical terms Virgin Souls cues are twice as long as Genesis on average, including some stellar four-five minute cues. The score also gets very operatic. The main villain's theme is presented from the very start, in a smashing opening, immidentally followed by the adorable Dragon Girl and these themes intertwine quite a lot later on, even including a love theme. Other highlights include everything about El and the Angels. The last act is pretty much a nonstop tour de force of choir and orchestra before leaving us with an emotional farewell.

Virgin Soul is without question Ike's best work to date, and one of the best anime scores I ever heard. A shame there's no bonus Blu-Ray like the first soundtrack (then again, apart from the visuals and the music the show was a mess and destroyed any chance of a decent High Fantasy franchise). Considering Cygames prints money and their cardgames are selling like hotcakes, another series in the future is very likely. This franchise is a passion project similar to ReZero or Violet Evergarden. No matter the source or story, the amount of artistry in those series really can only be appreciated, and that's probably why I still have faith.

Finally, it has to be said that Ike, right now, after Bahamut, whenever he scores Fantasy, is a composer I love:

Rise of Bahamut (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmwbdENv8VA)
Tempest of the Gods (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Yz8aPUajE)
Wonderland Dreams (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q4-KdmbdnI)
Starfold Legends (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhsn-rRUx3s)
Chronogenesis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jj-Y6czhus)
Tournament (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiXZmgdk4NQ)
Dawnbreak (Dawnbreak, Nightedge)
Brigade of the Sky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shIFh6ZSM2o)

They should really hurry up with a new soundtrack for Shadowverse.

Right now he is a composer I closely follow: CANZONE (http://picosong.com/wqUWU/)

I've kinda been wanting to ask this for the last few days, but I always got a little bit scared as to how I should word it. Well, since it's late and I'll be off to bed soon, I'll throw this out there and see how it goes.

Considering that we're pretty near the tenth year anniversary of this thread, alongside nearly hitting the 20,000 posts mark, what do you guys think about doing an album of some sort to celebrate the occasion?

I don't know whether we would do an album full of music composed by those of us who visit the thread who also compose music, or if we compile a collection of our favourite cues from our favourite soundtracks (or both); but I think it'd be a pretty cool way to celebrate how long this thread has been going on for, to celebrate the contributions of everyone who's ever participated on this thread, and to encapsulate what this thread's all about.

Maybe this sounds silly, but I wanted to throw it out there and see what happens. Let me know what you think - I'm genuinely curious. (as a warning, I don't know if I should take charge on this; I wanted to suggest the idea, and that was about it)

To me sound like a good idea!

I did some orchestral album (nothing professional), you can check in signature.

It would be interesting to make an album collection of, for example, one song max for every ffshrine user who compose music :)

I also cannot wait to hear his symphonic score for a netflix fantasy anime he recorded in Prague.
Not doubting you, but can you post a source? I know you mentioned it before but I can't seem to find anything about it.

Straight from the man himself

https://twitter.com/IkeYoshihiro/sta...76829471809536

Best thing, it's the director of Genesis and Virgin Soul. You know, the man who specifically requested "an operatic score" and who was deeply moved by one of Ike's operatic pieces.

Straight from the man himself :D

https://twitter.com/IkeYoshihiro/status/940776829471809536

Best thing, it's the director of Genesis and Virgin Soul. You know, the man who specifically requested "an operatic score" and who was deeply moved by one of Ike's operatic pieces.
Uhh... he's just talking about Karas (https://vgmdb.net/album/19830). I guess Netflix bought the streaming rights for it.

I assumed he was talking about a new series for netflix since the director also tweeted about news about Karas, but if it is just a netflix port then that is a major bummer. Since netflix has not yet announced their "fantasy title" for 2018 (Knights of the Zodiac was moved to 2019) I assumed this was it. I aplogize for getting some hopes up.

Well, you know how Netflix is. They brand everything they license as a new "original series" even when it's not new and they had nothing to do with it.

I don't blame you for being misled.

Thanks a lot for this Bahamut collection, Vinphonic.

Not even Joe Hisaishi writing a sequel to one of his finest scores now gets a full-size orchestra or a concert-hall recording; here is the "Tokyo Philharmonic" (or, half of it) in a naff Japanese studio.I just want it to come out this point. This entire project getting delayed left and right is annoying.

Man alive, so do I. It's unlikely to be bad music, even if it has suffered the expected budgetary slash from Wrath Of The White Witch. I see an enclosure release with the name - is that all that's been announced so far? It's Hisaishi, so it's bound to come out sooner or later. In any case, we must take whatever new Hisaishi we get these days...

I wonder what it is with these Japanese games (and series') that spend literally YEARS in development hell. They've been dangling the carrot of Revenant Kingdom in front of us for nearly four years now. I get that they want to get things right before releasing them, but why does it happen so often, that release dates are repeatedly announced and missed? There have even been some anime series that ran out of episodes mid-run and they had to run repeats for a couple of weeks to fill in the time. It's nuts.

Edit: My God, Virgin Soul sounds atrocious. (Not the score, the sound quality.) Was it worse than that on the CD?!

@Tango: http://picosong.com/wqrFp/ (0:28 just irked me so much I had to do it ). If you want the original, however, I have that as well.


I would say Natsumi Kameoka must have scored all of them because we have yet to hear ANY note from her overseas recordings.

As for Hisaishi... disappointing in the sound department, yes, but this was announced much earlier so I had time to come to terms. I would say whether a game gets a symphonic orchestra recording depends on the amount of orchestral music requested and if a composer is more heavely involved in the production. The more a game score is requested as a commission, the more likely it turns out to be a symphony orchestra. Ni no Kuni was essentially written as a concert work first and then put in the game (like Valkyria Azure Revolution and Tajima's Katamari) where as the sequel. I read somewhere the game has several hours of orchestral score (since it is more than double the content of the first game) so even for someone as prestigeous as Hisaishi that would be quite expensive (especially if they want to score the cutscenes to picture). And if they want to involve him closer in the development process then it makes sense to have him close-by and make changes quickly. It's too expensive to record hours of symphonic score. In general, there exists few symphony orchestra recording sessions from Japan over 90 minutes and apart from a handful of exceptions, nothing over two hours. Kid Icarus was over two hours = Studio Orchestra. Ni no Kuni II is over two hours = studio orchestra. Gravity Daze was over two hours = Studio Orchestra. This counts for TV drama too. Cloud on the Slope is over two hours = Studio Orchestra. Naotora is over two hours = Studio Orchestra.

The only exceptions of symphony orchestra recording sessions (domestic and international) over two hours I can think of are:

Michiru Oshima - Fullmetal Alchemist
Akira Senju - FMA Brotherhood
Escaflowne (only if you combine movie and TV score which are two separate sessions)
Masamichi Amano - Giant Robo (but actually not true, individual sessions didn't exceed 60 minutes and were recorded years apart).

(That concludes the award for biggest symphony orchestra score from Japan for an individual work goes to Fullmetal Alchemist.)

I guarantee Tanaka's One Piece game score will be about 60~90 minutes and not much longer.


Btw I'm not making an excuse, believe me I'm also disappointed we are not getting "the sound of" of a symphony hall, but it makes sense why it wasn't recorded that way this time if the game features several hours of orchestral score and budget is a concern.

Catching up on some of last year's soundtracks, I quite like Randy Kerber's score for Cello. This piece is gorgeous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBn6mHnqEc

Ugh, I see why you wanted to work on it... It's thin and claustrophobic...

Catching up on some of last year's soundtracks, I quite like Randy Kerber's score for Cello. This piece is gorgeous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBn6mHnqEc

Yes, CELLO was one of my favorites from last year.

@Tango: Yeah, I will never understand the Japanese talent of making a 50+ orchestra sound like a garage band but I guess the recording staff of Godzilla and DESTINY was not available.



In more postive light, I can safely say the further you listen trough the current anime season the better it gets:

Violet Evergarden has its first "big moment" (http://picosong.com/wqpLL)
Grancrest Senki fortunately has more and more good pieces appearing (http://picosong.com/wqpLn)
MONACA fires the heavy guns in Last Encore far earlier than expected (http://picosong.com/wqp54/)
Clear Card continues to sound out of time (http://picosong.com/wqp5j/)
Shinkalion is a score at least I want a release of (http://picosong.com/wqbm7/)
After the Rain grows more lovely by the episode (http://picosong.com/wqpLw)
FranXX is shaping up to be a MONACA score in disguise (http://picosong.com/wqp5q/)
Place Further Than the Universe should make for a nice relaxing afternoon listen (http://picosong.com/wqp5i)
M�rchen M�rchen has some good pieces appearing (http://picosong.com/wy75Z)


Yuru Camp, Slow Start and Hakumei to Mikochi remain bouncy scores I quite enjoy.
I still think it's a pretty good season, especially with Mazinger Z, Yamato 2202 and The Girl Who Summons the Stars, which I really enjoy, and Hattori's Treasure Island, Sato's Hi-Evolution (most anticipated) and Kawai's Sayonara are also just around the corner. I hope they won't all end up falling short. On the plus side Fujisawa at least has a full orchestra this time for NGNL Zero: Sample (http://picosong.com/wqMEq/).



I also checked in on Puzzle Dragon Cross again and Yamashita does not disappoint (http://picosong.com/wqpVR/) (I also spotted him in that Ni No Kuni session, I guess he's still Hisaishi's favorite orchestrator):
A soundtrack please. Gyrozetter got one close to its end, how many episodes does Dragon Cross have?

And for a Japanese studio recording, Ni no Kuni II doesn't sound too shabby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7OXLJ6GlR4

Yes, CELLO was one of my favorites from last year.
It really is quite lovely. It's too bad that he almost never composes. Considering he's one of the most active studio musicians in the industry, he certainly has the connections.

Maybe he's similar to Tomoyuki Asakawa and just prefers to be a performer rather than a composer.

Ludwig Goranssons Black Panther Score is basicly an african creed and has great orchestrations and several parts where it reaches creeds training montage level of awesomeness.

It's definitely miles ahead of lots of the Marvel movies, but it doesn't quite capture Creed levels of energy. The good tracks are very good though. African instrumentation, which was really allowed to flaunt itself, was enjoyable. But the soundtrack is 95 minutes long! It's just too much, especially considering that I found a large chunk of it to be completely tedious/forgettable, particularly the synths. But pare it down and I think you've got something pretty entertaining. Glad Goransson got this job.

Been a really mediocre season for anime music imo. Can never remember a single note that plays in Evergarden or FRANXX, and there's a lot of pleasant twinkly slice-of-life stuff that fails to excite. Ah well *puts Crybaby OST back on repeat*

Also a good reminder to give Ghost and the Darkness and Amistad another listen (for some proper film score). Both have something today's Hollywood utterly lacks, despite some nice orchestral fluff here and there. An emotional core. Maybe Evan Call just struck a lucky chord but that Evergarden piece I posted functions the same for me as this piece from Amistad, although it lacks the choir for full impact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee8NvgURCZs

It makes my hairs stand up, if Evergarden also had Horner's children's choir, it would have wrecked me too (Fun fact, Harumi Fuuki not only employs the Horner choir in Segodon at some point but also wrote a bouncy arrangement of his Danger motif :D). The specific string chords after the flute are key to my emotional half. I also seem to be the only one intrigued by Evan Calls work, that mix of classical elegance and restraint mixed with romantic Hollywood sound, that delicate fantasy choir in parts with the typewriter sometimes very subtly in the mix. That frolicing style I would have expected from Sakimoto... love it. (For that matter I also seem to be the only one left who enjoys the hell out of an anime season and who still thinks, its comparativly to everything else out there, mostly wonderful).

Speaking of tincan Japanese studio recordings, guess what our usual grump decided to rant about this time.

https://twitter.com/taque68/status/964636076206731264

Maybe this will encourage him to go back to Warsaw? I can only hope.


