That the producers Filip Fjellström and Marcus Nordin had done something extraordinary was clear already when the concert was announced. It was indeed a huge success and a somewhat surreal experience to be there that night.

Now two years later, it is time to revisit this celebration in the concert video production Silent Hill: The Music -The Movie- that is now available on YouTube.

Photo: Tobias Adriansson

Filip Fjellström tells us about the idea behind the production:

“We wanted to make an official concert video production. Usually there are video clips made available via recordings by the audience, which is always fun to see. However, for this evening we really wanted to capture everything, to present our full version of the 20th anniversary concert. We wanted to make this concert available to fans all over the world.”

Filip explains that they postponed the release due to the pandemic, and wanted to make it available now when it is yet again possible to make plans for future concerts.

“That this coincided with the 2-year anniversary of the concert was a good match too.”

The concert video production was not something the team had planned from the beginning, but the idea came to mind later on. It wasn’t an easy task though, says Filip:

“We were fully occupied with planning the concert and how to make it the best possible for the audience. Since video production requires a lot of additional work and completely separate planning, I think it is a great achievement that we managed to capture the full concert experience in an interesting way and with great sound. And this despite that we didn’t involve any external party to help us out. Sound mixing, camera angles and to realize visual concepts was part of the work.”

Photo: Tobias Adriansson

Are there any plans to release the concert in audio format with separate tracks?

No, but that’s a good idea! Of course we should do that.

Now with some distance to the concert production experience, do you understand what you have done here really?

I can barely believe that it was already two years ago. There are a lot of things that still feel unreal. However, when you were in the zone you just had to let go and follow the flow. There was no time for reflection then. At the Meet & Greet after the concert, I realized that people had come from several European countries just for this concert; Russia, Germany, Finland, Spain, among others. Questions like “Where is Södertälje” and “Are there any hotels there” were quite unreal to get. One couple apparently came all the way from Barcelona, Spain and landed on the wrong airport, in Skavsta. They had to take a taxi to Södertälje, but luckily managed to get there in time for the concert.

Photo: Tobias Adriansson

It must have felt kind of surreal when Akira Yamaoka came visiting. How was it to spend some days with him?

I was waiting for him at the airport, when I noticed that his plane was three hours late. The rest of the band had already been waiting several hours for a welcome dinner. There was some additional delay and then Akira finally arrived. Back there and then, there were lots of thoughts flying around in my head, but I quickly regained focus.

Akira was really easy to hang out with. We had lots of interesting discussions about music in general, about his other works, his influences, video games and some other things. The day after the concert, we had a very nice sightseeing in Stockholm and he showed a genuine interest in Sweden and Stockholm.

Photo: Tobias Adriansson

How was it to perform together on stage?

It felt natural on stage; no question marks at all. Our goal was to be well-prepared and to feel confident with all of the tracks, so you could actually say that it was Akira himself who had to jump in and join the fun. I got a feeling that he was really enjoying performing with us and despite only playing together once in preparation for the concert, we got a good feeling that everything was under control.

Do you have any especially fond memories of the concert night and rehearsal?

During det rehearsal, when we are playing together for the first time, Akira turns around right after we have finished the first track, looking surprised and proud. I counted down and then we performed all the tracks, and everything sounded superb. We possibly had an even better performance at the rehearsal than during the concert. Unfortunately we didn’t record it.

Photo: Tobias Adriansson

Do you have any plans for new productions in a similar manner, but for other video game series?

During the time we worked on this project, and since all of us in the band are gamers, it is kind of impossible to not talk about new ideas and potential other game music concerts. We have no real plans, although we will from now on focus on further developing the Silent Hill concert concept, to reach out to a bigger audience and book new gigs.

Is the current plan to do more concerts in Sweden, or do you already plan to bring the production to other countries?

Sweden short-term, yeah. Maybe two or three gigs, but we also have some ideas on how to bring this abroad.

You are most famous for the Alan Wake soundtrack. Can you tell me about some of your other projects?

I started working with RedLynx after Alan Wake and my first project with them was a small one, meant to be published only on Nintendo Wii. It was called MotoHeroz and I have to say it was quite a miserable project because it had to use tracker music and the last time I had done such a thing was when I was 16. I think it was almost 20 years since the last time. It was quite a stretch due to the memory capabilities. Then a short while after that, RedLynx asked me if I wanted to make music for Trials Evolution including the DLC packages. Then I worked on the Trials Fusion and DLC packages. So I have a long history with both Remedy and RedLynx.

So you ticked off two of the most famous Finnish game developers already.

Pretty much. Actually there are quite a few upcoming startups that I would like to see go into a full bloom mode, but I’m not sure if they will manage to. You know, on App Store there are like 600 new games a day, so you have to be really good and have a decent marketing budget in order to be able to conquer that market. Some of the startups I’m working with don’t even have a company name yet but their game ideas are quite brilliant. They are combining old classic game ideas with real-time multiplayer. But I better keep my mouth shut about this so I won’t destroy my NDAs. However, in addition to RedLynx and Remedy I’ve been doing stuff with for instance SmallGiant Games, Ministry of Games and PlayRaven. I did music for Winterstate and then some stuff for Robocide.

Was it clear from the beginning of the Quantum Break development that you would write the music?

