Ulysses is fantastic. I can't believe it. More thoughts to follow.

Also, is it just me, or does part of it sound like it was recorded in a concert hall?

https://picosong.com/wgmU9/

space battleship tiramisu? whats next?? gundam force cappuccino overdrive alpha 2149? lasagna opera infernalis? the girl who summoned peanut butter?

this comes out tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMB0HtME9gY

space battleship tiramisu? whats next?? gundam force cappuccino overdrive alpha 2149? lasagna opera infernalis? the girl who summoned peanut butter?

Neon Genesis Evangelatin

This might be an odd question, but what are some examples of music that you think that the scores for the recent DC Comics live action movies ("Man of Steel", "Batman v. Superman", "Wonder Woman", "Suicide Squad", "Justice League", and "Aquaman") should have sounded like? All of them except "Justice League" sound more or less Zimmerish, and most of the themes are bland.

I'm particularly interested in examples of what you think "Wonder Woman" and "Aquaman" should have sounded like, and also what pieces of music resemble what you think would have made ideal character themes for them.

I have to say I think SSS.GRIDMAN is the first one by Sagisu and Amano where I don't skip one over the other.


this comes out tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMB0HtME9gY
Sounds awesome though I haven't really had much experience with Kaoru Wada.

space battleship tiramisu? whats next?? gundam force cappuccino overdrive alpha 2149? lasagna opera infernalis? the girl who summoned peanut butter?

Narutoast
Princess Mononocake
Psycho-Passtry
Black Butlerscotch pudding
Code Geass Cream





I won't share anything else from Dec, 19 because even I can't buy everything (there's like a dozen all at once, who can even buy them anyway?!)

https://66.media.tumblr.com/5c975b28495e8524499eeb9cf9297255/tumblr_p76z0heVxD1uhe17yo1_540.gif

WHY, OH WHY??? Why are you doing this to us?! I thought I knew you, but this is so wrong!!

I'm sure someone as resourceful as you has a lot to post and RE-post anyway. ;)

To be short on brand new material is also a good opportunity to re-explore older material, and for instance make thematic compilations - how about one for Xmas? This would be quite �-propos!




Beechcott: very interesting question (and not odd at all). Coming back to you later on this.




And as usual, thanks for the new shares, guys!

I'm listening to the massively underrated, and nearly forgotten, fantasy soundtrack of Elemental Gearbolt, composed by Kei Wakakusa. It was one of the very few PS1 games to use a live orchestra for its music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER3XZagihvg

Neon Genesis Evangelatin

then it should have been space battleship tomato

@Zipper: How strange that Iwasaki mentioned an orchestra and there are a few pieces that suggest a hall recording but nothing on the soundtrack...
It's not orchestral but I sense more "pure" Iwasaki in this than in other works. I doubt whatever he recorded is for City Hunter, but it wouldn't be the first time to use some outtakes from other sessions as soundtrack for a different show (Black Bullet).


Fine, since Wakakusa is mentioned, a question how Aquaman should sound like, and a resourceful answer is needed, I thought why not have them all at once:



Kei Wakakusa
Godmars



Download (https://mega.nz/#!m6wGiS4L!UCQPs-bYZMENrg78vtbobkGCHhdXw2BddkP-UMhKZXM)

A little gem from a decade when the Japanese orchestra had a very specific sound. One of his best scores, and it shares some similarities with Elemental Gearbolt, which is a gem of a game score.




@arthierr: I may have something planned. It's perhaps the most poignant I will ever share and it has not all to do with music.

Over half of the Ulysses is using either a chamber ensemble or a full ensemble of woodwinds (without electronics- a rarity for Iwasaki), so I think it's rather disingenuous to say that it's "not orchestral". By that standard there are very few Iwasaki soundtracks that would even count as "orchestral" because rarely does he ever have all 3 parts of an orchestra (strings, brass, winds) at his disposal, and rarely does he use them all at once in the same piece. Even Binchou-Tan had no brass. The portions consisting of the Wonder Woman riffs, yeah I can pass on that. But Iwasaki's jump into full impressionist style a-la Saint Saens and Debussy makes this one of the best soundtracks of the year as far as I'm concerned. Fitting for an anime about France.

Also, the big concert hall recording he had earlier this year was for a film that was meant to be released in China, but ended up being delayed indefinitely after its female star went into hiding for tax evasion. So no soundtrack release at all yet for it. Some of the concert hall-sounding pieces in Ulysses might have been outtakes from that, but I'm not sure because those cues sound specifically tailored (all woodwinds) to match the rest of this soundtrack.


If anything I'm actually rather disappointed with Gridman. The orchestral pieces only make up about 40% of the soundtrack, and a good chunk of them are just variations of the main theme.

I think you may have misunderstood me here, its not using an orchestra (like I thought it would have and perhaps Iwasaki would find new love for it), but I love it regardless since it dives so much into french territory, even experimental arthouse sound. This is pure Iwasaki, uncompromised and doing what he loves to do.

As for Gridman, well its a single-cour show. 30~60 minutes of orchestral score is normal. With hope it gets a sequel or movie but regardless, the score is not repetitive just because its only leitmotif driven. Listen to 1801 B-Type, that is some serious music!

I don't think it's so much lack of desire for a full orchestra as it is the other usual culprit- lack of funds. From what I hear this a string quartet and chamber woodwind ensemble, maybe with a trumpet thrown in. And yes, Gridman has great music. But just making variations of one theme is not enough for me to count that as being "leitmotif-driven".

Also Jojo part 5 came out yesterday as well and I can say for sure that Yugo Kanno just does not care anymore.

I hope it was just funds and not "I would rather be strangled than use an orchestra (lol)".

I think Grancrest has its moments but like I said, a little timeout or just 1-3 projects a year would do wonders for Kanno: https://picosong.com/wguZy/

Ulysses is not orchestral. Just a fact. I would go as far as to say that Iwasaki's only ever written one score that could be reasonably described as "orchestral" and that's Agito - but he usually uses an orchestra to one extent or another in each score. This one takes a different path - one I rather like.

There's some of the most interesting (and sumptuously lovely) chamber music written in recent years in this score. Like all Iwasaki, a mixed bag to be sure... but the quality in there is beyond anything. It's not just a pastiche of the great French impressionists - it's Iwasaki through and through. It succeeds where Taku #2's aurally magnificent but ultimately uninteresting Yuri On Ice failed.

Gridman is not leitmotif driven; it's endless variations on the main theme, but that's a valid method of scoring... it's not as emotionally satisfying as a fully leitmotivic score, but imagine how difficult is to get such things into episodic television. How can you write a leitmotivic score when you know your score is going to get edited into random places, chopped around, edited, and moved? You can't, you don't even try. You write a good main theme and built the score around that. Unless you get to score every scene to picture that's the best you can do, really. Gridman is 25 minutes of orchestral Warsaw, and another four of pretty good Sagisu-in-London-with-English-Choir mode. It's exactly the proportions we've come to expect; for Warsaw scores, one-cour shows get 25-30 minutes of orchestral music, two-cour shows get around 60, two-or-more-cour shows get 60+. It's repetitive as hell, though - you can't get away from that.

It's not quite up there with Magi... but it works for me. Matsuo's Drifters remains the best score of this length, but it's a good, solid effort and it makes me think that Sagisu and Amano still care. I love Amano's subtle dissonances in the main march theme... and the not-at-all subtle dissonances in Interlude 5/4 from 1144 - it's mostly orchestral effects, but I've missed that kind of scoring... there's nothing quite as in-your-face.

Yes, it's all Giant Robo with a different theme, but this is 2018 and not under any misconceptions... this is extremely good for 2018 and I'll happily take it with a smile.

Ishige's Tiramisu... jury's out, it goes into orchestrated J-pop territory sometimes and the over-percussive tendencies of the 21st century do some in... but then there's cues like "Emergence Of Threats" and "Inlandosphere Rush" - grown-up, sci-fi cues that could take the easy way out (bang bang bangity bang, slammity slammity slam) but instead go for old-fashioned orchestral might. The orchestral score is short, but what there is makes me very happy. They didn't have to put this sort of music in that dumb-shit show... but they did.


Code Geass Cream

I would watch that show in a heartbeat. Probably because it sounds like an embarassingly expensive OVA that Masamichi Amano would've scored in the 1980s. ;)

Come to think of it, I'd watch all of them.

Takanori Arisawa, Akiko Kosaka & VA
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Classic Concert [2018]
The Tokyo Philharmonic and the Kansai Philharmonic, conducted by Yuri Nitta
Arranged by Kazunori Miyake, Toshiaki Otsubo, Hideaki Haginomori, Tomomi Yoshizawa, Jun Nagao and Miho Hazama




I will punish you in the name of the Moon if you listen to this! (https://picosong.com/wgJKU/)
Download (https://mega.nz/#!Sqp2BKzZ!SZCpG13sQ_xbT4RuQg2i9KCW2xj2wSkB0rrNTONxFgE)


Two sides, double the fun. An hour of classical concert, an hour of classic pop, the best of both world. The most fun you will have with an orchestra concert this year. The very last track on Side A will make you see pink rainbows. I'm seeing them anyway. Indulge!

this comes out tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMB0HtME9gY

I think I hear some Record of Lodoss War in there. Wada's adventure style is pretty straight-forward. Most of the time it's his slow love themes that really steal the show.


I'm listening to the massively underrated, and nearly forgotten, fantasy soundtrack of Elemental Gearbolt, composed by Kei Wakakusa. It was one of the very few PS1 games to use a live orchestra for its music.

Bonus points if you can spot the really random reference to John Williams's Hook. There are more references in there but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

this comes out tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMB0HtME9gY


Interesting seeing Wada-san with electric guitars recently

Smilegate has finally made available the beautiful Lost Ark soundtrack, but I don't read Korean and I have no idea how to download it. Can anyone help? Here is the link: http://lostark.game.onstove.com/OST

OK, reddit was my friend. But strange that the Brian Tyler cues don't seem to be included. Still, really great to have this in uncompressed quality finally.

So, I am wondering how everyone feels about how repetitive Gridman was. Half of it was the same thing with some slight variations. Granted, the half we had was good...but I definitely dissapointed. When you get an hour of music, you don't expect 30 minutes repeated twice over.

I think the thing with Gridman is that half the show is silence and that there isn’t much music to begin with. Sometimes they only play music cues for a minute a most.

Then only include 30 minutes of music. People aren't dumb. They know when they have listened to the same thing twice.

From what I hear this a string quartet and chamber woodwind ensemble, maybe with a trumpet thrown in.Looks like I wasn't far off:


Piano, Synthesizer & Computer: Taku Iwasaki
Piano: Yukari Arai
Acoustic & Electric Violin: Hitoshi Konno
Violin: Naomi Urushibara
Viola: Masaki Shono
Acoustic & Electric Cello: Seigen Tokuzawa
Electric Guitar: Tsuneo Imahori
Flute: Jun-ichiro Taku
Soprano Alto & Tenor Saxophone: Hiroyuki Matsui
Soprano Saxophone: Takamasa Matsubara
Alto Saxophone: Yuta Taguchi
Baritone Saxophone: Ryota Higashi
Acoustic Electric & Cornet Violin: Keisuke Ohta
Zurna: Satoshi Shoji
Trumpet: Kenichi Tsujimoto, Cheonho Yoon
Vocal: Nahoko Kakiage, Dougen Kubota
What a coincidence that the saxaphone quintet from Ben-To was posted a page ago, and now Iwasaki uses it again for Ulysses. I thought they were clarinets on first listen too. I've never heard another composer use saxophones quite in this manner.


I would go as far as to say that Iwasaki's only ever written one score that could be reasonably described as "orchestral" and that's Agito - but he usually uses an orchestra to one extent or another in each score. If by "orchestral", you mean using a full symphony orchestra recorded in one location, then that's unquestionably true. Iwasaki doesn't seem interested in going to Warsaw or Moscow, and we all know how unhappy he was with the Warsaw performance and conducting. But as far as I'm concerned, for Ulysses, the orchestra (albeit a chamber one) is front and center as the main focus rather than being a background noise or obscured by electronics. That is why I refer to it as "orchestral"- the focus is on the orchestra, small as it may be. When was the last time anyone could say that about an Iwasaki score? Besides, even Agito had quite a few pieces with synth and electronic percussion in them, not to mention half the orchestral pieces not even being recorded at Warsaw.





So, I am wondering how everyone feels about how repetitive Gridman was. Half of it was the same thing with some slight variations. Granted, the half we had was good...but I definitely dissapointed. When you get an hour of music, you don't expect 30 minutes repeated twice over.Yeah, we already starting talking about this a few posts above yours, but I'm also personally not a fan. Half an hour is not a lot of time, but using roughly 20 minutes out of it solely for minor variations of the main theme isn't enough to blow my mind. It would have been better if Amano was reusing the theme in a different manner, like a "love" or "sorrow" arrangement, but each variation on album is just another bombastic march. And playing explosive heroic marches one after another, nevermind using the same theme, are tiring to listen to. I don't think this is all the music from the show though, chances are there will be another soundtrack enclosed in the blu-rays, and hopefully that will make it a more comprehensive listen.

Gridman is a Monster of the Week approach and they asked for music ONLY for the monster scenes (because the orchestral score only appears in the brawls). You have a Main Theme, a theme for the Hero and one for the Monster. I don't think they could or wanted to fit a love theme/variation in there when there's no love scene in the show and the music is only used for fights? It's a Kaiju Scene tribute, like his Silver Jaguar, that's how its scored.

Magi was more broader in scope and variation because they asked for "1001 Arabian Nights Adventure" and it was two seasons. Berserk called for a "love theme" and many more so it had one.

I don't care about repeats if the music is great and it is. Each cues develops and is concertesque, has first-class variations, and its only 27 minutes, it cant get boring. Not to mention it has such good themes it doesn't bother me one bit, 1801 C-Type being the standout (I'm a sucker for how the horns are used by Amano, nothing quite like a Brass-Band nut let loose on a world-class symphony orchestra). We are not talking about a modern score with four-note repeated Ostinati for three minutes were MAYBE the horn line changes and definitely the volume of the drum increases, we're talking about concert-grade first-class classical film music (with amazing production and performance values).



But back to my favorite concert of the year, the more I listen to the symphony side of the Sailor Moon Concert, the more amazing it gets, is basically a full-fleshed symphonic album and a Vol. 2 to Watanabe's Album.

A Maiden's Policy (Watanabe) (https://picosong.com/wg6NS/)

A Maiden's Policy (2018 Concert) (https://picosong.com/wg6A7/) The Mussorgski is strong in this one. Jupiter in HEART MOVING is another obvious one.

If anyone wants to make it a full-fleshed symphonic album, here's the action climax with the (endearing) Voice Cast removed and a little extra: Wandering Stars (https://picosong.com/wg6KA/)
The only thing giving it away its a concert and not an album is the audience in Moon Revenge.

Now I hope the Macross Frontier Concert gets out soon.

EDIT: Oh.... and she is the only one missing now... then the entire 90s brigade would be fully assembled: Already sounds like Popolocrois (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBp2oDxb4bc)

Ko Otani, back on the anime scene after 5 years of quiet? Whatever spirit decided to revive Sahashi must have been feeling extra generous.

WARNING: Old tango wall of text ahead - going off on a tangent, getting off topic, stream of consciousness, randomness... ;)

Agree; we need better terminology. I would've gone with "Acoustic" except that now carries connotations of 25 year-old men in cloth caps who sound like they're dying of consumption playing wispy trash on the guitar!

To me, for a score to be "orchestral" (taking it as a whole; if a score has 100 cues and 99 of them are electro-pop and there's a three minute orchestral cue at the end, you really can't call the score orchestral) it has to feature, at the most basic level, the instruments of a standard "orchestra" playing together. As a bonus, I would like the orchestra to play at least a few cues "solo" (without electronics, drumkits, electric guitars, or God-knows-what-else) but that's a bit of a reach.

They don't have to all be recorded all at once (though the sound and performance is always better when they do) but they do need to be present, playing for a reasonable proportion of the score, and . It can be a shit score, and the orchestra can be woefully underutilized, but if there's an orchestra playing in there it's orchestral.

TL;DR - if there's an orchestra playing in a reasonable quantity of the score it's orchestral.

(Add to that, 99% of Jerry Goldsmith's scores are easy to consider orchestral and almost all of them are drowning in electronics.)

The word "hybrid" comes up a lot in this thread... I think it's overused. "Tron" by Wendy Carlos is a real hybrid score; it's an orchestral, symphonic, leitmotivic score, and it's an electronic, symphonic, leitmotivic score - both at the same time. It isn't an electronic score and an orchestral score that live apart. It isn't an orchestral score peppered with electronics, or an electronic score peppered with orchestra - it's a full-on hybrid; a unique melding of traditional and electronic instruments into a cohesive, well-written whole. A lot of this recent Japanese stuff which flits backwards and forwards between rock, pop, jazz, electronica, orchesta, opera, chamber, and impressionism... well, it's very impressive on the part of the composer to be able to work in so many different styles, but it's no hybrid - it's a jumble of disparate elements shoved together under the same "label". Yoko Kanno's old scores were interesting because the orchestral score was "complete" and almost independent from the rest. You can pull out the orchestral tracks on Escaflowne, Turn A Gundam, Brain Powerd, etc - and get a variety of themes, a diversity of moods, and a very satisfying listening experience. They work like little symphonies. It's like Kanno treated the orchestral score "on its own" as an oratorio of sorts, and then wrote a stack of other genre-bending stuff to go alongside it.

In a way, it was almost custom-built for an orchestral "purist" like me - to be able to kick out every non-Warsaw track and not feel like there's some missing from the musical jigsaw puzzle.

That's what I really loved about Matsuo's Drifters. A two-CD album full of shit, but sprinkled throughout a dozen symphonic gems which provide an exceptionally good symphonic "suite".

This is why I can't get into something like Gravity Daze. It's LUDICROUSLY good fun, it's Tanaka just running around having a whale of a time... but it's just too disparate, too schizophrenic, too flighty, for me to get my "I like symphonies" mentality around. That, and, even on CD its origins as a game score designed specifically to loop are very obvious, so there's not even much satisfaction to be found on a cue-to-cue basis. There are a few that are great, but not enough for me to enjoy the whole. Extensive editing to glue on fake endings and edit away repetitive loops helps a little, but it's a structural thing. I don't hold it against Tanaka - some game scores are not-so-great game scores and awesome listens on album (Ni No Kuni, Nessa No Hoshi) and some are like Gravity Daze, the opposite.


Vinphonic's Sailor Moon upload

Vin, what the hell is this shit? Why are you posting...

*listens*

Uh... OK, this is really, really good.

REALLY GOOD.

Unsurprisingly, I like the first disc a whole lot more than the second... but this is probably my favourite of the year... and I say this as someone who has no real Sailor Moon nostalgia although I am familiar with the original themes. I'm taking this as a purely musical experience, and it's really doing it for me. The arrangements are imaginative, the music is really good. This is both a great Sailor Moon concert and a great musical experience.

Thank you!

Is there any way of knowing who arranged what? I'm really surprised to see Kazunori Miyake's name in there. He's been pretty quiet in recent years...


Gridman

Hmm, I'm actually kinda souring on this a bit. I really wanted to love it, and I still respect it a lot... but the more I listen the more I become aware that there's about 10 minutes of actual musical substance in the Warsaw sessions and the rest is rinse and repeat. It's rollocking good music, and Amano's orchestrations are ON FIRE, so much so that on the first few listens it doesn't really dawn on you what you're hearing... but once you get more familiar it does really fall apart. This is no leitmotivic score. It's far from Sagisu/Amano's best. It's a good listen, but it's only really making me thirsty for Giant Robo and Magi - or other Amano solo efforts like Super Atragon; where he got to do basically what he's doing in Gridman, but ten times better and for ten times longer.

Finally... What the hell is Sagisu doing? Do they really send him to London to record FOUR MINUTES of music? Are they serious? Which staff member thinks that is a good use of budget, but only forks out for 24 minutes of Warsaw? Track 8 is the only cue performed by the London orchestra. If they genuinely didn't record anything else at that session, that single cue probably cost about �20,000 (factoring in flights, accommodation, studio time, musicians, staff, translators, food and drink while in London, etc) and took a week to record. This does not compute...

Told ya you will love it :D

The arranger credits are not yet listed (maybe when my cd arrives) but I strongly suspect Jun Nagao arranged track 14. More and more old faces seem to pop up recently.

Sagisu shared a few other vids from Abbey Road and he has quite a few projects in the works, of course EVA 4 being the most obvious choice.



@Zipper: Ah, your onto something here actually... but I can't spoil it yet... not yet...



Yutaka Yamada
Symphonic Suites from Tokyo Ghoul



Sample (https://picosong.com/wgQxU/)
Download (https://mega.nz/#!n3xTxCJR!G9ilxTo1avYN9zWCNuuT-_rmz_3oo4lFk8HvuX8peYw)

What's this? Another concert work on an anime soundtrack?... why am I not surprised! ;)

This one's quite a stunner.

You happy now arthy? I was gonna lay low but you drag me back in. Oh well, people seem to like it.




AND thanks cornblitz for Lost Ark, quite a stunner. The first track makes me want to listen to JNH's Peter Pan for some reason...

Yamada works with Hirano sometimes, doesn't he?

It seriously shows...

Happy Winter Solstice everyone!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV0Aws8TGx4#t=18m58s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUbspc3BEXE

according to vgmdb, the orchestrator of tokyo ghoul is a viola player named Yurie Minakata. she has a soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-699141791

Yamada works with Hirano sometimes, doesn't he?Did he? The only connection I see between the two is that Hirano worked on Death Note TV while Yamada worked on one of the Death Note movies (with the rest by Kenji Kawai). If anything, Yamada is closely connected to Toshiyuki Watanabe since he was his student.

It's also worth noting that Tokyo Ghoul was recorded in LA, where Yamada lives.

Yamada works with Hirano sometimes, doesn't he?
It seriously shows...
No that’s Yutaka Shinya his programmer.


Did he? The only connection I see between the two is that Hirano worked on Death Note TV while Yamada worked on one of the Death Note movies (with the rest by Kenji Kawai). If anything, Yamada is closely connected to Toshiyuki Watanabe since he was his student.
It's also worth noting that Tokyo Ghoul was recorded in LA, where Yamada lives.

He mostly works by himself though he has done some stuff with other people like “HUNTER, Boku no Ita Jikan, Water Polo Yankees, Everyone’s Getting Married” Same class as Takashi Ohmama & Akihiro Manabe, what a year that was.
Speaking of HERO, the year is 2011, you win a contest, New to the game and you come out with a banger like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebh5hRttfHk

according to vgmdb, the orchestrator of tokyo ghoul is a viola player named Yurie Minakata. she has a soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-699141791



*See possibly cute gal in picture*

*Search her name in google images*

*Fall in love*

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/FirmTameIvorybackedwoodswallow-small.gif




https://static.wixstatic.com/media/09e99f_4f1bd841a183447a81ac3bcac2740d5e~mv2_d_3456 _2304_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_501,h_335,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/09e99f_4f1bd841a183447a81ac3bcac2740d5e~mv2_d_3456 _2304_s_2.jpg

This might be fairly old news for this thread (which is pretty likely, considering I've only been around for 2 of the 10 years it's existed), but I found out a couple of days ago that Alan Silvestri was originally planned to do the background score for Disney's Tarzan* thanks to an article from the endlessly interesting Cartoon Research website. (http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animation-anecdotes-394/)

*Mark Mancina was the composer responsible for the score in the final film.

I had no idea that he was pegged to do it, and I'm curious to know what must have happened to necessitate a change in composer. I can't seem to find anything beyond an internet blog post from 1997 looking forward to it and a FSM thread from 2006, but maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. If anyone could help me there, that would be pretty cool. In the meantime, the article quotes Silvestri from a Hollywood Reporter article from November of '97, which might be of some interest to people who are interested in the philosophy he took towards the job at the time:


“I need to work harder than I would on a live-action feature. You do not write down for animation. As a matter of fact, the music needs to be as emotionally powerful as it can be, because even more so than with live action, music is casting a spell. If you break that spell, you’re betraying the audience, and instead of a wonderful piece of storytelling unfolding on a screen, suddenly you’ve got 650 strangers sitting in a dark room. Music is a huge part of the illusion in animation.

Tarzan is absolutely as satisfying a project as any I could have taken on. The greatest challenge in scoring feature animation is that the music must be playful enough to accompany comic action while maintaining enough emotional depth to help power the story along. When you are looking at creatures that can do physically impossible things, you have the opportunity to do some unique things musically. But sometimes you have to resist the urge, because ultimately you want an audience to really care about the characters and their stories. You don’t want to play into the cartooniness as much as you want to push the drama.”

No that’s Yutaka Shinya his programmer.

Oh! Thank you!

I tried to look him up on VGMDB when I wrote that post but "Page cannot be displayed" - Shinya it is. Yamada instantly becomes one to watch. :D

This might be fairly old news for this thread (which is pretty likely, considering I've only been around for 2 of the 10 years it's existed), but I found out a couple of days ago that Alan Silvestri was originally planned to do the background score for Disney's Tarzan* thanks to an article from the endlessly interesting Cartoon Research website. (http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animation-anecdotes-394/)

*Mark Mancina was the composer responsible for the score in the final film.

I had no idea that he was pegged to do it, and I'm curious to know what must have happened to necessitate a change in composer. I can't seem to find anything beyond an internet blog post from 1997 looking forward to it and a FSM thread from 2006, but maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. If anyone could help me there, that would be pretty cool. In the meantime, the article quotes Silvestri from a Hollywood Reporter article from November of '97, which might be of some interest to people who are interested in the philosophy he took towards the job at the time:

After you wrote this, I'm also became interested about it.

First I found only the same sources, that you already mentioned, but then I found a book about Film Scoring - "On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring", and there's an article about temp tracks and all that goes with it.

After reading of it, I think the reason of Silvestri's replacing is related with using of temp tracks, but my English is not good so here: i give you link on this article to read. (https://books.google.ru/books?id=jidSt91Y2KsC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=alan+silvestri+tarzan&source=bl&ots=bBuG8_eO6f&sig=iDeu8FFQVP3l3byV9TXJzdjabeM&hl=ru&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiuv6Om3rHfAhV9AxAIHQ92A0Y4ChDoATADegQIB xAB#v=onepage&q=alan%20silvestri%20tarzan&f=false)

Hope it helps with your question.

That book doesn't connect Tarzan to Silvestri necessarily - first Mancina talks about his experience with temp tracks on Tarzan, and then in the next paragraph Silvestri talks about temp tracks in general. But it's possible Mancina names Silvestri specifically as someone who "doesn't give a damn" about temps because that's what he was told was the problem when he was hired on Tarzan! (But then he says he himself had nothing to adhere to for the movie, so maybe not.)
Whatever the reason it was at least an amicable split; Silvestri worked with Disney again a few years later on Lilo & Stitch.

Oh, now I see. Well, it's my bad, thank you for explaining.

Silvestri would've been a fair bet around the time of Tarzan, and whilst that book doesn't connect Silvestri with Tarzan (it is bringing up different composers' experience with temp tracks - and, in fact, Mancina specifically relates that he had no temp track to follow in Tarzan) the article FrDougal posted does.

As for why he was on the movie and then off it, well, it's anybody's guess. The "Hollywood Reporter" article that connects Silvestri with Tarzan was from November 1997, and the movie was released in June 1999. Eighteen months is a lifetime in Hollywood years. The direction of the film may have changed to the extent that Silvestri was no longer interested. Silvestri may have been unable to score it due to scheduling conflicts. Production staff may have changed since Silvestri was hired and somebody wanted Mancina so they told Silvestri to sod off. Perhaps it just wasn't working out so he quit the project with mutual agreement. Perhaps somebody on the production hated him and he got canned because of that. This stuff is happening in Hollywood all the time; less so, now, since every composer is effectively interchangeable and every score sounds exactly like the one before it, but it was no scandal at the time. Almost every composer has a rejected score or two in their portfolio, and probably have a dozen different projects that they were at one stage attached to but ultimately somebody else got the gig for whatever reason. (Of course, the most recent example would be John Williams on Ready Player One, but the film ended up scored by Silvestri because it was delayed and delayed and by the time it came around to scoring, Williams was up to his neck in work - so he decided which film he wanted to work on and which one he'd drop.)

Tis a fascinating subject to be sure, but I personally don't read anything into the article. Silvestri has his way of working, and so does everybody else. Production staff on a movie fluctuate. It doesn't matter who's announced. The only time it's reasonably sure who's scoring a movie is when the movie is there in the cinema and you see the composer's name scroll past in the credits. Anything else, well, it's up for negotiation. :)

(The famous story of 2001 seems relevant; Kubrick hired Alex North, flew him to London, filled his hotel room with luxuries and equipment, and North wrote the score and recorded it with a large orchestra. North showed up at the premiere, relaxed into his seat expecting to see his name on the screen and hear his score and... not a note of was in the film. North later theorised (probably correctly) that Kubrick always intended to use his choice of classical music in the film, and hired him purely to go through the motions, keep up appearances with studio executives, and keep them off his back during production. Anything - ANYTHING - is possible.)

