Author: Astral/Anitama Cover Source: Tatsuya Kato and his playing team
Kato as a very active animation drama partner producer at present, I think you are also very familiar with it, today I will take some of his representative and unpopular works as the main axis, combined with magazine interviews, talk about his accompaniment production and personal style, hoping to let you feel the charm of Kato-style drama companions from different angles.
<h4>EP 0, the conventional Profile and the reason for entering the industry</h4>
"Because my father worked in a record company, I was influenced by the promotion of foreign music and bangle for a long time since I was a child, so this awareness of music was naturally cultivated in the atmosphere of the family from a young age. In addition, my sister, who is four years older than me, began to practice Yamaha Electone, and I was a little eager to try it out. Not very serious though (laughs)"
Born on July 28, 1980 in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, Tatsuya Kato listened to music, attended concerts, and apprenticed recordings due to his father's work relationship, which also became part of his daily life.
When Tatsuya Kato was a student, although he was also involved in bands, he still focused on the activities of sports clubs, and music was only one of his personal interests, and at that time, he did not explicitly aim for composers. Until the important stage of entering the third year of high school, when faced with important choices and unable to start, among the various university materials collected by my mother, the information of Tokyo University of Music was the most attractive. After half a year of hard work on piano and harmony theory, Kato was finally admitted to the Faculty of Music of Tokyo University of Music. Since then, he has specialized in composition and conducting, and graduated from the department of film broadcasting music. In terms of composition and arrangement, he was taught by many big hands such as Nario Miede, Katsuhisa Hattori, Koroku Reijiro Koroku, and Kentaro Haneda.
When he graduated from university, Kato received an invitation from Mieda Nario Office to serve as an assistant, during which time, in addition to completing the specific work of the assistant, he also followed the study of drama companion production, increased a lot of experience, and at The side of Mie Nario, Kato was subtly influenced by Mie, and also wanted to become a drama companion composer. Later, through the introduction of an acquaintance, he participated in the production of "Spider Knight ~ Sage Warriors~ ( formerly: スパイダーライダーズ ~オラクルの勇者たち~) supervised by Koichi Mashita, and at that time met Yoshiyuki Ito, who was vice president of Lantis at the time, and Ito handed him a work invitation to "Let's Do It together", and Kato immediately accepted. I don't understand why I was so decisive at the time, but I think it was very touching to think that Ito trusted him at that time, and I still have a kind heart for this acquaintance.
After entering Lantis in this way, Kato officially began his personal drama partner production in 2009 with "NEEDLESS" and "Kempfa", and has been mainly active in the field of animation companions ever since. (Note: In the same year, he also participated in the production of the TV anime Phantom, which was produced by Hikaru Nanase, and in addition to composing an impression song for the character of Iino Freedom, he also composed part of the BGM, which was included in OST2.) Later, he also participated in the production of impression songs in "Literary Girl" by Hikaru Nanase.)
《Phantom 〜Requiem for the Phantom〜》OST2封面
<h4>EP1, 2011 Double Wall: Diary of the Future & Horizon on the Realm Line</h4>
The soundtracks of these two topical works can be said to summarize Kato's early creative style, and they are more mature in technique.
<h5>Diary of the Future</h5>
Future Diary BD-BOX cover (including OST full songs)
Counting the effect tones in the last two volumes of the Bonus Soundtrack CD, there are a total of 115 audio tracks. The rich collection comprehensively outlines a picture of the accompanying companion that belongs to the work, including important plot scene songs, general daily and atmospheric songs, as well as very rich character theme songs, as well as piano adaptations of OP1 and quite beautiful main melody performances, basically covering orchestral, rock, electronic, POP, chamber music and other major styles.
The opening track, "Psychology の扉が開かれた", takes the electronic atmosphere as the main axis, supplemented by the appropriate female vocal clip insertion, and brings the tense and eerie world view atmosphere of the work to the audience together with the picture. The scene atmosphere song "Mime Fangjiao" is impressive with its very penetrating sound creation, especially the use of female VOICE combined with playing musical instruments can't help but make people's pores stand up, cold sweat, and the sense of evil charm is fully displayed.