I was contacted after Alan Wake’s American Nightmare so these things chronologically happened almost at the same time. But I was there when they started discussing about the new project and they asked whether I was interested at all in doing new stuff with them, especially after such a long project as Alan Wake was. After I heard about the first draft of the plot and saw the first cinematic, I sort of fell right into it. It was something I always had wanted to do because of the big scale. There was a time machine involved, time anomalies, and lots of agent stuff and things like that. Who wouldn’t want to be part of such a project? It was such a boyish moment after quite a dramatic and sinister music of Alan Wake. I thought it would be a really nice thing to participate in that project to bring some balance into my world. Of course, I didn’t know back then that it would take yet another four and a half years of my life. But you know, it’s Remedy and the game is ready when it’s ready.

You got some restrictions on instruments to not use in Alan Wake. Was it the same with Quantum Break?

Yes, pretty much the same, just that I wasn’t supposed to be working with an orchestra at all this time. We actually agreed that we should try to use my analogue synth arsenal this time. I dusted off quite a few ”dinosaurs” that I happened to have in my garage and at my parents house. My studio isn’t really that large so I can’t keep everything there. For a short while it was probably the most cluttered place there is on Earth.

So you have your studio at home?

Yes. When I wake up, I walk down six meters, drink my tea or morning coffee and have my bagel. Then I walk up some 12 meters and that’s it. That’s my work trip daily. However, I’ve actually gotten into this habit of visiting Remedy almost daily. Their headquarter is only like 10-12 kilometers away from my house and I happen to like the guys. So we go to have lunch every day and it’s a good break for me to drive there and listening to music while driving.

Aren’t you almost like an in-house composer at Remedy nowadays?

Well, a sort of in-house composer yes. But I’m only on a long gig at Remedy, so I’m not an employee or anything like that.

I read that back in 2010 you worked completely on your own in your home studio. Is that still the case?

Unfortunately yes. I’m not naming recorded audio tracks. It’s all untitled. Also, it’s due to my habits; that I work recursively, I mean that a song intro can be 100 % ready and there isn’t even a hint of outro yet. So it would be quite an uncomfortable environment for an assistant to try to fit in. I would like to have people around me, but unfortunately it seems that it wouldn’t be that good of an idea.

So, do you plan to continue working in the same way?

For now, yes. I haven’t ditched the idea of an assistant, but so far I feel that I maybe should proceed by my own. I don’t know really.

How did you enter the games industry?

Ah, that was a nice set of accidents really. I have to go back even further because it all started with the club scene in Finland. Back then I met a few guys. We got along quite well and made some tracks together. Some of those tracks ended up in several places. I worked with one of the guys on some dance trance EDM music, or whatever it was called back then. He later on went to work with Futuremark, a computer benchmark company. They happened to have a summer party and then my old friend got a question from a Remedy representative if he knew anyone who was capable of doing modern orchestral music with an electronic twist. Luckily he knew only me, so he gave my number and the next week the phone rang and Remedy invited me over. They were really, I don’t know cautious, but they were like ”are you really interested in doing this?”. I tried to keep cool and acted as down to earth as I could. Then they showed me a few pictures and cinematic samples. I was sold. That was something I had always wanted to do and, I don’t know if it’s OK to say, but that saved my life. Later on, I’m pretty much willing to say that. It was a profound and important change in my life. It paved the way to other good things as well.

This must have been back in 2004?

I think the first contact was made in 2004, but I found some cinematic files that had a ”Remedy confidential, Petri Alanko” label on them 2005. Those were the first cinematics I ever did with them. Then of course, I had to do a demo after the first demo. I’m not exactly sure but I think it all started in 2004. It could be that my memory is not working perfectly well due to a really bad boat trip from Helsinki to Stockholm last night. Two hours sleep.

You have stated that music composition is not only something you work with, but rather a lifestyle.

Yes, because if you are a salesman or working in an office, you’re able to leave your job behind when you finish your day. But unfortunately, the things that have been ringing or playing in my head all day don’t fade when I rise up from the chair and go running or riding a bicycle. They just keep playing and they do so until I manage to force them out.

Has there been any performances of Alan Wake on other concerts previous to Joystick 8.0?

There were two actually in Helsinki last year. But this is the first one outside Finland. Also, this is the first time Alan Wake is being performed together with other international game music. The two concerts in Finland were dedicated to Finnish game music.

I’ve noticed that Finland finally has got the attention on game music concerts, with several international productions stopping by in the last years.

I actually haven’t heard anything about those ones. Maybe the marketing wasn’t that good. It’s a bit of a mystery to me actually. A friend of me told me that he attended a concert, I don’t even remember in which city. And I was like: oh, what!?

Apart from the secret smartphone games you hinted on earlier, are you working on anything else right now?

Because the manuscript of Quantum Break was changed quite drastically several times throughout the project, I had already made quite a lot of music for the old manuscript with several leftovers. I actually took those and started putting together an album with the leftovers and also some new material that isn’t Quantum Break-related. The leftover material is more beat-driven and it has a darker, more sinister and more aggressive sound. It all fits together quite well and therefore I decided to put it on an album. I don’t have any deadline for this. All the songs are composed already, but finding the time to finish each mix is going to be hard. And it will be quite a nasty job.