One of the craziest composer turnarounds I've heard about was on Interview With the Vampire in 1994: George Fenton finished recording his to-be-replaced score in the morning and Elliot Goldenthal began recording his that very afternoon. I guess Fenton's sessions were already booked so they figured, 'why not.' That's just how quickly (and erratically) the wheels of Hollywood turn, I guess.

Wow, I didn't know about THAT!

Fenton's score ended up as a rather lovely symphonic poem called Le Vampire - so at least we got to hear his score... His approach and Goldenthal's are about as far apart as it possible to be... but I love both dearly. :)

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

I've been listening to Bumblebee by Marianelli. It is of course partially an attempt to sound like Jablonsky but it also has some interesting orchestral colors of the sorts that I would only expect to hear from one like Marianelli. There is a nice somber theme that makes an appearance a few times and feels like something out of his more intimate scores. It isn't a masterpiece by any stretch but it is a solid attempt.

Goldenthal will be back. He just went to the store to get cigarettes.

Innnnnnnnnnteresting! I seem to recall this being recorded in Hungary, but I don't think we know who wrote it yet, do we?


Goldenthal

Hard to believe this... https://youtu.be/CgFvMYHfD9Q

...was almost twenty years ago... :(

Every time I listen to Final Fantasy again I forget how nuts he went with the brass (a lot of which didn't make the final cut unfortunately). Part of which is because he capitalized on recording with the LSO, which I doubt he'll have the opportunity to do again outside of a Hollywood project (which he's indicated disinterest in getting back into). But he seems perfectly happy with where he is and what he's doing today.

Innnnnnnnnnteresting! I seem to recall this being recorded in Hungary, but I don't think we know who wrote it yet, do we?
hmm.... https://twitter.com/bandainamcoeu/status/1034109066417786881

ENHANCE!



well i can't quite make it out but it's definitely not a japanese name

The more important question, will it reference or have arrangements from themes from the series like Super Robot Wars, that would be dope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhUpoNyDf10

But I suspect it will be like Smash Ultimate and the orchestra is used for key moments and the rest is synth.

Ah, interesting!

I found a better quality version of that video.



Composer is "Azima / Zinger" and orchestrator is Paul D Taylor.

Arima is likely to be Takanori Arima, who was a composer on Super Robot Wars V and a few Gundam shows.

"Zinger" is unclear.

Paul D Taylor is a semi-well known orchestrator who has worked mostly on (not very good) game scores...

the "zinger" must be this guy: http://zaczinger.com/about/

and i thought taylor's orchestrations for MHW were alright

To be short on brand new material is also a good opportunity to re-explore older material, and for instance make thematic compilations - how about one for Xmas? This would be quite �-propos!


Ko Otani, back on the anime scene after 5 years of quiet? Whatever spirit decided to revive Sahashi must have been feeling extra generous.

Before enjoying your holidays to the fullest, I have something to take with you, an early christmas present if you will:



Heisei Tribute: Anime and Games Symphony
The End of an Era, the Beginning of a new Age



Take my most poignant share of the year (https://mega.nz/#!aOQlyKwa!CvLkqWBinjEg_yyDXvaBvJMRs8G5_bw6mRJ2ree5pIY)

"To describe our new era, if you say it in one word, it would be “good future”. Now we have to make the effort and live and plant the seeds for future generations to live through days of excitement. If you have a future for children to come, we should do what we can do with responsibility to inspire their hearts and be the best we can be. I think that my piece for next year “to the new era” goes up with such hope. I wrote it with a sense of euphoria, hope and expectation, a brilliant and magnificent piece that is a tribute to the new era of Japan, hope and expectation, as well as a tribute to the age we leave behind."

TO A NEW ERA (A gift from a dear friend) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diy0yn8rl6U)



- Naoki Sato (Imperial Composer and music director for the transition to a new age)



The Heisei period (Heisei jidai) is the current era in Japan that soon comes to an end and a new era for the Land of the Rising Sun will begin shortly after.

The Heisei period started officially on the 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, when his son, Akihito, acceded to the throne as the 125th Emperor. In accordance with Japanese customs, Hirohito was posthumously renamed "Emperor Shōwa" on 31 January 1989. The Heisei period will likely end on April, 30th 2019 (Heisei 31), the date on which Emperor Akihito is expected to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Naoki Sato was given the honor to write a piece for this occasion and wrote a piece for the holy regal ceremony of the Emperor and the beginning of a new age for Japan.


Across the country, various tributes are being made or are in production for Japan’s transition into a new era, from government official affairs to franchise projects like Kamen Rider Generations (Music by Kenji Kawai and Toshihiko Sahashi) to new anime projects in relation to the end of the Heisei period to over 200 illustrators gathering for an Artbook (on my cover).

Many gatherings were held, by associations, industry people, artists, musicians, all discussing how Japan will answer to the changing times and its now global entertainment industry.

An agreement was made by government, business and artist: To cooperate together, to make profit through excellence in art, trust in each other and to pass the torch to a new generation and excite the heart and minds of the people of the world through Japanese entertainment and cultural exchange. To demonstrate the art and craft that will make especially Anime and Games the leading medium for classical music and excellent art in all fields in the 21st Century. Various company statements are in another chapter below.

In the spirit of Japanese Animism and general anticipation for the future, Anime and Games are now strongly rooted in the world's global entertainment and present in everyday lives, of course most culturally significant in Japan itself.

This year especially, there have been numerous important business developments, on the economic as well as the artistic side and the whole Anime and Game industry of Japan, from music to software, is noticing its unique stand in the world and its global potential. The music side will be covered in depth in a chapter below.

In addition, the desire to pass on the torch to a new generation is present from stakeholder events to music schools. Another important factor is the preservation of classic media franchises, from Gundam to Super Mario to Lupin III to every major property of the medium, while updating its visuals and story to current digital times to stay true to the original, so much they are scored just like they would be in the 1970s. Numerous concerts for classic Anime and Games franchises were performed, are being announced or in production. Lupin III: Part V is a perfect example how a classic franchise will work in the age of digital entertainment in Japan, on a meta level discussed in episode 23 of the show:



Case Study: Preserving classics from the 20th Century in the 21st Century (https://vimeo.com/307842188)

But first things first, to get to the current year and a possible future of excitement, we have to take after the advice of the active brigade of legendary Japanese composers and honor and pay tribute to the past before embracing the future.
To do so, we will journey back in time, because it is vital to listen to this collection first before the following chapters really ring home.



I. An orchestral Journey through four decades of Anime and Games.



Pretext:

To speak in Sahashi terms, I drew a statue for each decade with one specific year and made four pillars of Japanese Music History. It is not massive, you can actually listen to it all in a day but it is perhaps my most poignant release and a coherent score made up of little individual score cues that form little building blocks that in total make a triumphant statue for each decade.

In total it is 200 pieces of music that form a temple of orchestral music.

The eighth year in a decade is a perfect point to do it now (and it has to be done now since Japan will enter a new era next year) because the general environment and style of that decade has been solidified and it’s still a year away before the transition to the next. Logically I could not include the 70s and the infancy of Anime because Games Orchestra as a medium was only born in 1987 with the Dragon Quest concert.

I also included for reference points, every Taiga Drama and Sentai series that aired in the respective years. I could not do this for other long-running series like Doraemon because not all are available from the respective years.

So each date stands for a decade. It would have been perfect to cover all years, instead of just one entity but that would require a team of 100 people.

Perhaps take a day off, and especially in the holiyday season, take a day of your time, listen back to back or one album per day. Do it while working, gaming, relaxing or serious listening and you will have a magical time.



First, let’s journey to the year 1988, the birth of orchestral game music, and go through each decade of Anime and Game Music by a specific year. So let’s start with the first decade, the 1980s:



1.1. Anime and Games Symphony: The 1980s



It was the period of Koichi Sugiyama, Seiji Yokoyama, Kentaro Haneda and Rejiro Koroku. It saw the rise of Kohei Tanaka. Disco reigned supreme and a few professionals made stellar timeless music. In the live-action department, Tatsumi Yano ruled with a style that Toshiko Sahashi would succeed in the 90s. Games were not fully orchestral yet but received arrangement albums by Sugiyama and Haneda. Orchestral recording from that era had a very specific sound and often incorporating synth and disco elements.


1.2. Anime and Games Symphony: The 1990s



It was the decade of Masamichi Amano and saw the rise of Toshihiko Sahashi and Yoko Kanno to stardom. It saw the rise of Michiru Oshima and Takayuki Hattori who wrote catchy theme after catchy theme. Kohei Tanaka wrote legendary music and Joe Hisaishi recorded a masterpiece with Princess Mononoke Symphonic album. Kow Otani and symphonic albums were a prominent constant. The first orchestral game concerts were produced and fully orchestral scores appeared in games.


1.3. Anime and Game Symphony: The 2000s



The 2000s saw the creation of many grand orchestral works with Symphony Orchestras, from Fullmetal Alchemist to Romeo X Juliet to Hellsing. The early decade was ruled by Toshihiko Sahashi, the late half by Yoshihisa Hirano, Taku Iwasaki and Kosuke Yamashita. Hitoshi Sakimoto ruled the game music scene and it saw the appearance of Yugo Kanno and Hiroshi Takaki. Orchestral Game scores became more commonplace and orchestral game concerts started to become a common occurrence.


1.4. Anime and Game Symphony: The 2010s



The first half of the decade saw the rise of Michiru Oshima to stardom, and the creation of many stellar works from Space Brothers to Break Blade. The late half saw the rise/resurgence of Takayuki Hattori, Yasunori Mitsuda and Kaoru Wada. It is the decade of the return of old veterans, from Kohei Tanaka to Toshihiko Sahashi, the fusion of Shiro Sagisu and Masamichi Amano who produced masterful works and the appearance of concert works in soundtracks and the explosion of Anime and Game concerts.
Also an explosion of new composers entering the scene and the amount of classical music/works in/on soundtracks. Game scores became more and more orchestral, performed by major Symphony Orchestras to big studio ensembles, from Ni no Kuni to Valkyria to God Eater 3.

The year 2018 also deserves special mention as the last year of a Japanese era, the Heisei period. This year especially, old and new are joining in harmony to the future with an abundance of orchestral scores and classical pieces.


As a special note:



The most important aspect for me is that of all four decades, only one composer was active in all of them: One man who would rise to the very top of the anime and game industry and who is now its musical face: KOHEI TANAKA
Present and working in all four decades, losing none of his vigor and energy, gracing us with wonderful music and hopefully another decade of glory.

The Legend will never die! (https://picosong.com/wuk9H/)



I would also advise to listen to the 2018 year while proceeding further.





II. Japan to a new age


2.1. Japanese Composers and Musicians in the Digital Age





“Embrace New Technology and honor the past, that is what I do. Classical music and minimalistic music will live on through my music”.
- Joe Hisaishi

“We will preserve the classical world and by incorporating new technology and trends create a new style of classical music to succeed it. Anime-Style.”
- Toshihiko Sahashi

“Technology is necessary and has made my life as a composer easier but I would advise to first study music properly. Technology without musical foundation is not desirable but when combined can lift your mind.”
- Michiru Oshima

“In order to be the musician you can be you have to learn from old things first before trying new ones. Technology in our age is a wonderful thing but as composers we first must indulge in 2000 years of music history. You will fly to your greatest potential if you honor the past and embrace the future.”
- Kosuke Yamashita, Toshiyuki Watanabe, Keiichi Oku

“Recently I feel Japan has become some sort of Last Bastion of upfront melody and music that sings. I would like to continue write music to excite and be sing-able."
- Akira Miyagawa

“From now on, as an important point of Monaca's philosophy, we will pursue relationships (partnership) that trust each other. We believe that the mutual cooperation of customers (companies), creators (cooperating parties), and staff (employees) can build relationships that can create attractive content and profits. If you can create a lot of people's excitement and be of service to everyone, that is the wish of Monaca.”
- Representative Director Keiichi Okabe

“Our music is forever! 20 years ago I wrote the theme to Sakura Wars and its still present in the daily life and hearts of many people. As a father of this song, I’m most proud of my child. Anime and Game music will adapt to current technology and be stronger than ever, exciting the minds of many people. I will continue to do my best and make music that people will cherish forever.”
- Kohei Tanaka



Mobile/Arcade Games with Symphonic/Orchestral Scores and/with the Return of legendary Composers



For the new age and the spirit of new Anime and Games, old veterans assemble a new. You work on some mobile game and then you are back on the scene. Good thing Yoko Kanno worked on one recently.


How does scoring for Anime and Games work in 2018?


1. The media director either decides on a composer or the production committee has contracts and/or contacts with various labels and agencies who assign one of their composers on the project in question.

2. Once a composer/composer company is decided upon he is called to a meeting with the director/music director and staff and gets either a script or concept art & illustrations and possible demo for the Anime or Game. Most important he gets musical guidelines what to include and the general direction of the music.

3. The composer gets to his office/to his home and does whatever he deems necessary for the work. If its locked to picture he gets a copy of the storyboard/unfinished scenes and has to match the music accordingly.

4. The composer returns to another project meeting either for a deadline or per request and then either the director, the sound director, or both give the greenlight and then he gets to record the music with a live ensemble depending on the budget for the music of the production.

5. The composer records his music, usually in a small studio with striped sections (because of limited space available) or in a larger studio or hall with a full orchestra. Usually the director is present at the sessions, asks some questions and goes over the written music with the composer.

6. The sound director uses the recorded music in the editing process and the music distribution label of the project decides if there will be a commercial release of the music in the form of a soundtrack, either as a bonus enclosure or as an official standalone release. The composer gets royalties for the music.


The Recording Units/Orchestra Units for Anime and Games Orchestra Music in 2018



From small studio ensemble in striped sessions (becaus of limited space) to major halls with the most prominent players of orchestral music for Anime and Games in 2018. Well over 100 scores were recorded with an orchestra this year.


2.2. Classical arts preservation in Anime and Games



The Anime and Game composers of the 80s and 90s are very active behind the scenes in various associations and music institutions and help teaching a new generation of composers, growing up in the worlds finest music education system:

An example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc3VbVf-bUI)


Classical Boom




Anime and Games and "Anime-Style" will preserve classical arts.



Their love for classical arts in all fields makes them preserve them and then create their very own. No place on earth has more appreciation and preservation of classical art and culture than Japan.


Orchestral Anime and Game Concerts are becoming a cornerstone of the medium and a natural extension of cross-media projects and franchise celebration




Liz and the Blue Bird, unbelievable attention to music:



Scene: Incredible animated classical performance (https://vimeo.com/307045349)

Making Of 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDNvW6qnZls)
Making Of 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0BZ4KcwyCY)


Idolization of the Orchestra/Classical/Jazz Instruments and its presence in everyday life in Tokyo and Japan



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7rnjXM0PNU



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEO5JU1o6Jo&t=20s


Japan is aware its a last bastion of film scores that jump out of the screen and overwhelm you with emotion and wants to preserve that tradition



Classic Hollywood Film Scoring (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_sf-0_-39s)


Preservation of Classical/Film music in Anime and Games: Associations and Companies






How will animation change the world after 100 years?

We, the Japan Motion Picture Association Japan, launched the "Anime NEXT - 100" project with the aim of continuing the development of Japanese animation towards the next 100 years. Animation has realized communication between cultures beyond words. Through the viewpoints of people who continue to change the form of video, advanced technology and unique thinking, we will consider "- Anime's future" - the creation of the pure imagination and creativity that is the source of that - through the creator who is active in the animation industry, we will try to make a hypothesis about one form of future ". At the same time, we aim to disseminate Japan's animation culture and power with high impact to both domestic and overseas, and further link it to our daily lifes. While seeking to share the possibilities and challenges of animation in Japan with many people who are active in various genres, we aim to make progress and continue to create a future. A future of excitement and a new age that will "animate" the human being and epoch.




The World's soundtrack from Japan

It is a soundtrack specialized orchestra "FILM SCORE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (commonly known as Phil Phil). We perform pusing carefully selected projects and original scores from movie, TV, games, stage and other soundtracks. We would like to increase the opportunity to hear the music loved around the world on live performances. We want you to listen to concerts that the performers and the audience can enjoy equally with a feeling like going to the movies on weekends. We want to teach the important role of score music and want you to realize that it expresses and inherits the past while faithfully reproducing the performance technique and expression method of Hollywood periods for example. Members who love soundtracks gathered with such thought enrolled. Nobuko Toda, director and film music composer, accepted the unique world of soundtracks and its artistic expression method without being bound by a fixed concept, challenging future music with full-scale orientation from classics to hybrid music. As our first projects we want you to experience the full power and beauty of John Williams and have prepared a birthday concert for the maestro.





2.3. The major associations and companies of Japanese Composers, Arrangers and Musicians from 2018 onward

The Japanese Composers and Arrangers Association (JCAA)




The Japan Federation of Composers (JFC)




Self-employed Companies/Freelance Composers
Kaoru Wada, Akira Senju, Michiru Oshma, Shiro Sagisu etc.




Major Japanese Composer Companies:

1. IMAGINE: Professional Music Production (Kohei Tanaka, Shiro Hamaguchi, Hayato Matsuo…)



2. Facemusic (Takayuki Hattori, Toshihiko Sahashi, Naoki Sato...)



3. Fair Wind music (Reijiro Koroku, Kosuke Yamashita, Yuya Mori...)



4. Basiscape (Hitoshi Sakimoto etc.)



5. MONACA (Ryuichi Takada, Keigo Hoashi, Ken Namba, Satoru Kosaki...)



6. 1Music (Yugo Kanno, Kenichiro Suehtiro...)



7. Office Without (Taku Iwasaki etc.)



8. Miracle Bus Corportation (Evan Call, Kei Yoshikawa, Masaru Yokoyama...)



9. Noisycroak (Hideki Sakamoto etc.)



10. PIANO (Yoko Kanno, Taro Umebayashi...)



11. Procyon Studios (Yasunori Mitsuda, Mariam Abounnasr etc.)



12. Creek Ltd. (Shunpei Ishige MICHIRU, Kei Haneoka, Daisuke Shinoda etc.)



13. Team-MAX (Yasunari Takanashi, Hiromi Mizutani, Shuji Katayama...)



14. Legendoor (Asami Tachibana, Yuki Hayashi etc.)




The Big Companies who produce and distribute Anime and Games (and recently its music) from 2018 onward


1. KADOKAWA Corporation (Anime, Games, Live-Action, Music, Concerts)



2. BANDAI NAMCO Arts (Anime, Games, Music, Live Event, Concerts)



3. SEGA (Games, Anime, Live Event, Music)



4. Warner Brothers Japan (Anime, Game, Music, Live-Action)



5. Nintendo (Games, Music, Live, Concerts, Animation)



Newcomer in Big Company

6. Cygames (Games, Anime, Music, Live Event)






A little industry insight into the Big Anime Studios from 2018 onward


1. Sunrise



2. Bones



Insight into the Studio (https://otakumode.com/news/5bc11f7889172b6a7aa76bc8/Anime-Site-Collaboration-Project-Vol-2-bones)

3. Trigger



Insight into the Studio (https://otakumode.com/news/5bc959321671c93210f5e1dd/Anime-Site-Collaboration-Project-Vol-3-TRIGGER)

4. P.A. Works



Insight into the Studio (https://otakumode.com/news/5bff810cdd0d15974b91345f/Anime-Site-Collaboration-Project-Vol-6-P-A-WORKS)

5. Kamikaze Douga



Insight into the Studio (https://otakumode.com/news/5b6177b113935f4517cc6357/Anime-Site-Collaboration-Project-Vol-1-Kamikaze-Douga)




2.4. Some guy from the internet



Hi everyone! My name is Alex, I’m from Tuscany (Italy) and I’m a music journalist focused on Japanese Music.

I’ve discovered Japanese music in 2010, during a particular moment of my life where I was bored of everything I was listening to… since then, my passion for music has come to life again. It’s been a turning point and a refreshing discovery, something that everyone passionate about music can benefit from, which is why I’d love to see Japanese music artists recognized overseas more often.


Why the Japanese music industry is unique

The career of a Japanese music artist isn’t that different from the rest of the global music markets, with a single/soundtracks/album/tour/live release structure that pretty much follows the common concept of the worldwide industry. Despite being a similar process, though, it’s still way more exciting and lively if compared to the western scene. Here’s a question to sum up the matter: when was the last time you saw a physical single CD in a music store in your country? I bet a long time ago. It’s understandable, since the digital services gained huge popularity in the last years.

Japan is still extremely attached to concept of buying physical CDs, and this, combined with the persistent reluctance in using worldwide digital services, makes this industry pretty much “old school”, but way more alive at the same time. While in the rest of the world singles are exclusively released through digital download services, in Japan not only singles still get released on physical CD support, and promoted as an extremely awaited and important moment of a musicians’ career. When a mainstream single is released, you can find advertisements for it everywhere: on buildings and skyscrapers, on trains, on trucks driving in the most crowded streets of Tokyo, on TV, on the Radio and, of course, in music shops, where the biggest artists get extremely huge promotions. It’s honestly a beautiful sight to me, and a clear demonstration of how music in Japan is alive and a constant presence in everyone’s life.

Obviously, fans themselves play a fundamental role in the success of the release: for them, it’s important to catch all the performances and interviews on TVs, to analyze the concept behind the music and the art direction, from the structure of the music to the outfits to the Music Video and the covers; they go to music stores the day before the release date, because they know that during Flying Get (that’s how this day is called) they will already find their favorite music shop adorned in huge ads and monitors promoting their favorite artists’ new release, usually available in at least two versions: of course they’ll go with the Limited Edition, cause it has an extra disc and, and they may even get a bonus poster with it!
It doesn’t matter if it’s a single, an album, or a Live Blu-Ray/DVD: this happens every time a mainstream artist releases a piece of its discography. Compared to how things work in the western world, reading all of this might be summed up in a single word: craziness.

But it’s not. And you know why? Because it’s your favorite artist. The person or group that writes your favorite songs, that writes your favorite music, that conveys all those feelings to you with songs and melodies you would never stop listening. Or simply, the one that makes you feel good even in bad days, always fitting your mood perfectly. Music is one of the most important things in life, and the best you can do as fan is to support it as you can. It’s a form of gratefulness that has its roots in Japanese culture.
Either you’re searching a specific genre played in a different key, or you’re tired of the same old stuff you can listen to everywhere, Japan is the right placewhere to satisfy all your music needs.

Due to its huge dimensions, the Japanese music industry is unavoidably filled with standard sounding groups and artists, but also (and in a pretty large part) with original artists, and this is definitely one of the things that will drag you the most into the depths of this music scene. While many represent clear genres and don’t necessarily create something innovative, many others can really stand out of the water thanks to the amount of creativity in both the musical and artistic side. You can find many artists making a classic genre in a very personal way, or other ones mixing completely different influences together obtaining innovative and valid results. While there are many artists doing the same thing around the world, many Japanese artists seems to be more open minded than certain western artists, avoiding to impose themselves limits of any kind.

Japanese artists mix many different genres together (classical, film score, jazz, electronic music, club music, rock, pop rock, progressive and more) under a quite easy listening key, showing impressive skills and a boundless approach to music composition; I genuinely think the most important things in music is to convey feelings, and there is currently no other place on earth embracing it like Japan. Music over there is a unique entity, instead of imposed with limits that would only get in the way of the creativity.

It’s usually hard to see particularly innovative groups and artists gaining popularity and reach the top of the charts in the western side of the world. Yet, the Japanese audience can get to know and recognize such acts thanks to the exposure that environment makes possible, reaching the top of the charts and bringing fresh and innovative music to the masses; as consequence, more people have access to sophisticated and valid music, resulting in an overall richer musical culture that’s free of boundaries. Pretty great, isn’t it?

That’s why Japan is the second biggest music market in the world: because it’s maintained by artists and fans full of love and passion towards music, and everything that surrounds it. After all, can you imagine life without the music of your favorite artists? The slogan of the well known chain Tower Records summons all of this in the best way and answers all the questions:







Happy Holidays!

I have no words; your work is truly admirable, and I thank you most sincerely.

I wish, I dearly wish, I could share your enthusiasm for the future - but I can at least agree that this is an awe-inspiring collection and a wonderful tribute to the era. The quality of musicianship herein is almost unbelievable - you can almost forget that this is music written ostensibly as "background music" (what an offensive term) for something else and instead just respond to the outpouring of skill. You don't write something like Sakura Wars thinking you're just there to pay the bills, do your job, and stay in the background... That's exuberant joy, revelry in the emotion of music and melody; in the sound itself. This is good music. Some of it is great music. And you, as ever, are a gentleman and a scholar. :)

While we're on the subject of Xmas presents (that post is both huge and hopeful, and I think I needed that - so thank you so much for that Vinphonic), I thought I'd give an update on that collaborative Christmas album idea I announced back in August. The album is planned to be released on Christmas Day, and will feature at least 12 songs composed by myself and others. The range of genres is somewhat eclectic, but don't expect anything that could be discussed on this thread. Despite that, I still wanted to promote it all the same, since this community was one of the things that inspired me to kickstart the idea in the first place. It will be free, and I'll post links to both the Bandcamp page and a couple of file sharing sites, should you prefer doing things that way.

I'll see y'all on Tuesday, and have a good time with loved ones (or even just watching the Christmas episode of Bottom)! :)

Once again Vin leaves us with an embarrassment of riches and plenty of context to go along with it. Huge thanks for bringing all this sure-to-be-excellent music into the open.

I'm gonna take this post, put it in a frame, and hang it in the best spot of a museum, so future generations can learn what "Great Post" means.

Btw, it's highly probable that you made here the biggest post of the forum. I'm so proud it happened in this thread. :)

Vinphonic, just to say "Thank You" is not enough. I can't imagine how long it took to sort and put it all in a right places.

Thank You so much for this and everything else, it's a great present for Christmas and perfect thing by itself!

Wow!!!! Vinphonic you are the best

Anyone know of any good Epic Orchestral Christmas Music ? Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Jingle Bells etc

I only recently discovered the various League of Legend Snowdown themes which have all been orchestral going back to 2014 (my favorite is the 2015 version). They are all Christmasy, but with an edge, and can be downloaded from the League of Legend Soundcloud page. Check them out!

Awesome post, Vinphonic.

Thanks for including the Sato piece, I just love the guy.

Vinphonic: There is one track, Oshima's King of Hermits, which I don't know. There is Cd of this?

Asakawa and Christmas go together like wine and cheese.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoWlP0IafRc

Good God, that Asakawa track is gorgeous! It actually manages to sound just like an old Christmas classic, even though it was only composed... (looks up the show and a website or two) wait, it was only 30 years ago?! That's insane! But otherwise, there's something nostalgically beautiful about this song, and it makes me want to check out more of Asakawa's work. Did Asaakwa do the music to the entire series or just the OP? Because I'd really like to hear what else is on offer (assuming that the soundtrack ever got some kind of release). Thank you for making my day in that regard, Zipper, and I hope you have a lovely Christmas!

---

I just found out that Audacity can export audio files as FLAC (I don't know why it didn't occur to me to check that when I was working on the Last of the Summer Wine soundtrack selection last year; maybe that's something I can fix), and since I'm generally new to the concept of FLAC, I've got a couple of questions that I hope y'all can answer.

1. What about FLAC makes it specifically higher quality that other audio formats? I've heard that it's lossless, but I don't know if there's any more to it than that.

2. Is FLAC something that should be used for every type of music if possible, or is it something that only really benefits the sound of specific instruments/genres/whatever (I suspect it's important for strings, since those often tend to be the first to suffer under compression from what I've listened to over the years)? I'm asking this one in particular because I feel like there's a point where the difference between a 320kbps MP3 and a FLAC isn't enough to tangibly affect the quality of a song beyond some kind of placebo effect/

3. Audacity has several settings for exporting to FLAC - it has several levels (it recommends 8 as best), and either 16-bit depth of 24-bit depth. What's the difference between each level/type of bit-depth, and which is the best quality to go for?

I hope I've made my questions clear enough, but if there's anything I've left ambiguous, please let me know and I'll try to sort it out. Thank you for reading, and especially for answering these questions in advance. Otherwise, have a lovely holiday! :)

Takayuki Hattori wishes you a Happy Christmas (https://picosong.com/wgTfr/)

1. What about FLAC makes it specifically higher quality that other audio formats? I've heard that it's lossless, but I don't know if there's any more to it than that.

