Kenji Kawai is a funny looking man but a prolific composer of music for a vast range of anime movies and video games. I don't know his works that well but I've heard some of it, mostly through passive listening in movies in such as Ring and Dark Water. The one that I have been listening to a lot recently was pointed out by a reader of this blog (thanks!), his soundtrack for the animated movie Ghost in the Shell (1995), a great film that has some interesting things to say about gender and identity in a futuristic world. Kenji Kawai also did the soundtrack for the even more brilliant Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004), which draws on everything from Max Weber to Isaac Asimov.
For the soundtrack to the first Ghost in the Shell movie, Kawai used a "spatializer ... to alter the sound, specifically in the electronic brain conversations, to modify the voices." His composition "is a mixture of Bulgarian harmony and traditional Japanese notes," whatever that means. Enjoy.
For the soundtrack to the first Ghost in the Shell movie, Kawai used a "spatializer ... to alter the sound, specifically in the electronic brain conversations, to modify the voices." His composition "is a mixture of Bulgarian harmony and traditional Japanese notes," whatever that means. Enjoy.
5 comments:
Haunting isn't it? :)
A wedding song to dispel evil influences. Very appropriate considering the thematic implications of the movie.
Hope things are well at your end XD
Yeah very haunting. Thanks for the tip on this.
So what are you working on these days?
Here's a another japanese folk song courtesy of Samurai Champloo.
Ikue Asazaki - Obokuri-Eeumi http://youtu.be/bEQtkLNTmRs
Do take a look at the lyrics
Meep, I've seen a couple of Samurai Champloo episodes but I've always been meaning to see more. (So much pop culture to catch up on, so little time...). Song is very cool. Thx.
You asked what I'm working on these days: I'm on leave from work but will be back to teaching next fall. Been actually trying to get my act together to write and record music again (something I used to do a lot years ago).
I got into Samurai Champloo after I saw Shinichirō Watanabe's other masterpiece - Cowboy Bebop :). FINALLY got some time to actually watch the series. So yeah I know the feeling.
Ah gotcha, so you leave DC in the fall?
What kind of music? Band or solo work?
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