Robot Carnival - Compact Disc Information

  •   1   COMING SOON - Opening (Katsuhiro Otomo - "Opening")
  •   2   NIWA - TORI OTOKO TO AKAI KUBI #1 (Takashi Nakamura - "Nightmare" #1)
  •   3   NIWA - TORI OTOKO TO AKAI KUBI #4 (Takashi Nakamura - "Nightmare" #4)
  •   4   'RAIHOSHA' - "The Visitor" (Hidetoshi Ohmori - "Deprive" #1)
  •   5   DEPRIVE (Hidetoshi Ohmori - "Deprive" #3)
  •   6   PRESENCE III (Yasuomi Umetsu - "Presence #3)
  •   7   PRESENCE V (Yasuomi Umetsu - "Presence #5)
  •   8   'WA' - "Harmoony and Peace" (Hiroyuki Kitakubo - "Two Robots" #2)
  •   9   'SAI' - "Festival" (Hiroyuki Kitakubo - "Two Robots" #1)
  • 10   'NANI' - "What?" (Mao Lamdo - "Cloud" #2)
  • 11   STRUGGLE (Mao Lamdo - "Cloud" #3)
  • 12   ORA (Mao Lamdo - "Cloud" #5)
  • 13   HEART & HAND (Hiroyuki Kitazume - "Starlight Angel" #1)
  • 14   MERRY-GO-ROUND (Hiroyuki Kitazume - "Starlight Angel" #2)
  • 15   UNIT 1 (Kouji Morimoto - "Franken's Gears" #1)
  • 16   UNIT 2 (Kouji Morimoto - "Franken's Gears" #2)
  • 17   NIWA - TORI OTOKO TO AKAI KUBI #2 (Takashi Nakamura - "Nightmare" #2)
  • 18   NIWA - TORI OTOKO TO AKAI KUBI #3 (Takashi Nakamura - "Nightmare" #3)
  • 19   BATTLE (Hidetoshi Ohmori - "Deprive" #2)
  • 20   PRESENCE II (Yasuomi Umetsu - "Presence #2)
  • 21   PRESENCE IV (Yasuomi Umetsu - "Presence #4)
  • 22   PROLOGUE (Mao Lamdo - "Clouds" Prologue)
  • 23   IN THE WHITE CLOUD (Mao Lamdo - "Cloud" #1)
  • 24   SILENT (Mao Lamdo - "Cloud" #4)
  • 25   TWILIGHT - [bridge] (Mao Lamdo - "Cloud" #5)
  • 26   'BURUU NA KIMOCHI' - "I Got the Blues" (Hiroyuki Kitazume - "Starlight Angel" #4)
  • 27   SEE YOU AGAIN - Ending (Katsuhiro Otomo - "Ending")

    Melody: JO HISAISHI #1-9, 13-21, 26, 27    ISAKU FUJITA #10-12, 22-25
    Arrangement: JO HISAISHI #1-9, 15-21, 26, 27    ISAKU FUJITA #10-12, 22-25    MASAHISA TAKEICHI #13-14, 26
    Musical Performance: ROBOTS


    Comments & Impressions by Jo Hisaishi

    "Quality animation takes a long time to produce...But, we saw it through! It was a great experience. We did everything according to plan. And over the months of designing and composing, the music staff had time to work with the "greats" of Japanese animation to produce, what we fell is a unique film. Here are some of my recollections of the animation directors regarding my experience working on this project:

    Mr. Umetsu. "Presence"

    "We moved right along - unconcerned, doing our own thing... And the music was beautiful."

    Mr. Kitakubo. "A Tale of Two Robots"

    "At Sampling Sound Convention which is on the same level as Jinta & ZTT, he mastered both melody and sound. The result was unique in the way he combined 'things Japanese' into his production."
    Mr. Kitazume. "Starlight Angel"
    "Cute!...Reminds me of Seiko Matsuda of yesteryears." Musical arrangement was by Mr. Takeichi.
    Mr. Ohmori. "Deprive"
    "This production was designed to move to sound and music. The powerful beat is his favorite style. His violent sounds started with my previous productions - which we carried through to this sequence."
    Mr. Morimoto. "Franken's Gears"
    "Now, fresh sounds - Shitaru melodies and shades of ethnic drama. Through the modern visions of robotics, the great melody line takes the viewer back into ancient history... a revival of past lives."
    Mr. Otomo. "Opening & Ending"
    "It started with a tympany drum beat. Throughout, it was the music of stringed instruments - the sound of rippling waves. For the opening march, the sound of brass echoed loudly in a musical fanfare. The ending was a "waltz". The music in the middle portion took its cue from the great classical composers...Wagner, etc."
    Mr. Nakamura. "Nightmare"
    "It was perfect... It's not easy matching to ten points in the span of one minute."
    Mr. Lamdo. "Cloud"
    "...an achievement. Can't wait to see it in the theater."

    Katsuhiro Otomo * Atsuko Fukushima - The title logo of this film conveys an image very similar to the movie 'BEN HUR'...bold, perhaps even a little too flashy. Originally, we attempted to create the image of a robot appearing in a deserted playground.
    The music for the Opening was heavy with the sound of wind and stringed instruments like Sibelius. The Ending was more like a Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto. Anyway, we wanted flashy music that would slowly build to a crescendo.