2. Is FLAC something that should be used for every type of music if possible, or is it something that only really benefits the sound of specific instruments/genres/whatever (I suspect it's important for strings, since those often tend to be the first to suffer under compression from what I've listened to over the years)? I'm asking this one in particular because I feel like there's a point where the difference between a 320kbps MP3 and a FLAC isn't enough to tangibly affect the quality of a song beyond some kind of placebo effect/

3. Audacity has several settings for exporting to FLAC - it has several levels (it recommends 8 as best), and either 16-bit depth of 24-bit depth. What's the difference between each level/type of bit-depth, and which is the best quality to go for?



1 - Lossless basically means perfect quality, in terms of raw data. It's the source audio in perfect form - nothing is lost. Of course, the source can still sound like crap. Why FLAC in particular? That ties into #2
2 - It's great for archiving. Compared to other lossless file formats, it has tons more support across platforms and programs. It is also highly compressible which means tons of saved disk space. Incidentally, this is what the levels describe - levels of compression (0 being no compression and 8 being highest compression). You can easily convert FLAC to other file formats - like WAV, which is best suited for audio editing, or lossy formats to listen to outside of your music archive. For casual listening, MP3 is perfectly suitable.
3 - Think of it as more detailed grooves in a record - the higher the bit depth, the more detailed each sound produced, and thus the less noise pollution overall. However, a well made 16bit track will barely have any (humanly) noticeable noise. 24bit audio (for the most part) is reserved for hardcore archivists, professionals working with audio files, and audiophiles.

Here's a Christmas present for Tango and I and others who showed interest. Finally, The Orville is getting an OST release, Season 1 specifically:

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2018/12/24/la-la-land-records-to-release-soundtrack-album-for-foxs-the-orville/

Did Asaakwa do the music to the entire series or just the OP? Because I'd really like to hear what else is on offer (assuming that the soundtrack ever got some kind of release). Thank you for making my day in that regard, Zipper, and I hope you have a lovely Christmas!Asakawa was responsible for all the music in the show. I do believe a soundtrack was released, but it hasn't been posted online in full yet. If you want something similar, I highly recommend checking out his Rex: A Dinosaur Story that was discussed a few pages back. The music is also very much in that same magically Christmas-y vein.

And a Merry Christmas to you as well. :)

Here's a Christmas present for Tango and I and others who showed interest. Finally, The Orville is getting an OST release, Season 1 specifically:

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2018/12/24/la-la-land-records-to-release-soundtrack-album-for-foxs-the-orville/

Thanks for posting this here! Very exciting.

As for Vinphonic's big post, I am excited but I am once again curious how much of this is overlapping with previous massive similar posts. After all, each one of these is huge and covers a ton of music. I listen to the collections regularly but I wonder is most of this previously included in other big sets?

So what do you think will be the composer for Ryuusouger? http://news.tokunation.com/shows/kishiryu-sentai-ryuusouger

Here's a Christmas present for Tango and I and others who showed interest. Finally, The Orville is getting an OST release, Season 1 specifically:

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2018/12/24/la-la-land-records-to-release-soundtrack-album-for-foxs-the-orville/

Yep, it's great news that this score is finally been released. The promo, even if it's 86 min long, don't cover all episodes of the season. Can't wait to get it !

Hope you all have a lovely christmas. I'm very grateful for the kind response. It was really fun making it (and with help it was a smooth project) because I got to put all pieces into place for me. Actually, it goes even further than that. As an appendix I could add this list for which I found no thematic place but its a very interesting read to put things in perspective for this Japanese enthusiasm: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_media_franchises



Great news about The Orville, hopefully season 2 doesn't take as long.


@Sirus, 80% is new but you will be very familiar with 1998 and 2008.



So what do you think will be the composer for Ryuusouger?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... :D:D:D

https://vgmdb.net/album/4054


Oh, and how about a little fun before Saintia (https://picosong.com/wgUmR/)

Yep, it's great news that this score is finally been released. The promo, even if it's 86 min long, don't cover all episodes of the season. Can't wait to get it !

What promo now? Why don't I have it?

Vinphonic, I can't thank you enough for your magnificent posts here. I've learnt more in a year about japanese composers than in 15 years collecting them. I've discovered new amazing composers that I've never heard of. And this last post it's superb. I want to thank you for all the hard work getting that information and giving it to us, it has no price.

---------- Post added at 10:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 PM ----------


What promo now? Why don't I have it?

It was released a year ago. Sadly it's a Fox IP, so it can't be shared (no PM, please, I won't risk being banned from here). It has 39 tracks and 86 min lenght. Anyway, now you know it exists.

Vinphonic - Thanks for answering my question. Glad to see that there are highlights from the earlier eras and a LOT of 2018 stuff, to go along nicely with your 2017 set. I'm sure I will find some lovely new scores I missed in the 2018 selection.

Symphonic Suite "SUIKODEN" ~presented by JAGMO~

mp3: https://mega.nz/#!zxZykYIa!JSia0YUSQKd45HVXQy45EyTlT7cBIXC1MN-LpfYUDRM

FLAC torrent is here: https://nyaa.si/view/1105023

Oh, and how about a little fun before Saintia (https://picosong.com/wgUmR/)

It's so good to hear Den-O's theme again! I love it! Thank you!

If Tomoyuki Asakawa composed music for "The Land of Chocolate" from The Simpsons, this is what it would sound like:
https://picosong.com/wgpdJ/

If Sahashi still did Hunter x Hunter, how do you think he would have handled the Chimera Ant arc?

Considering the Chimera Ant arc is where Hirano was at his peak dissonant mastery without holding back like in previous arcs, Sahashi wouldn't stand a chance. But considering that Sahashi's own contributions to HxH were mostly low-budget synthwork, it's questionable that he ever had a chance of submitting a good score for HxH regardless of whichever arc he did and didn't work on.

If Sahashi were given a good budget though, I could easily see him outdoing Hirano's banal and restrained efforts for the earlier arcs in the 2011 anime. Sahashi is almost unbeaten when it comes to pure heroic shounen bombast and optimism, and the earlier arcs of HxH were full of that.

However, I wouldn't mind hearing Sahashi's take on the Chimera Ant arc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQq_MIAB0Gc

Happy New Year Kids. These are the first two songs I that came to my head to commemorate it. Perhaps they feel inspirational? Is that the right word?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj98mBOuT6U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML251hx84y4

It's not quite New Year's yet over here in Ireland, but that doesn't mean I don't have something to share to celebrate the occasion. (It's more of a belated Christmas present though, and that should clue you in on what I'm about to talk about.) While it's not orchestral or related to anything of the sort, I did want to post this here all the same:





A Present from Us to You: A Collaborative Christmas Album

Around December 2017, I ended up listening to a Christmas album produced years ago by the writers of the gaming website, Destructoid.com (which you can find here - https://jonathanholmesandfriends.bandcamp.com/album/the-2nd-annual-destructoid-christmas-album). I gave it a listen out of morbid curiosity, and it somehow ended up becoming one of the best things I discovered that year. The mix of heartfelt effort and plain ol' goofiness in how the various writers covered old classics, combined with my familiarity with most of them due to reading the website over the years, resulted in a personal connection to the album that I've never really had with any other album - and with a Christmas album of all things.

I wanted to try and recapture that somehow, so I decided to announce my intention to do a collaboration album of some kind back in August. The idea was to get together with people that I knew from both my personal life and forums round the internet and make an album full of songs that were either covers of Christmas standards or original songs inspired by the season. I admit that my approach towards the project could have been better; I could have posted about it on social media sites to try and get more people involved, for example (and not taken a month to set up a Discord chat of all things when I'd become a fairly regular Discord user by that point!). But to my surprise, we now have a finished album that's available to listen to online.

It largely consists of original songs with a couple of covers thrown in, but there's a good bit of variety. Instrumental piano songs; choral jazz; chilled out rock; an honest to god rap; even a cover of Frosty the Snowman mixed with dark humour and Alvin and the Chipmunks-style singing! (The last of which even comes with a music video by the guy who did that arrangement featuring Muppet style puppets! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7UFo9_vh_s) The quality can be inconsistent, particularly on the recording side of things, but I wanted to leave the final result as it was done to the best of the artists' abilities.

It may be unrelated to the overall topic of conversation on this thread, but I wanted to post it on here for a couple of reasons: 1. This was one of the places where I announced my plans to do so, and I figure it's best to post the finished album for anyone on here who was curious to see how things turned out. And 2. This place is one of the reasons I wanted to do this project in the first place, both as a community of people I wanted to work with on something and also for giving me the motivation to take the music course I've been doing for the last year and a bit (which has helped with my understanding of music theory, performance, composition and more - something I used to help make the few songs I contributed to the album). I want this to be a token of appreciation to all of you, because what y'all do on here has directly or indirectly enhanced my life in ways I don't think Ill be able to properly articulate, but means so much to me.

This post comes with a link to the Bandcamp page where you can download the album for free, but if you'd rather not do that for whatever reason, I've also provided links to download MP3 and FLAC versions from Mediafire and MEGA (with the choice of downloading either a ZIP file or each song individually - whatever floats your boat). There's no real benefit to getting it on Bandcamp unless that's what you find convenient; I just wanted to give y'all as much choice as you'd like.

Bandcamp

https://jimsjams.bandcamp.com/album/a-present-from-us-to-you

MP3 download (either as a ZIP file or a folder)

Mediafire
http://www.mediafire.com/file/09gg8er26pw4310/A_Present_from_Us_to_You_MP3.zip/file
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/19594afcni2jj/A_Present_from_Us_to_You_MP3

MEGA
https://mega.nz/#!VCAHHYQJ
https://mega.nz/#F!1XgDwQhC

FLAC download (MediaFire and MEGA; either as a ZIP file or a folder)

Mediafire
http://www.mediafire.com/file/33rrnvn0p35pq43/A_Present_from_Us_to_You_FLAC.zip/file
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/mgl4zm0vp9sq3/A_Present_from_Us_to_You_FLAC

MEGA
https://mega.nz/#!lTQnkSIJ
https://mega.nz/#F!VSYTnYzZ

I want to thank everyone who contributed a song to this album: Doggi144 (who drew the album cover up above), Paul Hodges (and by proxy, the Cherwell Singers), Ben Clooney, Dave McGrath, Kevin John O'Sullivan, MC Phat Phace (as he likes to call himself) and General Grunt. I honestly cannot describe how weird it is to have inspired a bunch of people to create and play music for an album, nor can I describe how amazing it is at the same time.

I'd like to do something like this again next year, hopefully with even more people and contributions to ring in a new decade. We'll see what happens, but I look forward to it!

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy listening to this album, that you had a good 2018 and a Merry Christmas, and that you have an better 2019 going forward. Happy New Year!

-Jim McGrath/FrDougal9000

The new year starts and before it takes off, here's the annual fireworks from my side. I'm just dropping by to deliver part 2 of my Heisei share and I will be gone again for a few days/weeks but you have plenty of music to take with you ;)
This is more or less and appendix for my Heisei share but quite the package, so here we go:



Anime and Games: Orchestral Stories
Japanese Media in 2018



Missing Track 87 (https://picosong.com/wmRdr/)

Part 1 (https://mega.nz/#!PeZ2FagQ!IoiUO5onoVCRTiZPHzAeHmA13HTUeU9aHo2RmbSTjC8) / Part 2 (https://mega.nz/#!TKIUlYSD!8_o7dnPp27FS7PN24svY8XQPaYZaWcDj1XdigBGwngg) / Part 3 (https://mega.nz/#!CbAAiKZb!P-mTOXnW7PPMzgzxD0XBprm287hjeSHfAU2a3L9dNws) / Part 4 (https://mega.nz/#!XfIAhIBS!fBAYooPIdzcyrtEEQBh98V3IGmoRTHhDCjTVB0XGejE)

This is a collection of all the suites and edits I made over the year plus a little chunk of new suites. 50% is from the thread, 10% was not shared before, 20% is Live-Action that was missing from Heisei and 20% is new suites made the last few months. I recommend you take track 87 from the sample above because it is missing from Part 4. Alltogether, this forms quite an impressive body and you will notice in comparison to 2017 more big orchestral scores for Anime, and more classical mode. It is not surprising, since the various undertakings of various cultural programs and media associations give us a little taste of Japan�s New Era that will begin next year, an era that will influence the global world at large. You will see ;)


Here�s an appendix for my Heisei share:


The Big Franchises and contemporary Anime



Pokemon is now the biggest media franchise on the planet, many of their biggest media franchises (some even from the 70s) are ongoing, growing ever stronger and expanding, from One Piece to Gundam. One Piece has A LOT in the works, stageplays and musicals are just the beginning, orchestral concerts and albums will soon follow and World Seeker will not be the last major One Piece adventure game. Every big Japanese media property is under a project of making it last for at least 100 years and seeing how Lupin III and Doraemon are ever strong with new optimism https://www.lupin-3rd.net/ (check out their websites) and these franchise are half a century old, its save to say Pokemon, Gundam and everything else will be around long after we are gone by the way things are proceeding.

One Piece for example, like many other Japanese franchises, is world-wide known and loved while old Hollywood franchises like Star Wars fall out of favor fast in the global world, thanks to incompetence, no creative freedom and lack of passion with skill, which is a combination the Hollywood industry just doesn�t have anymore while Anime and Games is still full of creativity, skill and passion to an absurd degree that its unbelievable they often get a huge budget to execute all those crazy ideas.

Liz and the Blue Bird, from a production and creative standpoint is just fantastic, complete creative control of a director, making a personal statement using an established franchise and understanding music on the same level as the composer and both know their classical education. It�s a delicate and considerate movie with much French film flair, just like Maquia is about the full expression of a female mind about motherhood. All the epic fantasy movie stuff is just background decoration.

Or Mizushima�s Girls und Panzer: Der Film and recently FINALE, early on its quite noticeable that EVERYTHING about this franchise is passion and genuine love. There�s ZERO cynicism in it. No political projection, no arthouse, no pretentiousness, no restriction, no greed, it started just as a passionate little project for a specific audience, not necessarily needs a certain age to be enjoyed but there�s countless references to old war movies, real historical events and little things you have to have quite a bit of knowledge of film and history (and technicality of tanks) to smile at. Its made by people who love old Hollywood and European war films (and their music), war machines and cute anime garls. At least Mizushima loves them so much he expands from land to air in a few days and excpect a score that will take you back to the days of Battle Over Britan and Squadron 633.

https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/07/04-1/girls-und-panzer-director-mizushima-invited-by-finland-embassy-for-interview

It�s no wonder this film exploded in Japan and made GuP one of their biggest domestic media franchises. It happened not because of greed or corporate decision but because of creativity and passion. Oh, and do I need to mention that Mizushima is, besides a passionate anime director, a Musician as well, and there are a lot of his kind working in the industry ;)

From this intense passion you just can�t help to look deeper into the industry once you�ve been hooked on it thanks to the pure musicality of it all and behind the shows, games, and films there�s far more passion, skill, artistry and genuine fun to be found than greed and profit business-suits. You don't work in this industry if you look for a job, you work there because you have passion for the things you are doing, and for me, nobody embodies that quite like Tanaka.



While last year Games were definitely on the stronger side, this year Anime makes quite a comeback. Shows scored by Tanaka, Wada, Oshima and Sahashi, a lot of stellar films and plenty of shows with orchestral scores. From Yamato 2202 to Lupin III to Gundam, these old franchises get revitalized yet again and it�s a joy to watch so much passion put into them.

For reference here is how the world�s biggest media franchise, one of the world�s biggest media franchises and anime in general look and sound in 2018:

Dragon Quest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWFzRPymJ8c&t=19s)

Doraemon (https://vimeo.com/298476154)

Pokemon (https://vimeo.com/308125466)

Gundam (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L8oNhWAolI&t=9m53s)

Space Battleship Yamato (https://vimeo.com/279871715)

Godzilla (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCHOO4o5hiI)

Lupin III (https://vimeo.com/307842188)

Saint Seiya (https://vimeo.com/308888075)

Girls und Panzer: Das FINALE (https://vimeo.com/308888331)

SSSS.Gridman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFrxmM-1Yfo)

Bloom Into You (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yVedXph7Ig)

Violet Evergarden (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeTTFETlrz4)

Love is like After the Rain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQqHmMQKz-U&list=PLAY2aAj333CopuTnuuul5nzcD7CRRz2Ia&index=25)

Puzzle X Dragon Cross: Finale (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjrDryOp2o4&list=PLAY2aAj333CopuTnuuul5nzcD7CRRz2Ia&index=26)

Planet With (https://vimeo.com/282266214)

Hisone to Masotan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJuu-1iNTVQ)

NoGameNoLife Zero
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwbdDLhRSDg&t=3m41s)

Liz and the Blue Bird (https://vimeo.com/307045349)

Pazudora (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1pvaIiJeC4&t=16m12s)

Million Arthur (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnCVkbfefys&t=16m16s)

Joshi Ochi (XD) (https://vimeo.com/278801617)



Moving on to the really fun part:


Anime and Games: 2018 in Brass



Sugar, Spyce and Everything Nice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzPdhSojOu4)

Download (https://mega.nz/#!qTQU2IDB!8KJ_5dTUzGJObbJk552fkBtxtptIlgRFVc2O8yDkQVs)

Two hours of Jazz, Funk and Big Band, two hours of 80s and two hours of orchestral Rock and Jazz... this is pure fun and sometimes stellar music, many artists blast it off in this album. Don't miss this!


Some personal thoughts:

Hearing Sahashi scoring like in the 90s is pure joy and his FMP speaks to me "the 80s are not dead as long as I am around", just like Tanaka' Planet With is straight out of his 90s Mecha scores. Wada in general never even sounded this fun in the 90s. A new fire is in his eyes and he just has fun in every recent picture.

Takayuki Hattori climbs the stairs to stardom and is now the Doraemon composer, the Gundam composer and the Godzilla composer. Pure 50s and 60s film score in his work but a special medal for his work on the Planet Eater. He returns for Doraemon in 2019 and the theme is Moon-Landing. Perhaps now he can make up for his lackluster Space Brothers.

Oshima's impressionistic romance score with the beautiful symbolic visuals is delightful (but still far from Hyouka's perfection), Amano in full 90s mode was killer for Gridman and Iwasaki wrote some of his most beautfiful chamber pieces and a trumpet piece straight out of his earliest work. Million Arthur is a show so stupid and obnoxious, its a wonder so much passion was put into it, especially the music is perhaps Go Shiina's most heroic and bombastic to date. There are a few cues even going so far as to evolke classic SciFi.

Shinji Miyazaki wrote one of his best scores to date, a charming orchestral film score of the good-old days and Yamashita wrote some stellar orchestral music for Puzzl X Dragon Cross and Kyuranger.

Newcomers like Evan Call wrote a grand Hollywoodesque romance score for Violet Evergarden, got a concert for it and scores a film score for it in 2019. Inai gives some real grace to trashy shows and gives us little glimpses of his first major film score. Taisei Iwasaki wrote a fun and charming score for Hisone and Masotan and plenty of others wrote some as well.

Not to mention the upcoming wave of Anime orchestral concerts, if all are on the level of Sailor Moon... boy I can't wait!

In terms of game music, Joe Hisaishi crafted some fine music and Jagmo and New Japan BGM Philharmonic are again expanding and now also doing CD distribution. YOu have to edit their Suikoden release a little but there is some stellar music on the massive collection and the upcoming Yuzo Koshiro cd will have plenty of classical game music.



Since some of you asked and I did not answer before, here�s my favorite Anime and Games I enjoyed this year:


Anime films I like:

Liz and the Blue Bird
Maqia
Girls und Panzer: Finale
Gundam Origin VI
Pokemon: Minna no Monogatari
Penguin Highway
No Game no Life Zero
Wakaokami wa Shougakusei! Movie

Anime shows I like:

Yamato 2202
Lupin III: Part V
Planet With
Hisone to Masotan
Fumikiri Jikan
After the Rain
Yuru Camp
Yama no Susume
Violet Evergarden (Production)
Revue Starlight (Music scenes)

Games I like:

Dragon Quest XI
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Dragon�s Crown Pro
Valkyria Chronicles IV
Octopath Traveler
Shadow of the Colossus HD

Oh and Japan scored visual novel porn with a big band with quite the kinky lyrics (included in the brass part) and scored full-blown hentai with a classical symphonic score with the "climax" in sync with the the crescendo... beat that world XD



Finally, onward to 2019, everything will be fine ;)



Preview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBChNkeZtc0&t=22s)


I'm looking forward to the new year and last but not least, lets see if this thread can survive another ten years :D



In the words of Naoki Sato, "To A New Era".

Happy new year, everybody - thank you for everything in 2018, and here's to the new year.

It's good to be home.

Peace and love to you all. :)

Tango

I cannot wait for 2019. But mostly because the soundtrack of One Piece World Seeker will be released in March. :D

I'm really looking forward to the Anno 1800 soundtrack, which should be released early this year.

Even great composers like Tanaka and Sahashi have works that weren't up to their standards.

For example, back in 2002, Sahashi's Rizelmine and Whistle suffered from a very small budget, and the tracks just weren't that memorable. Doesn't help that they were wedged between the militaristic action of Full Metal Panic and the grand space opera of Gundam Seed.

https://media1.tenor.com/images/8bfa4c716e72f589a882842da2b7ca71/tenor.gif?itemid=7478015


A very happy new year to all of you, guys!

May you (re)connect with the truest, most authentic parts of yourself, and consequently find a real sense of peace and happiness, as I did during the past year.

I'm so proud of what this thread has become again. When I came back, about 5 months ago (reason: see previous paragraph), I found a broken thread, messy, slow-paced, and with bad energies and emotions floating around. And this despite the continuous and devoted efforts of Vin and other posters - which is something I have the UTMOST respect and admiration for. You guys are my heroes.

And now look at the thread: old members are back, the place is busy, with posts firing at a regular rate, plenty of life, news and infos exchanged like crazy, some occasional jokes and topical humour popping out now and then, and... I'm forgetting something important... Oh yes, the music! So much music! Yes, I can say it now: the thread is finally back to its former glory!

But there is one more important thing I'd like for the thread this year: the return of past contributors, those posters who have been active here before, who have brought so much, who have helped making this place awesome, but who eventually stopped posting for their own reasons (which I totally respect).

To name a few on top of my head: Shadow, Tazer, Herr Salat, Lens, Billie, Herbaciak, Aoichi-San, Nextday, Akahi-San, and many more! (I'm really sorry if I didn't quote your name, dear old friend, but rest assured that my feelings are the same towards you).

I'm sure that most of you guys still have it in you: the love, the desire, the excitement for modern orchestral music, and the appetite to hear more, wherever it comes from. So if you do, I'd be more than happy to see you back there, you voracious music-lovers, occasionally or regularly. See you soon! ;)




Vin: so you ended last year with a huge BANG, and you start this new year with another one?! My question is: do you happen to be a serial banger? Amazing job as usual!



Also, since I finally have some free time in my hands, I'll be able to check many previous posts, and I certainly will have a lot of comments to come. Be ready. ;)

JOLY BRAGA SANTOS!!! everything before 1960 is INCREDIBLE!!! not only symphony 4 but 1-3 also and everything he did during that time.after 1960 he sounds like experimental 1970 scifi horror williams.still interesting but not my cup of tea.

Happy new Year everyone.


Ladies and gentlemen! Happy new year.


2018 ended safely and now is the beginning of a new year.


Whatever year this year will be, do your best as you always do.

We will continue to encourage good music to listen to.


From the beginning of this year, I will appear in many radio broadcasts including "Kimi Machi" "Game and Radio" "Aniaka"

We have decided a lot.


Also, I participate in new works, including traditional works.

It is a parade of exciting work this year for me.


And from abroad, there are lots of concerts and live invitations.

First of all, I plan to go to Taiwan in January.


I also want to enjoy even more music this year, I feel so happy to be able to compose in good health.


Thank you all for your continued support.





Another year of wondrous music, another year of sailing on, let's start with music from last year that didn't make the cut:



Hi Score Girl (Yoko Shimomura, Akifumi Tada, Hayato Matsuo) (https://mega.nz/#!HKhTGYbS!wG0E_JTqhPY1_sgyemZtWDDRUNYoKWYwaMFi1gLLnyo)


Now, on to 2019 and I bring the first orchestral anime piece. Starting the year with Prokofiev.



A Grave Keeper, A Cat, And A Mage (https://picosong.com/wm2eg) (The anime will premier in summer)



But the bigger event. A bit of pretext, first listen to this, the last Toho Philharmonic album by Tsubasa Ito and Ryunosuke Kasai from the recent Comiket:




Lotus-Ship of the Oriental Stars (https://picosong.com/wm4pe/) (with Captain Ravel)


Ah, if only they could make the jump from arranger to composer. Suikoden, Revue Starlight and Hanebado were such delight... but wait!... what's that?... they already did?!... a session for a Fantasy Mecha series in October... War, Romance, Heroism, Sacrifice... influenced by Tanaka... now that would be something!... but wait; what's that?




Egao no Daika (https://picosong.com/wm4HY/) (Music composed by Tsubasa Ito and Ryunosuke Kasai)

:D


And another thing:



On the New Year's Kancolle Jazz Festival... Kantai Season 2 announced with a trailer. More in tone with the movie. Coming Soon (this year I suspect).

Thanks, Vinphonic, for your shares!
But i have a question regarding some of your older compilations.
I downloaded some of these older "Compilations" from you and i noticed that you sometimes have complete Soundtracks from an Anime in it.
The thing i don�t understand is, while most of the tracks are in FLAC, some of them are in MP3 for some reason. Was is not better to have the soundtrack in complete FLAC release?
And secondly why are sometimes a "Outtake" Folder in it? What does that mean? The tracks in that folder doesn�t sound really like "Outtakes".

I would have included FLAC if it was available at the time I think. It's been a while and its been so much I can't remember why they ended up that way. The "outtakes" thing is for better album flow, you can include them back if you want but to my tastes they hurt the flow of an album or make it overstay its welcome. Something like that.


New Fafner (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9asBfoxUkss)



EDIT: On the one hand I want to share something that as I specified is (almost the end) of the rollercoaster of the past few weeks and certainly anticipated by those who didn't buy the cd but on the other I don't want to interrupt the certainly interesting discussion because the topic is quite relevant and can go places, so go here for Saintia (Thread 228850).

So I just stumbled across the strangest news this afternoon: Brad Bird, the director behind The Iron Giant and The Incredibles among a variety of very well-regarded films, recently mentioned at a BAFTA tea party that his next project is going to be a musical (https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1081995133736767488/video/1). He didn't say much about it beyond it being an original idea that will feature about 20 minutes worth of animation (the fact that he specified that length makes me wonder if this will be a live-action film with animated sequences, similar to Pink Floyd - The Wall). He also openly admitted to never having done a musical before and how scared he is of doing one, but that fear also makes him want to go through with it and see how it turns out. At the very end, he mentioned that the music for the film would be done by his long-time collaborator: Michael Giacchino.

And unfortunately, that's pretty much when I lost my interest in the project. And... I dunno, should I feel bad about that? I've mentioned once or twice that I don't care for Giacchino as a composer (nor for how the industry/fans keep trying to push him as the next John Williams when he really hasn't demonstrated anything to validate such a comparison in well over a decade), so maybe there's already a bias I have against him. But I feel like a musical is the one genre of film that needs great music far more than any other, since the music is core to its entire appeal, and I honestly don't think he's got it in him to pull this off.

The only thing flicker that keeps me vaguely optimistic is that Giacchino, as far as I know, has never written for a musical before. That may be for a reason, but there's the possibility (however faint) that he might actually be pretty good at composing a musical; that said, nothing was said about lyricists, so I don't yet know if that's something Bird is doing, or if it's somebody else altogether. Maybe the lyricist will be someone who really works with the film's sensibilities and ends up making the music worth listening to?

I suppose I'm being pretty unfair to Giacchino, but I don't know whether that's justified or not. On some level, I really do hope he does a good job; I'd hope that goes for every creative in everything they work on - yes, that even includes the Sonic movie I care so little about; but I'm not betting on it. Am I right to feel that way, or is there anything that might suggest this could turn out much better than I think? Only time will tell, I guess.

(Also, I'm currently working on something to post up here - it's not exactly new; unless you've only joined or returned to the thread within the last year; but I hope you'll look forward to it.)

You have a habit of getting the grey matter working, you know that ;)

Basically, I'm not having much faith and am likewise not interested. Especially in "I don't know anything about musicals so I should direct one". That said, it is always better to be hopeful of course but theres too many factors in Hollywood now against this being anywhere near a classic or even a good time. Hope for that 1% chance of it being a miracle.

Giacchino is simply not anywhere close to being trained as a composer to do this right as the folks from 1930-1950. It doesn't help the environment he works in is now inherently anti-musical, doesn't encourage the best and most creative part of an artist and for decades musical literacy and education in classical arts like drama is nowhere near the level it was in the 1940s up to the 1990s. But I guess that goes for the general process of film-making over there as well.