Then I have a hobby thing of mine that has gotten a bit out of hand. I made a classical so called trancelations album some years ago and it was released by Armada Music. Then a year ago I released a second one. A friend of mine, DJ Orkidea, also known as Tapio Hakanen, used to be Nokia’s head sound designer. Then later on when Nokia was sold to Microsoft, he was Microsoft’s head sound designer in the mobile phone area. Tapio is quite a good DJ and he got this stupid idea that hey guess what: we’re going to do this with an orchestra. So we’re going to play classical trancelations compositions together with some new tracks live in August 26 at the Helsinki Festival 2016. It’s happening with Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra at Helsinki Music House. I’ve never been this nervous this early really because it’s going to be really nerve-wrecking. I have a classical background and I used to play a lot of piano, I have done some 1 200 gigs or maybe even more, so I know what it’s all about. However, it’s going to be really different because of the scale, because of the orchestra. You know, I shouldn’t be the weakest link on stage so that’s a lot of pressure. I will have to spend my summer on practicing.

Which instrument will you be playing?

Grand piano.

I read that you were trained in playing the organ as well.

Yes, that’s right.

Have you performed live?

Well, when I switched from piano to organ, I was quite a young boy. When I was in high school, I sort of decided that I should probably head towards pop music, rather than classical. So it sort of faded away. Then after high school, I started studying theoretical physics and musicology.

Sounds like an interesting combo.

Yeah, it’s called a ”stupid combination which probably leads to unemployment eventually”. I realized that pretty soon and at this time I decided to go for pop songs instead. However, I had a really good teacher but unfortunately I was so damned lazy and stupid that I didn’t respect the guy. His name was Kalevi Kiviniemi and he is one of the most renowned organ players nowadays. He was a really smart guy and had good stories. His pedagogical eye was something I had never met before. He knew how to lure the student into loving stuff. He knew exactly which classical composers to use in order to make things happen. So in my case, what really lit up the world to me was Gabriel Pierné, a French composer. His preludes were something I really loved. But because the studying of organ in Finland is so formulated and you have to study e.g. Bach’s chorales I couldn’t stand that. I couldn’t stand the idea that I should be playing in a church when 80-year old ladies are singing behind your back, and the pitch is lagging. You should keep the pace and playing the chorales. And you should do that 20-25 times. So, I decided that this is it. I don’t like this anymore. It sort of stopped there. But for a short while, I really thought that maybe that was something I could do for the rest of my life. Then the pop thing happened. Or actually, before that: I ran out of money, you know the usual thing. I needed some money, so I went working in a music shop. However, I was probably the poorest sales guy ever. I just … I don’t have that in me.

Do you think you could use your organ skills in upcoming game soundtracks?

Yes. In fact, there are several things that I’d like to do. One of them is use organs, a really big set of organs. Then I would also like to make a game soundtrack using an indie style band, with base, drums and guitars. I’ve been fantasizing about some darker-colored goth style game in which I would be able to use the organ. Or, there’s the other point about organs as well. I mean, going the Hans Zimmer Interstellar way. That isn’t sinister or goth, but it’s still using organs in a beautiful way. It was a good invention by Zimmer.

Lastly, can you tell me how Alan Wake ended up being part of Joystick 8.0?

Somebody sent me an email and asked if there is a score of the Alan Wake soundtrack, and if it had ever been performed live. We happened to have ready printed scores thanks to the concerts in Helsinki, so we sent it to Malmö Symphony Orchestra and then after that we didn’t hear anything for a long while. Until suddenly the marketing and PR section checked the website of Joystick 8.0 and noticed that Alan Wake was included in the concert program! Of course it was a privilege to me to be part of a program with scores like Final Fantasy, Fallout and Metal Gear Solid.

This is a previously unpublished interview I did with Yoko Shimomura a few hours prior to the concert. We talked about life as a freelance composer, about memories of the first day at Capcom, big projects at Square and quite a few other things.

How is your daily life nowadays when you are working as a freelance composer?

I am working around the clock. I have always something to work on. But I at least try to spend some time with my family, as I have a son to take care of. I live in an apartment quite in the middle of Tokyo, but at the same time on the borderline between the city center and the suburb.

Composers Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill) and Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) both have stated that one of their favorite hobbies is cooking. Do you like it too?

No, certainly not! I like to travel. As I am a woman and a mother, it is more like work to cook food. I never thought that it could be a hobby!

When you got the opportunity to start working for Capcom, your friends, family and piano teacher didn’t think it was the best way to go. Was the choice obvious for you?

First of all, I really love video games and I felt that it was one of the big chances to compose my own music and get a living out of it. So yes, it was quite an obvious choice for me.

So, what do your friends and family say to you nowadays when you are attending game music concerts all over the world and have released many beloved soundtracks?

My parents are very happy, especially when they see the CDs that are released. My friends also have a lot of respect for what I’m doing.

Do you remember the first day as a professional game music composer, when walking in through the entrance at Capcom?

I remember that I was wearing a very formal suit and absolutely not wearing jeans like today. I was introducing myself to a lot of senior staff and had a lot of meetings that first day. The day went by really fast since many things happened.

What was the first task you got assigned to at Capcom?

My first project was actually not a video game, but an arcade game. In Japan we have a type of arcade game that is quite similar to a game where you can earn money, but in these games you don’t actually earn anything. I composed the music for such a game.

How much music did you compose for it?

Hmm, there was for example one tune for winning, one for when losing and then there was one tune made to attract players to the machine. All in all, it was ten compositions.

How were the days in the beginning of your career, when you composed music for NES games at Capcom?

I was always told by many people that it was very hard to cope with that the NES only has three channels, but I didn’t have any big problems with this. Though, the storage limitation on the NES cartridges was indeed an issue.

Photo: Emma Berglund. Chris Huelsbeck, Yoko Shimomura and Arnie Roth (conductor).

Later on, you participated in Capcom’s own band, Alph Lyla. Do you have any fond memories you want to share with us?