On the subject of Ni no Kuni interview again, I do find it interesting that Hisaishi consciously tries to make his music not too difficult to play for his musicians. John Williams does something similar even though his music is so monstrously complex on paper. I think it takes an incredible level of skill and humility to do something like that. Makes me respect them both as composers.

Has Ko Otani done anything better than Shadow of the Colossus?

The total lack of genuine emotion is what kills Evergarden stone dead for me. I've sat through six episodes now, waiting to hear this gorgeous, yearning, emotional, mature score that you're hearing, and all I hear is amateurish arrangements, chords, simplistic melodies, occasionally enlivened by somewhat-interesting splashes of instrumentation. Wistful flute and string chords does not equal emotion. It is, to me, unfulfilling and sterile to a point of being actively boring.

In my (so far un-posted) evaluation of this season, I wrote the following about Evergarden - this was written after episode four, but my feelings stand after listening to the score in episode six:


So far, it [Evergarden] deploys its orchestra (which is well-recorded and good-sized) without drowning it in synthesizers, electric guitars, or slamming percussion. It seems as though it's going to be stylistically near to a very average Oshima romance score, minus the quintessential, most important ingredients present in every single Oshima score to date, even the bad ones - mature and memorable melodies, and emotional weight.

It is basically inoffensive, makes fairly nice sounds (that we've heard before, and better) and seems to be a splendid compliment to Evergarden itself. Surely, nobody *seriously* expected it to be scored completely to picture - and it's not, but it's written in such a way that it can almost sound as such. It is by a newcomer, which is nice, and it has a pretty good budget (by recent standards), which is nice - Japan does still occasionally take a chance on a relatively unknown composer, and give them a decent budget. It's an exception rather than a rule, but it's nice to see it does occasionally still happen, albeit sporadically.

The problem is that the composer doesn't appear to deserve it; his serious musical education is virtually nil (doing a Film Composition course means very little - even if it IS Berklee) and we have no indication in his past scores that he's inclined to or capable of writing a mature, symphonic score. Even in the context of Elements Garden, a group of third-rate composers writing unimaginative, repetitive, by-rote scores, Call didn't stand out. He might surprise us all. At the very least, Evergarden wins "score of the season" simply because it stands out in a line-up of otherwise terrible scores. That Evan Call, of all the masses of talent in Japan and in the wider world, was chosen for Evergarden and is obviously being given opportunities left, right and centre... is depressing, and adds more to my belief that, when it comes to quality orchestral music in Japanese media, the golden age truly has been and gone.

He graduated from the Berklee College of Music, so it wasn't just one single film composition course. The guy has some chops.

https://type94.wordpress.com/2016/03/19/anime-anime-evan-call/

Danmachi just announced a 2nd season and a movie. This will be Keiji Inai's first film score, I think.

My point (I wonder why I am having to repeatedly clarify my points with you, but not with anybody else?) was that Evan Call's musical education is almost all about film music and not about music - and that it shows in his work. He does not write like somebody with a solid musical education; he writes like someone with a solid education in film scoring - and this is entirely consistent with what he did at Berklee. Expecting him to suddenly transform into a world's greatest composer because he's gone to Japan is silly; because he doesn't have that background or that education - and with his career choice, he doesn't need those things. I was not seeking to argue about the finer points of how Evan Call describes, in an informal, one-off interview, his time at college. The only record of Call's education that is repeated in multiple places is that he studied Film Composition at Berklee. Film Composition is not a full degree.

Berklee is one of the best music schools in the world - and like pretty much every music school these days, there are different types of music students. You can study music history, world music, composition, form, conducting, orchestration, etc... You can also study film scoring; and in order to successfully score a film in the modern world, you need only the most elementary grasp of the things that are the bread-and-butter knowledge of any genuine student of music.

This is not an attack on people who learn film scoring instead of composition, form, arrangement, etc - only an acknowledgement that there is only a small overlap between the two disciplines and that Evan Call is firmly within the former discipline, not the latter.

Once upon a time, film music used to be written by composers who learned about the specific needs of scoring a film. Now, film music is written by people who were almost exclusively trained about the specific needs of scoring a film (in the modern way) and who have very little, if any, foundation as composers. Western film scoring is not about music and has not been for some time. Evan Call studied film scoring in the West; is it really so unreasonable to say that this information, combined with every note of his music we've heard so far which proves it, suggests a correlation?

I know somebody who started a film composition course, and the first thing they were told was to forget anything they knew about traditional styles of composition and arrangement.

Yasunori Mitsuda and Nintendo Sound Team
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Orchestrated by Yasunori Mitsuda and Mariam Abounnasr / Arranged by Mariam Abounnasr
Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchesta / Bratislava Symphony Choir / Procyon Studio Orchestra / AN�NA Celtic Choir / Procyon Studio Band



DOWNLOAD (https://mega.nz/#!SIp2gJLC!uw_FcijbpP9feXAHttGwuYt1xw2wOpyPAqDxzmEHrmw)

SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wkwqj)



Hello, I’m Yasunori Mitsuda. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was the biggest and most challenging project I have ever worked on. It consisted of a number of processes, including composing (needless to say), acting as a coordinator (for recording sessions), a producer (managing budgets) and working as a sound director, managing schedules, proofreading every composer’s scores, finaliziing/brushing up the scores and printing them all out, looking at the sound controls for Nintendo Switch, etc. I was careful especially in choosing the musicians, and in being efficient in recording sessions as much as possible. Another point to highlight was that musicians from all over the world were involved, such as a chorus from Slovakia, an orchestra from Japan, vocal songs sung by Ms. Jen Bird, who came all the way from England, and finally the Irish chorus group AN�NA.

All kinds of genres of music were made, so I am sure that the game will not bore you no matter how long you play it.

I was invited by the director [Tetsuya] Takahashi (Taka-san) to be involved in the project of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 back on December 9th 2014, which I was very excited about. Three months later, we held a meeting to discuss the direction of the music, and the sound that Taka-san required. Then after a few more months – when the direction and the amount of music were all set – we held another meeting including ACE and [Kenji] Hiramatsu-san to decide who would write for what. Although generally we divided the music equally, I think the decision was made rather smoothly, considering that we wanted the fans to be satisfied, and we did not want to ruin the image that was already set by the first Xenoblade Chronicles. Each composer was in touch directly with Taka-san to communicate about the music they were working on. For some of the demos, I had phone calls from Taka-san, asking for my opinion on the music in question. Then we’d usually have the same thought and agree on something like, “Yeah, maybe that’s not right.” When Taka-san turns down a demo, he tells the composer exactly what is required in a clear way. He does so by putting himself into the composer’s position, and choosing the words he uses wisely, which makes it easy to make any necessary amendments. Another thing is, when I work with Taka-san I always want to bring in some new musicians or music on board, and for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 I wanted to work with the Irish chorus group AN�NA. I thought that with AN�NA, having their distinctive sound, it would be possible to express the mystical and majestic sound which fits well with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 . Surprisingly, AN�NA were planning on coming to Japan for a different project, so I soon asked for their schedule for a recording session. This was an absolute miracle! The vocal pieces, which AN�NA sings, are all important town songs, where the lyrics are written by Taka-san himself. Perhaps you may understand the game fully once you understand the meaning of the words…

The first time that I came across the Irish chorus group AN�NA was from one of their albums released in 1996, called "Deep Dead Blue". Back then I was totally into the music of Northern Europe, including Finland, Ireland, Scotland and the Mediterranean region. Usually world music consists of a land's distinctive instruments, whereas AN�NA found their way of expression through the human voice, which can be considered the original musical instrument. The album "Deep Dead Blue" really gave me a huge impression, as the chorus wasn’t like a classical one, nor Gregorian, or Bulgarian… I felt that AN�NA was a new type of chorus that I’d never heard before. My attention was drawn to the lead singer, Michael McGlynn, and I dreamt about making music with AN�NA one day. After 20 years, my dream came true through the making of the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2.


If you think Bahamut has a ludicrous Budget, this tops everything. I consider Mitsuda to be one of the biggest players in town right now, if not the biggest. He has his own recording studio, his own recording hall and various business connections to allow for otherwise impossible budgets. Perhaps the reason Mitsuda has a full symphony orchestra for Valkyria and Sakimoto doesn't is simply Mitsuda being far more influental as a businessman, as a producer and sound director (massive orchestra for Inazuma Eleven, massive Orchestra for Kid Icarus, symphony orchestra for Valkyria and FFXV DLC).

A huge chunk of the game's score is symphonic and performed by the Kanagawa Philharmonic and the Bratislava Symphony Choir with thankfully only a few pieces on loop. It certainly is majestic and ethereal. The rest of the score also features a massive studio orchestra and band ensemble from full on Hollywood action cue to celtic folk to smashing rock. Finally there’s the aformentioned celtic choir AN�NA with a couple of ethereal pieces.

This album is all pieces with an orchestra and choir, from symphony to rock band. I edited the score so that the non-cutscene pieces only loop once and the fade-outs sound more natural and arranged all tracks. Everything properly tagged.

To show just how massive this game score is, here's two hours of Outtakes. (https://mega.nz/#!XVRVAI5Y!2aLkgGTSJ_JqT6r3KKZt1O_SXN0LgOfPvInoB2xje-8)
Some orchestral pieces I had to omit (mostly alternate versions) but nothing you will really miss.

The game score itself is basically another Gravity Daze 2 in style, just on a far bigger scale. There's a whole symphonic score in there that might as well be another Xenosaga. The other part is basically the most massive Inazuma Eleven score ever (you will know as you listen along).

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is all I love about Japanese scores: No restrictions/conventions, all full out freedom of expression, from smashing rock to 60s superhero kitsch to pure symphony orchestra to pure choral pieces. It all has Mitsuda's trademark. I would even say Abounnasr does a better "supporting" job than Kameoka did, whose solo path was inevitable. Valkyria, Book of the Atlantic and now Xenoblade 2 make it evident Abounnasr was the best thing that could have happened to Mitsuda.

The symphonic parts are at least equal to Valkyria (but missing special pieces like the Anthem) and evoking majesty, grandour and finishing with a stellar cue "Elysium" which is an evolution of "New World" from Xenosaga. While the hybrid cues don’t reach Gravity Daze 2 level of excellence (then again Tanaka set a new benchmark that will stay almost impossible to ever top for many years to come). This is a score that truely has something for everyone. It's incredibly well made and produced. It's as equally good fun as it is symphonically pleasing.

It is Mitsuda’s biggest project to date and while it is not the thrillride Kid Icarus is, or cohesive classical inspired symphonic film score that is Valkyria and Book of the Atlantic, it is nonetheless a marvelous commendable effort. Great fun all around and at its core, a symphonic work.

From Last Guardian to Valkyria Revolution to Granblue Fantasy Orchesta to Aerial Legends to Gravity Daze 2 to Taishi to Xenoblade 2 to Ni no Kuni II to Granblue Re:Link to Code Vein to Kingdom Hearts III/Orchestra to World Seeker. Japanese Games are off the charts right now in terms of budget and quality.


A little fun fact to end on, Japan is perhaps too on the nose this time who their favorite Hollywood composer is: Back to the Quest (http://picosong.com/wkwqU)

Has Ko Otani done anything better than Shadow of the Colossus?

AHEM

AHEM
I will refer you to this post: Thread 219656

Did anyone listen to the recent Hirano concert work for saxophone quartet? Has it been released digitally too or is it just CD? His piano works was good and this sounded good too.

I will refer you to this post: Thread 219656

Man, I'm asking for opinions from the horse's mouths, not a buncha albums I already have(and never have the time to delve into.) Knowing which of his works are thought us as tops would help a lot in knowing where to even start, but mainly it was just on my mind bc of the PS4 SotC remake and I thought, "Did he ever top this?"

Well, there's opinions too, if you had time to look ;)

But in evaluating it again, no, in terms of gravitas and emotional weight, nothing reaches Shadow of the Colossus. By quality of composition Popolocrois Story wins, followed by Wild Arms. In terms of Hybrids there's some stellar pieces in Shana and Outlaw Star, if you favor synths then it is Darkstalkers and Birdy.

