Interview] Interview with Producer Yoshimoto Ishikawa. USB flash drive containing all the vocal tracks of the "Ghost in the Shell" series in high-resolution format is now available!

The "GHOST IN THE SHELL superb music high resolution USB/SHM-CD" will be released on January 20, 2021 (Wednesday) and will be a special item for "Ghost in the Shell" fans. It contains 50 theme songs and insert songs from "GHOST IN THE SHELL", "Innocence", "Ghost in the Shell STAND ALONE COMPLEX (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.)" and "Ghost in the Shell ARISE" in 96KHz/24bit WAV high resolution sound and AAC sound. The USB flash drive is wrapped in a silver zinc alloy, making it a small but massive item. Also released at the same time was the high-quality CD "SHM-CD (Super High Material CD)" packaged in a silver round can. The 50 tracks can also be enjoyed in high sound quality on this CD.
The music for "Ghost in the Shell" has been composed by Kenji Kawai, Yoko Kanno, and Cornelius, all of whom are leading composers in Japan. Mr. Yoshimoto Ishikawa of Flying Dog, who has been the music director for "Innocence" and later works and made this project possible, talked about his commitment to "Ghost in the Shell: superb music high resolution USB/SHM-CD" and the history of "Ghost in the Shell" music!

For the core fans of "Ghost in the Shell", we focused on sound quality and its presence as an item.

─ ─ Both "high resolution USB" and "SHM-CD" have a presence as an item, don't they?

Ishikawa: Since many "Ghost in the Shell" fans are core fans, we were conscious of making them highly collectible items. When you hold the "high resolution USB", it looks like a gold seal from history (laughs). (Laughs). It feels solid and responsive, and the paper box that holds it has a luxurious feel to it. The round can of the "SHM-CD" is 17 cm in diameter, which is larger than the CD, to give it a sense of presence. Both of them contain vocal songs from "GHOST IN THE SHELL/Ghost in the Shell" to "Ghost in the Shell ARISE," or strictly speaking, all the songs with the lyricist credited. When I counted them, I was right on the money with exactly 50 songs. The CDs are half the price, and the sound quality is even better than conventional CDs.

───And the value of this project is that it is not only data, but also an item. Could you tell us about the special features of "high resolution USB" as a product?

Ishikawa: First of all, the USB flash drive itself. We asked our group company, JVC Kenwood Creative Media, which has experience in producing USB flash drives for famous artists, to help us with the production. We use USB flash drives with high sound quality, and to ensure that there is no variation in quality, all USB flash drives are produced by the same manufacturer and in the same factory lot.


─ What is the silver metal that wraps the USB flash drive?

Ishikawa: It is a zinc alloy. I chose it for its comfortable weight and color. The lid and the body are perfectly aligned, and a hairline finish is applied. High technology is also used here.

─ ─ What is the "SHM-CD" on the other hand?

Ishikawa: It is a "Super High Material CD," a CD with low read errors and high transparency. In contrast, SHM-CDs reduce read errors and provide better sound quality than conventional CDs, which we also ordered from JVC Kenwood Creative Media. Today, I think that listening styles are dichotomized between high resolution with high sound quality and streaming music that can be easily listened to, but when I produced the "SHM-CD," I was reminded that CDs also have quite high sound quality.


───Both are completely limited production products, aren't they?

Ishikawa: Yes, we closed reservations once in September 2020. After that, we are still accepting reservations, but we are asking customers to understand that there is a possibility that we may run out of stock. We have received quite a few reservations at this stage, so if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible.