Interview] Satoru Kamizen celebrates the 20th anniversary of his debut as a composer. Satoru Kamizaki's 20th Anniversary Selected Works "DAWN", a gorgeous collection of his works, is now available!

The best album, "Satoru Kanzen 20th Anniversary Selected Works "DAWN"," which is a compilation of his selections of songs created during his 20-year career as a composer, will be released on March 18, 2020. It will be released on March 18, 2020.
The album contains 49 vocal songs on three discs, and the limited edition boxed set includes two additional DISCs for play accompaniment. From popular and well-known songs to those that are difficult to find nowadays, this is a gorgeous collection that offers a panoramic view of Satoru Kousaki's career.
In this interview, we asked him to talk about all the songs in the collection!

I had a hard time narrowing down the number of vocal songs to 49.

─ ─ "Satoru Kanzen 20th Anniversary Selected Works "DAWN"" has become a voluminous item, hasn't it? Especially, the limited edition disc has 3 selected vocal tracks and 2 selected accompaniment tracks, making it a very rewarding listening experience.

Kamizen: I'm really happy. We were able to include sound sources from various companies, mainly from Aniplex and Lantis, transcending the boundaries between manufacturers. I would like to thank all the staff for their hard work and dedication.

─ Isn't it a great honor for a composer to be able to release a work like this on the 20th anniversary of his debut?

Kouzaki: It really is. I have participated in each anime and game production as a member of the staff, so it is an honor to be able to put them together under my name.

Kamizen──Does the 20th anniversary count from when you joined Namco (at that time) and were assigned to the music production department?

Kamizen Yes, I joined the company in 1999, but I started out as a trainee at a game center, so I guess this is my 20th anniversary as a composer.

──Since you joined the company as a full-time employee, you had the same training as other employees, didn't you?

Kamizen Of course, I was told to know the weight of a 100-yen coin. Namco was basically a company that was built on customers playing in game arcades, so I was told to know the value of the coins that customers put in. After completing that, I was assigned to a department that produced game music.

───What was it that led you to start composing music?

JINMAE: It was a university club. I joined a composition circle at Kyoto University called "Yoshida Ongaku Seisakujo" (Yoshida Music Factory) and started composing music by watching and learning from others. Before that, I had experience playing the piano and playing in a brass band, and I had created fragmentary phrases, but it wasn't until I entered university that I was able to properly formulate them into a piece of music.

─ ─ Did you want to be a professional composer from then on?

Kouzaki: I had no intention of becoming a professional composer at all. I started late, and I was just doing it as a hobby. When I was looking for a job, I was more interested in getting a job in the music industry rather than becoming a composer. I focused my job search on electronic instrument manufacturers, game companies, and record companies, and was fortunate enough to receive a job offer from Namco as a music producer.

───The first song on DISC1, "Futari no mojipittan (fine c'est la mix)," is from your Namco days, isn't it?

Kamizen: Yes, I made many other songs, but this is the only Namco song included in "DAWN". It is an insert song for a game called "Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan," and it was the first song I wrote by myself. That was around my third year with the company.

───The rest of the songs were composed after you went freelance, and there are 49 vocal songs on three CDs. What criteria did you use to select these songs?

Kanzen: I wanted to choose songs that everyone would think, "I know this song! It was difficult to narrow it down to 49 songs. Especially with the songs from the Monogatari series, I couldn't choose one and leave one out, so I included them all, and the number of songs became quite large.

I was impressed by the list of songs from the "Monogatari" series.

Kamizen: This is an important part of my work, as it has been a central part of my career for the past 10 years.

Kamizen: The length of time I have been involved in the series is the first thing that stands out.

Kamimae "Bakemonogatari" began airing in July 2009, and "Sequel to the Last Story" in 2019 will bring it to a conclusion, but it's all part of one big story. The original story continues on.