However, In the global world there are many places with high music education standard and musicality in their media, general appreciation for and application of classical arts and composers trained just as well as composers back in the day (and no, that doesn't mean Japan exclusivly, but there's no bigger entertainment industry on earth with such a large pool of great talents and "potentially" great composers). If a musical gets made in such places you can very well anticipate at least something above what is required.

The world is full of composers who could pull of an animated musical beautifully. Hell, give Alan Menken full control and the directors chair for a musical and he would get the job done. Dozens of working media composers could pull this off professionally and effortlessly... but Giacchino does not have it in him to make music that will be remembered in 40 years, he's just a competent composer at best... but considering how much people praise Hurwitz Moonlanding, I shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore, but that will be hardly relevant in the near future anyway.

Had I not discovered this thread way back, perhaps I would have thought Giacchino is doing fine work given the circumstances of our times. A matter of perspective.

As far as the general principle of musicals go, any composer who can let an orchestra sing and dance (mastered the art of orchestral writing, learned all classical and broadway idioms, has a personal voice, has lots of life experience with musicals or seen lots of it, lets each instrument section have tons of fun) is qualified.

Speaking of a composer I would trust with such a task and music that survived 40 years:



Finally!: https://vgmdb.net/album/82563

Sample (https://picosong.com/wm6GA/) (and crossing my fingers this badass captain gets her own spinoff, or at least returns for the next series)

Listen to that playful, tuneful music, such uplifting spirit, so much fun to play, such fun to sing. But the best recent example is Sahashi's Saintia, you can easily translate that to a musical because the music already sings. Full of very big singable tunes, big emotions and drama, almost like an opera. In my mind I could easily arrange a song with lyrics out of Sahashi's themes, for most cues I would only need to add lyrics and a vocalist and its a musical already. This is what Seth MacFarlane meant in an interview some time ago. The thing that draws him back to old Hollywood and why we still hear good music from his projects is how singable and musical the tunes were, even with the vocalist off and how he wants his projects to have singable music. That's key to good music. No matter how you change the instruments (and the human voice is among them), a good piece of music works in all manners.

Actually try this, listen to Saintia and singing some gibberish or thought out lyrics over the music. Btw you can do this with Invsible Victory as well. You will know what makes good music...

A piece so beautiful like "A heart without Shaking" doesn't even need lyrics and you get what its about, in the universal language of music you see a pure and honest heart, unshakable, a magnificent and beautiful warrior traversing the cosmos, like a Wagnerian Legend.



Pure beauty (https://picosong.com/wmQqr/) (an example of the many illustrations and artworks Sahashi was inspired by)

The Holy Warriors of Athena: The Wagnerian Opera (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4hL1tbKFkw) (something I did after I took Sahashi's advice and had my time with it and this shows the scope of his work clearly).

A clear vision and ambition of a composer who inherited the classical arts and fuses every aspect of his muscial life and preferences together, on an album to pay tribute to a creative idea, not because he has to but because he loves it!
Such a world is where I want to be. The standard of classical arts and musicality of it is quite fulfilling. As the big M loves to say, it all depends on the people, music and art you sourround yourself with.

I'm happy where my focus is right now. Nowadays I even view classic Hollywood like I do classic concert music, the past that has been inherited.


On that note, its still a bit perplexing to see Warner Brothers logo with good old-fashioned music but thats how it works again: I sure hope thats just a mockup/placeholder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0C_pJlLQi8)
Director is Keiichi Hara, composers he likes to work with: Toshiyuki Arakawa, Kohei Tanaka, Kei Wakakusa, Kow Otani and Yu Tsuji.

If Tomoyuki Asakawa composed music for "The Land of Chocolate" from The Simpsons, this is what it would sound like:
https://picosong.com/wgpdJ/

Wow, this one was very specific. After looking up and watching the Simpsons clip, yes, I agree, it works fine. I think one of my favourite Angela Morley piece works even better here though. Check this out:


The Land of Chocolate - Simpsons Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOziWm_MJ9k

Angela Morley: Canadian in Mayfair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QF25-V6idQ





Happy New Year Kids. These are the first two songs I that came to my head to commemorate it. Perhaps they feel inspirational? Is that the right word?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj98mBOuT6U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML251hx84y4

Ah, beautiful, inspiring music to celebrate the new year, what a sweet idea! (I should have thought of this myself)

I definitely enjoy these pieces, and I'd also like to post a compilation of carefully selected positive, hopeful, cheerful music for the occasion. Shouldn't take me long...







Egao no Daika (https://picosong.com/wm4HY/) (Music composed by Tsubasa Ito and Ryunosuke Kasai)

Can't wait for this one! The samples sound very nice, really the kind of music I like to listen these days (positive, elegant stuff). Clearly my favorite of the batch you posted.




Giacchino: poor Giacchino, who makes (some) people lose hope at the mere sight of his name! Be strong Michael, some of us still believe in you and your potential. *pat shoulder*




Finally!: https://vgmdb.net/album/82563

Sample (https://picosong.com/wm6GA/) (and crossing my fingers this badass captain gets her own spinoff, or at least returns for the next series)
Yamato 2202: it's surprising how little anime music evolves sometimes (which in this case is a GOOD thing). When I listen to this *2019* piece, it reminds me of so many pieces from the 80's, or even the 70's! Obviously these guys have a great deal of respect for artistic traditions, musical codes and stylistic continuity, which gives some real hope for the future of anime music.

Also, the theme reminds me of Maurice Jarre's theme for Ghost, as most notably heard at 0:59 in the Yamato piece.

Ghost Main Theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERTcUmTE2ck

For all Tomoyuki Asakawa's fans: He have got an channel on youtube with some interesting videos about TV commercials and shows.
This is the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh1GA9HLsqm9S4HEQl54XxA

Are we cursed with Sawano on every UC Gundam series for the rest of his life?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7bMxkhqXho

Stylistic continuity is both a blessing and a curse isn't it ;)


With that director, there wasn't much hope anyway.

@arthierr: I hope it gets a soundtrack announced. Thankfully the things I REALLY care about are already announced: https://vgmdb.net/album/83326.

Vinphonic - I have been loving this Hiesei collection and haven't even gotten to the bonus selection yet. Thanks again for making such great compilations. I hardly need to return to individual scores. Of course a few are enjoyable in full, but others I am happy with the highlights.

Has anyone been enjoying any of the recently expanded scores from any of the major film score labels? I really dig the dracula (Williams) expansion and am waiting still for various Quartet releases because I ordered them along with something else that isn't released yet. I've also been quite happy that I got the Reincarnation of Peter Proud.

Slightly more positive note regarding Sawano:


Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Unreleased Soundtrack


Sample (https://picosong.com/wmxdy/)/Download (https://mega.nz/#!WaAmgaDJ!OX5Z_no6Jq9fU7s5myQopErIOZR5lmmvrsT2If9hWlQ)


This mini soundtrack was released a few weeks ago to those who attended the Gundam Narrative premier in Japan. So what makes it special compared to the previous Unicorn soundtracks? It features the the three main themes of the series (Unicorn, RX-0, Mobile Suit) as originally recorded without drum loops or other electronic enhancements. Unlike the rest of his output after Unicorn, the resulting music stands on its own quite well, and in my opinion far better than with the electronics, though there are some awkward long quiet pauses in between some of the pieces as a result of the electronic filler being removed. Regardless of how anyone feels about Sawano, there is no question that this is his absolute peak as a composer. And he will never make anything like it again for the rest of his career.

Also, I think Sawano deserves some applause for being the first composer in recent memory that was willing to re-release any of his music without the electronics. Others should take note.

It’s a shame half of Saintia Sho is samples. Some of them would be perfect with live instrumentation. I guess Sahashi’s low on money after Invisible Victory and Zi-o.

Zipper: thanks for sharing! But this just confirms how much I dislike Sawano's music. Oh those themes, so cringey! Really bad themes, like they've been composed by a mediocre composer who tried REALLY hard to sound epic and dramatic. Totally contrived and artificial, not convincing at all.

I only find track 3 half-decent as background action music. But to be honest, if Yamashita or Hirano had composed (grammar?) this piece, I would have said: "WTF, man?"

And to think that these pieces have been previously drowned in electronics and beats, that's just scary...

Of course it's overblown- it's music with a clear patriotic and militaristic edge to it. It's marching and celebrating, and even though it is loud, it does have dynamic range and build-up. Not all loud music is bad music. That wailing choir is a bit too much, but I think I dislike it simply because of how cliche it's become rather than its implementation in the piece itself.

What makes Unicorn a big cut above your typical Sawano soundtrack is that every piece has a purpose. It's not just mindless bombastic noise for the hell of it like his later works.

And if you think that's overblown, it's got NOTHING on this:

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

Uh, WTF...



I thought Vin was joking...

:happycroc:

This means that the guy who wrote this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUqjvmh6X_I

...is scoring the 2019 Sentai. Colour me particularly interested. I mean, it's Sentai - we're not going to go back to Moscow... but I'm really, REALLY happy to hear a composer of this calibre re-appearing. Now this could be a comeback.

Testing out LA Scoring Strings on my favourite Kaoru Wada theme http://jeremyrobson.com/kirara3.mp3

Hell Yeah!!!!

Fujisawa, my man!!!

Egano no Daika is already nice enough but this, this is glorious.

Hamaguchi is now in a dire spot, he has to top this wondrous symphonic diabetes:



The sugary cute Golden Age Epic (https://picosong.com/wuRyh/) (finally something to watch this season besides Kotobuki).

A wonderful homage to Sugiyama and friends with a taste of Sahashi.

You have to thank SEGA, Hobby Japan and King Records for making this happen. A taste of the new era.

Well, that was unexpected! I downloaded the first episode, listened to the score... This could be really something. Decent-sized domestic ensemble, good recording, full of themes, action goes for wonderment rather than grim banging drums. And there's enough orchestral score in the first episode that makes me think there might be a fair bit to come, that this isn't going to be one of those "OMG ORCHESTRAL SCORE!!!" first episodes followed by a bunch of cheap nothing.

I don't understand what the end credits followed by "The End" slide are doing at the very start of the episode. A joke I missed?

Either way... hope this keeps up!

I hope it does get a bit darker... I'm supposed to cut down on my sugar intake this year...

By the way, anybody keeping up with the Orville's second season? Third episode is FANTASTIC, score by Joel McNeely. It really feels like it was written from the ground up to be a vehicle for the score. SO many opportunities for the music to carry the scene. Extended "wow, scenery, travelling through space is awesome, special effects" cue, check. Suspense, check. Horror, check. Action, check. Impressionistic dream sequence, check. Big, swelling "farewell" finale, check. LIGHT, respectful references to Trek, check. (Not like season one which strayed into outright rip-off territory a little too often for my taste...)

Previous two scores (both by John Debney) had some great moments but both were light on music, more chatacter-driven, sit-comish episodes... This third one is a mini sci-fi movie.

A thirteen minute suite of highlights: https://picosong.com/wmTVF/

@Vinphonic
Have you done collections on either Williams or Morricone?

EDIT: I seem to remember a Star Wars complete collection but after a dead hard drive I cannot seem to locate this by search.

Of course it's overblown- it's music with a clear patriotic and militaristic edge to it. It's marching and celebrating, and even though it is loud, it does have dynamic range and build-up. Not all loud music is bad music. That wailing choir is a bit too much, but I think I dislike it simply because of how cliche it's become rather than its implementation in the piece itself.

I had no idea Sawano used anything other than brass and strings to accompany the electronics lol. So the fact that the winds get covered and smothered with all of the drums shows he isn't mixing/orchestrating his music as well as he could. I find the melodies and harmonies are MUCH better and more pronounced in this version than the original. Even if this sounds like cheesy pop orchestrations, it's better than most of his work by far. Now if he would just do this for more of his scores... AoT might sound better with just orchestra and acoustic instruments.

Of course it's overblown- it's music with a clear patriotic and militaristic edge to it. It's marching and celebrating, and even though it is loud, it does have dynamic range and build-up. Not all loud music is bad music. That wailing choir is a bit too much, but I think I dislike it simply because of how cliche it's become rather than its implementation in the piece itself.

I have nothing against loudness here. As you say, loud is sometimes good, of course: currently, one of my current favorite listens is Menken's Aladdin the Musical, which is often very loud, exhuberant and crazy, but at the same time masterfully composed and delightful to hear. My criticism was mainly directed at the very compositions, which for me are clumsy and uninspired, some cheap faux-epic that really tries too hard - and fails.

(Of course, keep in mind that I haven't seen the anime and therefore can only judge these pieces as pure music)


And if you think that's overblown, it's got NOTHING on this:

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

I don't understand. This sounds as sweet as a lullaby, I almost fell asleep by the end.




Testing out LA Scoring Strings on my favourite Kaoru Wada theme http://jeremyrobson.com/kirara3.mp3

Very nice! The mid-strings sound a little hard to me, but the hi-strings are quite pleasant and realistic, good stuff overall. LOVE those timpanis!




The sugary cute Golden Age Epic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FCTfQf9EHw) (finally something to watch this season besides Kotobuki).

A wonderful homage to Sugiyama and friends with a taste of Sahashi.

You have to thank SEGA, Hobby Japan and King Records for making this happen. A taste of the new era.

Sing with me: AN OST - AN OST - AN OST - GIVE - US - AN OST!

And that anime, SO CUTE!! That's one of the reasons why I love Japan, they love cuteness and they're extremely good at picturing it.




This means that the guy who wrote this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUqjvmh6X_I

...is scoring the 2019 Sentai. Colour me particularly interested. I mean, it's Sentai - we're not going to go back to Moscow... but I'm really, REALLY happy to hear a composer of this calibre re-appearing. Now this could be a comeback.

Holy sh*t... That's some first-class Space music right there. Gorgeous stuff, and tip of the hat for finding such an obscure hidden gem.

Which leads me to the Orville: we can only salute McFarlane true love of beautiful, melodic orchestral music, something he has already shown by hiring McNeely to score A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Now if he would just do this for more of his scores... AoT might sound better with just orchestra and acoustic instruments.No way. Attack on Titan has no substance whatsoever underneath its mass of electronics and Engrish screeching and choir. And I don't just mean that because removing the pieces would make each track be fragmented with even longer pauses of silence. The way Sawano writes his music after Unicorn follows the basic formula of the "Sawano drop", where the music meanders for a couple minutes, goes silent for two seconds, and then suddenly AAAAAHHH MIKA KOBAYASHI SCREAMING ENGRISH WITH CHOIR AND HORNS FULL BLAST OUT OF NOWHERE for the rest. And Attack on Titan is the poster child of it all. Even if you don't like how Unicorn sounds, there's no question that the pieces are structured far more intelligently than anything else Sawano has written since.


I have nothing against loudness here. As you say, loud is sometimes good, of course: currently, one of my current favorite listens is Menken's Aladdin the Musical, which is often very loud, exhuberant and crazy, but at the same time masterfully composed and delightful to hear. My criticism was mainly directed at the very compositions, which for me are clumsy and uninspired, some cheap faux-epic that really tries too hard - and fails.In my original reply to you I was going to make the argument that Unicorn has absolutely nothing on John Powell's horrendous Dreamworks animated movie flicks if you want "clumsy uninspired faux-epic that really tries too hard", but then I remembered you loved his music and held that comment back. Well, take that for what you will. But I would much rather listen to Gundam Unicorn than Kung Fu Panda.


This sounds as sweet as a lullaby, I almost fell asleep by the end.Now that's just being disingenuous and you know it.


Complaints about any composer's music being "cheesy and tries too hard" are just comments that I can't take seriously. Because more than just Sawano, I've seen those same accusations thrown at the likes of even Williams or Asakawa or Sahashi, in this very thread to boot. So what makes music not "cheesy"? As far as I can see, this buzzword is thrown around because some people can't stand certain sounds or associate them with certain cliches, instead of looking at a piece as a whole or the components underneath it. RC music isn't bad because it uses a string ostinato and horn blares and e-guitars, it's bad because it's droning and structured with no real thought behind it. I would take a well-constructed piece using RC orchestration cliches (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWKm6jDt-BA) any day over a single non-Williams note of Rogue One dressed up with an army of orchestrators imitating Williams.

My friend, I really don't know why you bring in Powell or where you've seen that I like him, because except for X-Men Last Stand and a few occasional pieces here and there, I don't care much about this composer. I see him as a average film composer who does some relatively decent job, who produces some functional scores, but who almost never really "shines" nor reaches greatness, as Williams or others often do or did. So, to put it simply: I'm no Powell fan (nor anti-fan).

But that being said, I do believe that he's a much better composer than Sawano. ;)


Now that's just being disingenuous and you know it.

Okaaaaay... I think I should put aside humour and tongue-in-cheek when I discuss with you. I get it, you're more the serious and to-the-point type, and I respect that.

Hmm... I think it might have been Two Steps From Hell instead of Powell. But I used Powell because TSFH sounds a helluva lot like Powell. And while Powell is probably more talented than Sawano, I certainly wouldn't pit any of his animated movies against Unicorn as proof of it.


I think I should put aside humour and tongue-in-cheek when I discuss with you. I get it, you're more the serious and to-the-point type, and I respect that. I don't find anything remotely funny about replying to a point of argument with extreme sarcasm that doesn't further the exchange or make light of the situation, but you be you. ;)

ANYWAY...



Super Robot Wars: Hollywood Assault (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocN4nA7IZIU)

Every new trailer never stops giving me my massive nostalgia goosebumps. Who composes for them? David Newman? (actually, I faintly hear Masato Coda in there, especially his love for the Superman march)


streich: Good heavens, what made you change your mind? :D (I use Spitfire Sable for making my own string section sizes for Divisi but LASS is pretty top-notch)

I see where TZ is going... but I have to agree, the lack of electronics in the Sawano album only really reveals how weak the composition is underneath. It's a fun novelty to hear a more exposed, acoustic Sawano... but in the end, you take away the electronics and you don't reveal a great, or even a good score underneath - you reveal blandly orchestrated J-pop. It's overblown, but that's its only real characteristic. It actually makes me respect Sawano even less, because whereas a lot of the scores I complain about in this thread are good music polluted by electronics, this is bad music shielded by electronics - at least from our perspective here in this thread.

Arguing as Sawano's devil's advocate for a moment, Sawano's scores aren't and never have been about good music. They've been about the sound and the atmosphere. Sawano is very good at being Sawano, and I'm willing to bet that if you picked 100 random people who bought a Sawano album and asked them what they associated with his style, and why they specifically bought THAT album... the answers would be that it's epic, it sounds cool, it gets your blood pumping, it sounds like a Hollywood movie. Nobody is going to say they were drawn to his classical form or exuberant orchestrations. That's not what the guy is about - at least, that's not what his recent scores have been about.

I cannot understand why Sawano wanted to put this out there. He's never played up his credentials as an orchestral composer and I don't know what he can hope to gain by letting people hear possibly the least important constituent part of his scores. It sounds like shit. Sawano, as we know from Gigantic Formula, can do better. GF isn't great, but my point is that Sawano's approach in the orchestral cues there is totally different - he obviously wrote them knowing that they would be played by an orchestra and approached them in a way that he simply didn't with Unicorn. with the expectation that they would actually be orchestral cues.

All the above said, thank you for posting it... It's always fascinating to hear things like this - I think in this case it was a misstep to release it, but it's still a really interesting experience. :)

Streich: The articulation of those strings is amazing... I can even hear some delicate portamento. Really nice work! I am kinda-obsessed with EWQL still, at the moment... It provides such temptations that scare me a little, but it's SO MUCH DAMN FUN...

https://picosong.com/wmUJ9/

Vinphonic please clear your inbox. Something is waiting~~

Also ENDRO~! is a REAL surprise. Here I thought it would be a boring soundtrack like Slow Start but no. Also The Prince of Smiles is a surprise as well, seems like another banger. I hope for a CD for both... And Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka...

Streich: The articulation of those strings is amazing... I can even hear some delicate portamento. Really nice work! I am kinda-obsessed with EWQL still, at the moment... It provides such temptations that scare me a little, but it's SO MUCH DAMN FUN...

https://picosong.com/wmUJ9/
Nice, sounds kinda Malcolm Arnold-ish

Inbox cleared :)


@MonadoLink: Yeah, I did share the Star Wars collection but then my MEGA account was killed and unfortunately that was my only backup. But Williams and Morricone are so super popular relativly speaking its not even needed and something to worry about.




Well that went as expected, unfortunately Endro happened, so I'm not really calling it my favorite yet (that playful classical piano part in Endro evokes Driland):



The Magnificent Kotobuki (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc6uBhlkPeI)

Ah, Mizushima, keep being my man! Two musicians (he's also the music director) to give us another Goodwin/Bernstein war epic. Even the merchandise is of exceptional quality. Hopefully the mobile game will make some serious cash for a movie. (And I swear that Bartender is Hamaguchi's self-insert).

Maybe a good idea to watch this (again) beforehand (in hindsight a teaser for this project): It's Mizushima's view on the industry (https://vimeo.com/216011482) (Hamaguchi has a cameo at 1:13)

Nice, sounds kinda Malcolm Arnold-ish

Well, that was unexpected and very, very kind!


Kotobuki

The music in the first episode interests me more than the entirety of Girls Und Panzer put together.

Hamaguchi hasn't got to sound like this for more than a decade! Actually, this may turn out to be Hamaguchi's best score to date...

:D

Vin: Did you lose your Mega account too? Jesus... :(

Even though I started the last discussion by saying thanks, I want to insist on the fact that I really do appreciate Zipper's post, not for the music, obviously, but for the opportunity to discover something new and different, and therefore enlarge my perspective.



EWQL: sounds really nice! A little spacey and impressionistic at the same time, which I love. It just needs some reverb, because it kinda sounds like the orchestra was playing in a garage. And yeah, I agree, playing with those virtual orchestras is incredibly fun and addictive!

All talk of the quality of the music itself aside, I do agree that Sawano has no real reason to release these because pure orchestral music is something he has never expressed having much interest even with Cyber Formula (which I would argue also has many of the same attributes that are derided on Unicorn). It's more strange when you realize that his "music" for Gundam Narrative consists of the same exact pieces, remixed with MORE electronics, so he's sending mixed messages overall on what his intent is.

Regardless, I am glad they were released, because it sets a precedent that I hope other composers known for throwing mountains of drums and electronics on solid orchestral music will take a page from. Think of how many of Hattori's recent scores would benefit from a pure orchestral re-release.

Yeah, that's the raw output. I've been in two minds whether or not to add reverb as the instruments were already recorded in a studio and I don't want to lose any detail in the orchestration - but I do agree, it would benefit in places. I don't like the fake verb sound, and I also don't like the bone-dry eighty different microphones shoved in every musicians' face sound. I get that it's useful for modern-sounding scores, but if there was a virtual orchestra recorded in Abbey Road 1 with a Decca Tree, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I find them kind-of terrifying in a way. I find myself getting all giddy over being able to do all these show-off grand orchestrations... and I worry that I'm just going to end up writing a bunch of nice sounding vacuous nothingness. That's all fine for stuff like this, which is really just orchestration tests, but when I actually get to writing something serious again... I worry.


Regardless, I am glad they were released, because it sets a precedent that I hope other composers known for throwing mountains of drums and electronics on solid orchestral music will take a page from. Think of how many of Hattori's recent scores would benefit from a pure orchestral re-release.

I just hope it doesn't set the reverse precedent; Sawano releases a popular score without the drums and electronics and people don't like it, ergo drums and electronics make boring orchestras sound better, ergo let's be sure to load up EVERY SINGLE SCORE with drums and electronics. Not that I think Japan is this stupid, but desperate music label executives, who are finding their market in a free-fall (recorded music is dying in general, CD sales are plummeting) might be - if they get it in their head that they can sell more CDs if everything gets loaded up with drum loops, we're screwed. I think there's already been a big move in that direction in recent years and I want it to reverse, or at the very least not get any worse. Listening to Hamaguchi's Kotobuki, I now believe there's hope.

Take all that shitty noise out of a Takayuki Hattori score, you've got a pretty awesome score. Take it out of Sawano, and you've got... honestly, absolutely nothing at all.

It would be nice if it had the effect you proposed - maybe even taking it to its logical conclusion, it would help composers and producers remember how good an orchestra is, and how you don't NEED any of that crap dubbed on there in the first place.

Hello, guys. So sorry for my long abscence - there are reasons behind that but none are against this forum, or you people. This thread is still as magnificent as it was, maybe even better, in parts I'm even glad it still flourishes after almost 11 years. The general reason I haven't said much here lately is because. I didn't find a reason to, and generally I don't look in the forum as often as I did before. Can't think of getting something to converse in here. This thread for me has also currently gone to much more deep talks on the matter of orchestra that I cannot bring much to. But this is changing today because I'm here to add a suggestion, of a french animated movie score that I actually enjoyed, a lot, and will also remind you of one that is coming out at the end of this month which sounds just as good and I'm so looking forward to.

The first suggestion/recommendation is called "The Jungle Bunch" (Les As de la Jungle). It is a score for a CGI french animated film from 2017, which had a few animated specials and a TV series since 2011, and they were all composed by the same guy - Olivier Cussac, sort of a fresh, new blood in the movie score business, as far as I know. Seems really talented. One of the reasons I wanted to make this post and add this suggestion is a simple curiosity, a data I found out about this score - which made me really smile and thought it'd be fun to let you know. Pretty much all of the Jungle Bunch scores were recorded in Budapest, reportedly with the Symphonic Orchestra of the city. Now, I'm not quite exactly sure if the same orchestra and the same studio was used for this exact movie I'm talking about, but I found out in a "making of" video, funny enough, that the room that the score was recorded was the exact SAME that Nichijou was recorded in. And that made me smile, because I was like, DAMN, two great scores recorded in the same studio! What a funny coincidence. Watching that video I found a similarity, like I had seen it somewhere. Now as I said I'm not sure if that same studio was used for the movie we're talking about; since the video is for the 2011 special but it's likely that nothing changed. Now, enough paragraph blabber; here's the video proof: https://vimeo.com/102676782

Just as I am writing this up, I watched one of the two videos I wanted to link here for you guys to listen to the score and tell me your opinions on it, one of them has a picture of the recording sessions and is the exact same room, too so I guess that takes the doubt out. Here is the 4 minute sample https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJKXhYJAuNs and heres the full album in Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oslpkNTp-xA

I'm really in love with this score. I cannot quite describe the same you guys can why I love it since I lack that connoiseur, but something about it.. I feel it's got the exact lacking sound that Hollywood doesn't have anymore. Sort of a music that tells a story, that goes with the picture perfectly. Gorgeous lovely, refined orchestration, it's just simply great and I hope you guys will love it the same. Unfortunately I cannot share it (I got a WEB FLAC) because you know how much of a pain sharing anything here has been for long. But if there's enough demand and love I might try mediafire :)

And here goes another recommendation that's yet to come at the end of the month: MINUSCULE: MANDIBLES FROM FAR AWAY. From the same label. Yet another french animated score, this one coming out this year, at the end of this month. I happened to listen to some samples on the website today and I was awed by how good it was. If I considered the other one good, this one is EVEN better. BEAUTIFUL sounds and orchestra all over. https://www.musicbox-records.com/en/cd-soundtracks/6816-minuscule-les-mandibules-du-bout-du-monde.html

Honestly I'm not surprised I keep seeing so much good film music outside of US, in Europe. And even less surprised it's France. The fuckers seem to just like the Japanese, still take film music seriously and it's such a pleasure.

Hey, Ponyo, good to see you around again. :) Thank you for the kind words too!

The jungle bunch: I haven't listened to the full score yet, but the video and medley are very good, in fact much better than what one would expect for such a kiddy show / movie. I'll post more impressions after listening to the full score.



Minuscule: I can't believe it... I was busy when I started listening to this, I intended to test to a few samples now and then hear the whole thing later... I ended up listening to all of it, TWICE!

The music is stunning, probably one of the best french movie scores I've heard. Everything is well done: the writing, orchestrations, conducting. There's variety, originality, even one track that starts in a repetitive, Remote-Control-ish way, only to end in glorious fashion with a sweeping melody! Mathieu Lamboley (the composer-orchestrator-conductor) is clearly a name to watch!

As a frenchman I should know more about these scores, but the nature of french cinema leaves little opportunities for big, ambitious symphonic scores. So I kinda stopped giving much attention to french scores. Thank you for reminding me that there's hope!




Honestly I'm not surprised I keep seeing so much good film music outside of US, in Europe. And even less surprised it's France. The fuckers seem to just like the Japanese, still take film music seriously and it's such a pleasure.