In the two songs "Causal Law", "Causal Law", "Causal Law", "Causal Law", "Causal Law", "Causal Law", "Causal Law", Kato uses the female voice to show the changes in the plot and the inner fluctuations of the characters. OP1's piano version of the adaptation, "Blood teller~piano~", fully combines the personal arrangement style with the melodic charm of the original song, supplemented by the piano as the lead string to form a beautiful chamber music work.
There are also two tracks in the name of love that are loved by listeners, "LOVE POWER" and "LOVE ROCK". For the power of love, Kato did not choose a thick orchestral performance, but chose a balanced expression between light music and the sense of sound power, quite four or two thousand pounds, moisturizing the silent sense of listening - although the sound is light, it is full of emotional power. The overall tone is clear and pleasant, the melody arrangement is smooth and natural, the ensemble part broadens the acoustic depth by strengthening the performance of the bass area, and deepens the listener's impression by playing the theme melody again with a woodwind instrument. In particular, the timbres such as bells, sand hammers, and triangle irons are added to the whole song at the right time to echo the color of the piano, which makes the sound performance of the whole song even higher. The latter is a ROCK-style track that is not only well-cut, but also very interesting as a flavored electronic sound.
Speaking of which, I have to mention the effect sounds included in the last two special CD, 6 mobile phone ringtones in the ninth and 16 SMS effect sounds in the eighth album are made according to the corresponding role settings, so the style is more diverse, the melody of several mobile phone ringtones is also very ear-catching, and the electronic tone of "Future Diary of the Letter 06" is quite flavorful, and interested friends recommend listening.
Back to the point, let's talk about the main melody of the song "Antiって級く奇跡", which has been used for a long time, and the thick and deep strings combined with the picture concentrate on the struggle of the protagonists of the work against fate, and finally let the miracle happen The plot development; as the ending of "Lucky", "Lucky Time" paints all this with incomparably beautiful and happy colors, and at the same time sublimates the theme of "love" again; throughout the detailed portrayal of the protagonist's image, "Want to いの送り方は uneven" Embellished with thick string ensembles and wonderful piano colors, the heavy and redeeming plot is vividly displayed, and the soulful melody is deeply imprinted in the hearts of every viewer.
In addition to the above tracks, there are many remarkable tracks, such as the full-charge guitar sprinting sensation and distortion effect, the instantaneously explosive metal (metal) song "勝機に転じる Moment"; the special-shot flavor and wonderful saxophone performance arrangement of "正義のヒーロー"; Tatsuya's consistent piano sketch "純粋なる魂".
<h5>The Horizon on the Realm Line</h5>
"Horizon on the Horizon Line" OST cover
To this day, looking back, the gorgeous sound wall of the realm line, the multiple styles and corresponding orchestral arrangements that show the magnificent picture and grand world view are still the peak of Kato-style soundtrack. As the interview put it: "I tried to have a few brushes. "What is even more valuable is the stable height maintained by the two seasons of animation production of the realm line, which really makes people feel that there is no animation companion without animation works."
Excellent original and animation adaptations make Kato-style Soundtrack full of charm, and at the same time stimulate the composer's desire to create and express enthusiasm, so that the origin-based power is indispensable to create a perfect drama partner. At the same time, through the encounter with this job, Tatsuya's relationship with SUNRISE Studio 8 has continued until "Buddy Complex" and today's "LoveLive!" sunshine!! A network of contacts developed by the playwright is a major source of job opportunities for the composer of the playwright.
The next commentary is mainly to pick a few songs, because in the two OST booklets there are detailed explanations of composition and STAFF. However, it is really difficult to pick out the songs in these two soundtracks.233, let's talk about some songs that Daya rarely has the opportunity to write now.
1. Acceleration roof
Although this piece is not weak in terms of popularity, such a direct and refreshing popular electronic arrangement is relatively rare after Tatsuya. In terms of animation, the description of this song in OST1 BK's commentary is similar to mt laying the overall world view and portraying the young group portraits in the play, with POP style melody and starry sky-like sound effects to show and decorate the youthful atmosphere of "kirakira" in the work, and this atmosphere of the song is also hoped by the original Kawakami.