I'm actually disappointed they didn't rerecord SotC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mZWMv6cTs4


@Tango: Interesting perspective. Depressing but true I have to admit, though I disagree somewhat about Evergarden. Ultimately I love "the sound" and will buy the soundrack, you don't and won't and that's all there is to it. Coming from your perspective I still think Evergarden, Last Encore and Grancrest Senki (if more pure orchestral pieces show up) are at least good enough. Especially after Last Encore 04 it could be a close competition with Evergarden if it keeps up.

I look at a season more like a playfield and what sounds can be heard in 2018. I look at the environment and hear everything from Irish folk (sounds like Ireland is invading Japan this season) to classical waltz to 80s Hollywood, so that leaves a symphonic film score never out of the question. And wasn't last year's Virgin Soul, Drifters, Black Butler, Knights & Magic, Kado, Godzilla, Warau Salesman, Chain Chronicles, Sword Oratoria, Tanya, Kantai Movie, Haikara-san and others enough proof that there's still plenty of room for that sound in the anime world?

I'm a simple man, as long as I hear this sound on my anime soundtracks in 2018, I'm happy: http://picosong.com/wkyyQ/

I'm willing to doubt myself if next season, which has a lineup that is unprecedented with dozens of old veterans scoring shows and plenty of newcomers I like, ends up disappointing. Though even if it does happen, you will not get me to agree on Japanese Game scores, for a couple of years at least ;)

I'm a big fan of the Gundam Wing soundtrack. Like Evangelion it's very nostalgic, plus it has strong recurring themes.

fullmetal alchemist live action score has some nice tracks but overall less than half baked and even more compared to the anime scores.movie is also pretty bad.

Well, it has apparently (http://cultbox.co.uk/news/doctor-who-composer-murray-gold-has-left-the-show) been confirmed that Murray Gold is stepping down as composer of Doctor Who. I wonder what this means for the new season...

I'm quite enjoying some of the choral tracks in this larger version of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Thanks for sharing it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA-Uqv4BNC0 (10:20 is so blatantly Prince of Thieves it's not funny).

And have a taste of spring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y727LMEvH6c

The theme at 1:20 seems to be written in the style of David Newman.

Another nail in the Doctor's coffin.

Gold off Doctor Who: It's about bloody time. The guy has single-handedly scored every single episode - 134 of them - of Who since 2005 - and arguably did his best work on the show for the 2005 Christmas special. Since then, the scores have got progressively more like every other TV score, albeit with occasional good moments and above average production values.

Ben Foster moving off the show (handing orchestration duties to Alastair King) was a big loss. Gold moving off the show, no loss at all.

Doctor Who is a completely different show going forward. The BBC correctly recognised that current Who had run out of steam, and with the last series' regularly descending into shameless progressive left-wing propaganda, it was clear that new blood was required. I do not rate Chris Chibnall as a writer, but I did rate Moffat as a writer, and look at what happened when he was show-runner. Maybe Chibnall will be a great show-runner who hopefully doesn't write many episodes. I didn't like RTD as a writer, but he was a great show-runner. It'll be interesting. Maybe it can concentrate on being bloody good adventure again.

Whoever scores it, well, it's 2018. Doctor Who isn't the big hit it once was, but it still does pretty well in the ratings and overseas. It's going to get precisely (within an average margin of error) the kind of score that you'd expect from a mature, modern sci-fi show.

Maybe it'll be worth a watch. I doubt the score will be worth a listen, though...

I feel like it would be hard to do a worse job than Moffat. He really should have just stuck to being a writer. At this point, I'm willing to give Chibnall - or anyone - a chance.

As far as the music goes, I hope they at least hire a qualified orchestra composer and not some modern, electronic guy.

Murray Gold isn't a qualified orchestra composer - just listen to the scores before Ben Foster and the BBCNOW came along... (I should add that the BBCNOW hate playing this shit - but it's a living.)

Take it from someone who knows; at the sessions, Foster is pretty much in charge of the whole thing, and Gold makes the tea and says "yeah, great" or "no good, go again" after each take.

We'll be lucky if the orchestra stays. I think it will drop to an average-size television ensemble, get a whole lot more electronic, and a whole lot more anonymous.

Granted, I've never watched more than maybe an episode of Doctor Who, but who would you see as the best possible person to score the show going forward? It can be either who you wish would score the show, or the best composer who is most likely to work on the show; I'm just curious to know what y'all think.

bring david arnold to dr.who

It doesn't really matter who they get. Their choices indicate the BBC once more has tired of the show.

And fans too, have to get tired, as quality has gotten low so much over the seasons lately.

Perhaps the most endearing thing for me (even after all these years) about Japanese scores is how much "personality" they have. This week we have four true scored-to-picture anime scores, all four employ a full orchestra, and yet they couldn't be further apart in sound despite all of them using Hollywoodesque elements, classical elements and some modern soundtoolbox elements. Starting with the first:




Yoshiaki Fujisawa
No Game No Life Zero
Tokyo Studio Orchestra and Choir

(https://mega.nz/#!eFYEwACK!dLHFamK9DjccTI5OA4YK88DKJrNKHHa0bHRIpoHvgBc)

From TV series to Film, this is what happens to an EDM style scored anime project if you just switch composers: From this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoTJh6l2YP0&t=8m06s)... to THIS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALxMAbjvsEE).
There's certainly some elements of connection in sound to the TV score for "continuity", but largly this is a at-times-operatic, at-times-modern-hybrid score that even with all of the modern elements is still as much "Fujisawa" as is GATE as is LoveLive as is Land of the Lustrous, despite all four being scored in totally different ways. It's a modern-sounding score with an emotional core and some good Hollywood action. Overall, I really like it.


The soundtrack also gets a concert performance/arrangement next month (if only GATE could have gotten one, hopefully there will be a movie project sometime in the future). Another sign that I hope will one day result in a Sahashi concert (though Oshima is much more likely):

What is the source of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 music? I ask because I don't see an official release in the horizon. Was this all from a game rip?

Yes, all straight from the switch. Apart from some very very minor sound hiccups, it's basically good enough even if they do not release it officially (But knowing Mitsuda, he will get it out somehow). Also forgot to mention that for Spring Mitsuda (and Abounnasr) scored two anime projects (One of them has to be Inazuma).


EDIT: YES, Super Robot Wars V gets an official release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18otfdWJlLI

That means X will certainly also get one in the future AND we will finally know who rips off David Newman and Michael Kamen all the time :D

Glad that they make it that easy. Also this new post of No Game no Life Zero is lovely! Some delightful relaxing pieces with excellent use of string, piano, and woodwinds. Thanks for sharing :)

Kenji Kawai
Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou
Tokyo Studio Orchestra and Choir (Remastered)



Original (https://mega.nz/#!aMQ0DRpQ!OKnnpMHK3OPtrZfTWN-rfdDss3xOFpCL7zRUzAuSILI) / Remastered (https://mega.nz/#!LFgQDYAC!Hr09_2CDmCj2lOh-wi-LghdlV9_wkPmMc3FbXlkuDMg)

Watch (I got my wish) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PktRYWHQIn4)

Kenji Kawai's Braveheart. Though it is Kawai so you know what you get. I either love or ignore his work, so I can at least report this score falls in the former category for me. I think regarding the film, the minimalistic approach here works in its favor. No acrobatics or serious drum batteries, only a single violin at some point. For a Kawai score there's a lot of leitmotif but not really a surprise since its scored to picture. In a sense the first half of the score is just build up for the second, where the meat of it lies. Especially the last couple of pieces rival Avalon's or Hana Moyu's best moments in its beauty. I'm very eager to see the film to say the least. I guarantee there's at least one scene in the movie that will pull at my heartstrings and it may just be because of a certain piece in this score. Not to mention Cydesignation's gorgeous art.

I got my hands on it yesterday and I already had a project going on, after a quick listen, I carefully remastered the music to have more power and impact. This time I choose the "Moscow sound" (Moscow Symphony) as the goal because something this beautiful and lyrical deserves a shot (though the original is good enough, it's more a quick experiment than a real effort on my part). That's all from myside this month on the anime front. Bless Cygames. I have no more words...

Thanks. I'll give Kawai's score a listen later. I don't expect it to be anything amazing, as is the case with all his works, but from what I can hear so far from all the trailers and your listed piece, it fits the movie to a T.

Even though I don't rate him very highly as a musician, I think Kawai is a tremendously skilled film composer. My opnion of him has went up a lot this past year. He knows exactly what kind of sound best suits what he's working on and has surprisingly enormous range. Most people wouldn't think the guy who composed Gundam 00 also worked on Ghost in the Shell and Mob Psycho. And unlike others like Bates or Giacchino, you can't really say his approaches are cookie-cutter either, each one is surprisingly unique and memorable and some are both iconic and influential (i.e. The GitS theme). Simple and corny as it is, when was the last time we heard anything like Gundam 00? Even his simple synthwork in stuff like Patlabor 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dmlwhaEEgE) stands out amidst the sea of other synth scores from that era. I kind of view him as the Morricone of Japanese film scores. Very influential and creative and prolific, without needing to be a symphonic master. Writes a lot of tedious and banal music, but like with 00, it will never be forgotten in the context of what it's written for. And he can write really good melodies when the time calls for it.

I don't remember Kawai mentioned in this thread very often, what is everyone's opinion of him?

speaking of kenji kawai can someone upload the ip man trilogy? or a best of or something.great theme and lots of cool martial arts action music.

If Fujisawa ever gets to write a score where he resists the modern trend to drown everything in slamming percussion and electronic white noise, he could turn out to be really interesting. There are about ten minutes of music in that score that actually show off his potential - enough to genuinely interest me. Track 29 is rather lovely, and it's surprisingly well orchestrated - even though it falls very easily into the "melody+chords+florid arrangement" trap we hear so often.

I will seek out the official release of the score with interest.

Interesting tidbit from Twitter: Yugo Kanno says (https://twitter.com/yugokanno/status/967768344672665600) that the second half of Grancrest Senki is scored to picture, despite being a TV series. He apparently wrote a 10 minute piece for the last episode.

I might have to check it out.

I'm wondering if anyone could help me out with giving me some orchestral recommendations. I'm planning on replaying Skyrim, but I don't like the game's soundtrack and normally just put on something else. The last time I played the game, I had a combination of Nobunaga's Ambition (Kanno's work, mainly), the Berserk movies, Bleach, and various one off tracks I can't currently recall, but I want to have some new music for this playthrough. Here's what I've got so far:


-Distant Fields (Nobunaga's Ambition: Chronicles of Heaven)
-End Titles (MediEvil Resurrection)
-Jen Meets Arella (Primal)
-Remberances (Dragon Quest VIII)
-Travelling with Wagon (Dragon Quest VIII)
-After All (Turn A Gundam: The Movie)

If anyone can suggest orchestral music I could check out, I'd happily appreciate it. Thank you!

Why not go classic: Wagner. The Ring: An Orchestral Adventure. Alternativly Goldsmith's 13th Warrior and/or Poledouris Conan and maybe Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings. Does the magic.


@nextday: Interesting! I really adore his nine minute oratoria he wrote for the Psycho-Pass movie so I'm really anticipating an official release.

And what did I tell you, Mitsuda releases Xenoblade 2 in May, on a massive scale. I'm interested if the pieces will loop or not.



Considering Mariam is from London and is also actively composing for Japanese Media in addition to orchestrating for Mitsuda, that would mean Evan Call is not so special afterall...



@Zipper: Difficult to answer. As already mentioned I'm quite bi-polar on him. I "don't mind" most of his music in films and series. At the very least it is never detrimental to anything. I believe if you favor rythm there are few composer with chops who soley focus on that aspect of composition. For his work (with a few exceptions) the beat and rythm always is paramount (no surprise given his rock background), which can "drive" a scene exceptionally well, but it's not that interesting on album: UBW (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE0MhZo5oI0) / FSN (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDl_WkHIaIA) / Barakamon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqcOZM58G1g&t=60m03s)

Like Kajiura, it can become boring really fast. Still, he's a whole league above the likes of her. At the very least he has a sense for dramatic structure and can actually write music you remember.

