We Won! Best Score in the Crunchyroll Anime Awards for 神之塔 -Tower of God-
We won! With Kevin "Anime King" Penkin at the helm, 神之塔 -Tower of God- won Best Score in the 2021 Crunchyroll Anime Awards!
I played an incredibly small part in this with my song "Lero Ro" — a dark electronic piece that opens up in the end — but it's still gratifying to be part of such a POWERFUL group of musicians on this!
Congratulations again to everyone involved on the soundtrack, and if you haven't seen Tower of God yet, it's GOOD! Expect a lot of turtles, obfuscations, layers of intrigue — and obviously those slamming Penkin jams.
神之塔 -Tower of God- — Soundtrack Announcement
I love working with Kevin Penkin. He’s really talented, forever kind, and always brings me along on crazy musical adventures. There’s one in particular I’ve been very excited about, and it -just- got announced. I’m very happy to join Kevin and his entourage on the soundtrack for the upcoming anime of Tower of God!
I wish I could share more, but all will be revealed on April 1st, 2020 when the show goes live on Crunchyroll.
Necrobarista — Gameplay Trailer Release
Now this one has been a VERY LONG time coming.
Back in 2017, I was making my rounds through Taiwan when I was approached by the good crew at The Otherworld Agency. I normally handle music end to end, but they wanted me to produce for another composer – some guy named Kevin Penkin – on a visual novel called Necrobarista. Coming off a successful run with them on Obliteracers, I gladly obliged. Little did I know that Kevin was a prolific anime composer (he also did that stunning soundtrack on Florence) who would shake up the way I write music. Oof.
I’ll save the details of that romance for another time, but I’m happy to say that after 27 months, we have our first gameplay trailer out and boy is it GORGEOUS. (I’m biased, but come’on, that’s one striking art style. Great camera movement too.)
The developing team, Route 59, are crazy talented and have been wonderful to work with. The whole crew, really. Kudos to everyone and I can’t wait for this to drop in late 2019!
Gadgeteer: Soundtrack Release
For a long while, I've been eyeing a project in development by my friends at Metanaut. Then called Ruberg - and now Gadgeteer - it promised to be a VR sandbox for building gold ruberg machines. As a kid who grew up with marbles chutes and legos and train tracks galore, it's appeal to me was strong and immediate. At the first opportunity, I jumped at the chance to score it - and thankfully they gave me the chance!
An unusual soundtrack for me, the music is mostly comprised of guitar and xylophones. I won't spoil it for you, but there's a distinct narrative arc in the puzzle mode, and the music follows suit. The songs start out simple - almost childlike - but by the end, there are a few twists, just like the contraptions players will face.
Today, I'm proud to say the game is out, and so is the soundtrack! The music is available everywhere via this universal link, and if you'd like to try your hand at building your own dream machine, the game is available on Steam and the Oculus Store.
The soundtrack is 27 tracks deep, so if you need a place to start, here are some of my favourites:
- 02. Sandbox in the Study
- 07. Late in the Day
- 09. The Missing Element
- 10. The Midnight Conundrum
- 12. I Want to Be Like You (Together Version)
- 22. I Worked Away (Action Version)
- 26. The Moment of Truth (Action Version)
(A bit of trivia: the Action versions of the songs play when the machines are running, but stop as soon as construction begins again.)
As always, thank you for listening, and I hope you find something you love in there!
Yuika feat Sachie Sunaga
Five years ago, I visited Japan for the first time. Eager to absorb the culture, I wanted to visit as many festivals as possible - except there was only one during my month-long visit. Crap.
That soured me at the time, but it ended up being a huge blessing because that's where I met Felicity Tillack from Where Next Japan. In the past few months, Felicity and I reconnected and have been working together on a theme song for her debut film, "Impossible to Imagine" - a film that explores issues around identity, and how Japan is struggling to adapt and become more inclusive in the modern era.
In line with the film's plot, we wanted to marry Eastern (Sachie Sunaga) and Western (my Canadian self) sounds together for something new. I borrowed the Japanese scales and some of the typical instruments (kotos and shakuhachi), but also sounds from the environment like wooden blocks and Shinto bells. All of that sits on my usual aesthetic.
A whole lot of talented people lent their skills to make this song happen. Big ups to Jacob James Henry from Akamatsu Creative for recording and producing the vocals in Japan, William Yagi Lewis for the cover photograph, Yukiko Ito for lending her likeness, and of course, Sachie Sunaga for lyrics and vocals. Everyone was rounded up by Felicity. What mad hustle.
We're all excited it's out and we hope you like it! As always, thanks so much as always for listening, everyone! Yuika is available everywhere at this link. It's my first Japanese-language song, so I'd love to hear what you think!
Lyrics
ゆらゆら揺れるこころ
My heart is swinging and wavering
さらさら川面にくゆる （薫る）
Running on the surface of the river
春夏秋冬と
Spring, summer, autumn, winter
彩る織りなす螺旋
A twisting spiral of colours
ひとつ
one
ふたつ
two
いと（愛）おしむ思いは
My of love for you
遥かまで紡ぐ
Woven over long distances
きらきら気づいた気もち
The discovery of a sparkling feeling
ひらひら表も裏も
flutters back and forth.
朝露きだした世界
The world has started breathing
ひとり
One person
ふたり
Two people
寄り添う面影は胸の中包む
A picture of us warm together fills my heart