There were many game companies that had their own game music bands, for example Sega’s S.S.T. Band and Konami’s Kukeiha Club. Therefore, it was decided that we at Capcom should also start a band. We in the music team already had the name Alph Lyla, but later on it got more known as the name of our band. Unfortunately we had a limited amount of time to spend on the band, since the requirement was that we first finished our daily tasks before we were allowed to play together. I found it quite hard to concentrate on the band since I, and probably everyone else, was quite exhausted after a long working day.

It is well-known that you were one of the composers of the legendary music to Street Fighter II, but what everyone doesn’t know is that you in fact composed almost all music for the game. So, to make it easier for you, can you reveal which songs you did NOT compose?

Isao Abe composed Sagat’s Theme, when somebody can join in the middle of the fight and the music that is played before you start a fight. The rest was all done by me!

A few years later, you went to Square and your first project there was Live a Live. What were your thoughts when you got such a prestige project already at start?

It was really an honor and exactly what I wanted. I didn’t really think that I was going to get such an assignment that fast after having started at Square!

Another soundtrack that I guess you have fond memories of is Super Mario RPG. How did the cooperation with Nintendo work?

I remember being so grateful for getting the chance to be involved in that project. All the staff was very passionate about it, we helped each other all the way. I got a lot of artwork when composing the music for the game, which helped me a lot.

Did you cooperate with Koji Kondo?

No, not really. But he was probably the one who controlled and approved the Nintendo remixes I made.

Considering you being the sole composer of the original Parasite Eve game, how did it feel to return to the series with Parasite Eve: The 3^rd Birthday?

I was very honored that I got the chance to return to the series.

What would you say about composing music for other horror games in the future?

I never intended to be limited to a specific genre of music or games. As long as a game is interesting enough I am always open to new challenges.

I consider Legend of Mana one of your greatest works. Can you say tell us about your experience of composing the music?

I really enjoyed working on that soundtrack. When first approaching the task, one thing I was quite surprised with was when I was told by the director to compose a boss battle theme in metal style.

Photo: Emma Berglund. Yoko Shimomura at the meet and greet after Sinfonia Drammatica.

Since the “Song of Mana” from Legend of Mana has Swedish lyrics, I am of course curious how it was decided to use Swedish lyrics for this song.

When I first got introduced to the concept and story of Legend of Mana and I saw the artwork, I instantly come to think of countryside in a Scandinavian country, even if I at that time had not visited any of those countries. Also, this time I did not want to use a more common language such as English for the lyrics. We found a contact in Sweden which introduced us to the Swedish singer Annika Ljungberg (former member of the band Rednex) and then it was settled. I met her for the recording of the song, but later on lost her contact information so I have not been in contact with her since then.

The album Drammatica was released to celebrate your 20 years in the game industry. How come it was recorded in Germany?

When working on the project, I and some staff at Square Enix had several different options for the recording, what orchestra to use and so on. After a good offer from Thomas Böcker, producer of several big game music concerts, we decided to go to Cologne in Germany for the recording. Japanese orchestras are also very good, but I think there is an overall higher standard of European orchestras and also a richer history, so it was really nice to get the chance to go to Europe to make the recording.

How was it to meet Chris Huelsbeck prior to the concert?

Chris is a very nice person. It is of course unfortunate that I can’t really speak directly to him since I can’t speak English and he can’t speak Japanese. But at the same time, since both of us are composers we can understand each other in some way just by listening to each other’s music!

Wouldn’t it be interesting with a collaboration between the two of you?

Yes, it would definitely be possible.

Talking about collaborations, since you are good friends with Yasunori Mitsuda, what would you say about a collaboration with him?

Since we were colleagues when working at Square, sometimes I go to his studio and we work together. Regarding a collaboration on a game no, nothing has been settled on but I am actually always trying and I hope something can be arranged in the future..

It would certainly be interesting, since at least I think that your styles would fit perfectly together even though they are quite different.

Haha, maybe Mitsuda-san would not like if he heard that his style of music would fit together with music composed by me!

Photo: Emma Berglund. Yoko Shimomura after the concert.

Can you say some final words about the Sinfonia Drammatica concert?

I am very grateful to everyone involved in this concert, the orchestra and everyone else. 20 years ago, I could have never believed that I would be here in Stockholm to experience a concert dedicated to my music.

BONUS: Yoko Shimomura’s choices

Latest book
I like Japanese novels so it would be difficult for the readers to recognize it, but the latest one was a typical mystery story.

Latest music album
Hmm, I am trying to remember. The last three months I didn’t buy any CDs, but I can remember that I did buy a CD with easy listening music though I can’t remember the title.

Latest movie
It was the Japanese Ghibli anime Ponyo.

Latest game
When I was on the flight to Sweden, I played Dragon Quest IX. I actually finished it just before I arrived in Stockholm!

How was it to grow up in Japan and how did you get interested in music composition?

In the beginning, I wasn’t very much into music really. Sports were my big interest back then; swimming, kyudo (Japanese archery) and baseball more specifically. In the late elementary school years, I got very interested in motion picture and soundtracks.

You had a dream of becoming a film music composer. Do you still have that ambition?

Yes, definitely. I have made music to some anime productions and I’m dreaming of one day getting the chance to compose music for a foreign movie. You could say that I am slowly approaching that dream.

What are your memories from your first day at Square?

I remember being surprised the first day. No one told me what to do! However, later on I got handed over a copy of Final Fantasy IV with instructions to play it from beginning to end. I got very surprised. Was my task to spend dozens of hours playing an already released game?