It is true that the brick setting of the realm line itself and the complex characters and the multiple historical archetypes intertwined behind it make the viewer's head water, but the emotions of the main character group and the main clue are very positive. The second season of "Hand を森ばし輪に誘う" is also in this style, but with the change of the stage in the second season and the corresponding character characteristics, the synthesizer tone and female vocal arrangement are more gorgeous, and the melodic line emotion is more exuberant.
2. The town is bustling
Among the many works Kato has created so far, there are a certain number of Japanese wind repertoire, but there are not many songs such as the realm line that portrays The Japanese wind in this way.
Generally, the music of the Impression of the East is to remove the two-six scale or remove the four-seven scale to become the so-called five-tone scale, but if you can add Western-style harmony on top of this, then the overall sound of the song will be more distinctive. Ryuichi Sakamoto's world-famous song "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" adopts this approach, removing the two-six scale and adding a Western-style harmony to the melodic line.
Kato's piece adds Western-style chord fragments as LOOP behind Eastern instruments and national vocals, which adds different rhythms and rhythms to the natural and fresh timbre of the East, with a multi-ethnic sense; in addition, the sound effects of other color instruments further enrich the listening sense.
3. Cheap spirit scores high
8-BIT and Wind is a game song in the play. Kato, who has always been active in the field of animation, rarely has the opportunity to match game works. This song is very rare in terms of style, and its own composition and synthesizer tone production are very old.
4. If you think that's fine
The negotiation scene in the second season is a song. The depiction of the negotiation scene of the second phase of the animation can be described as a full display of the battlefield without smoke. The exclusive battle song of Tsuchita, much like game music in the whole arrangement, also has obvious looping points, the intricate interweaving of the sense of speed and logic is expressed through electronic sound effects, and the mood of strategizing and changing situations fluctuates with the melodic line. It has a distinctive sound difference with the first season of "Discussion On Time", which is mainly composed of orchestral music, just like the color contrast between the "Projectile Theory" series and the "Reverse Referee" series.
5. It's important and let's all go
In terms of promoting the development of the plot and the change of the storyline, in tatsuya's many accompanying works so far, these two pieces are still the most impressive to me personally for the emotional transition of the entire animation picture and the shock and emotion contained therein.
The former's unique sense of debauchery and hope; the latter's horn group plays the grand bravery of the partners, coupled with the sense of unity expressed by the gorgeous strings; together constitute the spiritual tone of the realm line.
In summary, these two works fully reflect his positioning of the direction in which his personal play partner is good at: first of all, the dramatic music with the beautiful sound of piano and orchestral instruments as the main body (the melodic lines of different emotions change prominently, while the melodic lines themselves change significantly, full of dramatic conflicts and scene development changes); secondly, on this basis, personal favorite electronic and digital sound effects are added to describe the scenes and character feelings, so as to mix and create a worldview expression.
<h4>EP2, Homecoming - The Outbreak of the Sports Complex</h4>
Free!' OST cover
In 2013, Kyoto Animation's first attempt at sports club-themed TV animation, "Free!", was scheduled to be broadcast in the summer, focusing on portraying male swimming clubs and male high school students with special personalities... Not to mention that at that time, when I watched the publicity, I thought it was hanging lamb to sell rotten meat, and I had doubts about the kyoto attempt itself, but as a result, everyone knows that the third season has now been scheduled to be broadcast in the summer of 18 years... Unexpectedly, the "Free!" series once again taught me what it means to mobilize the full flow of social wealth (laughs).
For Tatsuya Kato, this job opportunity is undoubtedly precious, and he personally loves sports, and from time to time he can see him retweeting some sports news on Twitter or watching ball games in the middle of the night. The power of such an interest in matching the content of the work is obvious, and the feedback received is also good: including two seasons of TV, three theatrical editions, a total of 9 CDs (calculated by each Disc), the number of songs has reached more than 200, has become an indispensable element of the series, and the construction of a pure blue sound world that belongs to this work alone.
