Long interview with composer Akiko Tateyama! (The "inside man" of anime/game No.30)

Kemono Friends" was an unprecedented hit in 2017, and "YuruCan△" caused an outdoor boom in 2018. Anime fans need no introduction to these masterpieces. In this 30th installment of "Who's Who Inside Anime and Games," we are joined by composer Akiko Tateyama, who has contributed to the success of these works from the aspect of musical accompaniment. Mr. Tateyama, who was the drummer for the pops band "THE LINDA!", taught himself to compose music, and was introduced to the animation accompaniment industry with "Hero Bank". As a play accompaniment writer who writes "music that is unique to the work" rather than his own compositions, he has been recognized for his high level of score perfection in "The Boring World Where the Concept of Underneath Doesn't Exist," "Kumamiko," "The Idol Incident," "Chichibude Buchi," "Tachikan To Lie Anguru," "ISLAND," "Gakuen BASARA," etc. He is highly regarded for his high level of score perfection. We will be bringing you plenty of information about Tateyama-san's career and the secrets of his creation. In addition, in this interview, he gave us valuable comments on the music for "Kemono Friends 2" and "Pastel Memories," both of which will begin airing in January 2019 (Editor's note: Please also read our special interview on "Yuru Can△," directed by Yoshiaki Kyogoku).

Music in the past is what playwrights should pursue

Thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed by "Akiba Research Institute," but you seem to be very busy with "Kemono Friends 2" and "Pastel Memories" in 2019.

Akiko Tateyama (Tateyama): I find it most rewarding when I feel that the music I have written is playing an active role as one of the parts that expresses the world of the work. I always wonder if I can really write 40 or 50 songs ......?　But I have never felt like I was "forced" to write anything.

What works have influenced you?

Tateyama: There are many influences, but in terms of film music, "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," "Back to the Future," and other films I saw when I was a child had a great impact on me. At that time, of course, I didn't think about how the music would sound in a movie, but I just thought the songs were cool! I was just listening to the music.

I was just listening to the songs thinking, "That's so cool!

Tateyama: I was watching "Star Wars" in elementary and junior high school, so I wasn't in a band, and I wasn't thinking of becoming a professional, but I was playing the piano before I went to elementary school.

─ Who is your target?

Tateyama: There are many theater accompaniment artists that I like, but I don't have any aspirations or goals to be like them! I am interested in the workflow of other writers, so I am not sure if that is my goal or aspiration. I am interested in the workflow of other writers, so I would like to know how they write songs and what kind of work they do, and I would like to be that person for a day (laughs).

(laughs ) ─ In my series of articles, composer Yukari Hashimoto said, "I don't get a chance to get to know composers from other offices very well" (editor's note: # ).

Tateyama: Composers who work in multiple teams may meet within their teams, but I work alone, so I rarely collaborate with other composers or work together with them. Even when we are separated by credits, we don't get together and come up with songs together! I think that in many cases, the work is divided between the composers.

─ Is there any music that has been on your mind recently?

Tateyama: I like to watch variety shows on TV, so I really listen to the music used in them. I often watch them while eating. But since I started working as a theatrical accompanist, I don't really follow the latest trends anymore. When I was working mainly with songs, I was following the trendy idol sounds to some extent, but since I became a play accompaniment artist, I feel that the music I need to follow is in the past. Of course, I don't think my sensibilities should become old-fashioned. I think that a person who is extremely knowledgeable about old music such as classical, film music, and easy listening is stronger in play accompaniment than a person who is well versed in current music, although this is an extreme view.

How to deal with the versatile instrument, the piano

Do you come up with the music from the melody?　Or do you compose from chords?

Tateyama: I don't start with a melody, then add chords to it and compose ....... I create a rough image of the whole piece according to the scene or menu, and then I start with a melody, and then the melody drops out and the rhythm comes in, and then the melody comes back in and ...... I spend a lot of time on the composition and what I want to do with the song.

Could you tell us about your favorite way of creating sound?　You have studied piano since elementary school, so are you good at piano music?　The soundtrack of "ISLAND" (2018) contains wonderful, emotionally charged songs such as "Setsuna of Memory," "Kurikae Sadame," and "Kurikae Namida.