Thankfully his range and career are quite vast, as you pointed out, so that leaves a couple of gems across the road. The recent Maquia (Sayonara) is his most gentle work by far and also the most thematically consistent, as a whole score, it's the best thing he has ever done, I just wish he got his hands on a bigger ensemble (the movie also got high praise so I hope it drops on netflix sometime soon). Avalon has the highest budget and the most poignant pieces of his career, but not all of the score is to my liking (works in the film though). Hana Mayu has the most subtantial amount of dramatic action and operatic beauty but its quite disjointed. Fate/Stay Night (+Film) has some really beautiful moments too, but also moments that fall short. Ultraman Zero has some of his best action but likewise moments that just fall short for me. Nonetheless, they stick out from the endless sea of electronics and drum batteries that can be quite tiresome to listen to for me.

So it looks like MICHIRU (not Oshima, the other one) worked on an NHK documentary recently.

https://twitter.com/MICHIRU_JP/status/968335228900126720

Like past NHK nature documentaries, I think this has a good chance of being released on disc.

Kenji Kawai can be very good but usually isn't. Ghost in the Shell and Avalon remain his two best scores. Most of his music may be serviceable, but it is ultimately forgettable. I rank him above people like Yuki Kajiura for instance but he is nowhere near people like Joe Hisaishi or Yoshihisa Hirano etc. Not even near Michiru Oshima, whom I am not the biggest fan of, but there is no doubt that she blows Kawai out of the water. When compared to Naoki Sato and Yugo Kanno does he seem like a slight figure too.

I don't agree with him being the Japanese Morricone at all, Kawai has none of the things that makes Morricone interesting nor is he producing scores with anywhere near the same quality consistently. Kawai is if anything closer to Zimmer.

Perhaps the most endearing thing for me (even after all these years) about Japanese scores is how much "personality" they have. This week we have four true scored-to-picture anime scores, all four employ a full orchestra, and yet they couldn't be further apart in sound despite all of them using Hollywoodesque elements, classical elements and some modern soundtoolbox elements. Starting with the first:




Yoshiaki Fujisawa
No Game No Life Zero
Tokyo Studio Orchestra and Choir

(https://mega.nz/#!eFYEwACK!dLHFamK9DjccTI5OA4YK88DKJrNKHHa0bHRIpoHvgBc)

From TV series to Film, this is what happens to an EDM style scored anime project if you just switch composers: From this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoTJh6l2YP0&t=8m06s)... to THIS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALxMAbjvsEE).
There's certainly some elements of connection in sound to the TV score for "continuity", but largly this is a at-times-operatic, at-times-modern-hybrid score that even with all of the modern elements is still as much "Fujisawa" as is GATE as is LoveLive as is Land of the Lustrous, despite all four being scored in totally different ways. It's a modern-sounding score with an emotional core and some good Hollywood action. Overall, I really like it.


The soundtrack also gets a concert performance/arrangement next month (if only GATE could have gotten one, hopefully there will be a movie project sometime in the future). Another sign that I hope will one day result in a Sahashi concert (though Oshima is much more likely):



I've FLAC album of this (24bit 48000Hz), but it is 1.35GB my internet speed is slow upload but I will try to upload today, if anyone else won't do

I've FLAC album of this (24bit 48000Hz), but it is 1.35GB my internet speed is slow upload but I will try to upload today, if anyone else won't do

Here: Thread 223070

Kenji Kawai... the worst composer I like the best. I've wrestled with the way I feel about him over the years. I agree with other statements that whilst his compositional prowess is borderline non-existent, his dramatic sensibility is among the best in the business. The music isn't great music, but it invariably serves - impeccably - the media for which it was written.

Death Note, as an example - not my favourite Kawai score, by any stretch... but a score that is tied to the films so completely, a score that is just as responsible for the atmosphere of the films as the films are themselves. I will never listen to the scores on album, but when I hear them within the film, I cannot fault them.

My favourite Kawai remains Avalon; and not just because the finale of the film is centred about an actual classical concert at the Filharmonia Narodawa Hall in Warsaw, at which the Warsaw Philharmonic perform Kawai's score live, on screen - maybe the most unique blurring of the line between what is diegetic music and what is score; it's both. I dearly love the film, and I couldn't imagine the film with any other score. Kawai's music works so superbly, so completely, and serves the film so effortlessly... it's a textbook example of a pure film score.

@fedex1: That I would appreciate. But 24bit is overkill, unless you work professionally you don't ever need it. Would save you some space :)

I actually watched the film now and my god, it's perfect for what's on screen. In fact the sappy overemotional scenes really get kicked into overdrive thanks to the score. The beautiful fusion of picture and sound / drama and music is very strong in Japanese Live-action/Games/Anime these days. I still cannot fathom how they turned an EDM comedy into a larger-than-life operatic drama but they somehow did it.


@Kawai:



Legacy of Japan
Kenji Kawai
Orchestral Selection



Avalon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C8s1ANMK6k) / Maquia (might actually become my favorite after I've seen the film) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfYpG8O7tf8&t=41m40s) / Hana Moyu (http://picosong.com/wkurU/) / Fate/Stay Night (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-TvgCoB49I) / Ultraman Zero (http://picosong.com/wkJ36)



Download (https://mega.nz/#!6QYlkQ7B!0TtO2m661SG_QodUqR6kx4BvK3h5IMcDfZ56_DOGCDI)


I must confess, despite his reputation and numerous scores over decades, Kenji Kawai doesn't usuall grab me with his music. But when he does, oh boy do I love it. Here is a selection of his orchestral scores I adore. From Avalon to the recent Sayonara movie. Speaking of which I made this little video about it, because I hold on to the believe trailers should have score music by the composer: Maquia Trailer (with Kenji Kawai's music) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PktRYWHQIn4)

Of course there's no way not including Ghost in the Shell, but my absolute favorites by him are Hana Moyu and Avalon, which are quite underrated scores despite their beautiful qualities. He is an expert dramatist and a master of rythm.

There's actually a nice video about him: A Day in the Life of Kenji Kawai (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puIsASh5P2U&t=14s[/url]) (sometimes the program has quite interesting videos, especially if your a fan of Japanese games).

@fedex1: That I would appreciate. But 24bit is overkill, unless you work professionally you don't ever need it. Would save you some space :)

I actually watched the film now and my god, it's perfect for what's on screen. In fact the sappy overemotional scenes really get kicked into overdrive thanks to the score. The beautiful fusion of picture and sound / drama and music is very strong in Japanese Live-action/Games/Anime these days. I still cannot fathom how they turned an EDM comedy into a larger-than-life operatic drama but they somehow did it.


Yeah I got that it's difficult to hear difference between 24bit and 16bit FLAC, but I don't have problem of disk space and if someone want higher bitrate here it is.

But anyways you can always download 24bit version and then downscaling to 16/44.1 with foobar2000 + SoX resampler, if you have :) (I don't know if there are others ways to downscaling sorry)

Eureka Seven HE 1: Well, isn't this a step down from DESTINY... I don't mind RC Sato that much, but going for the Interstellar route on ES? However it might fit for the film, this was a pretty underwhelming listen during the course of it's first half, it picks up a little bit on the second with a pair of pieces like Track 20, but overall, general disappointment on how this turned out to be. Still curious on how the next two (?) films will sound like regardless.

Kenji Kawai: Doesn't bore me as much as Kajiura, pretty recognizable from the get go and his ability to convey a proper melody in what could be deconstructed as really simple theme pieces is admirable. His range of styles doesn't really go any further stretch of the imagination, since most of his music is very Japanese from instrumentation to tunes. Similar applies to Yasuharu Takanashi, favouring Kawai's line of work a bunch more of course. Sayonara no Asa was a pleasant listen considering I don't really pay much attention to his scores as they don't usually step up from the melancholic average Kawai that really doesn't do much for me.

Yugo Kanno: Hopefully he'll make those entire 10 minutes count for the finale or just have a tenth of interesting bits while the rest sounds dull. I'm optimistic for the former.

NGNLZ: Entered with low expectations on this one, not for Fujisawa's involvement mind you, but starting by the premise this came from a series that didn't had good music to begin with and how he would handle it's continuity... just to be blown away by a pretty great dramatic film score. Satisfying to finally hear him with some real brass sections, only thing that could be really holding it from greatness could be the usual modern percussion complaint I have with most of these scores. But for what it is, it's miles above from what it came.

Hi-Evolution is a weird score. The first act must be an homage to Interstellar (either the film or Sato, he loves Zimmer afterall) but then comes in a weird melange of classical pieces and the climax is Stand By Me and for the final piece it remsembles the TV show (it's called "Notice" so I hope its indicative of the next film). It's also just 40 minutes of score. I can only picture the film must be a mess. As far as I know each film is a different take on moments/story arcs from the TV series (which is a weird excuse for a cashgrab), so who knows what the direction will be for the second.

But it's interesting to compare Renton Thurston (2006) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDK2Vq4Atbw) with Renton Thurston (2018) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbauR5aQzNE).

A major bummer for me because I expected a SciFi swashbuckler and got Naoki Weirdto, the third brother. It's worth keeping though. The orchestra sounds massive so I hope they recorded all three films with it. Perhaps my opinion of it will change once all three are out but until then I have now differtent expectations regarding the second film.



On the other hand.. Hattori makes no concessions (to anyone) and doesn't give a single fuck :D

http://picosong.com/wk6Cf/








Oh, and welcome back pensquawk :)

Can you post the Doraemon soundtrack?

Maybe I can manage it later this evening.

Yet another occasion where "This score is going to be THE BEST THING EVER on the basis of hearing twelve seconds of music in a PV" turned into "This score is pretty naff, oh well, at least there are good parts"...

The Hattori Doraemon score, based on the track you posted, interesting. He just can't resist the childish percussion, but 2:42... what on earth is that? Pure romanticism. And a homage to Rachmaninov. Love it.

I'd appreciate the upload, too. I'm a big fan of Doraemon since I was a kid. Had the luck of livijng in a country where it actually got succesful out of Japan.

I'm listening to samples in the Amazon page.. In my opinion it has the SOUND, the symphonic sound, but it feels generic to me.

Hey, nobody said that! :D And how is it my fault to be a little excited if they use the scores best moments for the pv, so I was well tricked! ;)


@Doraemon: Yeah, that one sample I got prior to listening to it in full is actually the most substantial piece. There's many really lovely things on this album, but the percussion is quite a difficult taste. Had it not been for all of Hattori's prior scores I would have wondered what's up with that. Maybe it just isn't mixed very well in general but take it out and it would be much more enjoyable for me. It's totally different from Kawai, were the percussion feels "natural" or even Mazinger Z were the percussion is basically just a drumkit. If any engineer is responsible for mixing auxiliary percussion for Hattori, he should be fired.



Takayuki Hattori
Nobita's Treasure Island
Tokyo Studio Orchestra

(https://mega.nz/#!mYhiiDJb!nIXCHcKd_dwcmgHmul2oetgzR1JKFwdbNpjjil8cY1I)

SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wk6xj/)

Battle Athletes again with a bit of Slayers but in Codebreaker/Gundam/Godzilla style.

I know... Hattori is one of the best orchestrators to EVER LIVE. What planet is he on?

Thank you for Doraemon, Vinphonic!