You have in a previous interview revealed that during your job interview, you said that you hadn’t played any of the Final Fantasy games.

Yes, that’s correct! During the interview, I was asked if I had played any of Square’s games. And I said no. I wasn’t very familiar with video games back then.

So how did it go, did you finish Final Fantasy IV?

Yes, I made it. And really liked the game.

You have also previously mentioned that you’d like to make a solo album. Is that something you still consider?

Actually, I’ve already released a solo album: Kirite.

Ah, yes. True. However, that was a bit different since you composed the music for another purpose: to make a score to Masato Kato’s (Chrono Cross director) original story. Do you have any future plans of more solo works then?

Currently no plans, but maybe one day…

One of my colleagues at Spelmusik.net made an interview with you about ten years ago. Back then you told him that you seldom go on long vacations; only a week or so here and there. Is that still the case today?

Unfortunately I have to admit that it’s still the same situation! I seldom go for any long vacation. I get so many queries from fans to record albums, produce new soundtracks to specific games and so on all the time. I really don’t have much free time, but yes: I definitely need more vacation!

At least you’re on a short trip to Stockholm now. What are your impressions of the city so far?

I love northern Europe and I really wanted to visit a country like Sweden someday, so I’m happy to finally be here. I get very excited walking the streets and get to experience such a beautiful and different place compared to my life in Japan.

I’ve heard rumors about you buying a hurdy-gurdy while here. Is it true?

Not really. However, Thomas Böcker (Symphonic Fantasies producer) and I were looking at one that was being sold second hand. I got a bit anxious due to it being second hand, so now I’m wondering if there is any place to buy a new one. Let me know if you find one!

My photographer David Saulesco (also a game music composer) later on tried really hard with all his contacts to find a new hurdy-gurdy, but it seemed to be an impossible task with such a short notice.

Are you collecting instruments?

Yes. From all over the world.

Tell me about the latest video game you played.

In fact, it was Battlefield 3 on PS3! I got overwhelmed by the quality of the graphics and I feel that Japanese developers will have a hard time to catch up.

Are you especially interested in a specific genre of games?

Strategy games.

Any specific game?

I love Age of Empires III.

What was the latest album you listened to?

One made by Norwegian folk musician Annbjörg Lien, who plays hurdy-gurdy.

Yasunori Mitsuda immediately brings up his phone to demonstrate a piece by Annbjörg Lien.

Do you have a special interest in hurdy-gurdy?

No, not really. But since I’m visiting Sweden, I’d like to listen to music that has some connection to the country.

What was the latest movie you watched?

Battleship. My impression of it is that it’s a very American movie. I cannot say that I like the type of genre of this one. There was too much of everything. I prefer European movies, which are often more down-to-earth and about human nature.

The arranged Xenogears album Myth was released a while ago. Are there any plans for a similar project in the future? Maybe for another game series?

Well, maybe! What would you like to hear?

That’s an easy one: Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross orchestral arrangements!

Considering I have not had the opportunity to make such an album, I would really like to in the future.

Yasunori Mitsuda turns to Thomas Böcker and whispers “Kickstarter”. Böcker looks enthusiastic and reveals that in fact he had discussed this matter with Mitsuda the day before. Böcker told Mitsuda about a successful Kickstarter campaign for the Turrican Soundtrack Anthology with music by Chris Huelsbeck. In fact, Thomas Böcker even suggested specifically to make a Kickstarter for an orchestral album with music from Chrono Cross and to record it in Stockholm.

So, it this officially confirmed then?

- No, but we are seriously considering it.

Unfortunately this did not happen, or have at least not happened when this interview is published now in 2016.

The album Drammatica was released to celebrate composer Yoko Shimomura’s 20 years in the games industry. Would you like to be part of something similar?

Yes, considering that I’ve been working close to 20 years now. But the collaboration with Square Enix in the case of Shimomura’s album would be hard to replicate for me due to my relations with the company not being the same as in the past.

An alternative would be to make an album solely with music you already have the musical rights to.

Truth be told, I actually prefer the compositions I made after leaving Square. I was very young when writing the music to Chrono Trigger and I’m now considerably more experienced.

Isn’t it hard hearing all the fans screaming for more Chrono Trigger even today then, while you have moved on and prefer your later works?

In one way, yes. When all these fans played Chrono Trigger, a lot of them were quite young and thereby have many fond memories of it. At the same time, there are many others who are playing my later games like Inazuma Eleven, so it’s possible that I will get the same response from them sooner or later. The problem may be to connect these two generations of gamers and to balance what I’m doing nowadays with what the older fans would like to hear.

You’re now working on the soundtrack to the PS Vita game Soul Sacrifice. How’s it going? Which type of music are you composing together with Wataru Hokoyama?

The recording is scheduled for August and so far I’ve written about half of the 32 tracks I’m planning to do. I’m in the middle of a hectic schedule right now. The style in this game is considerably darker than in any other game I’ve previously worked on. Among other things: the main character is literally fighting with his guts. I see this as a human drama. I’d like to reflect this in the game with a dark theme and a soundtrack partly influenced by Hollywood and horror movies.

Another of your latest projects was Kid Icarus: Uprising for Nintendo 3DS. Which was your part of the soundtrack production?

I made the main theme and fighting theme. It was also my task to oversee the recording of 90 tracks together with my colleague Natsumi Kameoka. We also did the orchestration together.

I’ve noticed on your Twitter feed that you’re posting a lot of cat pictures. Are cats one of your hobbies?

