The Joe Hisaishi Thread

[j39m 75]

Yup!

[Jay 37,372]

Nice!

[MaxMovieMan 273]

Honestly makes me excited I absolutely love his minimalistic style. Would be nice for a calm Hisaishi piano score. Some of my favorite kind of music.

[Under-Terrestrial 51]

***Copied from the "First 2023 Score Impressions" thread***

 

Given that this album's release date was purportedly August 9th - which it is in Japan - I thought the entire album would be available to preview on Japanese sites by now. Aw well, this little snippet will have to suffice

 

My first impression will be even more out of context than usual given that no one knows what this movie is except A) people who have read the book, and B) Japanese audiences (btw, Japanese audiences must regulate in-cinema pirating like crazy, one thinks there would've been a footage leak by now!).

 

I wonder if I'll feel about this score the way I feel about John Williams' score for The Fabelmans: both feature stripped down melodies with simple harmonies that are hella bittersweet, as if a farewell to a life-long creative partnership between director-and-composer has imbued into the music. I like it so far, look forward to samples with more symphonic ingredients

 

(also, that poster is entrancing. Does the heron have two sets of eyes?!)

 

 

[MaxMovieMan 273]

The Fabelmans comparison is right on. I’ve heard this score is almost entirely piano which is something I am very excited for.

[filmmusic 1,838]

1 hour ago, MaxMovieMan said:

I’ve heard this score is almost entirely piano

I hope not. I'm more keen on symphonic pieces than solo instruments pieces.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow...

[Knight of Ren 789]

Every Hisaishi-Miyazaki collaboration has been absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to hear what they have created this time. The sample sounds nice and I like the prominent use of the piano. If it's a mostly piano-based score I will be more than happy, as Hisaishi is a master at creating emotional and complex piano-centered cues, like for example the Sixth Station from Spirited Away or Ashitaka to San from Princess Mononoke.

 

I really hope it's not their last time working together, but since this is Miyazaki's supposedly last film it will probably be a beautiful and melancholic end to a long and fantastic working relationship that has given us so many gems over the years!

[bruce marshall 1,315]

I have a copy of PONYO for sale or trade in the The Marketplace  thread😊

[iamleyeti 114]

1 hour ago, Knight of Ren said:

Every Hisaishi-Miyazaki collaboration has been absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to hear what they have created this time. The sample sounds nice and I like the prominent use of the piano. If it's a mostly piano-based score I will be more than happy, as Hisaishi is a master at creating emotional and complex piano-centered cues, like for example the Sixth Station from Spirited Away or Ashitaka to San from Princess Mononoke.

 

I really hope it's not their last time working together, but since this is Miyazaki's supposedly last film it will probably be a beautiful and melancholic end to a long and fantastic working relationship that has given us so many gems over the years!

Whatever they have decided, Hisaishi will shine. His work with Miyazaki and Ghibli in general is so unique. 

[Knight of Ren 789]

What I really like about their collaborations is how you cannot fully appreciate and understand one without the other. I mean, the music is a great listening experience on its own, but only becomes meaningful when tied to the gorgeous visuals and Miyazaki's stories, and for me that's what makes their collaborations so great!

[Quppa 117]

10 hours ago, Under-Terrestrial said:

A) people who have read the book

 

The novel of the same name appears in one scene but isn't otherwise related to the film.

 

The physical CD is on sale today, but there's no digital release just yet.

[MaxMovieMan 273]

The digital release wasn’t for August 9th?

[Jay 37,372]

There has been nothing said about a digital version ever existing at all.

 

All that happened was two Japanese CD retailers listed the album for an August 9th release date

 

https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/TKCA-75200

 

https://tower.jp/article/feature_item/2023/06/27/0710

 

There very well could be a digital release eventually too, we just have no info about that yet.

[p0llux 398]

Alright who's gonna buy it?

[MaxMovieMan 273]

Didn’t “The Wind Rises” come out at the same time digitally as it did physical? And I’m assuming that the soundtrack will release digitally once the film is released domestically which still has no release date. Also the fact that they’re doing no promotion or marketing tells me that they want to keep the score on the DL as well until the film comes out in the US.

[Quppa 117]

Compared to his other Ghibli works, this soundtrack is closest to The Wind Rises (minus the accordion) in overall feel. I'm enjoying it, even if I'm not humming the melodies just yet.

 

I think of Ikaros every time I hear the first chord of Ask Me Why (all 3 versions). The pieces are otherwise quite different.

 

There are some mighty chair (?) creaks in the song by Kenshi Yonezu (who seems to have a lisp) at 0:21, 1:02, 1:11, 1:53-2:00, 2:10, 2:17, 3:02, 3:21, 3:31 and 4:16-4:24. Reminds me of Journey to the Island.

[artguy360 1,844]

Two tracks are on YouTube here:

 

 

 

 

 

[crocodile 8,018]

Speaking of Joe Hisaishi, are you guys familiar with his score for Little Tom Thumb? I bought a CD years ago and quite liked it. Sadly, not much of it is available online to share beyond this main theme which, oddly, sounds to me like something else. There's much better incidental music in the score. It's probably his most traditional score, as understood by our western ears.

 

 

There's some nice action music in this, some of which feature shakuhachi combined with cool percussion to represent wolves. Not sure if this link will work:

 

 

Karol

[iamleyeti 114]

1 hour ago, crocodile said:

Speaking of Joe Hisaishi, are you guys familiar with his score for Little Tom Thumb? I bought a CD years ago and quite liked it. Sadly, not much of it is available online to share beyond this main theme which, oddly, sounds to me like something else. There's much better incidental music in the score. It's probably his most traditional score, as understood by our western ears.

 

 

There's some nice action music in this, some of which feature shakuhachi combined with cool percussion to represent wolves. Not sure if this link will work:

 

 

Karol

This was quite big in my times because French cinema was finally caring about Japanese genre movies and animation. We would grow up with Dragon Ball and Ranma 1/2, but school was all about Zola and Hugo (which is fine). Suddenly, a guy was like "hey, what about we bring more Japanese stuff the kids love into cinema???" and it was… not a good movie

But the music is really nice. It uses a lot of Mononoke Hime temp track, with a variation on the main theme and a cool song. I love this disc and listen to it often, but it's quite unique in Hisaishi's career.

 

(Now, he is a proper star here in France, so it's all good).

[MaxMovieMan 273]

I was just in Colmar and there’s quite a lot of Ghibli fans there.

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

2 hours ago, crocodile said:

Speaking of Joe Hisaishi, are you guys familiar with his score for Little Tom Thumb? I bought a CD years ago and quite liked it. Sadly, not much of it is available online to share beyond this main theme which, oddly, sounds to me like something else. There's much better incidental music in the score. It's probably his most traditional score, as understood by our western ears.

 

 

There's some nice action music in this, some of which feature shakuhachi combined with cool percussion to represent wolves. Not sure if this link will work:

 

 

Karol

I randomly picked this up on CD at a second hand shop years ago and found it wonderful, a shame that it now appears to be so hard to find.

[Knight of Ren 789]

I joined the three Ask Me Why cues to create a sort of suite for what seems to be the main theme of the score. It's quite beautiful and emotional, and has a sort of innocence to it that it's quite characteristic of other Hisaishi scores for Miyazaki, but with the piano as the main instrument carrying the melody!

 

 

I want to give the full score a couple more listens before I form an opinion, but so far it seems like a much more subdued score than what Hisaishi has done for the director in the past, but beautiful and exciting nonetheless. I cannot wait to watch the movie when it comes to my country (which God knows how long it will take...)

[Quppa 117]

Speaking of his Ghibli work, I've been enjoying the licensed Studio Ghibli Wayô Piano Collection - the performances are quite distinct from Hisaishi's own playing (sometimes much faster), and I hadn't heard piano arrangements for some of these tracks before.

