Recording around the world. Interview with Katsu Yokoyama on all aspects of the "Iron-Blooded Orphans" soundtrack

The first and second seasons, a total of 50 episodes. Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans," which depicted the battles and growth of the Tekkadan, including the main character, Mikazuki Orgas, finally comes to its conclusion. To coincide with this, "Original Sound Track II" was released, a 2-disc set containing a total of 55 tracks (4 of which are TV size versions of the OP & ED), and is a very rewarding listening experience. The music was composed by Katsu Yokoyama. The music was composed by Katsu Yokoyama, who has composed the largest number of songs in his TV animation works to date. The musicians were from all over the world. We asked him about the secret story behind the production.

The first image Director Nagai gave me was that of a mariachi.

─ ─ The soundtrack for "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans" is a 2-CD set for both the first and second seasons. There are so many songs.

Yokoyama: I think this is the largest number of songs for a TV anime that I have worked on. The first order I received was for the first season, which I think was a typical amount for a 2-cour TV anime, but because of the drama-like development, more and more songs were added as the work progressed.

───To begin with, how did you feel when you received the request for "Gundam"?

Yokoyama: I was surprised, as if I had never expected it (laughs). (Laughs) Moreover, it was a work by Nagai Tatsuyuki and Okada Mari. Of course, I had seen "Anohana" before. It was a very strange feeling to think that I would be working on "Gundam" with this duo, and with Hitoshi Akedagawa, who has worked with me on various works, as the sound designer. Incidentally, I was of the "SD Gundam" generation.

───As for the combination of director Nagai and Okada-san, sound director Akutagawa-san, and music by Yokoyama-san, there is the movie "The Heart Wants to Cry," which was released in September 2015, isn't there? released in September 2015, right?

Yokoyama: This was really a coincidence, so I was surprised.

─ ─ What kind of discussions did you have with Director Nagai and Mr. Akutagawa in the beginning?

Yokoyama: The first thing Mr. Nagai told me was that he wanted a worldview similar to that of the movie "Desperado. He said that the worldview of the desert town was an image of mariachi (Mexican music). Mr. Nagai's approach is that, as the director, he comes up with the core idea of the music, and then leaves the rest to the interaction between Mr. (Akutagawa) Jin and myself. I think I trusted Mr. Hitoshi and left it up to him to decide what specific music to create and how to apply it to the scene. The two of them also make a great duo.

─ For you, Mr. Yokoyama, did you receive the music menu from Mr. Akutagawa and then compose the music based on it?

Yokoyama: Yes, that's right. As for my work, I started from the point of how to compose the mariachi element. The guitar is an important part of mariachi, and in addition to that, there is an instrument called a guitaroon. I tried to get a guitarist to buy one for "Orpheus," but he refused (laughs). (Laughs.) But he advised me that it would be better if a bass player played it. In the end, I did the challenging thing of having a wood bass replaced with nylon strings as a substitute. Another thing Nagai-san said at first was that he did not want to use an orchestra. Although "Orphans" is part of the Gundam series, there are no beams or solemn battles, just fistfights, so he did not want the prestigious image of Gundam music that had been used until now.


─ ─ But as a result, an orchestra is used in the music of "Orphans," isn't it?

Yokoyama: I thought that an orchestra was necessary for the Gundam. If we did not use an orchestra for the music for the images of such large robots fighting each other, the sense of scale would be lacking. In addition, I personally wanted to record the music overseas. So, rather than using an orchestra or not, I interpreted Mr. Nagai's wish not to make the music too prestigious, and in my own way, I decided to create a rough sound that combined mariachi and orchestra. But that alone was not enough of a piece to make the music of "Orphens," so I decided to add more stomp.

─ ─ What is stomp?

Yokoyama: It is a performance using deck brushes and garbage buckets as instruments. The Tekkadan seem to make a good living with what they have around them, so I thought a stomp would be a good fit. So I went to Home Depot to buy a deck brush and a garbage can and sampled them. The first phase of the music is a good fusion of mariachi, orchestral, and stomp elements. We were very conscious of the fact that we did not want the music to be well behaved.

─ ─ First of all, you thought about what musical elements to incorporate, and then began the actual production work, didn't you?

Yokoyama: I spend a lot of time gathering ideas from various genres of music that suit the work. Once that is decided, the actual composition process is quick. I think I am the type of person who concentrates and writes all at once.