Oh, we fuckers sometimes take film music very seriously indeed, when we're not busy doing all our fucker-stuff. ;)





The Magnificent Kotobuki (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc6uBhlkPeI)

Ah, Mizushima, keep being my man! Two musicians (he's also the music director) to give us another Goodwin/Bernstein war epic. Even the merchandise is of exceptional quality. Hopefully the mobile game will make some serious cash for a movie. (And I swear that Bartender is Hamaguchi's self-insert).

Maybe a good idea to watch this (again) beforehand (in hindsight a teaser for this project): It's Mizushima's view on the industry (https://vimeo.com/216011482) (Hamaguchi has a cameo at 1:13)

After Endro, another anime with:

1) a group of cute chicks
2) them having adventures
3) a splendid orchestral score to go with it

Is that a new anime trend or something? Anyway, the resulting music, with its adventurous, Indiana Jones-like undertones, is a real delight to hear. Is there hope for an OST?

@Ponyo: Glad to see you around and a wonderful gift (like last time). Don't hold back some musing on music you like/love, no matter if you are a musician or not ;)

@arthierr: 2CD release was announced way before it aired :D I suspect they will also get Endro out, that shows production values are off the charts.

@Kotoboki: Actually 75% of the episode you don't even see the girls that much (but I hope there's more of the green one), just the planes engaging in a 15 minute action sequence that feels like the opening to a film. In fact there's a moment you have to compare with Seth MacFarlane's wonderful ending for Episode 3 of S2 of the Orville. The soundmix of the anime is far above the norm already (as expected of Mizushima) and then you lower everything in the mix when "the cavalry arrives" (7:18) and make way for the theme. That is scoring you only get when a director is just as musical as the composer, like Spielberg used to be. MacFarlane and Mizushima (and many other Japanese directors) are Musicians and this sense of drama with a score to match it, by insanely skilled composers, elevates a scene to great heights. It's what film scoring is about, and I'm very glad that this week I get to experience it both in Hollywood and Japan, a moment to treasure.

Lamboley's Boule et Bill 2 (2017) is well worth checking out.

Since everyone is sharing some music, I thought I would share a piece that I am working on for a Ghibli-esque game. I am auditioning for it and I am going to try to get my demo pieces recorded by real musicians to stand out from the drove of submissions. The dev team requested a piece in the vein of Joe Hisaishi so I obliged :D. Keep in mind, I wrote this in just under 2 hours so it is rough, but once polished and recorded proper, it will sound quite nice.

https://soundcloud.com/josh-barron/trailer-music

Looking forward to it. As a suggestion, I know its just a rough sketch but I would not use woodwind runs like that so soon, if you have time, write it around three minutes, let that piece develop nice and simple and bring in the woodwind runs as a dynamic accent and all the harmonic complexity by the second run through the melody.




Regarding Kotoboki again, Mizushima wants to make an entire universe out of this project. Would be nice if along the road Hamaguchi would get his old buddy on board for the sake of the good times:




TV-Anime Overview / Winter 2019


The Magnificent Kotobuki

https://img.animatetimes.com/news/visual/2018/1536801306_1_1_daa1966dfed4e014cb56971b9c3bb423.jp g

The Goodwin/Bernstein/Williams in the 70s War Epic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc6uBhlkPeI)

The soundmix of the anime is far above the norm already (as expected of Mizushima) and then you lower everything in the mix when "the cavalry arrives" (7:18) and make way for the theme. That is scoring you only get when a director is just as musical as the composer, like Spielberg used to be. MacFarlane and Mizushima (and many other Japanese directors) are Musicians and this sense of drama with a score to match it, by insanely skilled composers, elevates a series to great heights. It's what film scoring is all about.


The mobile game has over 100000 people already. He has a nose for digging gold. Expect Orchestral Concerts and even a symphonic album very soon if this keeps up ;)



Take Off Girls ~ The Universe Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgeYnf2jNbY&t=36s)


Endro~!



The sugary cute Golden Age Epic (https://picosong.com/wuRyh/)

Producing Anime with Art and Music: The Every-Day Fantasy




Basically, I really wanted to make a show that when you come home exhausted from work, you grab a drink, watch these girls and have a smile. I hope the fun daily life of these girls warms your heart that may be tired. Since this is my first original animation, I am very nervous but excited with a sense of adventure. I hope you find that reflected in the show.

(...)about the music, since talks with KING RECORDS were finished, I definitely wanted to work with Mr. Fujisawa. I gave him my request for rich and elegant Medieval Fantasy Europe music with a rich ethnic flavor. I asked for lovely melodies in a theatrical context with many variations to support the picture and music I want to listen to carefully. It was a very nice and productive atmosphere. I really want everyone to pay attention to the music.


Egao no Daika



The classical SciFi Epic (https://picosong.com/wm4HY/)

Fantasy Mecha... war, Romance, Heroism, Sacrifice... influenced by Tanaka... now that could be something!


Kaguya-sama: Love is War



The Baroque RomCom (https://picosong.com/wunXp/)

Another really really well made show with a big Japanese studio orchestra by Kei Haneoka. Its a comedy so lots of snippets of the score thrown in but there's a nice orchestral march and many baroque pastiche and Soprano sounds.


Manaria Friends



The French impressionistic "Friendship" (https://picosong.com/wuncD/)

Manaria Friends is a lovely symphonic score that for some reason is completely synth but the piano pieces alone make an OST worth it (and as expected of Yoshida and his Cydesignation it looks absolutely beautiful). I guess its not a worry considering it has been in production hell for so long its a wonder the music got out at all. EDIT: It may have been not recorded at the time of the advanced broadcast so its not yet 100% certain it will be synth.


Rising of the Shield Hero



The Modern Chamber Score (https://picosong.com/wunVQ/)

This has far more lovely pieces and advanced orchestral techniques but with much flavor of that modern scoring approach Kevin Penkin is fond of. But theres promise here.


Domestic Kanojo



The Feisty Drama (https://picosong.com/wunmR/)

Masato Coda has been listening to too much Simoun lately, his Domestic Kanojo has more than one reference to it, especially that string+piano piece. Don't really expect an orchestra but you never know...


Bermuda Triangle: Colorful Pastrale



The colorful Orchestral Pastrale (https://picosong.com/wunVm/)

Bermuda Triangle is completely synth but a virtual orchestra with interesting, skillful orchestration.



Those that didn't make it (yet) and we have to wait and see:

Date A Live III, Spec-Ops Asuka, Dororo, Grimm's Note, Promised Neverland. Revisions is one of those shows I haven't checked yet and I will let it pass if it turns into another Tokyo Ghoul surprise when a soundtrack drops.

Shows with lovely music but non-orchestral:

An Angel flew down on me, Pastel Memories, Kakegurui XX, Ueno-san wa Bukiyou, Doukyonin wa Hiza, Go-toubun no Hanayome

In regards to the late arrivals, I suspect Piano no Mori will be hardly different than the first season but the new Precure has Tachibana and that is a welcome step-up for me, maybe the soundtracks will be worth a listen again, considering its a Space Theme and Tachibana is really excited to to work on it. There's promise in FranXX.



So that's it from the TV front, roll on the film side with Iwasaki's City Hunter, Hattori's Moonlanding, Code Geass Film Finale plus all the unreleased music from the show and two Keij Inai film scores plus the Saga of Tanya movie: Upcoming (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euj8XSLin0c)


And last but not least, something fun & goofy and a little broadway. Since they scored full-on hentai with a symphonic score and big bands I guess the floodgates are open now:



Eromanga-Sensei: The Musical (https://picosong.com/wun8U/)




Tatsuya Kato - Over the Rainbow (https://picosong.com/wunDB/)



To come full circle, Kohei Tanaka had a full orchestral recording last night with a full horn section (the brass players got quite a work-out) :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re_XYuq4_CM

Seems like she�s doing more cartoons this year.
Harumi Fukui:

今年は3日から仕事始め☺️お正月から多くの演奏家が集まってくれて嬉しか✨朝から夜中2時までアニメーシ ョン映画の音楽録音でした🎶
ふうきどん、今日からのんびりお休み🍀写真は中川ストリングスのみんなと

Hey there, everyone! It's been a while since I last posted, but I've got a special surprise for the weekend! About a year and a half ago, I posted my first music upload: a soundtrack album for Last of the Summer Wine by Ronnie Hazlehurst. Considering it was my first time ripping and uploading music, it turned out pretty well. However, there were a couple of things I knew weren't perfect - the lack of FLAC files was a big omittance (it's certainly more universal than the ALAC/M4A files I included when it comes to the highest quality files), and only giving links to folders where you had to download individual tracks instead of a whole ZIP file was rather annoying. But in working on the FFShrine edition of my Christmas album, I finally figured out how to export FLAC, and I decided to take the opportunity to do a somewhat improved re-do of the album upload.

Firstly, this upload contains links to a FLAC version of the album (or an export to FLAC using the original M4A rips, so it's not quite "true" FLAC - but I'm happy with this for now). In addition, all the links lead to ZIP folders that you can extract after downloading; this should hopefully work out better for most, but I'll happily include the original links to folders if some folks prefer that method of getting music. I also found a good quality version of the album cover, which is now part of every ZIP file and folder alongside the liner notes.

That's pretty much it in terms of updates, but the music itself is still fantastic. I think it was around this time back in 2015 when I borrowed a copy of this album from my local library, and I still adore the music after all these years. Hopefully, you will to. Enjoy the upload!



Last of the Summer Wine: Original Music from the TV Show (1997)



Composed, arranged and conducted by Ronnie Hazlehurst

Track 7 (Liebestraum) is based on a trio of piano works composed by Frank Liszt.

Track 17 (Scarborough Fair) is a traditional ballad.

Track 18 (Pratty Flowers) is a traditional folk song, originally adapted from an earlier, corrupted ballad of unknown origin by Joe Perkin.

(Included in the download are the album's liner notes, with an overview of each song written by the show's producer/director (Alan J. W. Bell), comments by Bell and the show's creator/writer (Roy Clarke), and a list of members from the orchestra. A decent quality album cover sourced from Discogs is also included.)

FLAC:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/7315n53b7ui3p1i/Summer_Wine_FLAC.zip/file
https://mega.nz/#!FeoVQKgB!zC-ja3drjT3uIqpoWVZdd2hU5d17HrRW7u35I6lcQzk

MP3:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ii4ezsd7wg0zn7y/Summer_Wine_MP3.zip/file
https://mega.nz/#!0LwnGQgB!ap2__e_m497DeWnNblDPHlaK8F43BYwb_o3-7lrQFUI

ALAC:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/7rju9k8furuwul8/Summer_Wine_AAC.zip/file
https://mega.nz/#!FToz1YIY!vlWPXl8boSjZ8_mZHrM4uesF7uhjVRcgoAx0Z3Y8Ucw (https://mega.nz/#!FToz1YIY!vlWPXl8boSjZ8_mZHrM4uesF7uhjVRcgoAx0Z3Y8Ucw)



Ronnie Hazlehurst was an English composer, arranger and conductor who became known for the countless theme tunes he created for BBC programmes, particularly sitcoms. Among the many shows he worked on, such as:

Are You Being Served?
Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister
To The Manor Born
The Two Ronnies
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
Only Fools and Horses (arrangement)

His most enduring and recognized work is for Last of the Summer Wine. Not just for how long the show itself ran on for (1973-2010: 37 years!), but also for having a fully fledged soundtrack. Most sitcoms tend to have a theme tune and a few transitional cues, letting the dialogue and comedy take precedent over everything else. Last of the Summer Wine, however, was an exception - every episode would have a specifically recorded score, complete with recurring character themes, arrangements of classic songs associated with the area, and an overall musical quality that was unheard of in TV sitcoms of the day (and is still unheard of, so many years later).

Some of the show's strongest moments came entirely through the beautifully written and performed soundtrack provided by Hazlehurst and his orchestra. The gorgeous, yet incredibly sombre piece that Compo (played by Bill Owen) plays on trumpet at the end of 'Last Post and Pigeon' still haunts me, even years later. The choral version of the show's theme tune used to accentuate Compo's death in 'Just A Small Funeral', with nothing more than a few shots of the town and the surrounding countryside, really helped give the character an emotional send-off. Even quieter moments or when the characters just talked about bizarre ideas were given a special something thanks to the music playing in the background.

In 1993/4, a fan group known as the 'Summer Wine Appreciation Society' got into contact with Ronnie Hazlehurst, with a list of background music that they wished to see get some kind of official release. Hazlehurst liked the idea, and after a couple of years of researching and recording, a selection of the show's music was released on CD and tape in 1997: 'Last of the Summer Wine: Original Music from the TV Series'.

This soundtrack mostly consists of themes that would be used as the basis for the show's background music (for example, a general arrangement of Nora Batty's theme 'Nora, My Nora' is featured here, but not a version that was composed for a specific episode), along with a few themes that were only featured once throughout the show's run. A few of the themes are also arrangements of songs by other people (which songs were not composed by Hazlehurst are noted above).

As far as I know, this is the only CD/tape release for any of Hazlehurst's music besides his theme tunes, and is actually quite rare (even online websites don't have it, or it tends to be very expensive). It was only by complete luck that I stumbled across a copy in my local library a couple of years back, and it's only through reading this forum on a regular basis that I was inspired to share the music to you guys, and the rest of the internet.

Though Hazlehurst did not live to see the show to the very end, dying in 2007 (three years before its final season), the impact that he left on the show should never be forgotten.

sample of one piece: world seeker main theme: https://picosong.com/wuk9H/

The sugary cute Golden Age Epic (https://picosong.com/wuRyh/)

The opening procession has some Elgar/Walton-like vibes.

@streich: Yeah, parts of the score definitely have that vibe of a Walton film score.

@World Seeker: Thanks! Yep, Kohei "King" Tanaka, baby. :D

I suspect his new sessions is either for Gunbuster 3 or Shin Sakura Taisen.

He also has a new soundtrack up in a few days. More Salesman.


Also, a little interesting talk:

The more you know... (https://picosong.com/wueFK/)

Not that Cowboy Bebop isn't great, but has Mike listened to Naotora? It deserves Bebop-level recognition, but never quite reached that level of popularity. It's like as if Shore wrote LotR but all anyone still talks about is Silence of the Lambs or The Fly.

Also, writing a Symphony No. 1 isn't easy. Just ask Jeremy Soule.

I'm in the market for new brass and wind samples. I looked at Sample Modeling and they seem pretty good. Spitfire Audio also has some interesting brass. Good winds seem to be harder to come by, probably because they're the most underused section of the orchestra in modern film scoring.

Not that Cowboy Bebop isn't great, but has Mike listened to Naotora? It deserves Bebop-level recognition, but never quite reached that level of popularity.Is it really a surprise that he hasn't? Bebop is arguably the most popular anime of all time in America. It's namedropped by Hollywood celebrities. Naotora is just another crappy J-drama that has a really excellent score- the norm for Taiga dramas in general. I doubt anyone other than the most ardent Kanno fans have sought it out. I also remember Mike saying a few years ago in this thread that he wouldn't mind a compose-off with Kanno, if someone was willing to make the arrangements. :)

And on the topic of Kanno and western recognition, she was invited to join the Academy a few months ago:

https://www.theouterhaven.net/2018/07/makoto-shinkai-oscars/

Did two more pieces for this demo in the style of Hisaishi. I haven't yet had the chance to make the edits that Vinphonic suggested, but I will ;)

I am more satisfied with these two new ones and feel like they develop better, especially the second one.

https://soundcloud.com/josh-barron/sets/hisaishi-styled-demo-2019

Tomoyuki Asakawa (朝川朋之): Relaxation Music Harp And Wave (ハープと波によるリラクセーション・ミュージック) [Full Album]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5w6V-I1DtI

@Sugimania:
Oh, I almost forgot abut this. Here's the link to the actual download:

https://www.fondsound.com/tomoyuki-asakawa-%E6%9C%9D%E5%B7%9D%E6%9C%8B%E4%B9%8B-relaxation-music-harp-and-wave-%E3%83%8F%E3%83%BC%E3%83%97%E3%81%A8%E6%B3%A2%E3%8 1%AB%E3%82%88%E3%82%8B%E3%83%AA%E3%83%A9%E3%82%AF% E3%82%BB/

The write-up done by the guy who uploaded this is a spectacular read, so I'll just paste it here:


You wouldn’t know it, but nearly all the songs here are Tomoyuki’s reinterpretations of those from the classic American songbook. These are the things I had to piece together to understand where Tomyuki was coming from. Taking lyrical and atmospheric inspiration from the nostalgic romanticism a lot of truly American music has, Tomoyuki tapped into something quite special. It’s the reason I realized I’ve heard these before.

On those songs, Tomoyuki, most famously known for his CM and behind the scenes studio work before then, took to the forefront to reimagine something as sweet and simple as Ralph Blane’s “The Boy Next Door” from Judy Garland’s ‘40s musical Meet Me in St. Louis as an impressionist tapestry like “ザ・ガール・ネクスト・ドア” that practically begs for its own scene. Rather than keep a distance from the lineage of all this music, he went deep, as in pieces by Gershwin and Mexican classical master Manuel Ponce (whose “Estrellita” gently rocks you into the album) to expand further where that personal musical vocabulary can flow.

My favorite of all these songs are the compositions Tomoyuki digs deep from our American musical well. From the second track to the fourth, three songs from American Romantic composer Edward MacDowell’s Woodland Sketches get a further, divine musical touch, rendered as featherlight ambient pieces where all the impressionistic essences of the original get a renewed focus. If you can remember Vince Guaraldi’s work on A Charlie Brown Christmas, transforming Christmas music by reducing it to a palette to play off from, Tomoyuki brings that same spirit here. Even without a text translation you can place these songs somewhere in your experience because you have heard them before.

You hear the influence of Appalachia and the early western music of America, obvious technical touchstones for Tomoyuki, but you also hear it inviting itself into this, new Japanese idea of “environmental music” being expanded upon, too. “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’m In”, the 6th track, and “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton”, the 5th, by Jonathan E. Spilman — two aspirational ideas joined in a just universe — float along in Tomoyuki’s womb-like instrumentals.

The album ends on a Tomoyuki original “かげろうたちの夢”, to go along with another, the 8th track “埠頭にて”, both songs gorgeous expressions of all this other music as lived by him. The first one is a trio of harp, guitar, and water wave inviting you to put yourself by Tokyo’s seaside wharf where Tomoyuki would go to watch the horizon and escape from the sea of high rises, traffic, and quotidian life, for a brief respite in nature. The final track then lets you imagine, as best one will ever do, someone else’s dream, in this case Tomoyuki’s, as it shifts through all sorts of sonic blends until it reaches a sort of peaceful pace. Flow river flow, until the space between light and day, fits music fit for a relaxed slumber (in someone else’s mind).

I'm rather indifferent to Asakawa's barebones harp arrangements, but I always appreciate knowing what his musical influences are. Old romantic Americana and 1940s musicals are definitely aspects you can hear in his orchestral music as well.

The Melodic Craftsmanship of Toshihiko Sahashi



Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_mSs4PC0iY)
Download (https://mega.nz/#!7HgCCaCI!p7B-JgDS92IcGWp-d-vbIyXjC37wx85MqGSnfOcUAzk)

Just like I did for King Tanaka, here's the appendix of Sahashi's melodic outburst in the 90s. Ive worked on each album to make it cohesive and cut off the fat even further. I've also thrown in the highlights of Saint Seiya Omega for good measure, now covering everything of note he has done from 1991 to 2019. This is only possible because of Bladelight, so give him a big rep, all credit belongs to him (and nextday for Sahashi's little string album). The highlight is of course the three Live-action projects he worked on in the late 90s. In 1999 he truely entered stardom: Angel Links, Ultraman Gaia, Kochikame Movie, Blue Stinger, Itabashi Madams, Small Citizen Kane, Big-O, HunterXHunter etc. Ten years of glory, ending with the Gundam Symphony. An incredibly prolific composer, just like Goldsmith. I assume after 2006 and after Gundam Seed Destiny and Simoun, he had some sort of incident because he no longer was doing five projects at once after that year. Regardless, so much melody... and you know, that tends to last, just ask Mozart.





EDIT: And something fun I did, not to cause misunderstanding, the show and score are rad as hell (especially that fusion of Morricone and Goodwin) but here's what Hamaguchi was mostly inspired by apart from the "wilderness/spaghetti western angle".



Kotobuki Squadron 633: Battle Over the Wilderness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU0CNI_y2X4)

I thought Agedama was from 1991. Sorry, I was just nitpicking, but it doesn't matter.

I am proud to be part of the contribution.

Vinphonic continues to impress me with his compilations and remasterings.

Such an honor.

Nobody can leave Ron Goodwin alone...

Kotobuki is half fun and half some of the best symphonic music to flow from Hamaguchi's pen. If it weren't for Endro I'd say it put the biggest smile on my face this season. It completely makes up for the crushing disappointment that is Saint Seiya. ;)

Anyone notice that The Orville Season 1 soundtrack is out? Unfortunately the person who uploaded it to the forums here used Uploaded.net so I have 2 hours to wait to hear this magnificent score.

@BladeLight: You flatter me too much *blushing*

@Josh: I wouldn't exactly call everything magnificent but most episodic scores are at the very least a nice throwback to the good old days of SciFi television :)

@Tango: Unfortunately Egao no Daika is already enclosure (but at least it's a release), hopefully Endro does not suffer the same fate. This is one score I definitely want to buy.

I promised myself I wouldn't pirate The Orville, but mine won't come for ages and I just couldn't resist...

So, WOW.

Let's start with the genuine gold: Andrew Cottee's score for "New Dimensions" is a 12 minute suite of some of the best sci-fi music ever written, bar none. Cottee's harmonic language is the most interesting of all the composers (not that the others are bad, but this... wow...) and he manages a thematically consistent, developing, symphonic score with recognisable motifs and a sense of drive that just cannot be matched. Though he plays along with the "Star Trek" sound world, he also pushes ahead with some deliciously anachronistic and totally unexpected things. The action music is propulsive and lightly dissonant but never loses its melody... it's orchestrated to unbridled perfection. I cannot resist those outrageous old-fashioned trombone slides in "Engaging Tractor Beam" and those woodwind runs in "Mission Complete" - that is a phenomenally talented orchestrator who knows the symphony orchestra like the back of his hand, just going for it and having fun. Then there's the pitch-perfect suspense build ("Will you look at that!") to the end of act wonderment passage in "Krill Ships Approaching" which pays off post-commercial with some of the loveliest "beauty and exploration" music in "Within The Anomaly" - these cues are so dense and so white-hot creative. I've always said that if I ever get rich and make my big sci-fi movie, I'd hire Hirano and the LSO for the score. Not any more; it's Andrew Cottee all the way.

The other scores... well, they're awfully good, but not perfect.

Broughton's pilot is "Lost In Space 2" - and "Shuttle to the Ship" is pure Star Trek - The Motion Picture, even quoting Goldsmith's epic Enterprise flyby. "Krill Attack / Shuttle Escape" is good old fashioned sci-fi action - that Hollywood brass going hell for leather just like they used to.

Debney is on fire - but veers into modern territory and rip-offs a little too often for my liking. "Bringing Lysella Aboard" goes full-on theme and orchestra, put is rudely interrupted by electronic percussion and grinding noises in "Casting The Votes" - but I shan't complain because it's very much a stylystic choice in the episode - it just messes up the flow of the album on disc. "Alara Gets The Cold Shoulder" is a very thinly disguised redux of James Horner's Star Trek II score and "Alara Hallucinates" is straight out of Goldsmith's "Alien"

But meanwhile, McNeely playing Goldsmith lite also pushes the "it's a homage, HONEST!" button once or twice too often - massive, massive lifts from Goldsmith's Star Trek The Motion Picture in "The Bio-Ship / Exploring the Hull" and "Exploring the Bio-Ship" (in the latter case, the entire three minute cue) and from Goldsmith's First Contact in "Dorahl / The Roof Opens" - again, virtually the entire cue lifted from Goldsmith's finale.

There's plenty more...

BUT... This is album is two and a half hours of some of the finest symphonic sci-fi music in the business. There is a level of construction the pacing here that is jaw-dropping to hear today, but knowing it's a television score from a Seth MacFarlane show... well, it defies belief. Just put it on and listen to it and love it. Yes, a great deal of it is derivative and a great deal of it is shamelessly ripped off... but it's done with such panache, such conviction, and such love that it is pretty easy to forgive.

I promised myself I wouldn't pirate The Orville, but mine won't come for ages and I just couldn't resist...

So, WOW.

Let's start with the genuine gold: Andrew Cottee's score for "New Dimensions" is a 12 minute suite of some of the best sci-fi music ever written, bar none. Cottee's harmonic language is the most interesting of all the composers (not that the others are bad, but this... wow...) and he manages a thematically consistent, developing, symphonic score with recognisable motifs and a sense of drive that just cannot be matched. Though he plays along with the "Star Trek" sound world, he also pushes ahead with some deliciously anachronistic and totally unexpected things. The action music is propulsive and lightly dissonant but never loses its melody... it's orchestrated to unbridled perfection. I cannot resist those outrageous old-fashioned trombone slides in "Engaging Tractor Beam" and those woodwind runs in "Mission Complete" - that is a phenomenally talented orchestrator who knows the symphony orchestra like the back of his hand, just going for it and having fun. Then there's the pitch-perfect suspense build ("Will you look at that!") to the end of act wonderment passage in "Krill Ships Approaching" which pays off post-commercial with some of the loveliest "beauty and exploration" music in "Within The Anomaly" - these cues are so dense and so white-hot creative. I've always said that if I ever get rich and make my big sci-fi movie, I'd hire Hirano and the LSO for the score. Not any more; it's Andrew Cottee all the way.

The other scores... well, they're awfully good, but not perfect.

Broughton's pilot is "Lost In Space 2" - and "Shuttle to the Ship" is pure Star Trek - The Motion Picture, even quoting Goldsmith's epic Enterprise flyby. "Krill Attack / Shuttle Escape" is good old fashioned sci-fi action - that Hollywood brass going hell for leather just like they used to.

Debney is on fire - but veers into modern territory and rip-offs a little too often for my liking. "Bringing Lysella Aboard" goes full-on theme and orchestra, put is rudely interrupted by electronic percussion and grinding noises in "Casting The Votes" - but I shan't complain because it's very much a stylystic choice in the episode - it just messes up the flow of the album on disc. "Alara Gets The Cold Shoulder" is a very thinly disguised redux of James Horner's Star Trek II score and "Alara Hallucinates" is straight out of Goldsmith's "Alien"

But meanwhile, McNeely playing Goldsmith lite also pushes the "it's a homage, HONEST!" button once or twice too often - massive, massive lifts from Goldsmith's Star Trek The Motion Picture in "The Bio-Ship / Exploring the Hull" and "Exploring the Bio-Ship" (in the latter case, the entire three minute cue) and from Goldsmith's First Contact in "Dorahl / The Roof Opens" - again, virtually the entire cue lifted from Goldsmith's finale.

There's plenty more...

BUT... This is album is two and a half hours of some of the finest symphonic sci-fi music in the business. There is a level of construction the pacing here that is jaw-dropping to hear today, but knowing it's a television score from a Seth MacFarlane show... well, it defies belief. Just put it on and listen to it and love it. Yes, a great deal of it is derivative and a great deal of it is shamelessly ripped off... but it's done with such panache, such conviction, and such love that it is pretty easy to forgive.

Seth MacFarlane seems to be part of a very small few that seems interested in maintaining that old Hollywood sound. That man needs more projects. Now about the music for Orville... The Main Theme definitely takes more than a few nods from Goldsmith, but that is fine by me. The entire score is just one big trip down memory lane, with some surprises, and good writing. Not all of it is flawless, but even the weakest track here beats 90% of what I have heard out of the American film industry in quite some time.

The entire Orville soundtrack is officially(!) uploaded on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLohYzz4btpaR-qW5pUvocnw8GbOtB66tM

I can't say I'm as enthusiastic for this as any of you (Seriously, Andrew Cottee over HIRANO? Please elaborate on this, Tango) but it is probably the best thing I've heard come out of the west in the past 5 years.

@Tango: Unfortunately Egao no Daika is already enclosure (but at least it's a release), hopefully Endro does not suffer the same fate. This is one score I definitely want to buy.

Egao is pretty massively underwhelming so far (even less interesting than the Neets recordings, and that's saying something) so I won't care much if it doesn't get a release.

Endro, on the other hand... really deserves it. The score is frequently ravishing. It's unlike anything Fujisawa has done before and yet it's very competent. It speaks with that old-fashioned language that I just wasn't expecting him to be able to master so well.

Kotobuki gets a 2-CD standalone release in April so it's not all bad news. I did NOT want this to go the way of Princess and the Pilot.