    Hiroyuki Kitazume - The overall concept of this film is fascinating. It should not be looked at as a total story but more to delight the senses. I like to think of robots having human characteristics. The mood that I tried to create in this film takes its influence from the song "Take on Me" by A-HA. I liked the fantasia-like atmosphere of their music video. I think that it would be ideal if I could pattern the melodies in the fashion of Seiko Matsuda's song "The Angel's Wink".

    Mao Lamdo - My inspiration for this project came while I was watching a sunset...a drifiting mass of clouds, the softly blowing breeze, the still brilliance of the setting sun - it was as if nature had wrapped me in her gentle arms and sent me back to my childhood. It was then that I realized that memories and reality are worlds apart...as different as wisps of clouds and the hard steel of robotics. Ideas merged and these mental pictures became real.

    Hidetoshi Ohmori - I wanted to do a heroic story. The robot appearing in this sequence is more like an android than a cyborg. I feel an android is capable of reconstructing its own body. The tempo was accelerated and, production-wise, I know that we were influenced by the camerawork from foreign films - techniques for creating mood and heightening tension... I love foreign films. One that I felt was particularly influential to this production was "STREETS OF FIRE". Our tempo was similar, so was our choice of music. I also feel that the upbeat tempo of the group "Power Station" also influenced this segment.

    Kouji Morimoto - The running time of this film is quite short. Therefore we concentrated on the central theme and the backgrounds. We attempted to keep the story simple - treating the film like a silent movie packed with movement.
    I would say that my favorite filmmakers are Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa. In their films one can sense a flair for entertainment coupled with a mastery of cinema... "Foreign Correspondent" and "Yojimbo" easily come to mind.
    For this film I drew inspiration from the German expressionist film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". I like the power cast upon us by the uncanny and mysterious... The music is along the lines of Sakamoto's "End of Europe".

    Yasuomi Umetsu - This idea evolved suddenly while I was glancing through a batch of photographs. I made a conscious effort to steer away from the routine cliche of robots. I wanted to make this story as a complete series, while keenly aware that it was a single section of a compilation film.
    My favorite film-makers...I'm particularly fond of Stanley Kubrick, for his use of space and visualization. As for music, my ideal is George Winston's piano album. I also like John Williams' masterful technique of film scoring. For this film I tried to keep the music soft and supple - mellow and low-key.

    Hiroyuki Kitakubo - The proper use of the "head" and the "hands" is not only essential for this production...but in any type of production. At times, it becomes necessary to borrow from the many films that I have seen. But outright imitation will only result in a farce. One must learn to absorb and digest the multitude of images received over a lifetime. One must learn to draw new concepts from these ideas.
    I am sure that my basic drawings of the robots were rigid warrior-like mechanical beings. But that was intentional, as I wanted to refine and soften any harsh images. I am not one blessed with brainpower. True, I am young...and of course I realize that I still have a lot to learn. Nevertheless, in any kind of production that I may be associated with, good or bad, I still desire to see a reflection of myself in my work. My kind of music, or specific melody that is the central theme in my works, comes from the song "Yoroshiku Dozo Dontaku" on Sadistic Mika Band's album "BLACK SHIP". That is the musical image that I like to project.

    Takashi Nakamura - It would be wonderful to singlehandedly produce an entire animated film... projecting one's innermost ideas and feelings instead of being a mere "cog" in the overall process.
    This sequence was planned to be similar to FANTASIA's "Night on Bald Mountain". During the production I felt heavily influenced by Disney, gaining more respect for his mastery of fundamentals.
    We approached the music similarly to the "20,000 ft." segment from TWILIGHT ZONE - The Movie...to create a mood of psychological fear and pending danger which slowly intensified as it portrayed growing human fear. Very appropriate.

    Music Director - Yasunori Honda
    Producer - Kazufumi Nomura
    © A.P.P.P. Co., Ltd.
    Recording Management: Akio Miyake (Wonder City)
    Recording Mixer: Kiyoshi Abe (Wonder Station)
    Assistant Mixer: Hideaki Arai (Wonder Station)
    Synthesizer Operators: Hideshi Kiyokawa & Yukari Hashimoto (Wonder City)
    Recording Director: Morihiro Nagata

    Streamline Pictures presents
    ROBOT CARNIVAL
    An A.P.P.P. Co., Ltd. Production
    Adaptation: Carl Macek, L. Michael Haller and Jerry Beck
    Directors: Katsuhiro Otomo, Kouji Morimoto, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Mao Lamdo, Hidetoshi Ohmori, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Yasuomi Umetsu, Takashi Nakamura and Atsuko Fukushima.
    Produced by Kazufumi Nomura.

    Download the compact disc in mp3 format.

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    Robot Carnival - Compact Disc Information / jjpatt@jurai.net / modified 10 September 2007
    © A.P.P.P. Co., Ltd. Manufactured and distributed by JVC Musical Industries, Inc. Los Angeles, U.S.A.