What happened with E7? Not much to say here that hasn't already been said. Sato put on his faux-Zimmer style like he usually does with his most of his live-action work. I guess the passion that drove him in the franchise a decade ago has mostly vanished. Even the most impressive pieces at the end of the first disc don't come close to the highs of the original. Let me remind everyone just how good the original E7 soundtrack was:

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

Doraemon is certainly well-orchestrated, but the core of the music is bland and filled with the stereotypes someone would associate with a cheap kid's movie about sailing the seas. Which is technically what this is, but Japan has shown time and again that any composer worth their while wouldn't stoop to such predictable cliches. Even the Noah theme sounds like a watered-down version of The Origin. It sounds as if Hattori just went through the motions associated with this type of score, similar to what Debney did on Cutthroat Island. Compare this to Asakawa's work on Wataru, which despite taking a few pages from Korngold, demonstrates the same level of emotion and majesty one would expect from any good-old swashbuckler. And that was made for a cheap crappy kid's show to sell toys too. I'm not asking Hattori to write on the same level as Asakawa, but it wouldn't hurt to put in some passion into the music. This is how I felt about his recent Godzilla as well. Why is it that almost two decades after Nadesico, with an ensemble twice as large as what he had back then, is he writing music that is so much more banal by comparison?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtUkw_a2Mvw

Thanks!

Naoki Sato
Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution Suite #1
Tokyo Studio Orchestra

(https://mega.nz/#!HYZnCIJC!VcdYnCY1t96DRVynVeRUyOiHKQqeySupZMfjDRm5MBU)

Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2Wajehgb2g)

I really do believe the piece "Notice/Preview" is from the second film.

legacy of kenji kawai but no ip man trilogy?

TAKASHI NIIGAKI
(attrib. Mamoru Samuragochi)
Symphony No. 1 "HIROSHIMA"
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Naoto Otomo



My rip. FLAC Level 8. Booklet scans (in English and Japanese) included.

https://mega.nz/#!gswXVbyY!4TPZJrT4K4cWPjrWLr6bUWmKTReTboX405FdJlLoGoQ


Samuragochi has a handful of game scores under his belt; Onimusha probably being the most famous. He's not a prolific composer... but he is a superb composer. The key is in the photograph; man, pencil, manuscript paper. The tools of a genuine musician.

You can thank bad weather in Tokyo for this CD. I'd just finished in Tower Records, went to leave, and took one step outside into a terrific rainstorm. Knowing what Japanese storms can be like (on my first visit I walked out of the airport straight into a monsoon and my Metro map disintegrated under the battering rain) I decided to wait it out inside the store... so I went back in Tower Records for another browse. This CD caught my eye. I put it on at the listening post and I didn't turn it off until the 2nd movement started and I realised that I'd been standing there motionless for over twenty minutes. I pulled it off the shelf and bought it there and then, walked outside the store, and was greeted by clear skies and sunshine; fate...? (On the way back to the train station, I stopped for a few minutes by the Hachiko statue outside Shibuya station - whilst sitting enjoying the sudden burst of sun - I was approached and interviewed by Fuji TV who were doing one of their "Let's talk to the crazy foreign guy in Tokyo and ask him why he thinks Japan is ZETTAI SUGOI!!!!!!!!!!!!" shows - so if it hadn't rained I wouldn't have got this CD and I wouldn't have been on TV... Definitely fate.)

So, what have we got here? Well, a massively long (82 minute - on one CD - didn't even know that was possible) late-romantic style symphony that retells the tragic story of the infamous Hiroshima bomb. It doesn't pull its punches. The composer unleashes all hell and fury when the time comes, and the effect is all at once startling, mesmerising, and chilling. It holds on to tonality for dear life - don't worry, this isn't some condescending dissonant noise; for the subject matter, the symphony is quite melodic - and at the end, the most wonderful thing happens... all the death, destruction, pain, misery, war, is swept away... and we receive the gift of a Mahlerian hymn to peace - a noble melody that builds to a glimmering crescendo and a stirring major key finale. It's powerful stuff, even taken out of context... but when taken as a whole, after the preceding movements, the effect is pure magic.

The work is cast in three movements - they are titled only as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Movements. They are 20:03, 34:37, 26:55 in length respectively.

(Edited to reflect recent revelations regarding Mamoru Samuragochi's fraud and now credited to the actual composer. I still love this symphony and I think it deserves hearing just as much as it did before, regardless of recent circumstances...)

Enjoy. :)

Could you upload this album again?

Thanks in advance

EDIT: Nevermind. I already found the album in another thread. Thanks for sharing and sorry for the trouble.

Well, after listening to Doraemon, I conclude Doraemon sounds... like it can't be bothered. Additionally, it sounds off - Hattori was not a good match (I think we all reacted to the news with a degree of optimism but primarily "What? Hattori? For a kids pirate movie?!" and it shows; the score makes more concessions than he (in his current style) usually would but rarely does it sound convincing; like he fought against his own instincts and did the "expected thing" - but the end result sometimes sounds like the musical equivalent of Dame Edna putting on a bonnet to play Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

As TZ observes, it's The Origin, with added pirate cliches and a slightly larger orchestra. It's nice to hear Hattori doing some work that's more melodic than he has managed for quite a few years - and there's the beginnings of a fugue in "Follow Shizuka Chan!"... but it just doesn't hold together.

The end section in "Storm - United Force" which suddenly turns into a hyper-romantic symphonic version of Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, that I liked so much on first listening, seems banal and insincere.

For once, I kinda agree with you, tangotreats. I gave a listen, and.. it just.... something about it feels off. The sound is there; but it feels.. souless. Generic.. like.. it was kept from being further. We all know the Doraemon films have established big symphonic orchestras a la Hollywood of yonder since 1998, but.. all of these sounded so much better. Because they felt like the sound in it... was something. The melodies, the orchestration. Perhaps that's what's so off about this score, something in the orchestration.. something lacking that doesn't make it sound as good or grand.

After being so spoiled many years by Ken Sawada with that fantastic Hollywood yonder orchestration and so many loving music and melodies.. it's just.. so dissapointing and sad. I hope someone in the production studio realizes that, and eithers put Sawada back again.. or uses someone more suitable.. and boy, there were many choices.. even Kohei Tanaka could've done it! His children orchestral stuff is fantastic, like Tamagotchi which I still don't have, or his Zorori.

Say what you like about Sawada's scores... they were alive, and passionate, in a way that this one just isn't. I almost hear Hattori in the music, yawning deeply, and saying to himself "Oh, no, not an orchestra again..."

I think Sawada will be back. This movie was, like 2013's "Stand By Me", outside of the "series".

On another topic... is the Shrine fucked up yet again? I am suddenly getting a thousand pop-ups of half-naked Russian women when I visit the site.

Nothing on my end...

Yes, after a couple listens, it's off but my god that final cue (and several others) have the power... BUT the percussion... I really do wonder if this was a last-minute replacement job? It certainly sounds like it, there's so many blueprints from Origin and Battle Athletes in there, it just sounds like not enough time. Still, some moments in there are wonderful, from the woodwind play to the thick textures that may not fit for a jolly Pirate adventure but are still much to my liking on album.

At the very least my point about Japanese personality in scores stands... this score is 100% Hattori and no one told him to be like Sawada (for better or worse). Even all the weird stuff in Godzilla and on here predates back to Battle Athletes and others, that weird electronic rock aspect was always part of his style.


Regarding Eureka Seven, from what I could observe the new film is a mess and the music "inappropiate" for some people, so I wonder if it was also a mess behind the scenes and that's how we ended up with an NHK drama score (regardless that Sato now is a much different composer than when he started out).

Pocket of Rainbows was in many ways like NGNL Zero, a clear intent and idea with grand concepts and dramatic emotional core to base the music on, and given that it was also scored to picture (and Sato was born for it) had enough conditions for a masterpiece to happen. Sadly something must have gone terribly wrong with this production.


EDIT: Well, Taisei Iwasaki has an orchestra again (how much is of course uncertain), maybe Bones can continue their track-record this time: Hisone to Masotan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQn3gD5_ULk&t=42s)


@hater: I wanted to focus on scores that stick out (and that I like) with this selection and IP man does not enough for me to be much different from his other film works for which I'm indifferent to.

"Say what you like about Sawada". I personally had never a complain about his scores in Doraemon. They just were too big and epic, but so are Doraemon's adventures in the big screen, really, so the big scale really doesn't go too off for them. And they had melodies, chorus, great orchestration. What else could you ask? And this is not a separate movie, this is a mainline movie, I think they just wanted to experiment, to give something new this year. I hope they put a better composer next year, that the producers realize the mistake.. if I have to stand more years of this sound I'll be depressed.

I meant to say that whatever criticism one could want to give Sawada's scores, they're filled with vigour and passion in exactly the way Hattori's isn't. :)

Well, Taisei Iwasaki has an orchestra again (how much is of course uncertain), maybe Bones can continue their track-record this time: Hisone to Masotan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQn3gD5_ULk&t=42s)Taisei Iwasaki is a wonderful pop and jazz composer, right up their with others like Sagisu and Nagaoka, but I've never really been impressed with any of his orchestral work. Still, this sounds rather generic, even by his standards. Are you sure that's him and not some temp music?

Speaking of Iwasaki and Bones, BSD Black Apple comes out in two days and we still don't have any information on the music. No track list, no samples, nothing even in the trailers. I'm getting antsy.

Why is it that almost two decades after Nadesico, with an ensemble twice as large as what he had back then, is he writing music that is so much more banal by comparison?
That Nadesico theme is so catchy. I remember watching the show in the late 90s and being impressed by the music, along with other "mecha" shows like Escaflowne, Evangelion, and Gundam Wing. How often do we get the OP theme integrated in the score anymore? And a catchy OP theme at that? I miss that era of discovery.

Never; what was an occasional nicety moved to rarity, and moved again to impossibility.

Steel Angel Kurumi stands out in my mind; OP and ED both deliciously catchy songs (composed and arranged by Sahashi, with backup of a nice-sized string and brass ensemble) that liberally lend their themes to the score proper (also by Sahashi, one of the biggest orchestras excepting Simoun that he ever worked with for anime) - this was possible in 1999. It just ain't any more.

Love that score.

Love that song. (Cheesy though it is...) ;)

Edit: That sample does not sound a thing like Taisei Iwasaki. Odd.

Yeah, somehow I'm reminded of Yugo Kanno in his Library Wars days.



Surprisingly Taro Iwashiro activly does write OP and ED as part of the score (but not exactly catchy). And there's still tons of catchy orchestral/Brass Pop openings out there, just not in the same league or not woven into the score as well as the greats do: http://picosong.com/wkKf9/

Sahashi is nice and all (I love that song and score dearly, and Simoun's OP and ED were not too shabby either) but he's not the King:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdmYVn09Z6s ;)

Tanaka has come full circle... from Battle Dating Sim to Battle Dating Sim (this is Cygames so anime incoming...)
It's also as 90s as it can get (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGJuKYSprWo)


Also, quite a coincidence, I will share something very very soon that fits that criteria you all so long for ;)

This is surprisingly a very good album. James Newton Howard is on his now scarce, but always appreciated, symphonic mode, sometimes even almost classical.

The End Titles suite is fantastic. I recommend a listen.

KOSUKE YAMASHITA
UCHU SENTAI KYURANGER
TOKYO STUDIO ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR



The Full Album (https://mega.nz/#!uFw2TC5B!FWtLqOBlUzlA0VFdCu_wclKa2hBAvv-xMXsUrTq2dE8)

The Orchestral Score (https://mega.nz/#!LApEWYbQ!Ji9bb9VQcoRhjQpa6pi1ucPDEDu8jXITgvZk2KbGqzA)

SAMPLE (http://picosong.com/wkHUz)


Badass! SciFi! Yamashita!

Two hours of smashing rock, Sahashi-esque funk and symphonic SciFi. Incredibly catchy themes, OPs and EDs as part of the score and his most catchy main theme since World Still Beautiful and my favorite of Yamashita's Sentai tetralogy (not for pure orchestra mind you). It has it all, Star Trek SciFi, Star Wars SciFi and pure 80s kickassery. The final climax is perhaps the greatest piece of genre-fusion I've ever heard in a Sentai score. But I'm having a hard time choosing either Magiranger, Gokaiger or Kyuranger as my favorite Sentai score of all time. Whether I'm in the mood for Fantasy, Swashbuckling Adventure or SciFi. They are all great fun.