You know, they are so cute that you cannot resist them! And yes, it’s one of my hobbies. Japanese people love cats.

You have a cat at home, right?

That’s right.

Maybe it’s even joining you in the studio?

No, you have to have some rules!

But … I found a picture of a cat standing on your piano.

Ah, that’s true. The cat loves being on top of the piano and on the computer keyboard. In fact, my cat sent an email the other day!

I read that long time ago you had a dream of becoming a professional golfer. What happened?

You’ve certainly done your homework! But yes, it’s correct. It was an ambition and dream, but I later on realized that even if I had practiced all my life, I wouldn’t have had a chance. I therefore decided to give up that dream.

Can you tell me about your memories of the very first Final Fantasy concert?

It was Symphonic Suite: Final Fantasy, which was performed a few months after the release of Final Fantasy II back in 1988. It was certainly a new experience to be called up on stage. I got quite nervous due to it being the very first time for me.

Did that concert feel different compared to the ones you attend nowadays?

The big difference is that I as of today have been attending quite many concerts and I’m not as nervous anymore.

Consider your record label being named Dog Ear Records, I’m wondering if you think dogs can appreciate your music?

I don’t know, but I really love dogs and wish I could write music that even they would appreciate.

Can you tell us about your childhood years? What future aspirations did you have?

Despite my dad being a teacher, I didn’t really like to study. My grades were anyway quite OK, but it was just because I was forced to study a lot. However, I really excelled at gymnastics. It was my favourite subject in school. There was a big hype for gymnastics at this time. A lot of people got interested thanks to the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 1964. I was one of them. I had a dream of winning a gold medal in gymnastics at the Olympic Games. However, sometime after I had finished elementary school, I came to the conclusion that winning an Olympic medal would not guarantee any big income. I therefore started dreaming of something else. After a while, I found interest in wrestling. In fact, I think that I would have been trying to become a wrestling star if I hadn’t starting composing music. I had a bigger interest in sports than music back then.

How was it to compose the majestic Ending Theme for Final Fantasy VI?

It was really different due to it consisting of so many themes. I think this piece would be a perfect fit for a concert someday.

Photo: Valtteri Jokinen

What do you think you’re doing in 10 years from now?

I hope that I have slowed down a bit. I always work towards, and feel the pressure of, deadlines. I’m a bit worried that you lose quite a lot of creativity when feeling too much pressure. I often have this feeling of the need to produce something, and at that stage it’s hard to keep fully focused and let your creativity loose.

What would you do if you got the opportunity to collaborate with Koji Kondo?

I’m impressed by Koji Kondo’s piano skills, so it would be amazing if I got the chance to produce a piano concert where Kondo performs his own music.

You’ve been a member of the band Earthbound Papas for quite a few years now. How did you come up with that name?

The band King Crimson has made an album called Earthbound, so we considered to use the same name at first. But since all of us are middle-aged men, we decided to add the word “Papas” at the end.

Did you get surprised when the guys behind this concert contacted you?

Yes, definitely!

What are your impressions of Sweden so far?

When I exchanged my money at Narita airport, I noticed that there actually is sheet music on the Swedish 50 crown bills and I immediately thought “what a wonderful country this is!”. So, you should not change to euros in Sweden; better keep the sheet music on the crown bills!

How did you end up becoming a video game music composer?

I have been playing video games since I was young. I played Pac-Man, the first Mario game and so on. At the time, it was not easy to find a full time job where you could get paid to compose music. When I was about to graduate from university and was looking for a job, one day I found an ad and it just happened to be for a job at Konami. So this was my first job, but my goal had not really been to become a video game music composer; I just happened to end up in the business. And now I have composed music for video games for over 20 years, so although it was not a specific decision by me to end up being a video game music composer, I just became one and obviously liked it.

Tell us about your first assignment as a video game music composer at Konami.

My first assignment was to compose the main theme to the NES game Legend of the Fairy Lisa, a game about singstars. Later on I composed some fanfares and jingles to Track & Field. This was in 1988.

How was it to begin working with such a limited technology as the NES? Was it an interesting challenge or just frustrating?

First and foremost it was a challenge. It was interesting to see how the other composers expressed themselves just by using three sound channels. And now when looking back, I can’t believe that we actually worked like that!

How did you get involved in composing music to the Castlevania series?

The first music I composed for this series was the music to Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Sega Mega Drive. I felt a lot of pressure since this was a game series known for both good graphics and very good sound and music.

Did you feel that you had a lot of freedom when composing the music or did you try to get the same feeling as previous composers?

I was told to listen to the music from the previous games and the instruction I got was to follow the theme and not to break from this when composing the music. During this time, I now and then met for me unknown employees, for example in the elevator, asking me if I was the composer for the music to the new Castlevania game. I said ”yes” and then got comments like “make sure you do a good job”. I didn’t feel less pressure from getting such comments, haha!

Violinist Maria Eklund, Michiru Yamane and producer/organist Erik Eklund

In Symphony of the Night you showed skills in composing many different styles of music. What was your favorite style to compose?

Up until then, I had not composed any rock music so that part was the most interesting for me. Before starting to compose the music, I listened to a lot of rock to get inspiration and tried to mix in this type of music in the game. Also, I got a lot of inspiration just by looking at the beautiful graphics of the game, for example the chapel; the part where you walk on stairs. Another memorable experience was to produce ambient background music; for example there is an underground lake where there are a lot of bats flying around and it was quite special to create the right atmosphere there.