TZ: Thoughts coming up after work. :D

Maybe it just needs the right director and the right project to push them in the right direction ;)

Also, speaking of old-fashioned, this was unexpected: pens�es (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7khZnSP1ZV0)

Ryosuke Nakanishi’s Peace Maker is such a disappointment in the sense that 90% of the songs are too short. Then an awesome theme which hardly shows up, and 2 discs for an hour?! I know it’s done to scene but it just seems like a waste.

I get the impression that Iwashiro's "Gargantia" is not quite popular around here. But when that work isn't trying to be suspenseful or action-oriented it has some of the most beautiful writings I have come to hear. "Wind and Light" in particular always has me picture a tropical beach vista in my head and cracks a smile on this day even in days when doing so seems difficult. "At the End of the Festival" is amazingly relaxing. I always find myself whistling along with the ocarina during "Welcome to the Gargantia" and "Swirling About the Rough Seas". I am so glad I didn't miss on these gems.

I haven't quite heard anything that worked so well with me among Iwashiro's works in general, but I figured as long as it is Japan we are speaking of, this sort of beautiful and uplifting music can happen from just about any composer and for just about any show or genre. There doesn't seem to be a pattern as to where or when they can happen. One just needs to be lucky to catch them! We sure have lots of well-informed people here who seem to keep up with the trends. Thought I'd try my luck and ask if any beautiful and uplifting music in the same spirit as those I mentioned above got caught in your nets lately, say from early 2018 to present? All I was able to try from that period was Valkyria 4, where Sakimoto knocked me out with the duo of "Caring Bond" and Stafilled Sky".

The Orville S1 OST came out today and I'm super fucking happy. Digitally and CD. It's a dream come true. A gorgeous listening experience. Such brilliant music completely missing today.



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

On top of that, Minuscules also came out. TODAY is a DAY TO REMEMBER.



https://dbr.ee/YKK4
https://dbr.ee/53Xy
https://dbr.ee/QJcy
https://dbr.ee/961n
https://dbr.ee/mBlW
https://dbr.ee/h7HU
https://dbr.ee/9WNP
https://dbr.ee/MoSJ
https://dbr.ee/VHJ2

Minuscule is great.found another unreleased orville style score from 1998.carl jacksons invasion america.pure fullorchestral badassness.also why didnt anyone tell me the paul mccartney also writes fantastic filmscorelike classic orchestral and choral music.Andrew cottee seems to be involved with at least one of them but both oceans kingdom and standing stone are fantastic.
Also Eric whitacres Deep Spheres is nothing but filmscorelike classic orchestral space exploration music.but his work equus is even better.badass.

I looked at The Orville's soundtrack and saw John Debney's name on it. Looking at my meager CD collection I found that he composed some tracks with Louis Febre for the Gundam live action film: G-Saviour. Since I'm not too literate on music composition nor knowledgeable about the scene, I want to hear your opinion on John Debney and the soundtrack.

Despite the film's mediocre at best performance, I enjoyed the soundtracks of both the Ps2 game and film, with my favorite of the film being the first track, being composed by Ikihiro, and track number 11: Romance.

Below I have ripped the soundtrack using EAC. I'm pretty new to it, but hopefully using the standard is fine.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sGYHBXyiAnLEX-eL4FP_XXufE-TyWfCE

Scans/Sountrack list:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/my-drive?ogsrc=32

Well, Debney is among the more flexible composers in Hollywood, at least when he's working on something that isn't exactly mainstream, although I personally think his best work is for Komodo (1999). Having listened to the G-Savior score thanks to YouTube, I can say that... eh, it's okay, for the most part. It works for the film, but as a Gundam score... it's fairly low on the totem pole. Granted the first track by Ikihiro is amazing, but I'm strictly talking about Debney's contributions. And, well... they don't really leave much of an impact, especially since I've listened to scores from Unicorn, Victory, Zeta, 00, Turn A, Mobile Fighter, War In The Pocket, 0079, ZZ, and even Char's Counterattack. So... yeah, it's not horrible, but Debney's contributions are sadly kind of forgettable.

R.I.P. Michel Legrand- gone at 86. :( I can't say I have too much experience with his music since I haven't seen any of the films he composed for, but he was a named favorite among many Japanese composers, from Sahashi to Tanaka to even Iwasaki.

I hate to remind everyone, but John Williams is the same age...

WHAT? No...

Just months after his score for The Other Side Of The Wind made its debut.

That's just... I have no words.

I remember seeing Michel Legrand's name during a listen to Miles Davis' list. He co-composed the soundtrack for Dingo. It's depressing to read the deaths of composers that have made great works. Though living until 86 is pretty remarkable, from a perspective of 29. Especially when you continue to do what you enjoy, or at-least are successful in.


Well, Debney is among the more flexible composers in Hollywood, at least when he's working on something that isn't exactly mainstream, although I personally think his best work is for Komodo (1999). Having listened to the G-Savior score thanks to YouTube, I can say that... eh, it's okay, for the most part. It works for the film, but as a Gundam score... it's fairly low on the totem pole. Granted the first track by Ikihiro is amazing, but I'm strictly talking about Debney's contributions. And, well... they don't really leave much of an impact, especially since I've listened to scores from Unicorn, Victory, Zeta, 00, Turn A, Mobile Fighter, War In The Pocket, 0079, ZZ, and even Char's Counterattack. So... yeah, it's not horrible, but Debney's contributions are sadly kind of forgettable.

Comparative to the soundtracks Gundam I'd agree that G-Saviour isn't a top list. With a list that includes, Yoko Kanno, Kouhei Tanaka, Yasuo Higuchi, Shigeaki Saegusa and Akira Senju, it's hard to be at the top. Even Build Fighters had a great soundtrack. Though I'd honestly put G-Saviour over Unicorn's soundtrack. Besides about three to four tracks, I've forgotten most of it. But I did enjoy Piano to Ann's Moonlight Sonata piece.

Since everyone is sharing some music, I thought I would share a piece that I am working on for a Ghibli-esque game. I am auditioning for it and I am going to try to get my demo pieces recorded by real musicians to stand out from the drove of submissions. The dev team requested a piece in the vein of Joe Hisaishi so I obliged :D. Keep in mind, I wrote this in just under 2 hours so it is rough, but once polished and recorded proper, it will sound quite nice.

https://soundcloud.com/josh-barron/trailer-music
The link doesn't seem to work anymore.

Michel Legrand was a great musician. He definitely was a huge influence to Tanaka and Sahashi. What I find interesting in mentioning him together with Johnny is that both were phenomenal classical jazz musicians but while one was flashy and exhubertant, the other was more intimate and lyrical.

In regards to Tanaka, my adoration is basically that he combines the qualities of both, the flashiness and the intimate into one sweet package of classical, rock and jazz I find irresistable. Plus, fourty years into the business, then the head of the business and still rocking the studio like no other, the most outspoken but most loveable composer I know, always polite but always on fire, who revels in showbizz as well as peforming in a cozy Jazz bar among his fans, nobody can beat that. Btw his new Salesman is a lovely jazz album. Sahashi is pure fun to listen to, but there's far more in Tanaka's music I can connect with.

Anyway, back to highlighting a musician whose work you should check out if you haven't:



Michel Legrand
The Essential Film Music Selection
The Flemish Radio Orchestra (The Brussels Philharmonic), conducted by Michel Legrand



Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coe3DuO_nU4)

Download (https://mega.nz/#!iWZH3agB!TA-IlQ13ClN2LXbjxHRvbC5__-72eoNZBly82V1noME)


The highlight is of course Yentl, a harp concerto for film but his Young Girls from Rochefort is what I dig the most.


Goodnight, sweet prince:

Williams and Legrand were good friends too. This news probably hit him harder than it hit all of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YokOVxbGi4

THE FIREBIRD (HINOTORI) - 1978

composed by Michel Legrand & Jun Fukamachi
performed by London Symphony Orchestra & New Japan Philharmonic



sample: https://picosong.com/wuN64/
download: https://mega.nz/#!XlJl1SoT!nJkM6R2Y39kLrqEK4h8vzb4ZXS9Z1zidUCPTJQtXwk8

R.I.P

Saw The Umbrellas of Cherbourg earlier today, and it's been a while since I've been so moved by a musical. Legrand is a master of melody. Both the film and score are just marvelous. So marvelous that it makes me wonder why people even bother to praise half-hearted imitations like La La Land.

The more I listen to Legrand, the more I can hear his influence. Taku Iwasaki, Yuta Bandoh (aka Taku Matsuhiba), Satoru Kousaki, and a few others have already offered their condolences on social media. But Kentaro Haneda might have been his biggest fan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70NWYzlNyhY). Here's a fantastic recently uploaded video of Haneda meeting his hero over a decade ago and performing the main theme of Cherbourg with Legrand conducting and playing piano duet with Haneda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OThYA5LeN7A

May these two perform to their hearts content up in the clouds.

The Zipper, people praise La La Land because they have no other reference, most of them have never seen The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and they won't, it's 'old cinema'. I saw it a couple of months ago and it's still as fresh as the first day. Sadly, we're running out of media composers for whom melody is an essential part of a composition. Beautiful performance of Haneda and Legrand, very touching.

The Zipper, people praise La La Land because they have no other reference, most of them have never seen The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and they won't, it's 'old cinema'.Sad, but very true. It really is a shame because La La Land was created as a tribute to films like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. But rather than a tribute, it comes across as a watered-down "reboot" to modern audiences who can't stand the heavy unironic romanticism that drives these movies. It also doesn't help that Justin Hurwitz can't write a decent melody to save his life- how can you write music for a musical if you can't nail the most basic aspect of it?

The Zipper, people praise La La Land because they have no other reference, most of them have never seen The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and they won't, it's 'old cinema'.

Maybe this is a bit off-topic; I wish I had something to say about Legrand but I honestly never heard of the man until now; but it's something that fascinates me enough that I want to ask about it - the idea that people don't want to check out older examples of media because they're "old".

I've heard others talking about this phenomenon in reference to animation, film, and sometimes video games (though that's not so prevalent due to how relatively young that medium is), but I've not actually come across it myself. That's not to say it doesn't happen; it's more proof of my ignorance and not being in the circles where it does come up than anything else; but it's a mindset that I find really curious.

If you've ever asked someone about this, or you were someone who dismissed "old media" at some point, why is the idea that something is "old" make it less worth checking out than something "new"?

Off the top of my head, I'd assume it's a matter of convenience on some level; that it's much easier to find something that just came out than something from a few decades ago, either due to how well-known it is in your mind or the difficulty in trying to acquire it. (As a fan of both animation and old school games, I do understand why someone may want to go after the latest Mamoru Hosoda film or play Sonic Mania on PC instead of going through any degree of irritating effort to find full versions of Clive Walley's short films or legally acquire Enemy Zero on the SEGA Saturn.)

The only other thing I'd consider is that people who dismiss "old media" are the kind of folks who see whatever's current as the culmination of everything that came before, and therefore don't see the need to experience what came before (another gaming example, but it's like how Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are considered to be the shining examples of the "Metroidvania" sub-genre and the only valid retro examples worth looking at, even though the idea of non-linear exploration in video games had existed since at least the early 80s and has presented many enjoyable, fascinating games that are worth examining in their own right). I've been lucky enough to not stumble across anyone who thinks like that, but it's a mentality I've seen implied enough that I can see something like that happening here.

I'm not going to suggest that not experiencing "old media" is the sign of an uncultured dope, especially if there isn't any deliberate reason for it. I admit that there's a lot of "old stuff" that I haven't checked out, but I'll admit that's largely because there's a lot of stuff in general I haven't gone out of my way to check out for one reason or another, and that just happens to extend to older works (for example, I've not seen 2001, Jurassic Park, Psycho, Citizen Kane, The Shining, Gone with the Wind, Apocalypse Now, It's A Wonderful Life, Lawrence of Arabia, the Indiana Jones films, the Godfather trilogy, or any of the Rocky films, along with roughly 95% of Stephen Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman, David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock's filmographies - to name a portion of quintessential films).

But it is rather odd to me that the idea of something being "old" is enough to alienate some folks from checking it out, when there's a lot of "old" stuff that's just as good as the new stuff. Heck, that oldness might mean certain works can speak to you in a way that nothing being produced at the moment can (consider the "City Pop" phenomenon on YouTube that's gotten all sorts of people listening to Japanese pop from the 70s and 80s, for instance). Sorry if this has been a rambling post, but I really am curious to know what y'all think about this sort of thing.

I thank everybody for their tributes to Legrand. I'm still raw at the prospect that he's gone, but as ever in circumstances like this, I feel that the music must go on... so here's something I really like.


Giacomo Puccini
MADAME BUTTERFLY



Opera for Orchestra arranged by Andre Kostelanetz
Andre Kostelanetz conducts His Orchestra

My transfer from vinyl. Front and back cover included. FLAC.

https://mega.nz/#!0P5l0SyT!zpWHJiGnTiGyBu37DoYr6fU7tq3uFGSkLaUG5di4kck

I love Opera. At the same time, I know that a lot of people don't - they don't like singing, they find them too long, and other reasons. It's a shame, because in Opera you will find some of the most opulent symphonic music ever written - but for some it will remain impenetrable. "Opera for people who hate Opera" compilations tend to pick out famous melodies from a dozen or so famous Operas, and this makes a very enjoyable listen, but the context for each piece is lost - the story is lost. The impact is lost. Everybody knows something from La Boheme or Madame Butterfly, but unless you know what's going on in the story and you've followed those characters on their journey, you're just listening to a nice tune. You miss the emotion and the drama.

This is why orchestral "reductions" like this offend me less. Andre Kostelanetz, famous as a conductor and arranger of easy listening music in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, made a number of such arrangements.

This particular one is of Madame Butterfly - it takes the complete, two-and-a-half hour Opera and distills it down to a 40 minute symphonic poem of sorts, keeping the story intact. Despite Kostelanetz' credentials as a conductor of light, popular music, this is absolutely no slouch.

I find much conflicting information about this album online, although from what I can gather it has never been released on CD. It was recorded in 1956, so as far as I can figure out, no stereo master exists - although I believe a later recording with the New York Philharmonic exists (also only on vinyl) produced by Teo Macero.

But this is where it all began. This transfer (my own) is from a near-mint condition original 1957 American pressing on Columbia Records - and, apart from the mono sound, there's very little to age it. This is no light opera orchestra, and the performance is exemplary.

Anything other than seeing and hearing the complete Opera in an Opera house will be a loss... but if this kind of album helps an Opera-phobic, or a vocalist-phobic fan of orchestral music to get some enjoyment out of some of the most deliciously romantic music in the repertoire, then it's OK with me.

Enjoy! :)
TT

My first exposure to Madame Butterfly (and Puccini in general) was Yoko Kanno's Magnetic Rose, and it won me over pretty quick. Had I not known it was 80% Puccini, I would have called it Kanno's greatest work. Personally, I consider opera far more interesting than the usual wailing woman or wordless choir we hear all the time in modern Hollywood. But it requires a lot of talent to write convincing opera. The handful of genuinely talented living composers who've tried it and completely fall apart vastly exceeds the few who have succeeded (in fact I can only think of one in America- Elliot Goldenthal). Even in Japan, the only person who consistently strives for writing original operatic pieces and arias is Iwasaki.

Still waiting to hear the one Sahashi wrote.

Magnetic Rose is really weird. I'll have to listen to it again, but I think there are excerpts from Turandot and The Fiery Angel used throughout, plus added choir to the ending of Butterfly where there was no choir originally.

Like most classical music, opera is poorly marketed because there is a strong focus on the familiar and easily accessible. But go too far in the other direction you might scare someone off by introducing them to Lulu or Wozzeck.

Great moments from some operas I recommend to those who wish to venture into the unfamiliar:
Shostakovich - Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcIg-avkBCg#t=18m00s
Vaughan Williams - The Pilgrim's Progress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmzymMXxEMI
Poulenc - Les Dialogues des Carmelites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCnfrVbTxwk#t=2h13m30s
Britten - Peter Grimes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyZnnMRA0MU (Horner's favourite)

Legrand will certainly be missed. I was kind of shocked since he'd just completed The Other Side of the Wind, but I guess when you're talking about 86 years of age you can't take a moment for granted. Thankfully he left us a wonderful body of work to remember him by.

I unabashedly love The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, but I haven't gotten around to The Young Girls at Rochefort yet. Vinphonic's share reminded me that I posted this album a while back, and the link is still good:



MICHEL LEGRAND
Les parapluies de Cherbourg, Un �t� 42, Le messager, Yentl
Catherine Michel, harp
Brussels Philharmonic (credited as "Grand orchestre symphonique")
Michel Legrand, conductor and harpsichord

(https://mega.nz/#!1yQUXKwY!eKaQU6tczfWeQswgcxOCCtuZDI_THBpcro4lrW5F_iY)

This album is a collection of suites arranged by Legrand from four of his film scores, including a thirty-minute suite from the enchanting and bittersweet Jacques Demy musical, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. All the suites prominently feature harp and are simply gorgeous to listen to if you enjoy lush strings.

The Yentl suite here seems to be the same arrangement as on the Essentials album Vin posted, but a different recording.


Personally, I consider opera far more interesting than the usual wailing woman or wordless choir we hear all the time in modern Hollywood. But it requires a lot of talent to write convincing opera. The handful of genuinely talented living composers who've tried it and completely fall apart vastly exceeds the few who have succeeded (in fact I can only think of one in America- Elliot Goldenthal). Even in Japan, the only person who consistently strives for writing original operatic pieces and arias is Iwasaki.

Still waiting to hear the one Sahashi wrote.

Howard Shore's Fly opera was godawful. Of course, didn't help that the libretto was basically a litany of dad-joke-worthy puns that made me want to wrench my eyes from their sockets and impale my eardrums with my car keys.

The entire Orville soundtrack is officially(!) uploaded on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLohYzz4btpaR-qW5pUvocnw8GbOtB66tM

And Spotify.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6LhM4JdV4emhwfi9CB33FY

The link doesn't seem to work anymore.

Sorry, Streich! I gave the track a title to prepare for my audition. I also have made two more compositions to accompany that one. Hope you enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/josh-barron/sets/hisaishi-styled-demo-2019

Sorry, Streich! I gave the track a title to prepare for my audition. I also have made two more compositions to accompany that one. Hope you enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/josh-barron/sets/hisaishi-styled-demo-2019

Thanks! I was wondering if you wanted feedback on any aspects of the piece. I hear lots of potential in your theme.

I hope Ken Sawada comes back for Doraemon's 2019 movie. I really didn't like the 2018 score. I didn't hate it, but it was sorta generic. Ken Sawada does that old Hollywood modern adventure sounds that fit into Doraemon's movie adventures.

Another legendary composer who passes away. As a reminder of his talent, here's a freely available concert video not to be missed, a fantastic symphonic selections and arrangements from his large repertoire. Thanks also a lot for all your homage posts, guys, They're perfect for (re)discovering one of the most prominent and influential french composers of the last decades.



MICHEL LEGRAND AND THE CINEMA
Salle Pleyel, Paris, 2009
Orchestre National d'Ile-de-France, conducted by Michel Legrand

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






Tazer: great to see you back, my friend! :) Thanks particularly for this upload: the concert harp his one of my very favorite musical instruments, perhaps the one with the most graceful timbre in existence.

Thanks! I was wondering if you wanted feedback on any aspects of the piece. I hear lots of potential in your theme.

Absolutely! I love feedback and making my work better :)

Sad, but very true. It really is a shame because La La Land was created as a tribute to films like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. But rather than a tribute, it comes across as a watered-down "reboot" to modern audiences who can't stand the heavy unironic romanticism that drives these movies. It also doesn't help that Justin Hurwitz can't write a decent melody to save his life- how can you write music for a musical if you can't nail the most basic aspect of it?

Exactly, that's what La La Land pretended, to be but it ended as you said. About Justin Hurwitz, I cannot agree more with you. The guy had a golden chance at First Man... and IMHO he compeltely blew it. He and many others must think that melody is overrated...

The Orville S1 OST came out today and I'm super fucking happy. Digitally and CD. It's a dream come true. A gorgeous listening experience. Such brilliant music completely missing today.



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

On top of that, Minuscules also came out. TODAY is a DAY TO REMEMBER.



https://dbr.ee/YKK4
https://dbr.ee/53Xy
https://dbr.ee/QJcy
https://dbr.ee/961n
https://dbr.ee/mBlW
https://dbr.ee/h7HU
https://dbr.ee/9WNP
https://dbr.ee/MoSJ
https://dbr.ee/VHJ2

Agree ! It's not usual (now) to see such brilliant orchestral scores released. There's still hope... and if not, we'll always have Japan... ;)

Kh3

https://youtu.be/Hgal2wgpqxU
https://youtu.be/oLJ88zeo2lU
https://youtu.be/y3IKzRhb_s0

Oh my... Code Geass Orchestra Concert! (march, 22) Gundam Seed next please!



Kotaro Nakagawa will also provide the arrangements.


Conductor: Duke of Pianito
Chorus & Orchestra : Emperors Orchestra & Code Geass Concert Special Band
Guest Appearance: Goro Taniguchi
Arrangements: Kotaro Nakagawa

And the limited edition of Code Geass Resurrection is over one hour of outtakes and unreleased musical material of the two seasons, in addition for having a meaty film score to finish it all up.
Together with the recent two piano albums, they will milk every possible musical potential out of the series.

https://vgmdb.net/album/82214

(A cd for the concert please)

Kotaro Nakagawa was on fire when he wrote the two seasons. I would have loved for Hitomi to also contribute to the orchestral score for the film (as I adore Last Exile & Silver Wing) but at least she has another song.


I started playing piano, violin, clarinet, drums in my childhood and was raised under an environment of musicians, I studied composition with Akira Kitamura. On the other hand, I joined my father's band with piano, banjo and trombone and accumulate experience for my sessions. After that, I studied under Mr. Akira Miyagawa, studying popular music, stage music etc.

I am in charge of arranging various music and I am doing a lot of music making and playing using a synthesizer. After graduation, I follow my friends in performing and composing music not bound by the genre, whether its for anime music, film music, stage music, show music etc.

I'm a composer that can freely travel across various classical, modern, jazz, and popular music. I combine the arrangement ability which knows the characteristics of musical instruments, the tight rhythm feeling cultivated from an early age, a sense of grove I got during band work, and a high education for a work which fuses synthesizer and orchestra with unique sensibilities. That is what I did for the Theatrical companion to "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion".


In big news, Kohei Tanaka (The Japanese Legrand come to think of it) announced his 40th anniversary project for 2020 on his blog and wants your ideas what you would like to hear for this "Olympic occasion", even if it is a little crazy proposition.



UPDATE:


Good morning.

I thought some more about the idea for the 40th anniversary concert:

� World-wide delivery
� Do not pick up songs or pieces dealt with 20th or 30th anniversary concerts

I think that the latter is difficult because it is the gist of looking back on 40 years.



In regards to the shows I follow, I catched up this evening and Kotobuki now even has a little anthem, as if it couldn't get more perfect. I wonder if it will have a romantic episode to channel Princess and the Pilot a bit or even a full choir. Its not scored to picture but Hamaguchi must have scored to the full script/storyboards because a lot o score cues feel tailormade for the episodes. Endro continues to be great fun but a soundtrack has yet to be announced. Kaguya-sama turns out more lovely by the episode, some real passion in the production and the music is occasionally so retro, especially that bouncy violin piece. Egao no Daika has yet to have a tour-de-force episode, but I really like what I hear of the orchestral score. Turns out Kasai was just arranging for Ito so this is not the debut I expected. I wonder when he will show us his Mahler-skillset.

Thankfully, Kotobuki, Kaguya and Endro are also among the most popular this season, sales-wise, Kotobuki especially, so a sequel project for that seems a given (not to mention the mobile income). I hope a movie doesn't take as long as Girls und Panzer...




Finally, sunstrider, thank you very much for the suggestion because I have found many things I enjoy about Gargantia after I hadn't listened to it in years!



Taro Iwashiro
Gargantia



A sweet little scene from Gargantia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPf3Xlv_lk4)
Download (https://mega.nz/#!zKphFCZb!ExslvOgFLqD_VNYTpZMqhau-PSl_thK8IKfYtB7xI3E)

Action is not his strong point but I have to agree, the core of it is quite lovely, especially mixing various cultural influences into the score, which was a visual point of the show. I especially enjoy his piano pieces here. I've put together a nice flowing album and trimmed down the fat.
There's a sense of gracefulness and emotion put into these quieter parts of the score which I think are worth (re)discovering.

Kh3

https://youtu.be/Hgal2wgpqxU
https://youtu.be/oLJ88zeo2lU
https://youtu.be/y3IKzRhb_s0

I personally am a big fan of the Monsters Inc themes. :)

Can someone please post the score to Lady in the water! Can't find it out anywhere! It's by James Newton Howard. Please help me and thank you for your kindness.

Absolutely! I love feedback and making my work better :)

I think that Afternoon Stroll piece definitely resembles Hisaishi's style, especially the F+ G+ C+ / F+ G+ A- chord progression. Something like that would work for the main motif in your Wonders of the Forest track as well. I can send you a midi of what I mean if that helps. It'd be a lot easier than me typing out a blob of music theory.

TZ: Thoughts coming up after work. :DTango, I know a lot has happened in the past few days since you made this post... but I still would like to hear your explanation. =)

Has anyone here heard of the upcoming movie "The Maestro"? It's about Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who wrote over 200 movie scores but was only credited for a handful of them, and trained John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Nelson Riddle, and others.

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wgX_PXhNUU

And here's a list of his compositions on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Mario_Castelnuovo-Tedesco

Has anyone here heard of the upcoming movie "The Maestro"? It's about Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who wrote over 200 movie scores but was only credited for a handful of them, and trained John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Nelson Riddle, and others.

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wgX_PXhNUU

And here's a list of his compositions on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Mario_Castelnuovo-Tedesco

Has anyone listened to his music? I listened to the Piano Concerto, Clarinet Sonata, La Mandragola (opera) which premiered in 1974 but sounds like it was written in 1874. I couldn't finish it. Also listened to bits and pieces of The Return of the Vampire, And Then There Were None, The Loves of Carmen, Mask of the Avenger. Decent music from the 1940s. Nothing close to the level of Rozsa or Herrmann though.

It's all pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. Maybe even a little outdated for the early 20th century. Very light listening. I have a hard time believing he had any (musical) influence on John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith, as opposed to early film composers such as Korngold, Prokofiev, and Vaughan Williams. Unlike those guys, the music I heard is just bland and not memorable. Castelnuovo Tadesco was certainly prolific, but quantity does not equal quality.

I can't help but suspect there are interested parties pushing this guy to the forefront by name-dropping Goldsmith and Williams, but in the end people are going to listen to his music and be disappointed that it sounds nothing like them.

I can only go based off what I hear. For all I know Goldsmith and Williams loved this guy's music. I just can't figure out why.

Well, just because some composer "taught" a student something doesn't mean the student is going to end up sounding like the teacher. If anything I expect it would be music theory. I don't hear much Copland in Goldenthal's music, not much Bernstein in Bear McCreary, and certainly no Haneda/Saegusa/Hattoru in Tatsuya Kato. Similarly, when you ask composers about which other composers influenced them, most of the time it's going to be people that sound almost nothing like the composer. You can ask almost every big-name Hollywood composer working now which composer influenced them the most- none of them will say Hans. They'll say Williams, Goldsmith, or Herrmann. But how many of them actually sound anything like Williams, Goldsmith, or Herrmann?

Oh my... Code Geass Orchestra Concert! (march, 22) Gundam Seed next please!

Kotaro Nakagawa will also provide the arrangements.
website says Yui Morishita is also providing arrangements and conducting the concert. he's an incredibly skilled (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DqdOqP75Q0) pianist but i had no idea he was a conductor/arranger too.

I can only go based off what I hear. For all I know Goldsmith and Williams loved this guy's music. I just can't figure out why.

It's not so much a matter of them just being influenced by him because they loved his music, at least not in the cases of Goldsmith and Williams. He personally tutored them.

Here's a quote from Wikipedia:


As a teacher, Castelnuovo-Tedesco had a significant influence on other major film composers, including Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, Herman Stein and Andr� Previn. Jerry Goldsmith, Marty Paich and John Williams were all his pupils, as was Scott Bradley, who studied privately with him while both were on staff at MGM.

I can't get into or enjoy Castelnuovo-Tedesco either, not my cup of tea, but I guess he deserves the respect for guiding/shaping Goldsmith and Williams into becoming musical giants.