Tateyama: If I had to choose whether I was good at it or not, I would say I am good at it, but in fact, I am not the type to actively include the piano in the accompaniment of a play. I have my own ideas about it. The piano has its own resonance the moment you press a key, and it is versatile from chords to melodies. It is versatile, from chords to melodies. I can create everything from intense songs to ennui songs using only the piano. So, if the director asks for a piano, of course I will use it, but if I am working in a free style without a theme, I often try to avoid using the piano and go for it easily.

On the website of your company, Hi-Kick Entertainment, it says, "We believe in creating sounds with vitality, valuing the 'vibrancy of live music'.

Tateyama: I think I am better at live instruments, bands, and other music that can be played by ordinary people, partly because I have listened to and played them myself.

Tateyama: The song "Feel the Wind" played in the opening scene of the first episode of "Kemono Friends" (2017), with its transparent guitar accompaniment and flute melody, perfectly expressed the world of the work.

Tateyama: I am happy to hear that this song is often well received. As I mentioned earlier, "Kemono Friends" does not use piano so much. Since the story is set in nature, I thought that acoustic guitar and flute would be more suitable.

Advantages and disadvantages of the limited method

You mentioned in the liner notes of the "Yuru Can△" (2018) soundtrack that you created the sound with the work and the setting of the work in mind. I heard that you consciously composed the music with "instruments that can actually be played at a campsite".

Tateyama: I think about that, for better or worse. It really is "for better or for worse. It is easy to write a song without electric guitars or synthesizers because it is a story in nature, but at the same time, it means that you are throwing away certain possibilities, so it is difficult to decide which is better.

I am more the type of person who limits myself, and I write songs by throwing away electric guitars, synthesizers, mechanical rhythms, and so on. But there are writers who have other ideas, who write songs without limiting the genre or instruments, as long as the song is good enough. If they are able to write without hesitation, I think that is totally acceptable.

I heard that "Theme of YuruCan△" was written without any materials at hand.

Tateyama: When I wrote "Theme of YuruCan△," I had nothing at hand. I had read the original manga by Afuro, and I thought that a folksy tune would fit the theme, so I composed "Theme for Yuru Can△". Director Yoshiaki Kyogoku said, "I like it! I'm really glad he said that.

I heard that you read not only the original story and storyboards, but also the script when creating the music.

Tateyama: In TV animation, there are many cases where the storyboards are only halfway through the story, so in those cases, I read the scenario. In every production, there is a storyboard for the first two episodes or so, but in most cases, we don't have all the episodes. I would really like to have the storyboards (laughs).

Do you also use the music used in games as reference material?

Tateyama: We are often asked not to be conscious of the game music, and I have only listened to the music by Sei Yasuse for the original "ISLAND" once or twice.

When analyzing storyboards and scripts, do you consider the balance of sounds other than music?

Tateyama: When I first started working on theatrical accompaniment, I didn't think much about it when I wrote the music, but nowadays I have some idea of how much dialogue will be inserted at certain intervals, or how sound effects will be added at certain points. But I don't have a lot of experience in this area, so I'm still learning and doing trial and error to see how the music I write fits with the dialogue and sound effects.

What do you think about directors presenting ready-made songs that are close to their own image, which is controversial in Hollywood?

Tateyama: In my case, I have rarely been told "this kind of music" or "I want it to have this kind of atmosphere like a theatrical accompaniment. As a composer, I think it is a great foundation for me to be able to listen to such music in advance. However, because of this, there are times when I struggle, such as when I can't do things freely, or when I can't express my own good qualities in an attempt to be close to that style.

In "A Boring World Where the Concept of a Bottom Line Doesn't Exist" (2015), there were parodies of "Jaws," "The Pink Panther," and "Friday Night Fantasy.

Tateyama: At that time, it was about 50-50. Sometimes director Yohei Suzuki would aim and direct us, and sometimes we would see "disturbing" or "dangerous" on the menu and ask, "Is it like 'The Pink Panther'?" or "Wouldn't it be fun to make a parody of 'Jaws'? I sometimes suggested, "Why don't you make a parody of 'Jaws'?