Did you feel that it was a relief to have the opportunity to create music more freely then?

Partly I was actually relieved to finally be able to use real instruments. When I composed the music to Bloodlines the FM sound chip was used and it was rather limited. So partly it was fun to be able to finally use real sounds and I was partly relieved, yes.

What type of equipment did you use when composing the music to Symphony of the Night?

What we used for Symphony of the Night was an Akai sampler that we connected to a computer and used an application called Logic, which I actually happen to use up until today. There was also this other sampler called Pro Tools that I used but at that time it was not live music that we recorded although the sampler could simulate almost anything. So, from this time we could actually start making music that at least sounded as it was recorded with live instruments. We actually had a guitarist and a singer involved as well.

In the middle: Erik Eklund (producer/organist), David Westerlund (producer) and Michiru Yamane

Is there any specific reason for you not to compose the music to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow? Will you continue to compose music for the Castlevania series or is that a closed chapter for you?

Well, it’s both a closed chapter and not because after Symphony of the Night there have been many different people composing music for the Castlevania series and before I was involved there were other composers involved in the series. And sometimes the developers change the attitude of the music, so in that aspect I feel that Symphony of the Night is a closed chapter for itself, but at the same time there is this soundtrack box which is to be released in the end of March which contains about every piece of music for Castlevania ever and for that one I have done two special arrangements. So, I’m still involved in some Castlevania projects and if there will be a possibility to compose music for new Castlevania games, I would definitely be interested.

When did you realize that you have fans all over the world?

The first time I realized this was when an American journalist came to interview me when Castlevania: Lament of Innocence was about to be released in 2003. He told me that I have a lot of fans all over the world and I thought like ”do I?”. Shortly thereafter I went to E3 and met a lot of fans there and attended interviews. That was the first time I realized that ”oh, this game is actually quite popular abroad”.

When you composed the music to Symphony of the Night, did you have in mind that your music could someday be performed live?

Well, when I was composing the music for Symphony of the Night, I never thought in my wildest dreams that the day would come when this music was going to be performed live. However, for some of the tracks I actually thought “what if this would be performed live someday”.

When was the first time you performed your Castlevania music in front of an audience?

It was in Leipzig in 2006 when I performed ”Wood Carving Partita” at the Symphonic Game Music Concert, the first ever video game concert in Europe. I was quite nervous at that time, but it was a really memorable moment to perform my own music in front of a crowd.

You left Konami in 2008 to become a freelance composer. How is that different from being an employee?

The biggest difference is that I can decide how to spend my days and that I can compose music for games not published by Konami. I left Konami mainly to get the opportunity to choose freely which projects to work on. I thought it was about time considering me working at the company for over 20 years. I think that creators of all kinds prefer this kind of freedom.

Have you considered making a solo album?

Yes, it would indeed be an exciting project. I actually have done some solo stuff, for example on the Akumajo Dracula Best Music Collections Box, considering that there are two newly composed tracks by me on it. Other than that, I have also made two arrangements of old Castlevania tracks and additionally five arrangements of my own Castlevania music.

Do you have any personal favorite game music composers?

I am very fond of the music by Hitoshi Sakimoto and of course Nobuo Uematsu. There are many skilled composers in the games industry, but lately I have also come to like the music of Yoko Kanno who is also composing music for films and animation.

Do you have any thoughts on future development of your composition skills?

I find it especially interesting when a third part is involved in the process, like in previously mentioned two arranged pieces I made for the Castlevania soundtrack box. Aside from a few collaborations, there has mainly been me and the computer. I think it would be interesting to collaborate more in the future.

We are very curious: how big would you say that video game music is in Japan, in terms of popularity amongst gamers and non-gamers?

– Well, I’m not really sure. I think it’s begun to gain more recognition and popularity in the past few years, but if you take a look at my music, you can tell that the kind of stuff that I make was never really meant to be taken in by the general public. Compared to the popularity of other pop music that you see on TV, I think that video game music still has a long way to go.

You’ve composed a lot of music to many video games, such as Chrono Trigger, Radical Dreamers, Xenogears, Tsugunai, Xenosaga etc. Games that have been enriched by your beautiful soundtracks! Now I’d like to ask: which is the best selling OSV or OST that you’ve composed?

– Game-wise and soundtrack-wise, I would say Chrono Trigger, hands down!

Do you agree with the listeners, regarding their favourite soundtrack; is it the one you like the most too? What qualifies, in your eyes (and ears), a successful soundtrack? Is it the collaboration between the people involved in the project, the outcome, production time perhaps, or positive response from fans? What would you say?

– For me, I think a ”successful soundtrack” is one that I can be satisfied with, and also one that listeners can be satisfied with. When I finish making an album and send in the master tape for press, I make sure that the end product is always the best work that it could possibly be. So in that sense, I’m always satisfied with my work, but responses from fans, on the other hand, can only be heard AFTER the soundtrack is printed. And depending on who listens to the album, there are people who really like my album, and also people who don’t like it. This part, I can’t decide for myself, so there’s really no use trying to decide whether a soundtrack is really successful or not until after it hits the shelves.

Recently you’ve been writing the score to the PlayStation 2 game Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, which is the first episode of the saga. There will definitely be more games in the Xenosaga series, but is there a chance that you’ll write the music to them?

– Well, that all depends on if I receive the offer or not (from Monolith Soft), and also if my schedule is open at the time… I can’t say for certain, but it’s possible.