Among the more than 200 pieces of music, there are "Rhythm of port town", which lays the overall impression of the work, "EVER BLUE" and "Clear Blue Departure", which are important themes throughout the series, as well as sketches that carefully depict the changes in the feelings of the characters and electronic songs that depict swimming postures and competition emotions.
Season 2 adds more pop and electronics: "A beautiful day," "Maybe someday," "Get ready!" 》《Departure for the future》《Brand new season》...... It can be said that the elements of a competitive sports work soundtrack are readily available here, and there are many tricks.
Theatrical version of "HIGH☆SPEED! -Free! Starting Days-" OST cover
In the theatrical version of "HIGH☆SPEED" about the protagonist's childhood! -Free! In Starting Days-", he integrates his favorite choral harmony elements into the main theme of "Best swim, best team", further expanding the emotional boundaries of the work, in which the harmony of "static" expression and the rhythm of the band full of rushing sense express the emotional core that has always remained unchanged during the growth and change of the protagonist.
In the next TV animation re-composed of the theatrical version and the new special edition, in addition to the new song, he also re-arranged the previous old song, and used the form of medley (skewer) to fuse some classic melodies into the skewer, which won wide acclaim from fans, and also reflected his cherishing and love of the opportunity to accompany the sports-themed works, and always "freely" lyrically wrote the most youthful page in Kato-style soundtrack.
<h4>EP3, Nishio and Radish – The Strongest President Kuroko & Buddy Complex</h4>
Cover of OST1 of "The Strongest President Black God"
In 2012, in addition to the second phase of the Realm Line, the animation of "The Strongest President Kuromi", which was originally produced by Nishio Restoration and painted by Tsukizuki, was produced by GAINAX and broadcast in two phases in the spring and autumn.
The work itself is not described here. Straight to the point, the plot and plot of the first season belong to the dark foreshadowing in the campus comic of the king of the table, the soundtrack direction is therefore mostly concentrated on rock pop and various functional songs, the emotional direction of the orchestra is high, the overall track is relaxed and pleasant at the same time contains subtle plot hints; the second season enters the climax of the early stage of the comic, the orchestral track arrangement mood from the original high to the serious and grand, reflecting the fierce changes in the plot; also adapted the OP and ED, As a common song that reflects the emotional changes of the characters and promotes the development of the plot, it is very suitable and good.
Buddy Complex OST cover
Buddy Complex is a robot-themed work that Kato collaborated with Sunrise Studio VIII again in 2014. If you want to say that Sunrise has been neglected in recent years, this one should be listed. All aspects of the production are very stable, the only drawback is that the time is too short, otherwise there are places where the plot logic and narrative can go further.
The flaw in the soundtrack is that the theme melody is not very obvious, but according to the large number of detailed instructions given by the supervisor in BK and what the original track reflects, this musical flaw can be emotionally let go. Among the full-time and full-scale tracks, Tatsuya personally likes the song "Time Leap", in which the expansion of the percussion group reflects his thinking on key settings, and the animation scene is also very moving.
My favorite is the often used combat and morphing track, Coupling Mode. The song is full of "radish love", which can fully appreciate Kato's special feelings for the robot theme since childhood and his understanding of the theme work as mentioned in BK. This song chooses the magnificent brass group as the group, and the mixed chorus as the table to show the climactic theme together, and the sense of grand scale in the middle makes the listener's brain flash countless classic battle scenes like a marquee, and the blood of the Straight People is boiling; coupled with the electronic and percussion tones carefully selected as color embellishments, it can be called the standard protagonist counterattack and radish deformation track.
<h4>EP4, Spirit of Water Always in my heart</h4>
Finally, we return to three recent representative works by Kato: LoveLive! Sunshine!! (hereinafter referred to as the water ball) "The Spirit of the Eater" (hereinafter referred to as the "Eater") "What is it doing at the end of the day?" Is there any availability? Can I come to the rescue? (hereinafter referred to as sukasuka, the end of the question sentence of the title of the day version).