Everytime a new Sentai starts I have to wonder what year it is. Takaki evokes Sahashi for the newest series and I'm hoping for much goodness to appear (he also composed the OP and ED). It will not top Yamashita's work but only a few can even hold a candle to him.

We might not only get his Puzzles X Dragon sometime soon which is full of delightful symphonic pieces, but Chihayafuru 3 got announced recently so we might hear more of his excellent genre-fusion next year. EDIT: Of course Yamashita was also responsible for the best piece of Breath of the Wild (The Story Trailer). It's getting a full soundtrack box so I hope Nintendo looks back and releases Starfox Assault and Skyward Sword eventually.

Speaking of Iwasaki and Bones, BSD Black Apple comes out in two days and we still don't have any information on the music. No track list, no samples, nothing even in the trailers. I'm getting antsy.

Iwasaki just announced (https://twitter.com/taque68/status/969705332371943426) yesterday that the soundtrack shall be released today at the same day of it's film opening :D




He seems rather excited for it, so we shall see...

Going a few posts back in terms of the discussion about the Mahouka film score, I needed to give a couple more listens to "Girl Who Summons The Stars" (Vinphonic's suite of course since I tend to find film score's of these types more tolerable in that format) because on how conflicted it left me at first glimpse. For starters, I consider to be the Mahouka series one of my least favorite of post 2010's Iwasaki scores right next to Qualidea Code as a whole. So I already was looking much more forward to Dead Apple rather than "The irregular of incest undertones at magic high school" movie, the score had a lot more going on than the utterly boring crap fest that the show was itself, but that isn't saying too much either.

Aside from some neat motifs taken from "Metaphore", an arrangement piece of "Silhouette of a Ballerina" and a new theme (7:48 of the suite), I can't really agree that much on it's cohesion. The Mad Max quotes were adverse rather than helpful for the progression of it's action pieces and it only worked for me during that climax at 29:40. The little counterpoint at 14:35 sounded more like a way to "fill it in" for some time during a probably dull conversation scene. Electronics weren't much of an issue but it was just backing up an otherwise uninterested Iwasaki score that was trying to make a film from a crappy show sound cooler than it make itself to be. Highlights are probably the last 6 minutes of it, reminding me of that 9 minute piece from Katangatari.

It's not terrible, it's definitely a cut above on what sounded on it's TV version, but I don't feel like I'll be revisiting it that much in the future of the probably better Iwasaki scores that will appear later on, I have faith that I'll like Dead Apple a ton more.


Oh, and welcome back pensquawk :)

Thank you, feels good to post around here again every once in a while :)

The new Stray Dogs is up on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/1349116876?app=itunes

Haven't had a chance to listen to it all, but based on the samples, I think this might be tied with Black Cat for my least favorite Iwasaki score. Most of it sounds like filler. Really disappointing,
especially given how enthusiastic he was about it. I don't think he had any money on this for anything other than a string ensemble and his usual piano. But even that's not really an excuse when this sounds so much more boring than something like Noragami.

Badass! SciFi! Yamashita!

*plays sample*

Well, you know what they say... if you haven't got anything nice to say, perhaps you shouldn't say anything at all... ;)

Edit: Yoshihiro Ike's big super-duper it's-going-to-be-the-most-amazing-thing-ever Netflix anime score is somehow out already, and it's complete and utter shit from start to finish. I'm not exaggerating. It's almost 100% electronic. I hate to say "I told you so"... but... I told you so. :(

Edit 2: Speaking of Ike... does anybody know where I could find Virgin Soul in good quality? I've looked everywhere... :(

Fortunately, nobody said that this time and infact a certain someone doubted it will be orchestral at all ;)

What you are referring to was faux news on my part: Netflix just branded one of Ike's previous Czech recorded anime projects as "Netflix original" so I falsely assumed it was a new score.

@Virgin Soul: Here you go (https://mega.nz/#!2V4ynSrI!cWiu9hD4KR3GuGwFtbo-qRcQAaSQs6KgA2Rq2Z8c26U) :)

And is there nothing in Kyuranger you like? It has classic SciFi moments, evil marches, Holst, catchy themes (that get a full reprise at the end) and kickass 80s Rock Hybrids and Tokusatsu funk a la Sahashi. I'm having a blast (in a Gravity Daze 2 kind of way). I stated from an orchestra only aspect its not as strong as Magiranger or Gokaiger but as a whole package it's my favorite. At the very least I think its superior to Nininnger.

There's stuff to enjoy, absolutely - but I can't take my eye (or ear) off the trend, and the sad fact that this score is yet another sign that the trend is downwards.

We've now had four separate Yamashita Sentai scores; the first was great, and second was exceptional, and the third was mediocre, and the forth was a little ahead of the third.

What I always loved about Japanese orchestral scores was that they were more like several scores in one. You could delete the hybrid (as you so kindly put it; I call it pandering to modern scoring techniques) stuff and still have 30-45 minutes of really good symphonic music to enjoy. Time and time again nowadays, a cue starts up that's got "orchestra-only, nice big old-fashioned symphonic cue" written all over it, and then BANG, we're in noisy percussion, electronics, and guitars territory again. Ten years ago "To Infinity And Beyond" would've been the delicious, orchestral closing - and for almost half of its length, that's what it is. It unfolds with the kind of genius of expression and orchestral majesty we're used to from Yamashita. Then in comes the electric guitar, and a whole sack of shit noise percussion and the last fifty seconds is nothing but the same stabbing chords repeatedly time and time again. It's Giacchino-esque laziness. And it's a devolution of a technique used in Gokaiger; what was a minor background device on which a proper score was written in 2011, is in 2017 the principal driving force in a "big" cue for almost an entire minute. It exactly mirrors the progress in Hollywood; where the humble ostinato started off as a device to build kinetic energy underneath the music, then it moved to the forefront of the music and everything else became simpler, and finally everything else fell away and you're just left with the ostinato.

Memories of Henry Jackman's infamous "That's not a melody, it's a f*****g bassline!" interview come flooding back.

Have a listen to the "spiritual equivalent" cue in Magiranger:

http://picosong.com/wkD7u/

A lovely, proper, big finish. It doesn't throw everything but the kitchen sink. It's tasteful and emotional. It builds up to a climax, plays a fantastic theme, and closes on a fanfare. (And where the cue is used is specifically noteworthy, too; the family of the protagonist sit at the dinner table, missing him - he bursts through the door and announces that he's home, and they all gather outside for a family photo.

Would such a simple scene close an action show now? Would it get this sort of score?

There are countless other examples where stuff is being done notably differently (and, in my view - not better) to how it would've been ten or even five years ago. (Even the OP song; my favourite opening song of all time, where about halfway through everybody shuts up and the orchestra plays completely solo for almost thirty seconds; and the whole thing is just relentlessly well-written. But Magiranger is like that, the show and Yamashita's score. It's shamelessly exuberant, and at the same time lovingly crafted, in a way that couldn't happen just a decade later.)

Add to that, the disaster (so far) that is Takaki's 2018 effort. It's fun enough, but listen to thirty seconds of Shinkenger and weep for what used to be, just nine short years ago.

EDIT: Thank you for Virgin Soul! :D As ever, I applaud your remastering attempts... but I really think the drier, closer acoustic in the original release better suits Ike's orchestral style - the ultra-precise rhythms, staccato chords can get lost with too much reverb...

What is everyone's opinions on the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime's music? Even Miyazaki seems to be doing the Sahashi funk thing.

@xrockerboy: As with all recent TV series, much better than the film scores. Sun and Moon is heaps of fun but I don't know how many years it will take till we get to hear it, even the next Doraemon collection should still be years away...

@Ponyo: Thanks for the heads-up. Should be worth a listen but based on the samples JNH will probably never return to 90s glory again.


@Tango: I totally get you. Food for thought.

For that I have just the orchestral score ready. I even edited out all the guitars and drum parts from the nine minute action extravaganza.
It's up above.

Better? (http://picosong.com/wkaUy/)

EDIT: Forgot a piece, up again. Also added a new sample, now it should fit :D


To my ears Kyuranger has no elements in it that Yamashita has not used countless times before, even dating almost ten years back (most notably Digimon). And just because a score has guitars, synth pads and drums (just tools) does not automatically make it chasing after modern Hollywood. And I definitely consider the full album NOT "modern" (musical illiterate, percussion-as-highest-music-level, electronic infused nothingness). Going in blind and excluding sound, this could have very well be written in the 80s for the most part. In fact I might care about Hollywood a little bit again if smashing guitar solos as well as Funk and Jazz accompanied by the orchestra, with melodies, themes and counterpoint, in idioms of SciFi conventions from ages past were written today.

I still see the "rock chords" and other tools more like a stylistic choice because underneath it still breaths Yamashita. Not to mention a piece like Light of the Stratosphere (http://picosong.com/wkUjD/) is still the Yamashita we know and love. Even the Main Theme is available as pure orchestra or rock variant, just like all the others.

But what you said also rings equally true, that shameless exhubertant "magical" orchestral beauty of Magiranger is missing here, but I attribute that to various factors and "be like RC" is not among them. Comparisons to Gravity Daze 2 are more than valid I think because the pure orchestra is not its strongest appeal (but its really good with the expected Yamashita moments, also that theme just screams 80s). The rock/Jazz/funk/orchestra fusion pieces on the other hand are up there with the very best: The genre fusion totally works for me and is done better in Kyuranger than in most other Sentai scores: Pieces like Cerberus Stone (http://picosong.com/wkU4j/) switch effortlessly between smashing guitar piece and symphonic SciFi. And pieces like Fighting Stars (http://picosong.com/wkU4z/) come close to Tanaka's Gravity Daze work. I love that. The line between pure orchestra and hybrid may be much more blurried in this score than in previous works, similar to Watanabe's Mazinger, but it's still a LONG road downwards before I consider that problematic enough to be a sign of the end.

However, Puzzles X Dragon still has moments that recall Magiranger and in recent times he also scored a little for Scarlet Grace and that was pure glory too (and he almost exclusivly arranges for orchestra only pieces), so I don't know...

With Yamashita, it's not like with Taku Iwasaki who really has become complacant now with "twenty minutes of opera + delightful orchestra but the rest is electronic + hiphop" (In retrospect, when Iwasaki loves his work, that's a red flag. Don't bother with it until he fucking trashes it and everyone invloved along with it...)

I also really hold the opinion, although we just can't help but do it anyway, that the (dying) Hollywood industry (especially today) and Japanese media (which are in reality three separate industries) are (and operate) totally different and can not really be compared, regardless if we think quality goes up or down.

In retrospect, when Iwasaki loves his work, that's a red flag. Don't bother with it until he fucking trashes it and everyone invloved along with it...But then you get Qualidea Code. =/

I'm still reserving my full comments until the whole thing gets posted, but from what I can tell, Iwasaki liked it this time around because he was given a lot of control over the sound mixing and placement of the music in the movie. It's frustrating because the few orchestral moments he did write for this were rather good. The piano concerto alone (コレクタア) puts everything in Sato's Hi-Evolution to shame. But man, I can't tell if the tiny ensemble is because Iwasaki wanted it or if he really was underfunded. If it is the former, that would be very alarming.

It certainly sounds less scored to picture than the Mahouka film and more like a TV score. Shame I'm having trouble purchasing it via Itunes, otherwise I would've posted it here already. Sample tracks 9 and 11 are nothing we haven't heard before, but those Ravel inspired pieces are still worth the price of purchase.

One thing is becoming more clear for me, Iwasaki just doesn't seems competent anymore (or ever was) to make a full-fledged film score. He'll either hate it, or as in most of the cases, have his way to continue experimenting without any regard for the creator's vision. This sort of attitude is nothing new coming from him, but it really contributes on the fact that every passing year there seems less and less probability of another "Gin'iro no Kami no Agito" situation. Maybe it's for the best...