Speaking of the Xenosaga OST; it surely has a different touch to it than most video game soundtracks. Do you feel that this is the new wave of good quality video game music? High-quality real instrument samplings and some tracks being performed by great orchestras. How do you see the future shaping up?

– In my opinion, what I did on the soundtrack for Xenosaga was never really ”a new wave of game music”. In fact, whenever I write songs, I don’t really think about the fact that I’m writing for a game. The way I see it, there just happens to be a genre of entertainment called ”games”, and my music just happens to be used as a soundtrack for it. So if you ask me about the future of this business, I’d have to say, ”I haven’t the slightest clue”. But in my opinion, you’re a bit outdated if you’re writing music that can only be used as game music.

How do you come up with all those new melodies? Do you walk around whistling all day long in the studio and at home? Or do you rather pick up a guitar and start playing softly. Or perhaps you quietly sit down in front of a piano and close your eyes and just let it go?

– Well, most of my melodies, I come up with while sitting in front of my piano… but there are times when melodies pop up in my dreams.

When you’re not composing, do you try out any different instruments? Or do you prefer to stick to your favourite instrument, which is?

– Yeah, I try out a lot of different instruments. Each instrument has its own unique sound and character, so it’s really interesting just listening to these different sounds. Also, one of my hobbies is to collect various musical instruments from around the world (especially percussion instruments), so whenever I find an instrument that really interests me I buy it almost out of pure reflex. My favourite instrument? Well, for the past couple of years, my favourite has been the guitar [why am I not surprised? - ed.].

For all those people interested in making their own video game music; do you have any programs, synthesizers, keyboards etc. to recommend? What are you using for the moment?

– Recently, I got my hands on this software sampler called GigaSampler, and it’s been an extremely useful tool. As a matter of fact, this thing has almost single-handedly replaced all my synth modules in my rack. These days, I don’t think there’s a track that I make without using a sampler.

Aside from composing video game music; are you working on any other projects? Or is that something you would like to do in the near future, work on an instrumental album, similar to what Mr. Uematsu did with Phantasmagoria.

– Yes, of course. I’m thinking about making my own solo album in the near future.

Do you find the music of any particular game music composer to be very good, and if so, what makes him or her such a great musician?

– Does this have to be just within the field of game music? If so, I don’t think there’s anyone in particular that I can name right now.

Are there any composers, video game or not, or musicians that you really look up to, and that you’d like to work together with to produce an album?

– I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s any particular game music composer that I’d like to try working with. Now if it’s musicians that you’re talking about here, then there are a lot of people that I’d like to ask to play my songs.

Both Xenogears and Xenosaga have beautiful vocal tracks, and part of them being so good is due to the great vocalist and of course the lyrics. Did the same lyricist write all of the songs to Xenogears and Xenosaga, and do you always feel confident that the lyrics will fit the mood of your music well?

– The original lyrics for the songs in Xenogears were written by scenario writer Masato Kato (director/scenario writer of Chrono Cross), and the original lyrics for the songs in Xenosaga were written by director Tetsuya Takahashi. As for the lyric-writing process, we always discuss in detail the theme of the song, the emotions that we want to get across, and the meaning of the lyrics, very thoroughly before beginning to write, so I’m always confident that the end product will fit in to the music well.

After you’ve spent months working hard finishing a soundtrack; do you take a long, much needed vacation to regain your strength, before attempting another project?

– A really LONG vacation is a rather difficult wish for me (laughs). Just a few months ago, I took a whole week off, for the first time in a couple of years.

It must be great to live in Japan, a country where old customs and high-tech meet to create a diversity of cultural richness. In other words, when you’re not working with music, what else do you find to be interesting?

– Well, urban-life is nice too, but whenever I get the chance, I try to go back to my home in the Yamaguchi Prefecture to see my folks back home. Of course this is IF I get the chance…

Procyon Studio Co., Ltd is located in Tokyo. Is it also where you live and spend most of your spare time?

– No, I don’t live in the studio [hehe - ed.]. I have a home in a different part of Tokyo, but I spend the majority of my time in the studio.

When I listen to Japanese video game music, I always notice that a lot of emphasis is put on the melody. Would you say that this generally reflects how Japanese people like their music to be, or is it mainly due to the many technical restrictions in the early days of video games? Basically, a good melody was the only way to “woooow!” your audience, when high-quality samplings weren’t a reality.

– Well, in my opinion, a strong melody line isn’t a characteristic unique to game music alone. And generally speaking, listeners tend to like songs that have a good melody… don’t you think this could be said for almost anyone around the world? [yea, that might be, but I’ll stick to me theory - ed.]

Do you know anything about Swedish music? I know ABBA was big in Japan, and a lot due to their catchy melodies. Do you find Sweden, Swedish music to be as exotic as many of us here in Sweden find Japan to be?

– Yes. Of course I’m familiar with Swedish music. I’ve listened to ABBA before and a while back there was even a time when Swedish pop was really popular in Japan. I think it’s similar to French pop in some ways that it is very rhythmic and also very stylish. Trad music is stylish too, but compared to trad, I’d say that Swedish music has a more exotic feel to it.

We thank you so kindly for this, Mr. Mitsuda! Finally, is there anything you would like to say to your fans far away in Sweden?

– At first, I was very surprised to hear that people in Sweden listened to my music. But regardless of the country, I’m very happy to hear that there are people who listen to and appreciate the music that I create. I hope to continue making music that will inspire people around the world and also, at the same time, create works that will surpass all expectations that you may have for my music. Thank you all for your support!