[artguy360 1,844]

So far the score for How Do You Live? is not as lyrical as his past Studio Ghibli work, and instead is more contemplative and quiet. The lightness of the orchestration reminds me of score for Kikujiro.

[filmmusic 1,838]

A bit disappointed on first listen. I don't mind the chamber orchestration, but the score sounds like an accompaniment score to something (I'm sure it supports the visuals just fine) and can't stand for the most part on its own. Not among the best Hisaishi scores, and I had so high hopes.

[MaxMovieMan 273]

I’m going to try and upload the soundtrack to YouTube for my own sake.

[MaxMovieMan 273]

 

[p0llux 398]

Hisaishi's The Boy and The Heron follows in the same restrained footsteps of Williams' The Fabelmans. I've heard this was a deeply personal film, so it resulted in a deeply personal score requiring just a small ensemble of piano and strings, the same instrumentation found in his Piano Story albums. The three tracks titled "Ask Me Why" are the reoccurring melodic theme of the score and each iteration develops it a little more. I liked the theme, but it may not be enough for those suffering from HES(Hisaishi Earworm Syndrome) as this theme may not be as catchy as his previous works. If only there was a fully fleshed out fourth iteration of "Ask Me Why", I'd be very satisfied.

[filmmusic 1,838]

7 hours ago, MaxMovieMan said:

 

Are these the official track titles or you translated from Japanese?

[MaxMovieMan 273]

Translated.

[TolkienSS 407]

9 hours ago, p0llux said:

 I've heard this was a deeply personal film, so it resulted in a deeply personal score requiring just a small ensemble of piano and strings, 

 

I always laugh at such layman like analogies. "It's a personal score so it needs just a piano".

Because you can't write personal music with larger ensembles?

Then what are composers doing who use symphonic forces? Are they not personal then?

[Jurassic Shark 12,082]

21 minutes ago, TolkienSS said:

Because you can't write personal music with larger ensembles?

 

It takes so much time to get to know the ensemble personally.

[j39m 75]

I don't have the album in hand just yet, but some trivia — it seems track 29 (祈りのうた — "Prayer Song") is at least partially based on a piece of the same name from Minima_Rhythm II. The regular sevenths on the white keys were striking enough to make me sit up in the theater and make a mental note to check on it.

[p0llux 398]

8 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

 

I always laugh at such layman like analogies. "It's a personal score so it needs just a piano".

Because you can't write personal music with larger ensembles?

Then what are composers doing who use symphonic forces? Are they not personal then?

 

In my younger years, I would've taken the bait and turned into a debate pervert here, but I'm just gonna let this one go cuz it's just not worth my time. This thread isn't large enough for two debate perverts to co-exist, much less one.

[j39m 75]

A snippet of "Ask Me Why" has surfaced on Joe's Instagram, apparently recorded live from a recent (business?) sit-down at Studio Ghibli.

[artguy360 1,844]

I've been listening to this soundtrack more and it is an interesting experience. The music is not as lyrical as past Ghibli works. The main theme is fairly slow, restrained, and contemplative. The string and chorus work reminds me of John Adams. There are some passages that call to mind Steve Reich as well. This isn't a Ghibli soundtrack I can just put on and listen from start to finish like Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away or others. The music is much simpler, almost stark, and far less humable. I'm eager to see the film and make more sense of this score.

[MaxMovieMan 273]

After listening to the score several times I’ve come to the conclusion that while not as melodic as previous Miyazaki collaborations this score is extremely emotional and brings the feels. I love mostly piano scores so this was right up my alley and the tracks in this score I think are the most independent Hisaishi has made for a movie. Each track is unique to itself for the most part besides a couple recurring themes that show up for a track or two. Probably the best comparison for a score to this one as far as its design is concerned is Spirited Away. For me this score is pure bliss and has been very soothing to listen to.