I can't agree with you in regards to "competency", because we all know Iwasaki is more than capable of making a symphonic film score. But it seems that rather than being a film composer, he wants to be someone like Ryuichi Sakamoto or Susumu Hirasawa, who are experimental composers first and film composers second. It's as if his idea of an ideal piece of music is something like Sakamoto's the Revenant. Going by everything he's done so far and his weird solo concerts in the vein of Hirasawa, I wouldn't be surprised if his endgoal is to become a composer who no longer needs an orchestra. This film is one of the most low-budget scores he's ever made, using only strings, a piano, a fujara, and a trumpet. If he did want it to be like this, then I'm actually very concerned.

In regards to Agito, I've always found it to be a strange score, primarily because of how Iwasaki took the time to redo over half of the Warsaw cues using a domestic ensemble. I imagine he wasn't satisfied with their efforts, or at the fact that he was not given the baton. Maybe it's his control freak nature that no longer makes the orchestra satisfactory enough for him.

All of this is extremely frustrating, when you have people like Hattori and Yokoyama who are given huge ensembles and make crap with them, while Iwasaki doesn't even want an orchestra unless he gets to experiment with it electronically. Iwasaki and Asakawa are the two people who frustrate more than any other Japanese composers, because their preferences for what they want to do are in complete disregard for their actual talents.

Anybody has been able to find the Tamagochi movie OST's by Kohei Tanaka?

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B000Y1GBZS/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_24?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AN1VRQENFRJN5 and https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B001KNVICU/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_52?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1CNENBIYWF83L

They're good ol' symphonic Tanaka and it's amazing.. no MP3 rip? Even 192? I don't care I just want to hear it.

@The Zipper:

I meant "competence" in a working and management perspective rather than his capabilities as a composer. Agito was a prime example of his complete disregard for recording budget, having recorded on Warsaw, he somehow finds the need to re-record some cues based on his own preferences. Cue over a decade, we have this Iwasaki whose budget has become quite the penny pincher (Norgami 1 being one of the biggest offenders of them all) even for a film score! And to top that he will throw a hissy fit when being asked to score by picture, resulting into a slightly above average score from the original while the other is just making a TV score because he was allowed to do so. It just sounds like a pretty inefficient workflow to me.

Also, I didn't said anything about "symphonic", his work can be as electronic as he'd liked it to be, my gripe is on the fact that he hasn't done an outstanding "film score" since Agito, based on my opinion of the Mahouka film.

In conclusion, Iwasaki just can't score a film without these problems presenting unlike Hisaishi, Oshima or Tanaka. He's just going to approach it in a TV format like he just did with DA (he'll do regardless for previous anime he's worked on, but not for original films like "Agito" anymore). As you say, all of this is pretty frustrating, but it's something that I've sadly come to accept from Iwasaki...

On a positive light, I'm actually interested how the track "Dead Apple" will turn out to be, sounds like Zimmer, but with Iwasaki, it might have it's nice twist.

@Ponyo: You sure that one is from Tanaka and not the one unreleased Tamagotchi movie score from Hamaguchi that this thread is also searching for?





A side-note, does anyone here have the 1997 Jungle Emperor Leo movie score from Isao Tomita? I've been looking for it everywhere with no success. :(

@Ponyo: You sure that one is from Tanaka and not the one unreleased Tamagotchi movie score from Hamaguchi that this thread is also searching for?

A side-note, does anyone here have the 1997 Jungle Emperor Leo movie score from Isao Tomita? I've been looking for it everywhere with no success. :(

I was told it was Kohei Tanaka, and it sounds a bit like him. I'm refering to the first two Tamagotchi movies, which got OST releases. I keep hearing the samples and I love 'em. I really want 'em, I don't even care if it's 192 MP3, ogg, whatever. I just want it.

As for the 1997 Jungle Taitei, I do have it. But I'm afraid I can't share it right now.

So it seems the only properly classical part of Red Sparrow is in the Overture and the last two tracks. The rest is typical minimalist Newton Howard we have heard over the last few years. I will post later if I determine whether the themes properly grab me or not.

It sounds like another Zimmer score, if you ask me.

It's out:

http://otakuworldsite.blogspot.com/2018/03/bungo-stray-dogs-dead-apple-original.html

Listening to it in full, I can't really say my enjoyment of it has went up much further. This is still a very cheap Iwasaki score with 15 minutes of musical interest. It's not as all over the place genre-wise like his TV scores, it does sound scored to picture, and some pieces that would usually be fully electronic actually transition into string pieces (though I can't tell what any of the leitmotifs are if there even are any).

However, listening through it, there was a strong sense of deja vu, like I had already heard this score before somewhere. The hard rock guitar, the slamming percussion and meandering electronics, the Zimmer chord progressions, the dark strings, the Satanic chanting, and the occasional piano. And when I hit Nestiio, I suddenly realized- this whole score is Witch Hunter Robin part 2. Even the stripped-down ensemble is similar.

Unfortunately, WHR also ranks as one of my least favorite Iwasaki scores. This soundtrack reminded me why I was never a big fan of his early works other than Kenshin. To those of you who enjoy early 2000s Iwasaki, this whole score is for you. Wasted potential, but thankfully I don't think Iwasaki has gone senile like I originally feared. Maybe just feeling a bit nostalgic. Hopefully one day he'll be nostalgic enough for another Agito.


This piece was very nice though, never heard Iwasaki channel Ravel quite like this: http://picosong.com/wkGPP/

I dunno, I liked Red Purple, I'm not saying it's a masterpiece, but perhaps I like it more because I've only listened so far to the best tracks. The rest may be less than stelar. But it's a good listen imo and better than most RCP shit. JNH has a talent, and he shows it when he's allowed.

One good think to come from Dead Apple: You get this masterpiece of an anime album:


Taku Iwasaki
BUNGOU STRAY DOGS
The Operatic Score

(https://mega.nz/#!eAhzmQgQ!lRaeNote2Qa-CJWGXvjq9Uuw3F910HNrW9Rb-lgW28k)

An hour of Iwasaki at his very best.

(though I can't tell what any of the leitmotifs are if there even are any).

Oh, there certainly are ;) and it's actually quite brilliant:

http://picosong.com/wkGhU/

The way it progresses from a little stroll on the piano to what might be my favorite Iwasaki opera in years to end it in a romantic note is quite astounding. Mein Prinz is just a minute and a half long, but it's chaotic nature and the way it connects simply makes it my favorite track among all in Dead Apple. The homage to Ravel's Daphnes Et Chole is also great but it's presence is as disjointed as the rest of this score... which speaking of...

Unlike Girl Who Summon The Stars, the electronics here were just unbearable and "Dead Apple" (which was the other leitmotif) itself turn out to be just another Zimmer clone that didn't go anywhere. In terms of film score, I prefer Mahouka, but Dead Apple had the more interesting individual pieces.

^That's actually kind of marvelous. I didn't notice it before due to the droning electronics numbing my senses.

I have no biases against electronic music, but when it's done in the bland and merciless modern Zimmer pounding fashion of this soundtrack, it's just unbearable. This may have been a novelty back during the days of Witch Hunter Robin, which came out 15 years ago, but now it's just another RC score. Noragami and Ben-To were also penny pinchers, but the electronica in them was both more interesting and ambitious.

Instead of writing anime and film scores, someone should just commission Iwasaki to create a full-fledged opera. It may be the only way to get him to write a coherent orchestral score at this point.

On a positive note, I stumbled upon this old Hisaishi gem today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klvUH-JWFQA&list=PLqc913d10gTPfGNqRtza37IYFKU2Wyh_t&index=1

The original 1984 symphony version of Nausicaa- where has this been all my life? Up to now I only knew there to be the mostly synth film soundtrack and the symphonic suite. Mind you, there is a bit of good old 80s electronica here and there, but unlike the dated film score, the synth is just icing on the orchestra. That being said, I didn't expect Hisaishi to be quite this competent with an orchestra even as far as back then. It's a cut above all his other 80s work. I think I prefer this version over the other versions of Nausicaa to be honest. Something about it just sounds a lot more raw and powerful than Hisaishi's usual refined style, even if he did take a couple pages from Brahms. And his woodwinds remain as majestic as always.

Ni no Kuni II comes out in a couple weeks. So many recent scores we've hyped over the past year have completely fallen apart against our expectations- I sincerely hope this isn't one of them.

The only one that I consider "fallen apart" is Hi-Evolution. But DESTINY makes it bearable. Dead Apple was always a gamble (although I didn't want to admit it) and in hindsight, I should have just listened to Tango on Iwasaki's love for electronics. But I wonder why bother going a little symphonic in the TV score if you completely abandon that approach in the film except for a little bit of glory... it's the antithesis to Black Butler... and Iwasaki is a nutcase. At least when I combine the good parts from the TV and film score together I get an album that I rate among Iwasaki's best outputs (as an artist).

Speaking of Opera, Sahashi's Anne debuts in August.

@Hisaishi. I also much prefer the original Laputa score over the rerecorded score. But the symphonic suite from last year is not too shabby either.
With NNKII there's enough material online to assure it won't fall apart.

To my taste and ears at least, the scores released recently (I had hopes for): Mazinger, Virgin Soul, Xenoblade 2, Sayonara, No Game No Life Zero, Treasure Island, Kyuranger and others are all winners in my book (a couple of nitpicks at most, my main gripe being the percussion in Treasure Island and to a far lesser extent in Mazinger and NGNL Zero). Dragon Quest, Yamato 2202 (Hiroshi Miyagawa with modern sound) and Tales Of Concert 2017 are other highlights for me. Secret of Mana 25th, Eorzean Symphony, Kemono Friends, Heine, Girl who Summons the Stars, Mario Odyssey, Land of the Lustrous and others turned out to my liking too. Segodon is also to my liking and if more pieces like these (http://picosong.com/wkpdS/) appear, its a winner for sure (Harumi Fuuki also scores the new Piano Forest in spring).

Only Sato disappoints (but still has two chances to turn it around and there are good parts to ease the pain a little) and Iwasaki... doesn't really disappoint if you listened to wiser people... and even then it's not all terrible, the new good pieces complement the original TV score beautifully.

My optimism remains unbroken (I wonder when's my breaking point).

But the biggest pleasant surprise in recent times has to be No Game No Life Zero for me (I expected nothing, from both the film and the music and was completely taken by surprise). Speaking of Fujisawa:




Yoshiaki Fujisawa
GATE: The Day the Defense-Force fought
Tokyo Studio Ensemble (no brass) and Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus



Download (https://mega.nz/#!fJJBiLLR!jDa0yqxQAnwQbc6Dwq4cZmKDu4mXWnCJ4H7P3c7skGc)

Sample (http://picosong.com/wkG4U)

Big thanks for ladatree for sharing the last soundtrack cd, took only two years (damn blu-rays).

This could have been "the big debut" of Fujisawa but thanks to managment issues and some hilarious fuckup there were no brass players in town (the Fujisawa curse). Still, music first, sound second, so I can kind of stomach it if I go into it as a game score from the 2000s, but Wagner and Stravinsky with fake brass... sigh. Every note in here is Fujisawa through and through and many of his devices appear in later scores, culminating in NGNL Zero. I view this more as a demo reel of sorts, remember he only wrote two seasons of Love Live before this, not even the Love Live movie score. Bonus point if you can spot Nightmare before Christmas, and of course no Japanese Hollywood-esque orchestral score without Silvestri.

I still stand by that he needs a Warsaw score in the future. The Zero film gets quite the attention (rightfully so), and how many anime films get a concert only a month after release? Promo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZj5zFruCZA&t=15s). Fujisawa confirmed its a 60-Piece Orchestra: https://twitter.com/ngnl_anime/status/971003808879800320 (maybe without drums this time?) And the soundtrack gets promoted quite excessivly (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWrcKn_ZhLA) too, I hope this will be his breaktrough and his goodbye to fake brass. Speaking of it, the recent episodes of Antartica step it up a bit (http://picosong.com/wkGfG/). He's coming from a good place and has serious aspirations of being an oldschool film composer, like Keiji Inai and Kenichiro Suehiro. They have the potential and I believe they will realize it sooner or later.



