Anime

Anime, Indie Music

Anime-Inspired Original Album Kickstarter Debuted by Lara Croft Composer

November 10, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Anime-Inspired Original Album Kickstarter Debuted by Lara Croft Composer Share this

A new crowdfunding campaign has been debuted by the composer of of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Star Wars: The Old Republic and others. Wilbert Roget has taken to Kickstarter to help fund his original album, Beyond Libra, which is inspired by anime composers and features several cultural influences.

As a composer for games, I’ve always been influenced by classic Japanese anime and video game scores, with musicians like Yoko Kanno and Jo Hisaishi being some of my biggest inspirations. I’ve always wanted to write music for animation, and so 8 years ago, I embarked on an ambitious album project: I’d write an entire soundtrack for a show that existed only in my imagination, with commissioned artwork to accompany the music and an interplanetary adventure story to bind it all together.

Beyond Libra is a very diverse soundtrack, with songs ranging from j-pop to orchestral, dulcet small ensemble works, and uplifting afrobeat. There is no single “sound” for the album as a whole, but instead, a great variety of genres support the characters’ adventure across several planets and civilizations. – Wil Roget

The album will feature several additional musicians, including Jillian Aversa (Halo, Soul Calibur 5, VideoGamesLive), Offiong Bassey (featured on NPR Radio and The Boston Globe), Raj Ramayya (Cowboy Bebop, Wolf’s Rain) and others. It will also include the Yale Women’s Slavic Chorus and several other cultural ensembles. The current goal is $1,500 for the 45-minute album and some stretch goals to help improve mixing and increase tracks and more.

Beyond Libra – Kickstarter
Anime

Sword Art Online Music Collection Coming in January 2016

October 13, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 4 Comments Share this

If you’re a fan of Sword Art Online and have always wanted to own the soundtracks to the series on CD you’re in luck! Right now that only way to buy the soundtrack was in very expensive bundles of the North American or Japanese Blu-rays of the TV series. That will change on January 27, 2016.

I noticed that an album titled Sword Art Online Music Collection was just recently added to the Video Game Music Database. The collection is a 4 CD set containing all of the music from both of the Sword Art Online TV series.

The collection was announced on the Sword Art Online website on October 4 confirmed that the set will contain all of the previous music released in the bundled Blu-Ray sets, with an additional 15 tracks of music bringing the track list to a whopping 131 tracks. There will also be a Limited Edition release of the album which contains an extra Blu-ray disc of the concert held in February 2015 Sword Art Online: Sing All the Overtures performed by Yuki Kajiura, Fiction Junction, and other artists.

The regular edition is priced at 3800 yen, and the limited edition is priced at 4500yen. Both albums are available for pre-order from various Japanese retailers including CD Japan. I will getting my pre-order in soon, are you a fan of the music in Sword Art Online?
Anime, Indie Music

Pure Fun: Solid Covers of Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z USA Theme Songs

July 15, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 1 Comment Share this

The two North American version anime series that generated interest in the genre for a lot of us were Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. One of the things that stood out about the series were their fantastic theme songs. Sailor Moon‘s theme was written by composer Bob Summers and wrote a series of memorable English lyrics for the Japanese theme song “Moonlight Densetsu”. For Dragon Ball Z, Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahehi (Haim Saban) delivered an entirely new theme song titled “Rock The Dragon” which in my opinion is the Dragon Ball Z theme to rule them all.

Often I search for covers of these great songs, and last week I stumbled onto two fantastic covers on the same album! The album is a stellar work by the hilariously named band Piss Lizard; Pizard? The album totals 11 tracks and is available as a Free Download on bandcamp.

What I love about their version of “Moonlight Densetsu” is that they use their passionate male vocals to give the theme an old timey sound in English, and Japanese .

As for the Dragon Ball Z cover “Pump Up The Draygen” the band has produced the best cover version to date adding their own matched sound effects of fighting from the original theme.

Check out the Free Album by the Piss Lizard; Pizard? on bandcamp for a good time. The rest of the album is just as good. Let me know what you think.
Anime, Events, Game Music

The Music of Yoko Kanno Fan Panel Anime Expo 2015

July 8, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on The Music of Yoko Kanno Fan Panel Anime Expo 2015 Share this

One of the panels I would have attended at Anime Expo 2015 this year was titled: The Music of Yoko Kanno Fan Panel.

Anime Expo July 2, 2015 – The Music of Yoko Kanno Fan Panel 1:00pm to 2:30pm.

Do you love the music of “Ghost in the Shell: SAC,” “Cowboy Bebop,” “Terror in Resonance,” and “Space Dandy?” Then you have heard the music of Yoko Kanno! Yoko Kanno is one of the most fascinating composers of anime music working today. From her orchestral works, to her jazz works, to theme songs and background music, her works are always riveting, moving, and invigorating. Join professors David F. Lopez, Elliott Jones, and John Marr as they explore her diverse, fascinating, yet always engaging music!

The great news is that YouTube user Brent Rolland recorded the panel and you can watch it for yourself! Let us know what you thought of the panel and anything you would have liked to have been discussed.
Anime, Japanese

Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX Comes to 3DS in September

July 2, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX Comes to 3DS in September Share this

After being delayed back in May, those Vocaloid vixens from the long running Hatsune Miku series are finally coming to the Nintendo 3DS this September in the U.S. and Europe. Unlike the mainline series — which is console exclusive to Sony platforms — Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX renders the cast of characters in a style that Sega likens to the popular Nendoroid figures. The game will also introduce 19 new songs, 28 returning favorites and unique voice tracks that bring the total up to 79 full length songs.

Project Mirai DX may be the most customizable entry in the series allowing players to change which character performs each song and even adjust the size, color and behavior of the rhythm icons. The game also promises to let fans focus on their favorite characters through companion-based events and a theater mode. In theater mode all those distracting icons disappear and you’re free to watch, fast forward, and rewind through any performance and use the “Jam Along” mode to add your own musical flare. You can even pick up other fans’ custom scrolling messages via StreetPass and SpotPass that will show up as you watch.

It sounds like a pretty perfect mix of gameplay and fan service for anyone who’s into the series. Are you excited for this 3DS debut? Did you burn out on the franchise years ago? Or do you simply look on in amazement at the utter cuteness?
Anime, Featured, Game Music

The Uematsu You Never Knew

May 4, 2015 | Patrick Gann | 4 Comments Share this The Uematsu You Never Knew

There’s a short list of Japanese names that have proliferated American gaming culture due to their huge influence. Shigeru Miyamoto, Yu Suzuki, Hideo Kojima and others have made a lasting impact. Another well-known name is Nobuo Uematsu, sole composer for the first nine games in the Final Fantasy series, and lead / contributing composer to almost all the others (he did the theme song for XII and sat out completely on XIII).

Game music fans are also likely to know that Uematsu continued to work with his old friend Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series, when Sakaguchi went on to form Mistwalker. Hence, the soundtracks for Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and The Last Story were all composed by Uematsu as well.

Those are most of Uematsu’s “notable” works. But what about the rest? Are there any hidden gems among Uematsu’s lesser-known works? Let’s find out together by exploring five of Uematsu’s lesser-known projects, ranging from 1986 to the present. (more…)
Anime, Reviews

Terror in Resonance Original Soundtracks (REVIEW)

February 11, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on Terror in Resonance Original Soundtracks (REVIEW) Share this

A soundtrack that works outside the realm of anime, Terror in Resonance is a must listen for anyone who enjoys ambient music

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