[artguy360 1,844]

The score features several short, repeated rhythmic figures played on strings that remind me of one of the motifs from The Post by JW. There's also this piercing sound repeated early in the score. Curious to see what that scores in the film.

[Quppa 117]

17 hours ago, artguy360 said:

The score features several short, repeated rhythmic figures played on strings that remind me of one of the motifs from The Post by JW. There's also this piercing sound repeated early in the score. Curious to see what that scores in the film.

 

It's probably just the instrumentation, but the woodwind motif at about 0:40 in 矢羽根 (Arrow Feathers, track 11) and 0:40 in 急接近 (Sudden Approach, track 23) reminds me a bit of Thomas Newman's Angels in America.

 

On 10/08/2023 at 9:03 PM, Knight of Ren said:

I joined the three Ask Me Why cues to create a sort of suite for what seems to be the main theme of the score. It's quite beautiful and emotional, and has a sort of innocence to it that it's quite characteristic of other Hisaishi scores for Miyazaki, but with the piano as the main instrument carrying the melody!

 

 

This is great. The tracks being so short (the average length is under 2 minutes) makes the album feel quite fragmented - a slightly longer suite at the end would have been nice to tie things up, but I guess there's no precedent for that in Studio Ghibli soundtracks. @j39m Do you remember if it's just the Kenshi Yonezu song that plays over the end credits?

 

[j39m 75]

2 hours ago, Quppa said:

Do you remember if it's just the Kenshi Yonezu song that plays over the end credits?

 

That's correct one of the more spartan staff rolls in the Ghibli canon.

[j39m 75]

Turning away from How Do You Live? a moment, an excerpt of Joe's new piece, "Adagio," has popped up on his Instagram.

 

EDIT: he met with the head of UMG while in California. Interestingly, his set with the LA Phil sandwiches La Mer between his compositions. I'd be very curious to see if DG wouldn't be interested in releasing a recording of this or something, but the Ghibli material probably hits a little too close to the recent "A Symphonic Celebration."

[JNHFan2000 2,967]

 

[MaxMovieMan 273]

I have a slight distain for Ghibli at the moment as they triple copyright striked my YouTube channel that I’ve had for over a decade and it got deleted. Mostly upset because I had a lot of old family videos on there that are forever gone now. I mean I knew the risk of uploading the soundtracks but damn all the strikes came at once I didn’t even have time to delete the videos. I also tried to give credit in descriptions but eh whatever. Still great music though!

[Jay 37,372]

Never put copyrighted stuff on the same channel as your personal stuff.  Separate accounts!

[MaxMovieMan 273]

Yeah I know now. Learned the hard way.

[Jurassic Shark 12,082]

You stored your old family videos on Youtube and nowhere else?

[filmmusic 1,838]

3 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

 

I prefer the Ghibli anime (or whatever studio anime) with realistic plot, but this looks nice too.

I hope it's not too confusing.

[MaxMovieMan 273]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

You stored your old family videos on Youtube and nowhere else?

I had a flash drive with them on it but after we moved from our house a couple years ago we lost it so YouTube was the only place I had certain videos. I should’ve backed them up at that point but I didn’t. Was naive of me.

[MaxMovieMan 273]

The album is now on digital streaming. This score may have caused a major loss for me but damn it’s beautiful. The track “The Last Smile” is something special.

[Knight of Ren 789]

I've listened to the album again, now on Spotify, and even if it's not on the same level as some of my favorite Hisaishi-Miyazaki collaborations, it's such a great score, which I like more and more after each listen!

 

It's really beautiful, and I love the small scale of the orchestra, reduced mostly to piano and strings. And it's actually a lot more thematically complex than I initially thought. It doesn't have just the "Ask me why" theme, but several other motifs that run across the score, and I actually remember them being tied to specific concepts while watching the film, like a piano motif for the Gray Heron, and a vocal motif for Himi, the Fire Girl. Definitely improves on repeated listens!