And call me crazy but I hear a bit of Wojciech Kilar in the recent episode of Fate: Last Encore. But since the soundtrack is a damn Blu-Ray its far off.

It's a cut above all his other 80s work.I take this back, because I just remembered the Arion suite, which is arguably the best thing he wrote from the 80s. Listening to it all over again makes me even more hyped for NNK II. =)

The new Iwasaki is OK, it is nothing particularly good, but it is still worth seeking out for the two or three good highlight tracks. His two latest scores are two of his weakest ever. I still think Black Cat is his weakest ever score (that score still has one highlight cue that should be on any Iwasaki playlist though).

Iwasaki's four weakest scores:

Black Cat
Qualidea Code
Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple
The Irregular at Magic High School The Movie: The Girl Who Calls the Stars

They are a step above average, but not much more than so. I would still take them over most RCP scores and over much of what Michael Giacchino etc composes, but not over RCP scores at their best obviously - Inception easily beats all four of them. Even Interstellar beats them all. They easily beat things like Lorne Balfe's 12 Stronger for instance though.

Strong possibility that this is Yoko Kanno's next anime: http://carolandtuesday.com/

The director is Kanno's longtime collaborator Shinichiro Watanabe. Flying Dog, Kanno's label for over 20 years, is producing the music. And the website says they are recruiting a fluent English vocalist to sing the songs.

Not scheduled to premiere until April 2019, so I guess we'll see.

Flying Dog (aka Victor Entertainment) is always tied to Watanabe regardless of whichever composer he chooses. Champloo and Space Dandy had almost no involvement with Kanno. Even Kawamori's most recent Macross TV show, also released on Flying Dog, doesn't have a trace of Kanno. And it's very out of character for Kanno to have to recruit competent amateur English vocalists when she can usually fly all over the world and work with real professionals.

I wouldn't mind it being Kanno, but given how distant she's been from the anime scene in the past 5 years (outside of a few J-Pop pieces), I don't have much hope.

Kanno and Watanabe currently work for the same company... so there's that too. And no, it's wouldn't out of character for her to recruit amateur vocalists. She's known for turning amateurs into professionals.

Maaya Sakamoto? 16 years old when she made her debut. AKINO? 15 years old. Megumi Nakajima and May'n? 18 years old. And which label are they all signed to? Flying Dog.

Hope is a beautiful thing, maybe the best of things...

You know, last time I put together a little video for Sayonara, it turned out exactly how I hoped it would sound... so I thought, why not try it again and see if it can become my lucky charm:

Sound of Race Horse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20SACtW3VrM)

Kanno... is not a likelihood...

Assuming it is Kanno, don't expect a grand orchestral score or anything even remotely similar to Naotora. The only time Watanabe has ever done that was with Macross Plus, to which he took a backseat to Kawamori, the guy who usually asks Kanno for that type of music.

Hope is a beautiful thing, maybe the best of things...

You know, last time I put together a little video for Sayonara, it turned out exactly how I hoped it would sound... so I thought, why not try it again and see if it can become my lucky charm:

Sound of Race Horse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20SACtW3VrM)

Where can I download Road to Glory? This cue is fantastic.

Anyone have the official release of GAME SYMPHONY JAPAN 23rd CONCERT ~JAPAN Studio Music Festival 2017 for PlayStation�~? https://vgmdb.net/album/75862 A rip of the concert was posted earlier, but there seem to be a couple new tracks maybe, or at least a rearranged track order, and it may be different in other ways.

Panu Aaltios Superherocomedy score Super Furball has a great theme and lots of nice orchestral cues.kinda like 90s debney, newman.

@cornblitz1


Taro Iwashiro
Road to Glory
Symphonic Suite

(https://mega.nz/#!aBB3xIII!xJXBUmQrapT0ftew2pho8Q1rmoUkNAhgeBD9_xjSj44)

Iwashiro not only writes OPs and Endings but also occasionally symphonic suites, recently Arslan. This one is certainly Hollywoodesque and I also like to post it to all who doubt if Iwashiro can do something more "kinetic".

My reasons for Umamusume getting a similar kind of score (and why I believe my charm will work):

- The show has associations with the JRA (Japanese Racing Association) for which this suite was written (even real life locations).

- I believe they hired Iwashiro because he's a famous Japanese composer who wrote music for "Horse Racing" (and that is a pretty huge deal in Japan, if you notice major anime and game franchises often have ads for the JRA) so they want something similar, otherwise it would be too outlandish to hire Iwashiro for a "cute girls" show, not to mention Iwashiro agreeing to score for it, he just doesn't seem like the type (unless he has a vault of anime figurines at his workplace like Sahashi or Tanaka).

- Cygames is a company that spares no expenses: Rage of Bahamut, Virgin Soul, Granblue Fantasy Orchestra, Full orchestra for trailers (scored to picture)


EDIT: Oh, almost forgot, his most recent project, a symphony for Osamu Tezuka: http://www.promax.co.jp/mangasymphony/interview01.html

INFORMATION

Just wanted to let you know, if you're interested and haven't seen it already, Symphonic Poem Gradius III has just turned up on Nyaa in ludicrously high-bitrate (192k, 32 bit) FLAC - not sure where it comes from but it seems to be geniune FLAC (even if it's a regular 44.1khz digital recording) and I think is the best quality version of this album that's been shared online. (The album itself, meh, some of it is good but Gradius In Classic remains the gold standard as far as the franchise goes...) :)

https://nyaa.si/view/1010453

Also, a good quality version of the No Game, No Life movie score has also been uploaded:

https://nyaa.si/view/1009512

Yasunori Mitsuda and Nintendo Sound Team
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Orchestrated by Yasunori Mitsuda and Mariam Abounnasr / Arranged by Mariam Abounnasr
Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchesta / Bratislava Symphony Choir / Procyon Studio Orchestra / AN�NA Celtic Choir / Procyon Studio Band

-redacted-
This proved worth the download; thank you very much.

[QUOTE=Vinphonic;3750788]@cornblitz1

[CENTER]Taro Iwashiro
Road to Glory
Symphonic Suite

(https://mega.nz/#!aBB3xIII!xJXBUmQrapT0ftew2pho8Q1rmoUkNAhgeBD9_xjSj44)

Thank you, Vin! You are a gentleman and a scholar, and I always said so!

You're welcome :)

@Tango: Thanks for the heads-up, I'll grab it (not really a fan of the drum parts but some delightful orchestra in there).


And look, a new naff Japanese kids (short) film...

http://picosong.com/wYy9K/

Unfortunately, just ten minutes (its part of a soundtrack collection that is not worth the money) and it's also not available digitally :(

Speaking of short films, I wonder if Keiji Inai's Time Driver has a real orchesta (I doubt it).

And look, a new naff Japanese kids (short) film...

WHO IS THAT?

It sounds awfully like Tomoyuki Asakawa at times... :O

[Edit: Akifumi Tada? He's done a lot of Shimajiro stuff in the past...]


Gradius III

It's funny... it's a crummy recording, barely half an orchestra, and every other track is drowning in really dated overdubbed percussion... and yet I'd take it over pretty much any of the "Tokyo Philharmonic plays music from Some Shitty Franchise" albums we've had in recent years...

If someone has some money to spare, or if you can somewhere purchase the tracks individually, we might find out.

Regarding Gradius III, I have different taste... I don't miss the period when "Symphonic Poems" were just frustrating to listen to because its starts wonderfully, like the title would imply and then bam, here comes the disco/dated drums (TV scores of that era on the other hand...). For the most part I really like/love the recent Tokyo albums. I'm a sucker for melodies so throw in a little Goldsmith and Vaughan Williams and various other classical clothing and I'm a fan. Speaking of the Tokyo Philharmonic, something to make me laugh (and others cry):




Hirofumi Kurita conducts the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus
Miku Symphony 2017
Daisuke Ehara, Souhei Kano, Ayana Tsujita et al



DOWNLOAD (https://mega.nz/#!KQJyWDjA!d1xPSURQGrjzV1chJr6r3ndKx6JJ7xuARyu1jAn4yTc)

SAMPLE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gc9LCSWBGw)

To my amusement (and perhaps Tango's despair) every major artist who worked on Fractale now worked on Miku Symphony :D

This is orchestral pop but it sure is damn good orchestral pop! I edited it a bit and taken out the cheesiest parts and made the whole album flow better and properly separated tracks that should stand alone. I will of course update to FLAC eventually. The second half of this album is when things get quite good.

In recent Game concert fashion, this is night and day from the 2016 version. It is just better in every possible way. It's properly mixed this time and you just feel the players take it seriously (within the realms of a Miku Miku Dance concert with an orchestra). It just sounds and feels like people took extra effort this time, from arrangement to presentation (even bow and tie of the musicians have matching colors), just like with the recent Tales and Monster Hunter concerts. Some songs on this album even rival Tales 2017. Souhei Kano and Daisuke Ehara deliver again some sublime pieces (for orchestral pop) and even a full chorus is present this time for a couple of songs. And this time the Vocaloid stuff is properly integrated and doesn't sound tagged on like in the first concert. It's not Symphony Ihatov but it never gives any false assumptions what its about.

I enjoyed it a great deal. If this is the worst and bottom of the barrel the uprising Anime and Games concert culture has to offer, I'll continue to be a fan of this movement ;) Countless concerts are now announced and held with more and more anime concerts joining in the fray, even Miku Symohony will be an annual afair by the looks of it, same for Girls und Panzer concerts and music from Playstation games. To top it off, most stuff these days also gets properly released (in Hi-Res). On that note I wonder when the Shadow of the Colossus concert gets out...



And look, another Japanese RPG, another symphonic score (Mitsuda sure is busy these days): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_tLfhXO5as&t=52m13s
And here's a short preview of Ares (spring will save): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gWKVDpRPTk

EDIT: Added FLAC and scans

I just can't listen to that garbage, I'm sorry... I actually find it fundamentally offensive that it exists. I know you love it, but to me it's the musical equivalent of forcing Beethoven to dress as a clown and clean toilets. Just seven years ago, Fractale came out of nowhere - and its composer hasn't scored a single thing since, and now scrapes a living doing orchestration for trash like this.

Nice that Mitsuda is getting all these projects... but again, I'm forced to recognise that Mitsuda is composer who is possibly the least-deserving of an orchestra. Inazuma Eleven needs another series like The Simpsons needs another series; and the score is going to be more of exactly the same, only not really - as consistently the best stuff in Inazuma Eleven was by Natsumi Kameoka and she's now virtually disappeared, too - her solo composing career, which started so promisingly, completely failed to materialise and now, like almost every genuinely skilled orchestral composer in Japan who hasn't outright retired or de-facto retired, she primarily provides orchestrations of tired themes from dead-horse franchises by inferior composers, and is never allowed to soar.

If Kameoka had started working around the late 1980s, she would've had a dozen Warsaw scores under her belt by now and you know it.

Oh, well...

WHO IS THAT?

It sounds awfully like Tomoyuki Asakawa at times... :O
It is Shingo Nishimura. A 31-year-old composer hired by IMAGINE (http://imagine-music.co.jp/artist/nishimura/) in 2014. Up until now he's mostly done concert arrangements (Girls und Panzer, Miku Symphony, KanColle, etc.)... but now he makes his composer debut.

Coincidentally, Asakawa was the first thing I thought of too. It's nice to hear some old-fashioned orchestration.

WOW, turns out my Miku post is also quite the coincidence and oh wow, he also did Priconne?! I honest to god thought it was Tanaka without a doubt from the gameplay. He has serious chops!!!!

He lists John Williams as his greatest influence, and more than Asakawa, that's who I thought of, that dramatic language I was quite familiar with. And of course he's a brass player.
He's also on various social media platforms and (of course) friends with our favorites.


EDIT: What a week! Tamiya Terashima returns out of nowhere with a symphonic score for a novel, something that has not happened in decades (or I missed something): https://www.amazon.co.jp/Various-Artists/dp/B078Y6ZWPQ