Among these three works, the first to appear on the stage is the cooking king Daozuo. The vast cooking stage of Theagi provides a place for Kato's various styles to play, so that the multi-ethnic musical styles and related instruments from west to east, from south to north, traverse them, forming an open pattern in the east, west, south and north; the development and personality of the royal road brings an abundant emotional core to his theatrical music with piano and orchestral instruments as the main body; the new thinking and new ideas brought by these two are more exquisite throughout the period, and the harmony of the fusion is as balanced as the cuisine in the play, and the three seats (season) are good dishes. Enough to break through the crowd.
《LoveLive！ Sunshine!! OST cover
And the water ball is "LoveLive!" "The series of new projects, the stage characters are new works, the animation supervision has also changed, by Kazuo Sakai, who has previously worked with Kato in "Buddy Complex", animation production is the second studio of Sunrise, Kato naturally took over the baton of Yoshimasa Fujisawa, who played the soundtrack of the first season, and composed the soundtrack of the water group.
In one issue, two of the melodic motifs are impressive, the first is the motivation of the main melody that describes Aqours' impressions, the first track of the soundtrack. The second is "FRIENDSHIP", which depicts the friendship of the protagonists, that is, the second six tracks. These two melodic motifs run through the entire soundtrack, touching and constantly strengthening and enriching the listener's impression of the characters and plot in the play.
In addition, because Mizuto Animation adopted the form of film music score, Kato, who had no experience in scoring general movies or TV series, benefited a lot, and he actively participated in the scene dubbing process, and almost every time he was on the scene, he would cry with the producers because of the scene. And the author is most impressed by this is the final stage play song "Shi まりの物語", the combination of sound and painting effect is not to say, just the two major melodic motivations jump at this time is enough to move. The recently aired second season also has a beautiful melodic motivation throughout the period, and it is expected that the original soundtrack will be released on January 31 to bring the full song enjoyment.
What is the End of the Day? Is there any availability? Can I come to the rescue? OST cover
Finally came Sukasuka. The soundtrack was released in anticipation, and the high-quality insertion and vocal song "Always in my heart" captured a large number of anime audiences.
The vocal song "Always in my heart", composed by Kato, and the quality of the overall soundtrack, along with its adaptation of "Scarborough Fair" as an impression song, are the best footnotes. As a comment on Riya, "The happiness theory that Randolulu often says in the play is difficult to understand, but after listening to the music, he suddenly became enlightened." ”
Jump out of the song to look at "Always in my heart", the happiness interpretation of this song has reached the ultimate effect of making people "speechless" but full of hope for life to go up. At the same time, as the motivation for the melody of the whole MT, the song has been repeatedly adapted to be reproduced as an instrumental piece, and the plot promotion effect achieved together with other high-quality interludes such as "Call you" and "Ever be my love" is obvious to all, in simple and violent words: shut up, shake it and it's over.
And the instrumental part of this time is also quite a highlight, in the instrument performance of the magnificent brass group is used in large quantities, in the composition of the arrangement is very orthodox, of course, the most important point is the recent works ("Theatrical Version Free!" - Timeless Medley-", "The Most Traveling Reload BLAST", etc.) The choreography of the change of ideas, emphasizing the performance of raw recordings on the companions, in Sukasuka and the most travelogues there are also supplementary arrangers (2-3 people, Mainly Lantis co-operatives). This fundamentally changes the auditory perception of the overall sound, and it will take time to judge whether this change will change according to the work or will be maintained as a long-term personal choice. To be sure, the kato-style soundtrack is shown less often than before, bringing new tastes and new feelings, but also bringing new expectations.
OST cover of "The Most Traveling Reload BLAST"
He said at the end of the interview: "Whether it is interesting or not, it is important to put aside for the time being, listen to more music of all kinds, and have a variety of perspectives and interpretations." Such an open mind allows the balance between change and invariance in the face of different works, so that the new and old flavors pervade the senses of the audience and the audience, so that under the conditioning, a soundtrack with an excellent balance between personal style and the characteristics of the work received is born, and finally merged into the soundtrack named Tatsuya Kato, which has a place in the current field of Japanese animation companions.
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