Now for something completely different:

Ready yourself for the hippest corner of the Anime Music scene. You're bored because there's no Jazz in media entertainment? Your tired of Milquetoast Jazz and want something rad and vitalizing? An euphonia of black notes, the freest of the freestyle, the goodest of the good times? Then lets hit the music and kick the beat:



Legacy of Japan
ANIME JAZZ
feat. Yoko Kanno & The Seatbelts, King Tanaka, Yuji Ohno & Lupinitic Friends, Screaming Kikuchi, Frenzy Hashimoto & many more



Part I (https://mega.nz/#!HfxgSKJb!ChzOuthVV_n0R27PvxVR3zyW0xacaTpIkEHlqTvC-zk) / Part II (https://mega.nz/#!jWwSESoT!I5W4xxpW34QIl7SdwPqIz6bNdl9WCewzzEUgC22422w) / Part III (https://mega.nz/#!zWpiEQxI!p6V-CxLzh92EYtZEpN4wfvhRdmfrUHuIvNMNW_zLknw)

Dive into the world of blue notes! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvjul4kY_U)

A celebration and a closer look at the survival of Jazz and its various subgenres in Japan's primary Medium in the 21st Century. A medium of artists, musicians and fans forming a cycle of perpetuating coolness.


The Frenzy



Pure artistic expression you won't find in any other medium. Major franchises with some of the coolest, most rad and absolutely crazy Jazz of the highest quality.

The Standard



Some of the best of what most people think of when they hear "Jazz". A smooth collection of lifelong projects and the occasional album that is quality-approved Jazz Standard.


The Action



Jazz and Television scoring combined to a Spy-thrilling Action Spectacle you won't forget. A collection of Kotaro Nakagawa's rad Jazz style.


The Wonderland



A landscape of a celebration of Jazz, its various subgenres and a general adoration for an idealized American Culture of cozy Jazz bars on rainy days, Big Band Festivals and skyscrapers of dreams.






I think this collection examplifies the “coolness” factor I believe Anime holds for many young Japanse music artists and why it is currently the greatest visual medium for expression of creative (musical) talent. Not that Iwasaki wouldn’t be example enough. Everything is in there from Bebop to HipHop Jazz, and all so wonderfully out of time, all styles accumulating, for sexual innuendos, smooth criminals and shady bars. And it all got that swing! A renaissance of Jazz in all flavors, under one banner: Anime Jazz.


Ex1 (Still the Best) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRI_8PUXx2A)
Ex2 (But this one is close) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvaosZlQqrY)
Ex3 (or that one) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzMbtN_B68g)
Ex4 (best short PV out there) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y6B320TbJk)
Ex5 (Animated freeform Jazz) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3iwyvAtC9o)
Ex6 (Animated Jam session) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ounHSQvu9Yc)
Ex7 (Fantasy America) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOZ1hsb8smQ)
Ex9 (Fantasy New York) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jIMtTXUfuA)
Ex9 (Samurai Jazz) (https://www.bilibili.com/video/av9510442/)
Ex10 (Shouwa Jazz) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K28Lcc-MdJs)

It's not so much a matter of them just being influenced by him because they loved his music, at least not in the cases of Goldsmith and Williams. He personally tutored them

Usually you can hear the influence of the composition teacher. Horner's teacher Ligeti can be heard early on in Krull, Wrath of Khan, and Brainstorm with those sustained Space Oddysey-like textures. Corigliano and Copland can be heard in Goldenthal's scores. Goldnethal even directly quotes Fanfare for the Common Man in Final Fantasy TSW.

My point is that you can at least hear some semblance of the composition teacher in the student's works, but Castelnuovo-Tadesco is pure old-school and his students aren't. If you had said Korngold or Stravinsky or even Howard Hanson were the teacher then I'd be like "Yes, I can definitely hear that influence."

Tedesco was definitely a better teacher than a composer. His students spoke highly of him, but his music is... professional, bland, anonymous, and 50-100 years too late.

It looks like Takayuki Hattori is now the "go-to-guy" for Doraemon - he's on the 2019 movie too. This leaves Kan Sawada somewhat out in the cold...

Usually you can hear the influence of the composition teacher. Horner's teacher Ligeti can be heard early on in Krull, Wrath of Khan, and Brainstorm with those sustained Space Oddysey-like textures. Corigliano and Copland can be heard in Goldenthal's scores. Goldnethal even directly quotes Fanfare for the Common Man in Final Fantasy TSW.As usual, you're just hearing what you want to hear. There is nothing in Goldenthal's music that is remotely reminiscent of Copland. Their melodic and harmonic language are like night and day (if anything, Copland's influences sound more like what influenced Goldenthal than Copland's music itself- with the jazz and modernist idioms). Quoting a fanfare or melody as a cheeky homage doesn't count as being strongly influenced by the composition style of someone else.

I'll let Goldsmith recount his experiences with Miklos Rozsa as his teacher. You can certainly hear some influences of Rozsa in Goldsmith- but it sure as heck wasn't because Rozsa directly taught it to him.


“Didn’t you study with Rozsa?” I asked.

“I loved his score to Spellbound,” Dad answered. “So when Miklos Rozsa taught a class once a week at USC, I took it for a while. But Rozsa was a terrible teacher, and his class was all a bunch of, ‘Then I wrote’s…’ But I’d met Rozsa before, at the Gimpels, so I wasn’t completely in awe…”

And yet, here is what Goldsmith had to say about Tedesco:


Dad said Tedesco became, “the teacher du jour in Hollywood.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Dad said, “arranging is quite the skill, something I could never do, but these guys had no clue about composition; they went to Tedesco for help. Tedesco scored a couple pictures, and he was a much better teacher than Rozsa, but the two of them were good friends…Tedesco was a lovely man.”

Sometimes being a good teacher just means giving your students a solid foundation to build upon, and it seems Tedesco was more than apt for that.

There is nothing in Goldenthal's music that is remotely reminiscent of Copland.

The second movement of Copland's Piano Concerto is very Goldenthal-like (see Othello). Copland's Symphonic Ode has that huge ending that I'd say is more Goldenthal than not.

Great Jazz selection. Thanks Vin !!!!

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce Lowland Jazz (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDwFXspgMwQ), a group I stumbled upon within the last year. The level of musicianship is incredible. I'll let their music do the talking, so please be sure to check out everything in their channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdFTYsqEIY2i902OUBErZQ/videos).

And to tie everything together, here's their Anime music cover album: Big Band for Anime Songs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LlOhqmlOUM)

It looks like Takayuki Hattori is now the "go-to-guy" for Doraemon - he's on the 2019 movie too. This leaves Kan Sawada somewhat out in the cold...

That's depressing. Just why. Poor Ken..

Amazing collection, Vin!

Recently, I've been playing a bit of Assassin's Creed: Rogue - it was the last AssCreed game to be released on the PS3/360, and is the last of the sea-faring games where you got to sail the seven seas, have ship-to-ship combat, and be as swashbuckling as you can be in an AssCreed game. It's pretty good for the most part, but something that's quite strange is the music and how it's used - or how it's barely used, more to the point. Music rarely appears throughout most of the gameplay, apart from missions and whenever you're boarding the ships, and what does appear is mostly a wall of noise I barely notice. The lack of music sometimes provides a bit of atmosphere, when all you can hear are the flapping sails, the rolling waves, and the shanties of your crewmates as you sail to wherever the wind takes you. But otherwise, there's just this uncanny feeling when moments of sneaking, exploration or battles don't have anything to accompany them.

So I'm thinking of putting together a custom soundtrack for my assassination adventures on the seven seas, and I figure this forum would be a good place to ask about it. Off the top of my head, I could probably go for some music from the Uncharted Waters games, and I've heard very good things about Sea Dogs (or whatever those Russian pirate games with supposedly really good orchestral soundtracks are called) and Cutthroat Island of all movies. Beyond that, I've got no idea. Just suggest pretty much any great pirate game/film soundtrack that comes to mind, and I'll see where things go from there. Thank you, and have a good day!

FrDougal - Black Sails has some great Bear McCreary action hurdy gurdy and his usual percussion-based tracks.

Also thanks for the jazzy music Vin, been great to have background music for house chores!

Recently, I've been playing a bit of Assassin's Creed: Rogue - it was the last AssCreed game to be released on the PS3/360, and is the last of the sea-faring games where you got to sail the seven seas, have ship-to-ship combat, and be as swashbuckling as you can be in an AssCreed game. It's pretty good for the most part, but something that's quite strange is the music and how it's used - or how it's barely used, more to the point. Music rarely appears throughout most of the gameplay, apart from missions and whenever you're boarding the ships, and what does appear is mostly a wall of noise I barely notice. The lack of music sometimes provides a bit of atmosphere, when all you can hear are the flapping sails, the rolling waves, and the shanties of your crewmates as you sail to wherever the wind takes you. But otherwise, there's just this uncanny feeling when moments of sneaking, exploration or battles don't have anything to accompany them.

So I'm thinking of putting together a custom soundtrack for my assassination adventures on the seven seas, and I figure this forum would be a good place to ask about it. Off the top of my head, I could probably go for some music from the Uncharted Waters games, and I've heard very good things about Sea Dogs (or whatever those Russian pirate games with supposedly really good orchestral soundtracks are called) and Cutthroat Island of all movies. Beyond that, I've got no idea. Just suggest pretty much any great pirate game/film soundtrack that comes to mind, and I'll see where things go from there. Thank you, and have a good day!



I always like things like this. Here are some music that "feels" ocean to me, not necessarily music written for oceanic theme soundtrack.

Tb no.42 albion (Takahito Eguchi - From Trinity Blood) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b4VGGrQwHs)
Moon Boat Returns (Yoko Kanno - From Ongaku Tora no maki Santora) (https://picosong.com/wJyfn/)
Mahler's Symphony 5th - Adagietto (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFQQsu6VBYA)
Arrival of Birds (The Cinematic Orchestra - from Crimson Wings) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79_phbfE4R4)
The First Light (from Crimson Wings) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LvzwH7Fg3A)
The Transformation (from Crimson Wings) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGny5J39Ip8)
Coral Reef (Yoh Ohyama - From Lamento) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQBBX4RijVA)
The light Between the Ocean (Alexander Desplat - From The Light Between the Ocean) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUIiy3f21E0)
Prologue (Nobuo Uematsu - From Lost Odyssey) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zfNTThhwag)
Band of Brothers Main Theme (Michael Kamen) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DUN1B8eaks)
Fable of Gentleness (Yuki Kajiura - From My-Hime) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQHl54knVtc)
The Wave (Max Richter - From Three World: Music From Woolf Works) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=597lnTSyTyI)
Train Suite Shiki-Shima (Naoki Sato) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG7ug8RGUrc)
Fly Over Africa (John Barry - From Out of Africa) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVACoGCYwkM)
Ulaid (E.S. Posthumus - From Unearthed) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-WkPZQebLI)
Light of the Evanescence (Taro Iwashiro - From Red Cliff 2) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZRi7Z52B1k) I'd also recommend the WHOLE soundtrack

There are also are a lot of gems that I think fit in these soundtracks. Might be some surprises for you here and there
The whole Ori and the Blind Forest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkzeOmkOUHM) soundtrack
The whole Eureka Seven soundtrack, especially disc 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfNpRgOKykA&list=PL-p4PijJrcde5-RxOkvcn8fI0vR-7V06R) (minus the EDM tracks of course)
The whole Destiny 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUAy3UTF9Cg) soundtrack.

These are what I can think of right now. Looking forward to discover new music from everyone.

The best musical depiction of the sea in my opinion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgK8L2QAYuA

I think that Afternoon Stroll piece definitely resembles Hisaishi's style, especially the F+ G+ C+ / F+ G+ A- chord progression. Something like that would work for the main motif in your Wonders of the Forest track as well. I can send you a midi of what I mean if that helps. It'd be a lot easier than me typing out a blob of music theory.

First of all thank you for the feedback! I added a bit more to this for my final version. I did more research on Hisaishi's writing style and started experimenting with the piano chords at the end. Also,I ended up not getting the job of scoring the game. Although they said my music was very nicely written, it didn't quite fit what they were looking for. Maybe I will write the whole score out anyway and record it with live musicians... If I could find the time lol.[COLOR="Silver"]

banoime,

I actually have composed some music inspired by the ocean. This piece originally started as a string composition, but I am expanding it into a full orchestra work. Here is a rehearsal clip!

https://soundcloud.com/josh-barron/endless-sea-for-full-orchestra-preview

Also another that might evoke similar feelings: https://soundcloud.com/josh-barron/op-i-windy-mountain-preview

@Jazz: Thanks, it has been a pleasure. :)

@FrDougal: I actually think Sea Dogs and Age of Pirates (which come highly recommended) sound more "landscape" to me than "sea" but off the top of my hat I can suggest Korngold's Sea Hawk (The Stromberg rerecording), Captain Blood, Max Steiner's Don Juan (rerecording), Joe Hisaishi's Yamato and Masamicz Amano's Super Atragon.



Pretty much any composer of note from the concert hall to Film to Japanese Television has done something for the Ocean, it just shows again that mother nature is sometimes the best inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGhuLBr4NU4&t=10s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoJ5uE164Gk



Now, from the sea to the skies, because after another episode of Kotobuki, there's Princess and the Pilot :D


After long round tables about the design of new cute girls for Girls und Panzer: Das Finale (they happen, a room full of 50 year olds fighting like uncivilized politicians in congress who is best girl), he made an offside joke, "should have made Girls and Planes too at this rate"... well he made it into a reality:



If he/they has/have any goddamn sense, theres only one person for the job, your old pal that helped make your series print money and sell thousands of concert tickets... and the man who is very experienced in writing about planes AND cute girls. He's also a friend of Tsutomu Mizushima and worked on many projects together with him, right now working on Das Finale and his Shirobako movie. I will be shocked if he's not part of the staff

Sometimes you hit a Home Run.

Now we just need a choral piece or two and its pretty much the best score Hamaguchi ever did, looking forward to the upgrade from the Tokyo Phil ;)



Shiro Hamaguchi at his best (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlhYcyxd96k) (notice the moment from 12:13 to 13:18, thats some S-level film scoring).

If it gets a movie, usually it will be more "serious" in tone compared to the TV-series, at least thats how they usually roll.

The show itself is the kind of dumb but incredibly well-made anime fun I love seeing every now and again (though having probably Hamaguchi's best score and WWII planes with amazing direction does help), especially when its a tribute to all those old movies nobody remembers anymore (but they do).

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/LACA-9675



Endro isn't too far behind with its outburst of classical and folk and incredible cuteness. I keep hearing more Dragon Quest the further it proceeds and I strongly suspect a cd, I hope King Records doesn't let us down:



Yoshiaki Fujisawa at his best (https://vimeo.com/315225975)


The rest of the series I previewed (Manaria, Egao and Kaguya) are lovely but I'm not salty that most are just enclosure.




In other news, the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra choose and interesting subject for their big anniversary:




It is a program suitable for celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra.

A cd is very likely. Or at least a release on iTunes.




@Doraemon: At least the soundtracks get now released (though that doesn't bode well for Sawada's last two firecrackers). I want Hattori to make up for his Space Brothers and here he has a chance to do so. Btw, nextday brought it to my attention that some spanish dorameon dvds have 5.1 audio and you can extract the music from it: https://twitter.com/nappasan/status/1086279553360683008

I had no idea. It could be very useful. I unfortunately do not know much about 5.1 audio editing though.

First of all thank you for the feedback! I added a bit more to this for my final version. I did more research on Hisaishi's writing style and started experimenting with the piano chords at the end. Also,I ended up not getting the job of scoring the game. Although they said my music was very nicely written, it didn't quite fit what they were looking for. Maybe I will write the whole score out anyway and record it with live musicians... If I could find the time lol.[COLOR="Silver"]
That's too bad. Are they a credible company producing a game? I don't like the idea of a competition to decide who "gets" to score their game. They should be paying you for your demos.

Ah, so much music, so little time... Anyway, inspired by Vin's amazing jazz upload, I wanted to post something on the same topic for you guys:



TOMMY EMMANUEL & THE AUSTRALIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Classical Gas
1996 - FLAC




https://www75.*****.com/v/PiquKA5v/file.html
***** = zippyshare


As I already mentioned here a few times: I happen to be quite a jazz enthusiast. Not *all* jazz of course, far from there, but let's say the more melodic, positive, "lighter", often classy and elegant kinds: contemporary jazz, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, etc. Quite frankly, I don't know anything more soothing and mood-enhancing than this kind of music. It never fails to relax or energize me when I need it.

I regularly listen and very much enjoy the (selected) works of musicians and bands such as T-Square, Spyro Gyra, The Rippingtons, Russ Freeman, Jeff Kashiwa, Nelson Rangell, Dave Grusin, Masato Honda, to name a few on top of my head. And most of all, I'm a huge fan of David Benoit, whom I consider to be to contemporary jazz what John Williams is to film scoring (it should be no surprise that Benoit is also classically trained and has been involved many times with orchestras).

Which leads me to this particular album by Australian guitarist and jazzman Tommy Emmanuel, which one day had the good idea to say to himself: "Hoy, I should f**king perform with an orchestra, mate!" And soon enough, after quite a few times getting drunk, swearing like an angry sailor, eating vegemite sandwiches, and battling kangaroos in bare fist street fights, he made his dream happen in the form of this successful concert with the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra.

I really like the blood-pumping energy and sheer positivity flowing in this album. It beautifully brings some high-powered, bombastic symphonic grandeur to Emmanuel's naturally melodic and upbeat style. The result is a very pleasant and fun listen that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do. :)



And maybe, if time permits, a few more really cool jazz posts will occur in this thread soon... Who knows? ;)

And soon enough, after quite a few times getting drunk, swearing like an angry sailor, eating vegemite sandwiches, and battling kangaroos in bare fist street fights.

You’d surprised how often that happens.

Are you an aussie, my friend? Oh, I'd love to visit your country! So fascinating, such immensity and fabulous landscapes. Australia is one of these countries I dream to visit one day, along with Japan, Canada, Hawaii, Tahiti and Narnia (HAHA, I'm just joking of course, Canada is just a fictional country).

I don't personally care for Yutaka Yamada, but some of you may be interested to know that he's been put in charge of Vinland Saga:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWrFWkxY_A0

@arthy: I enjoy it quite a lot ;)

@Zipper: Yamada can be decieving, he likes his drum loops but then he suddenly ventures into freeform Jazz and avant-garde orchestra on the fly on the same album. Also he somehow always gets to work with the FILMharmonic Orchestra so its safe to say he will for this one:

Filmharmonic Orchestra Prague - Laughing Under The Clouds
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRDyWu5kpZk)
An example of his Jazz (https://picosong.com/wJVRY/)


Composer Based In Japanese Los Angeles. Born In 1989. Having Graduated From Senzoku Gakuen College Of Music In Japan, Yutaka Studied Musical Composition Under A Renowned Anime Composer Toshiyuki Watanabe. In 2009, He Won The First Prize At VIENNA INSTRUMENTS Strings Arrangement Contest.

During His career of more than 8 years, Yutaka has written scores for over 50 projects, including a Japanese TV animation "Tokyo Ghoul".


Another student that doesn't sound like his teacher at all ;)

I would put him in the category of "arthouse" composers like Hashimoto, Kano and Matsumoto. They can turn in a score quite outworldly.

Actually, as far as avant-garde scores go, the biggest ever done might have been by Hashimoto for the TV Anime series RahXephon:



Ichiko Hashimoto
RahXephon
The Twisted Classical



Sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfHBqr7QTYo)
Download (https://mega.nz/#!rLh0zYJa!KVBZLyDGRrlduPkF2Db7fqZqbiKF5h2gNy_q0lEtU_A)

Ichiko Hashimoto is a fierce lady that knocks your eardrums out if she wants ;) Her big project was a long TV series with a movie tie-in that resulted into one hour of rad frenzy Jazz and one hour of avant-garde orchestra you won't forget.
Rahxephon was full of renaissance art and some would say "pretentious" elements, but in contrast to Evangelion, Hashimoto is genius enough to give the pretentiousness meaning in music, because lets face it, Sagisu is a great pop composer but avant-garde... well lets just say Hashimoto would have done the second half of EVA more justice ;)

Thankfully she did get to score her own Evangelion. And conicidentally, the classical piece "twisted" in the show, Way to the Tune (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3brpIn1Quw), was actually supposed to be the original opening to Evangelion: Polovtsian Dances (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgxYGY9jID0)




This is a selection of all chamber/orchestral score cues from the soundtracks.

Ishiko Hashimoto composed all music, wrote lyrics and performed the voices together with her sister and even worked as a voice actress in the show. She described her orchestral work on RahXephon as "twisted organic music" and I think its fair to say she fully succeded. You will also find many cues that she would later flesh out in Akito ten years later.

Occasionally they happen: Anime scores as avant-garde concert works/albums. Whether if its Tokyo Ghoul:re, Ancient Magus Bride, Dantalian, Fractale, Meine Liebe, Rahxephon, Angel's Egg etc. They all show the vast landscape of the medium, both as great entertainment (see Kotobuki) and as an artform that takes you places.

RahXephon might be the biggest project of its kind. As much as I usually dismay about the avant-garde, fact of the matter is that the music CAN BE highly effective and memorable when used properly and in context, like Goldsmith and Goldenthal have demonstrated constantly. There is much value in learning one or two tricks from the atonal world, just ask Hirano ;)



I wonder when she will work on an anime project again...



Trivia: Since they ultimately decided against using Borodin for an anime opening they instead created the most popular anime song of all time, with numerous covers: Cruel Angel's Thesis a la Tanaka (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Tq-PoFQEU&t=4m46s)


EDIT: Wow, while I was revisiting Akito, "The Final Campaign" is Kilar's Dracula... never noticed that. And she does pay a lot of homage to the (stellar) Hellraiser scores by Christopher Young.





Ah, that's my Japan... I hope he captures that "Fantasy Europe vibe" as good as Fujisawa.


And while I'm on the subject, this weeks episode of Shield Hero makes me anticipate an OST, I hope Penkin can keep this up: https://picosong.com/wJjGL/

Here's something that probably would have had more relevance a few months ago, but I've only just now finished it:


YOKO KANNO
Aquarion Symphony
Performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
Edited by TazerMonkey

FLAC & MP3 LAME 3.98r -v0 | 6 Tracks | 42:19



Movement I - Aquarion
Movement II - Dance
Movement III - Sad Oracle
Movement IV - Flight
Movement V - Exodus from Heaven
Movement VI - Love

This is a compilation of my own design (and my first such experiment). Inspired by streichorchester's comment that, in this soundtrack, Kanno had practically composed a cantata, as well as remembering there was some interest in having more of Kanno's orchestral music shared, I took it upon myself to isolate the orchestral tracks from the albums and arrange them into a pleasant listening order. Eventually, I decided to try my hand at taking the existing tracks and configuring them into something resembling a symphonic structure -- this is the result.

I have tried to retain as much of the music as possible, but listenability and "flow" were the paramount concerns; some movements are simply the existing tracks spliced together while others are more heavily edited. I suppose this fits the definition of "bleeding chunks," but hopefully you will find the transitions mostly smooth.

Enjoy :)

FLAC:
http://uploadmirrors.com/download/0UQP8HHN/YK-ASflac.zip.001
http://uploadmirrors.com/download/WL6AF5TF/YK-ASflac.zip.002
http://uploadmirrors.com/download/1E1LOMCO/YK-ASflac.zip.003
http://uploadmirrors.com/download/0CZWQHWI/YK-ASflac.zip.004
Pass: tazed

MP3:
http://uploadmirrors.com/download/170H5O5E/YK-ASlossy.zip
Pass: tazed

Any chance this could be reuploaded?

I was rummaging through my music collection from >10 years ago, found this album, but I'm missing Movement VI entirely. I'm obsessing over this album and knowing that a track is missing is torture.

TazerMonkey produced several different different "editions" of this. His first version had six movements, but subsequent versions had five - dispensing with the sixth movement entitled "Love".

No music is lost, it's just moved around in different tracks.

The first five movement edition is titled thusly:

1. Aquarion
2. The Oracle
3. Soaring
4. Exodus from Heaven
5. Nova

This was followed up a little while later with a new version which corrected the long-standing pitch inconsistencies.

This is, in my opinion, the "gold standard" of the album.

You can tell it from other five movement versions because the 2nd movement is retitled "Fellowship".

I would cheerfully reupload but I'm aware that Tazermonkey stopped sharing a few years ago and I don't know what his stance was on re-uploads.

I defer to the thread; should I reupload this?

A Ni no Kuni movie was announced today, coming out this summer from Warner Bros. and it'll be directed by Momose, the character designer.

Also, it'll have a new score by Joe HIsaishi so I lookf orward to it

A lovely day just got better :D

@Tango: I believe he won't mind (unless he wants to upload it himself ;))

Ah, if that's the case then I have one of the later versions. No need to reupload.

However, and this is probably something I should ask TazerMonkey directly, would it be okay if I uploaded the songs to YouTube? They'd probably get pulled for copyright something or other anyway but I'd like to be able to share them with others in a more convenient way.

should I reupload this?

Absolutely fine with me. I actually no longer have any version of these edits myself, only the tracks from Vin's Kanno compilation. I've been considering another go at it to incorporate the material released after the original two albums, but don't really have the time or patience to figure it out anymore. Maybe I'd just place "Genesis Carnival" as an encore tag, lol.

Also once attempted a Brain Powerd arrangement but could only get maybe half of what I wanted to incorporate into a decent configuration and gave up in frustration.


However, and this is probably something I should ask TazerMonkey directly, would it be okay if I uploaded the songs to YouTube? They'd probably get pulled for copyright something or other anyway but I'd like to be able to share them with others in a more convenient way.

If you want. I believe it had been uploaded previously (can't remember if I did it or not) but it's long gone.

If you want. I believe it had been uploaded previously (can't remember if I did it or not) but it's long gone.

Thanks.

I hope the annual "Composer Summit Concert" series will get cds or BluRay releases, which is very likely since they recorded it.



Composer Summit Concert: The Music of Akira Senju, Go Shiina and Yuki Kajiura
Tokyo New City Orchestra
Conducted by Akira Senju

Music from:

Fullmetal Alchemist
Victory Gundam
Furin Kazan
Heisei history
God Eater 2 / God Eater 3
Million Arthur the Animation
Tales of Legendia
Tales of Zestiria
Xenosaga Episode III
Noir
Sword Art Online
Fate Zero
Princess Principal


The program for the Anime Gala Concert lists so far Cheburashka (Sovjet animation), Neon Genesis Evangelion and One Piece (more to follow).


And its getting pretty easy to get lost in all these recent Anime concert announcements (this of all candidates gets a cd):



Still waiting for Macross Frontier by the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra and Shadow of the Colossus by the Tokyo Symphony.



Next Up (may take a while): A promise I have to keep ;)

A certain Legacy of Japan post I did was upon reflection not doing a certain composer justice and to present him according to his giant status in the history of a certain medium is appropiate. I also made a promise that I would do more on that certain composer. And now I have done everything in my power to make up for that, starting with his debut score to his latest firecracker, 30 years apart:



Legacy of Japan
Kaoru Wada [The True Wada]



Here's a happy conductor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2buZvJA40kY)

His first work (https://picosong.com/wJtY5/) / His latest work (https://picosong.com/wJtYX/)

"Great music is always simple"
- Akira Ifukube

Kaoru Wada has really grown on me the older I get. He remains a constant force of quality. Inheriting Akira Ifukube's compositional style, the primarily TV Anime composer (and occasional film composer) worked for 30 years in the Anime and Games industry and wrote and arranged many scores and has become one of the few old guard veterans to stay relevant and even be as exciting to listen to in 2019 as in 1990.



Kaoru Wada:

Akira Ifukube is actually my teacher and my mentor. He’s been my teacher since I was seventeen. And I, in fact, helped him on the Godzilla composition. So, there’s quite a few sort of key words that come up when it comes to advice I’ve gotten especially when it comes to composing. He said that “true art crosses any ethnic boundaries.” There’s another phrase that he often mentioned, which is actually something from China, which translates to something like “Always be kind or nice.” To explain it in more detai, it means something like “great music always comes from simple foundations,” and those are very important words to me.

Something that I value highly is the traditional Japanese sounds, and sort of combining that with western style, and bringing the traditional and modern components together.


Yu (Anime Instrumentality):

Have you ever mentored anyone, or what are your thoughts on teaching music?


Kaoru Wada:

To be straight about it, I haven’t. I haven’t taught in school or mentored anyone.

I always have a lot of work to do. I tend to handle three different types of mediums: TV Anime, Film, and Game, and for each of them the approach is completely different.

So in Japan, for a TV Anime series, we tend to use the process of creating a lot of "BGM". So, for example, a request for fifty tracks from the very beginning. And after I finish them, either the sound director, or a role specialized for this called the Music Selector, picks out the tracks for the scenes. So, my job for TV Anime is basically freestyle composition and arrangement.

In the case of films, you actually compose for each scene. So the score must be fitting and there’s a time block which you compose for. So I even go as far as thinking about the performance of the players.

In the case of video games, it’s different in that you need to think about multiple different patterns for each track. So for example, to go to a single destination or goal in the game, there’s different paths you can take to it.

So, in total, the approaches to these three different types of mediums are entirely different.

Fundamentally, there’s not a huge difference between working with foreign orchestras and Japanese groups, but there is sometimes the issue of the quality of a given orchestra. So, whether it be anime, or film, or games, or my own personal music, there’s always the question of how interested the orchestra is in the music itself.

Whether it be domestic or foreign, Anime, Film or Game, I sort of approach it the same way, and I'm told its always fine.

For any project, there will be always trouble. It’s always difficult. But going even way past the hardships is the joy of making it. So, in fact, something that’s really nice about getting involved in these works is the relationships you get to build with other staff, such as the directors and producers but also the general staff. In fact there’s a couple of things like that that I’m currently doing. There’s always a lot of work, and I try to do as best as I can with it.


Anime Herald (Samantha):

As someone whose compositions have been heard through a generation, be it through games, film, and TV, how does it feel to know you’ve had an impact on so many people across the world, and impacted so many lives?


Kaoru Wada:

Let’s just say I’m very happy about it. I’m happy about the fact that I’m involved in all of these TV Anime and film projects, and people want me to get involved in the projects. And, of course, all the people listening to it, and being happy to hear it, that makes me very very happy.


Interview With Kaoru Wada
Location: Anime Boston 2018
Interview Date: 3/31/2018



This collection/tribute/post looks back on Kaoru Wada, the Anime and Game Concert Composer and 30 years of constant quality. Granted, a lot of his scores are recycled and sometimes it can get boring fast if you are not into his world, but I promise, not in this collection ;)


The 90s: Wada, the King of Fantasy.




If there's one thing Wada's early scores really excell at is at being a Japanese Conan franchise, music-wise. Each score could be part of the same musical franchise and all is deliciously out of a dark fantasy epic. Special mention to RPG Legend Hepoi for being his debut score and Symphonic Oratoria being Wada's big Moscow score. I wonder if he will work with a full symphony orchestra for a TV Anime series again eventually.


Japanese Folklore and European Mythology



Another important aspect of Wada's style is merging Japanese writing style with western film scoring sensibilities and in no other score did he excell with his devices than in Inuyasha. Its his Magnum Opus. Hours of great TV scoring of yesteryear and to top it off, a nice symphonic ensemble for a musical finale you won't forget. Inuyasha is probably Wada's most popular score to this day and his symphonic concert arrangement has been performed on numerous occasions. One of the greatest anime scores: Beautiful tunes in there (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oovv9z3QRHQ). His scores for mythological figures are also stunning on occasion. His writing for toms is especially noteworthy, in general he's excellent at percussion, no surprise for Ifukube's protegee.


The Heroic Age and Serene Beauty



There's more to Wada's style than simply dark and introspective. His scores are also full of beautiful lyrical themes you hum in the bathtub and when the occasion calls for it he can be extremely joyful, best examplified in his Anime score for Pazudora were he evokes Kikuchi and basically upgrades his fantasy style from the 90s.

Rescue Wings shows us his rare "film composer side" and he can really throw out a tune: Friendship (https://picosong.com/wJtYS/). He even wrote with Lux Centuriae one of the best "filmic" symphonic suites I've ever heard. Lucky that I have a video of the recording session in high quality. I've added it to the album, Wada weaving the baton with a powerful force is a must-see to understand what kind of composer he is. He also has shown his film score persona again with this film (https://konomichi-movie.jp/) released in January.

The beautiful, lyrical side gets a good showcase in his romance scores for To Heart and Graduation, showing once again, cute anime girls and orchestra has a long history, though after Episode 5 of Endro, I would argue its dangerously close to reaching its peak. Then there's Princess Tutu which has some of my favorite arrangement of Ballett tunes (and some of the best usage of classical pieces in a piece of media): Jolly Nutcracker (https://picosong.com/wJtcE/).


The Concert Hall and Selected Pieces



All Anime scores aside, Wada is also a "serious business" concert composer and percussion master, examplified by his two concert albums and two conert arrangement albums. I prefer my Kingdom Hearts album over the official symphonic album (though it has some stellar moments) but the New Japan BGM Philharmonic suite has made Wada's early orchestral game music album a bit obsolete. Also the 20th Century Fox Fanfare was maybe more pronounced in this version because Wada is a fan and used it in his own compositions.


Part I (https://mega.nz/#!zeIjHawR!p-dLIjTdfKgnVlkKTA0Ao6emztX1Y_FF3b3kZyBBg9Q) / Part II (https://mega.nz/#!XGARjCaR!_OkHpZzkEBsTJLjpTZnAEXZn0laGzHgdjRo2_SFDx8g) / Part III (https://mega.nz/#!OCJ1CIQR!QtVQcDekDcT-oTr2qzQNM7ZikJ2NFZSEEAP9mr_0Skc) / Part IV (https://mega.nz/#!7bRk0ABC!Te8EUQmSfTbZvTj46WRhZ4TWEGWbq7ZG240TBnIgF3g)


Right now, Kaoru Wada's latest anime score (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuNQ9p7HKaw&t=9m53s) can be heard this very week.

It doesn't matter which score you pick from each decade, they all sound like they belong to the same franchise from the same age. In that sense he is uncompromising and doesn't work with any new technology or electronic tools. He likes it oldschool and likewise doesn't want to be bothered teaching. He loves being out there working, giving fine music for fine musicians to play. He conducts the baton even more earnestly than 30 years ago. Nowadays he's happily flying around the globe with Natsumi Kameoka and enjoys giving concerts of his music. He has many new project in the works and I'm sure he will remind us, no matter the period of Anime history we live in... Wada will always sound like Wada.


I feel that Ifukube's soul is watching the music industry around us. I would like to worship the teacher's spirit and continue to devote myself to the future. (Feb. 8th, 2019)

Finally, if you have not been exposed to the world of Akira Ifukube, here's your chance to discover one of Japan's first musical giants (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDeU42u2s2Y).


Special thanks to Herr Salat, amish and DaveKramer.


"True art crosses any ethnic boundaries.”
-Akira Ifukube

So today's given us some pretty interesting news...

https://gematsu.com/2019/02/dragon-quest-your-story-3d-cg-movie-announced

We're getting an actual Dragon Quest movie this August. It's going to be a CGI adaptation of Dragon Quest V (the one where you play as the hero throughout his entire life), and the music's going to be done by Koichi Sugiyama. Presumably it's going to be done with an orchestra because it's a goddamn Dragon Quest movie being scored by Sugiyama, seriously why would you NOT have an orchestra- erm, sorry. I got caught up in remembering how weird DQXI's music situation was. Anyhow, I'm curious to see how the score will turn out - how much of it will be adapted from the original music, how much of it will be new music made specifically for the film, and how much could be recycled from the symphonic suites (I remember the PS2 remake just re-used music from the symphonic suite composed in the 90s).

Whatever happens, I'm gonna keep an eye on this one. Along with the Ni No Kuni film, this is going to be an interesting summer for big name anime adaptations of JRPGs.

Happy birthday to the king of anime/game music and my hero, Kohei Tanaka! 65 and still going strong!

Lets all hope everyone reaches Sugiyama's and Williams vitality (who also had his birthday a week ago).


Today, I am 65 years old.

I still do am my the best.

:cool:


Btw, this summer also brings us a new film score by Michiru Oshima, Kosuke Yamashita, Hiroshi Takaki, Naoki Sato, Toshihiko Sahashi, Kohei Tanaka, Shiro Hamaguchi and Kiyoshi Yoshikawa.
Then there's still a composer to be announced for Shoji Kawamori's fantasy epic, also in summer.

Has anyone been playing KH3? I've been amazed by the quality of the music overall. This is the first game in a while where I haven't felt like muting the music at all so far. Though I have not yet completed it. Then again I kept the music on most of the time for Ni No Kuni 2, except for a few spots I didn't care for. I especially have enjoyed the music of the Toy Story world.

Has anyone been playing KH3? I've been amazed by the quality of the music overall. This is the first game in a while where I haven't felt like muting the music at all so far. Though I have not yet completed it. Then again I kept the music on most of the time for Ni No Kuni 2, except for a few spots I didn't care for. I especially have enjoyed the music of the Toy Story world.

According to the credits Miyano-San and Kameoka-san did orchestrations.

Hell Yeah, Priconne gets a TV Anime! (called it). Even more from Tanaka and friends!

I also completely forgot that Pazudora gets a second season in April (Pazudora: Pro Gamer Arc) so that means even more jolly Wada. There's also rumors of a new Record of Lodoss project and chances are very high Wada will also return for it. He also conducts a Godzilla concert for his teacher in Mai.



And something from the very enthusiastic fan scene I always love to see:

IMPERIAL 9 Symphony Orchestra (09.02.2019)



Youtube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbPHu1N16VM)

Symphonic Suite: Violet Evergarden (https://mega.nz/#!7OggQCCD!phPqal_doFAAQAEVJ9d8Jsmn9EvLsrXuZjGSYI1z3i4)
Symphonic Song: Your Name (https://mega.nz/#!vbpS1YLL!qk3okdPDmvb4YQeUoSlTfHKNlwlLWr9JddQDczJUKdc)

IMPERIAL 9 is the first anime-fan-founded orchestra in China.

"To share our love of orchestral music and anime culture, we focus on playing orchestral adaptations of music from anime and games. We have improved a lot since our establishment and we will continue to strive for excellent performance."

Their humble beginnings: Michiru Oshima - Chariot's Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmXcNjcHVv8)

Thread has been slower than usual... time for some obligatory new Asakawa findings. This one's a stunning impressionist lullaby from a mid-80s movie. You can hear the seeds being planted for Rex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPnlkr2S5Rk

Opening day I went to go see Alita: Battle Angel. It's a fine super hero flick and I'd argue better than the OVA. Does a nice job with the flow of the story and foreshadowing. However it fails to explore Alita's conflict or flesh out any of the characters which was the main points of the manga.

The visuals is what you'd expect from the directors of Avatar, I'd definitely suggest watching it in IMAX 3D.

I found the soundtrack to be mostly generic and forgettable. There was about 1-2 tracks that stood out but the rest meshed together. I enjoyed the end pop song being a sucker for a violin/piano in a mainly electric song. But the chorus lyrics are pretty repetitive. Do any of you think otherwise? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLohYzz4btpaSt2T0rcfmF8wfQzuW_6JTv

The orchestra sounds nice, lots of woodwinds, but most tracks have it being treated like a synthesizer, similar to Vangelis. Lots of swells, crescendos, decrescendos, rhythmic ostinatos, etc. I had to skip several tracks because they were just too boring. Walls of sound galore.

The brief action cues seem well orchestrated by talented orchestrators trying their best with what material they were given.

The main motif reminds me of Rota's Romeo and Juliet. But there are no real themes. Why wasn't Horner's Avatar used as a template? You can hear snippets of this Rota motif throughout, but somehow it's not enough to have any real staying power.

Elliot Goldenthal could have had a field day with this.

Check out the IMDB page for the Music Department. All these cooks in the kitchen and not one of them thinks of writing a theme for Alita that can be played by children on the piano. It's a missed opportunity if you ask me.

Holkenborg addressed that in an interview and, without naming names, implied that he was plainly told not to write any big themes. He seemed to even suggest that he had written a proper theme for the movie, but everyone took a hatchet to it and told him, "I like this part here, and that sound there... just get rid of all that melody." Same story, different day. I don't usually like his music but it must be a real challenge for him, or anyone entering Hollywood in the past ~15 years, to cut his teeth on writing symphonic scores and longform themes when all his jobs require going in the opposite direction.

More from another related interview: https://picosong.com/wJM6U/

And it again emphasizes a point I a was making the past few weeks. A composer doesn't exist in a vacuum. No matter what he has inside, it takes the people around him to inspire the best. If you don't have that environment, I don't want to imagine what its like over there (thankfully I don't have to).

I was actually listening to something more Alita-specific.
https://picosong.com/wJMhG/
The part in question is near the end: "in its original form, we can't use it in 2019, but it doesn't mean we need to throw everything out". Listening more carefully, he seems to actually be referring to Golden Age music conventions as opposed to a specific 50s-inspired piece he wrote. But the end result is the same.

Crappy excuses from a crappy composer. Directors and producers asking for control of orchestration aspects is not a new trend. Even Herrmann had to put up with it. I'm surprised why anyone here went into a Junkie score and expected something more than what he's capable of. Giving these hacks the light of day is a waste of time. God forbid someone actually start earnestly talking about Tyler Bates next time too.

Decided to listen to a couple of tracks from Kohei Tanaka's Gravity Rush/Daze 2 soundtrack on a whim, and stumbled across this gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQyNLDJprL8 (Gravity Daze 2 ~ Harmonica Version)

Not since the Last of the Summer Wine soundtrack have I heard such a beautiful use of the harmonica in playing melodies. I remember talking about my favourite instruments for either solo or ensemble pieces, but I think I might have to stick the harmonica in the solo instruments now because of how gorgeous this song is. I need more slow, melodic harmonica songs in my life now (especially with some accompaniment from another instrument). Thanks for making me remember how good they can sound, Tanaka!

Decided to listen to a couple of tracks from Kohei Tanaka's Gravity Rush/Daze 2 soundtrack on a whim, and stumbled across this gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQyNLDJprL8 (YT: Gravity Rush 2 OST - Harmonica)Click to play video inline. (Gravity Daze 2 ~ Harmonica Version)

Not since the Last of the Summer Wine soundtrack have I heard such a beautiful use of the harmonica in playing melodies. I remember talking about my favourite instruments for either solo or ensemble pieces, but I think I might have to stick the harmonica in the solo instruments now because of how gorgeous this song is. I need more slow, melodic harmonica songs in my life now (especially with some accompaniment from another instrument). Thanks for making me remember how good they can sound, Tanaka!
risa minami is a famous chromatic harmonica player in japan. she is the one playing on the soundtrack. tanaka wrote a song for one of her albums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lVI6GKkumM

her most recent albums has songs by tanaka, senju, nishiki, and others.

risa minami is a famous chromatic harmonica player in japan. she is the one playing on the soundtrack. tanaka wrote a song for one of her albums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lVI6GKkumM

Interesting use of synth orchestra in this one.

@FrDougal: "Great Music is always simple". Tanaka's score in the game itself is a work of art. I think the game itself and its music will turn out to be a hidden gem in the future. Personally, this is a game made for me. The art, game and music are a perfect symbiosis. Its a pure outburst of colors and melody and one of the best audiovisual experiences I ever had, it's Keiichiro Toyama's best work (yes, better than Silent Hill) but that's just my humble opinion of course.

@cal.: Virtuosic music, performed by a virtuosic musican, composed by a virtuosic composer, what's not to love!

@Zipper: P.S.Thanks for the new Asakawa, Marty really fights the good fight.

Mr.Junk gives us nonethelss a fascinating insight how much a corpse can decompose ;)

Back to the MUSIC.




Kotaro Nakagawa
CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Re;surrection
Tokyo Studio Orchestra (4Hr/3Tr/2Trb/1BTrb)



Sample (https://picosong.com/wJMDA/)
Download (https://mega.nz/#!6OhTCAiS!bGkDwJG-MpWbZtMpiz_6ZINjTOgBSdDaKDpQ5yJE-QU)

In typical Japanese fashion you can't put this in one category: It uses electronic tools yes, it has film score elements, yes, but like Nakagawa stated in his interview, he choose to write music not defined by any genre, loosely called Anime Music, so while the action pieces seems modern action at times, there's actualy Golden Age scoring woven into it, a little bit Baroque, and a little bit 70s Television. He even employs the Soprano and Tenor which he likes to do on occasion. And there's even a little bit of that weird rock Hattori listens to and likes to put in his scores.

In terms of his orchestral writing, this is very close to his very old stuff... actually... I wonder if you notice...



Kotaro Nakagawa & Kuroishi Hitomi
CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Complete TV Score of the two seasons



Sample (Nakagawa) (https://picosong.com/wJ7Cq/) / Sample (Hitomi) (https://picosong.com/wJMzC/)
Download (https://mega.nz/#!PThDnaaD!Bnd36n59HWZbFyW9HnAQ-TOvwUxxchsdgiaKaa38d20)

As bonus we now have Code Geass in its complete form, and there are some rtracks by Hitomi and Nakagawa you don't want to miss out on. I put them into the old scores and they make now over three hours of Nakagawa on fire. It's one of those big name anime scores you don't want to miss out on. It has to be said, Nakagawa writes the best "trailer" music I know and I mean that as a compliment, pieces like "Overwriting" or "Avalon" among many of his cues really get your blood pumping. He also really likes Spanish/Middle-Eastern style and pretty much every major orchestral score from him has those elements. He has an eglectic style, everything but the kitchen sink but unlike many otheres, he manages to make it all work. A real talent.

I hope the upcoming concert gets a cd soon and that its of the magnitude of last year's Sailor Moon concert.

Of course, I always want to see a new score by Hitomi. She's such a talented lady.


They reprinted the soundtracks so there's no excuse to not catch some delicious anime music:

OST 1 (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/VTCL-60485?s_ssid=e47a395c69711fbb9) / OST 2 (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/VTCL-60486?s_ssid=e47a395c69711fbb9) / R2 OST 1 (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/VTCL-60071?s_ssid=e322915c697269d22d) / R2 OST 2 (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/VTCL-60072) / Re;surrection (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/VTZL-153?s_ssid=e47a395c69711fbb9)

If you're not into the whole import thing, they are available on Japanese Itunes (plenty of tutorials how to get to that). If you love it, buy it!



P.S. I actually forgot to include the s-cry-ed Jazz album into the Stella folder for my Anime Jazz collection, so take it.



Sample (https://picosong.com/wJMGY/)
s-cry-ed Jazz (https://mega.nz/#!TOohUKzZ!e3ITeRH4ICFgSd5ljxawqDMBB8GFeBO7aKEGsi6v7TA)

Oh my, I was so eager to get my hand on this new Code Geass OST release, thanks a lot!

Thank you for the new Nakagawa... It's exactly what I thought it would be; pretty much like his last entries in the franchise. Nakagawa, I continue to believe, is a better composer than his works would suggest at face value. There's nothing really special here - it's another typically Japanese schizophrenic score, directionless and unable to fix on a style for long enough to actually do musical storytelling... but it's a fun enough listen if you don't expect too much.

So there exists a special book written by members of the JCAA that includes 381 pages of full orchestral transcriptions of some of the works of Sugiyama, Miyagawa, Hattori, Watanabe, Oshima, Asakawa, Kanno, and a dozen others.

https://twitter.com/NaoyaIwaki/status/1087304515802390528

I don't know how many of you guys might want this- but it's apparently up for sale again after being out of stock since 2003. I can think of a few members here who might be interested.

If I've got the conversion from Yen to Euro right according to the price in that tweet (�6800), that book only costs around €50-60. That's a steal if that's the correct price!

It belongs in a museum!

I'd donate partial funds to whoever is willing to buy and scan it for everyone to enjoy. I'm mostly interested in the Kanno and Hattori. Might be fun to try mocking some stuff up in a VST too.

tracks that i dont see are missing from the bonus materials, am seeing five tracks missing which is fascination, stargazer , beyond humanity, miscarriage and recollect myself

Are you an aussie, my friend? Oh, I'd love to visit your country! So fascinating, such immensity and fabulous landscapes. Australia is one of these countries I dream to visit one day, along with Japan, Canada, Hawaii, Tahiti and Narnia (HAHA, I'm just joking of course, Canada is just a fictional country).
I Think I've caught the travel bug, so I am saving up to go see some of it. it's a big bloody place let me tell you but best to start somewhere and move from there. I am definitely planning to go to Japan in the forseeable future too.


An example of his Jazz (https://picosong.com/wJVRY/)

Probably my favourite song in the whole score. From 1:30 is fucking nuts.


If you're not into the whole import thing, they are available on Japanese Itunes (plenty of tutorials how to get to that). If you love it, buy it!

Is there anywhere to get digital stuff? There is some stuff there that no-one has put up and I Figure I may as well try myself.

I must admit I like the soundtrack to Mortal Engines. Well, the suite, more specifically. From 5:31: https://youtu.be/7LOyFvDddNQ?t=331 I bought the disc just for it.

Japanese iTunes is so full of great stuff you can buy with just a few clicks if you have the money, but I only have so much and its not nearly enough.

For example, two recent TV scores by Naoki Sato and they are full of delightful music, showcasing his slow evolution to a more classical composer:

Sample 1 (https://picosong.com/wSqYU/) / Sample 2 (https://picosong.com/wSqem/) / Sample 3 (https://picosong.com/wSqeQ/) / Sample 4 (https://picosong.com/wSqev/)


Then there'se the pretty obscure stuff you can find, including even concert works, like the Euphonium concerto by Masamicz Amano. But I ain't got the money for it.

Or for this Sound Box I'm eager to hear:



Best Precure Score (https://picosong.com/wSqQy/)


(srsly ladatree, buying a cd just for three minutes ain't worth the money, save it for the good stuff ;))

Eh. I’ve done much dumber stuff.

Gundam Thunderbolt's second season has a piece that might be one of the best homages to the original muscial style of the 0079 anime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFHz5gQKB7E

Really wonderful way of capturing that combination of 70s grooviness and militarism without falling into cliche disco tropes like Yamato's remake. It would have been neat to see the rest of the series use this style, but alas, we only get more forgettable freeform jazz and faux pop songs.

Crappy excuses from a crappy composer.

I feel this is a crappy way to downplay the comments of a composer that is working within the system. I am no fan of Holkenborg - Mad Max had some good ideas on repeat for an entire score, BvS was just boring and forgetabble. We have heard time and time again that producers in Hollywood want the classical style of composing out. No themes, no grand motifs, none of that. They want music that only works beat to beat, instead of working as a greater whole. This is on a totally different level than what composers had to deal with in the past. Producers wanted some control over the music. They never asked to make it dumb.

Also, can we stop calling them hacks just because we don't like them? They made it into the business, and you don't do that with just blind luck. The dude was trained by a classical pianist. I don't think that puts him anywhere as a hack. That's somebody that has no skill - in the most literal way. You cannot say that the man has no musical skill, no matter how critically you view his efforts. Language like that just places us as elitists, and I know that's is not who we are.

Or maybe we are elitists, but at least we can be diplomatic about it. Off putting language just makes nobody want to listen to us.

Also, can we stop calling them hacks just because we don't like them? They made it into the business, and you don't do that with just blind luck. The dude was trained by a classical pianist. I don't think that puts him anywhere as a hack.You can go into the business by having connections and doing exactly what producers want you to do, and getting along with directors and staff who can work with you and understand your methods. It has -nothing- to do with the actual quality of your music. I call Junkie a hack because there is zero quality to his music. Following RC and modern Hollywood tropes doesn't mean one's music has to sound like thoughtless garbage strewn together on a couple sample libraries. I've posted examples, time and again, of how a piece of music can have RC tropes, banging percussion and violin ostinatos and all, but still have a lot of intelligence behind it. There's none of that in Junkie's work, or that of most other composers currently making the big bucks in Hollywood. Why do we harp on Giacchino, despite him not using RC tropes often, and taking inspiration from Williams? It's because his music is badly constructed and usually has an army of orchestrators behind it to hide his incompetence. Even those with better training like Justin Hurwitz or Bear McCreary, when given the opportunity to do so, can't write a melody to save their lives.

Here's the general problem with Hollywood- and it's not because of Hans. While Hans did popularize that modern droning sound that we all know all too well now, it was the producers and directors that forced others to emulate it. Of course, a lot of the old masters had no choice but to cope, and when they couldn't what did these producers and directors do? They replaced them with others like Junk and Trent Reznor and Media Ventures, who specialize in this sort of sound, and almost nothing else. So when you ask one of them, like John Powell, to write a score with the old-school sensibilities of 70s and 80s film music for something like How to Train Your Dragon, you're still going to get music that is ultimately RC music disguised as old music. Same with Giacchino. Those who were capable of writing this kind of stuff have all been kicked out, like Goldenthal and Don Davis. There's only room for a few successful composers in Hollywood, and Junk is one of them.

It may be true that the "classical sound" may be out of vogue. But there's a lot more to producing good or interesting music than poorly emulating the old masters. Junk can make all the excuses he wants. But if he was asked by a director to write a 1950s film score, how do you think he would fare? Or Tyler Bates? Or Brian Tyler? Or any of the other big names? Excuses are easier to make than good music.

If people feel offended that others don't like what they like, but don't have a single insight other than "stop hurting my feelings", why should I listen to them? Not in your case, but to others whom you are referring to when you say that "nobody wants to listen to us".

I don't think making it into a business or even being "successful" should prevent one from being called a hack. To me, a hack is someone whose success exceeds their abilities. Dan Brown is a phenomenally successful author, but he's also certainly a hack.

That said, I think the point that being vicious in voicing our opinions won't win us any converts is something to consider. Honestly, I think going through yet another cycle of "why Hollywood scores suck now" is trite at this point. It's been well established many times over throughout this thread that our standards are high and that practically any score to a Hollywood studio blockbuster from 200X forward doesn't pass muster. Large-scale orchestral music isn't in vogue now in Hollywood, and the skillsets to work well in such music are becoming lost. I know it, we know it, and I can even say from personal experience that some of the people maligned in the posts above know it as well. Bitching about it isn't going to change the facts.

I think instead of harping on the negative and assigning blame, a more instructive point would be to simply focus on promoting the positive and spreading awareness of the good stuff, catch people's ears. Focus on enhancing the positive rather than reinforcing the negative. There's enough doom and misery in the world already without adding to it by repeating a tired and already-decided argument for the hundredth time. More posts like Vin does through his gargantuan celebrations of all things Japanese, or discussing great indie scores from smaller projects, or new releases and fond returns to glories from the past. If not a single additional worthwhile piece of music were to be composed on the entire planet, there are many lifetimes of great music that already exists merely waiting to be discovered and shared.

Just my two cents.

Now, since this is a music thread: https://youtu.be/WUl7jW1qJwY

I realize this is old news, but I just discovered this medley over the weekend. Finally a decent orchestral Castlevania arrangement including "Beginning!" Not world-shattering, but better than any other CV arrangement I've heard thus far. If anyone knows one better, I'd love to know. Download from the Lossless Game Music v2 thread. (Apologies for the unnecessary "Hi-Res" factor, but obviously not my upload.)


Castlevania Medley - Journeyer's Recollection Suite ver
FLAC 24 bit 96 kHz
https://mega.nz/#!KbZXQYwA!wd26gvq6bTTCkXHQ7RY2fGlPlrnaPKAe5s9-eRe5q-U

I dearly wish I had more time to get into this discussion... (And answer the numerous questions I promised to answer from weeks ago...)

I'll just be brief... I do think that Holkenborg is better than we've heard from him - which wouldn't be hard to achieve.

Put it this way - I wouldn't hire him to score my movie under ANY circumstances, but there are people I would turn down MUCH more vocally. Tyler Bates, Ramin Djawadi, Hiroyuki Sawano, etc would get "F*** NO, NO WAY NEVER GET THE F*** OUT OF HERE!" whereas Holkenborg would merely get "No chance, sorry."

Even working under the oppressive Hollywood system, you can usually spot a genuinely good composer playing along with all the modern cliches to stay in work. Holkenborg has a classical education, and a desire to write better music than he does... but... he's just not very good at it.

I think "hack" is an entirely fair term to apply.

If the field of brain surgery deteriorated to such an extent that I could get a job as a brain surgeon and be moderately successful at it, I would be a hack. I'd still be a terrible brain surgeon - and it would be a completely failure of logic to say that because NOBODY is a good brain surgeon I'm actually pretty good in comparison. I'd still be a terrible brain surgeon and if anybody I operated on survived, it would be by blind luck rather than because of my skills. I would be an idiot in a field full of idiots, but I would still be an idiot. And likewise, Hollywood scoring has simillarly deteriorated to the extent that Tom Holkenborg can now be phenomenally successful (and look pretty good compared to the competition) in jobs that were formerly filled by genuine artists like Korngold and Williams.

A hack is someone who produces dull, unoriginal, routine work.

Holkeborg in a nutshell.

I couldn't find this anywhere in the thread, and I think it's worth a listen:

Youth - Zhao Lin
https://e.snmc.io/i/600/w/b8166557b6bb5ad5ab4ae7de6213df77/7246699
https://mega.nz/#F!g6JhXKbA!5u0U_SaUV3mS8aUAqn3DCA
(source) (https://doramamusic.com/en/soundtracks-ost/150-youth)

A beautiful drama/romance score composed by Zhao Lin, son of the famous Zhao Jiping.

After listening to City Hunter, I'm very concerned about what happened to Iwasaki's budgets as of late. Another small string ensemble with a single saxophone, and a mountain of electronics and e-guitars and percussion and Lotus Juice for the nth time. There are a few pieces reminiscent of Angel Heart with the piano, but as a whole it's almost as grating as the Stray Dogs movie.