Ulysses 31 - Liner Notes from the Japanese BGM Collection OST (Part 2)

A continuation of the liner notes included in the insert booklet of the vinyl release for the Japanese Ulysses 31 BGM Collection OST. This post will focus on the comments of Tatsuo Ikeuchi, a producer on Ulysses 31.

Thanks to Windii for translating.

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Memories of Ulysses 31
(Producer: Tatsuo Ikeuchi)

I remember that my first encounter with the Ulysses 31 project was in the early summer of 1979, in Paris, where the white flowers of the horse chestnuts were in bloom. When I heard about this project from the staff in France, I honestly remember that I could not help but feel a certain excitement. It is a science fiction version of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, the story of the wandering adventures of the hero Ulysses set in the Aegean Sea after the Trojan War, transposed to the 31st century. The story of Ulysses' return to Earth from planet Troy, where he is caught up in the Olympian sphere of influence controlled by Zeus, and is forced to fight against the gods, but overcomes them and returns home—the plan to create an animated TV series as a French-Japanese co-production seemed to me to be a groundbreaking and fresh idea among the Japanese TV animation projects at that time.

About a year later, after many twists and turns along the way, the 26-episode series was completed and became a big hit on the French national broadcaster Antenne 2. I believe that the fact that the story was relatively faithful to Greek mythology and the space adventure drama was based on the love between father and son, Ulysses and his son Telemachus, made it a hit in Europe. But unfortunately, Greek mythology itself is not so common in Japan. The passion for Ulysses that the French and Japanese staff have had for the past six or seven years has been the driving force behind the creation of the Japanese language version. We hope that as many people as possible will be able to see it.

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Random thought: I wonder if the lack of popularity of Greek mythology in Japan is the reason why it took so long for the anime to hit Japan...

Ulysses 31 - Liner Notes from the Japanese BGM Collection OST (Part 1)

 

Per the usual...a while back on Twitter I posted scans of the insert booklet that came included with the vinyl record release of the Japanese Ulysses 31 BGM Collection OST. What makes this release special is the inclusion of several comments from various staff members that were completely omitted in the album's CD release.

The comments in question are from Tatsuo Ohba of King Records and Tatsuo Ikeuchi, a producer on Ulysses 31—included alongside the comments is a summary of the anime's story, which I think is the only thing on here that was salvaged and brought on over to the CD release's liner notes.

This post will focus on the comments of Tatsuo Ohba, translated by Windii. Translation can be found below the line.

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To Ulysses 31
(King Records Co., Ltd.: Tatsuo Ohba)

Looking back, my relationship with Ulysses 31 began on November 6, 1980, when I attended the funeral of the late director Tadao Nagahama, who passed away just before the completion of Ulysses 31, and was told that the first film print was placed in his coffin. After that, there were many twists and turns, and in the end the series was not broadcasted in Japan, but I heard rumors of its great success in France and wondered if something could be done.

However, the situation surrounding animation has changed, and I am delighted to be able to present the series in the form of an original video animation and a vinyl record. I was also able to create all new background music and theme songs for the Japanese version.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Tatsuo Ikeuchi, producer of Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Mr. Mitsuo Koshikizawa, music publisher of Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Mr. Tokuya Shimada of Production Eureka, Mr. Seiji Suzuki, sound director of Tokyo Movie Shinsha, and many others for their efforts in making this project a reality.

The background music is original and specifically written by Kei Wakakusa, a composer and arranger whom I respect, and was completed with the extraordinary cooperation of Yuuji Saitou of Imagine Inc. and the tireless efforts of Jun Araki of Appo Sound Project, who literally forgot to eat or sleep. Incidentally, all of the background music, except for the electric & folk guitars played by Masayuki Chiyo, was created using computers & synthesizers researched and developed by Mr. Araki and the rest of the Appo staff. Due to time constraints, we were not able to collect all of the 50 or so BGM tracks.

Finally, we hope that those who listen to this LP will also enjoy the original video series.

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Just some thoughts about the info above that I felt like writing out...I'm really glad to have gotten this translated! Nowhere on the net (at least, from what I could find) was it ever mentioned that Nagahama had a film print of the show placed inside his coffin. Bit sad, yeah, won't lie...but still fascinating nevertheless.

The music mention was also of huge interest to me too. Before I had managed to get this OST on vinyl, Appo Sound Project was only ever credited on the actual credits in the JP episodes themselves. It's relieving to confirm even further (thanks to the liner notes) that Appo Sound Project had a hand in making the BGM for the JP dub!

That is all for these notes. I'll post Part 2's notes in a bit.

Star Musketeer Bismark — Making Of BGM (from Osamu Totsuka)

 

The liner notes inside the 2nd BGM Collection soundtrack release for the Star Musketeer Bismark anime contain some comments from composer Osamu Totsuka that go a bit into detail in regards to how the show's BGM was made. This was translated by @GANGO_Subs (Twitter) and posted onto Twitter on November 2021 but I am re-posting here for easier accessibility.

Scan taken from my vinyl copy of the album. Translation can be found below.

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Let me tell you a bit about the production of music for "Star Musketeer Bismarck".

First that we did was the "arrangement of music". This is where about 15 people such as the anime production staff, the music editing manager, the TV side-staff, the record company staff, the musician inspector etc, including myself (production, arrangement) gather.
At this stage of meeting no actual editing for the anime can actually be done, so the arrangement is only based on images as we are checking the storyboards.
 
Then the music director comes up with what will become the "Star Musketeer Bismarck music menu", and a rough appraisal starts being considered, starting from M1 (numbers of compositions are used instead of song titles). To cite an example from the record: "Infiltration - The Giant Enemy Mecha Factory" is the combination of M25 and M22. The M25 one holds sharp tension giving the feeling of suspense. Whereas M22 is the Deathcula robot factory. The tune sounded mechanical, evoking inorganic factory work - we got an idea to try to use the MC-4 (Music Micro Computer) for the composed tunes.
And so as we listen to opinions of all sides of the staff, observe the storyboards, once we finish the last M[number], we finish the day with scheduling the days for the recording, the studio time and the scheduling of musicians.
 
Then starting the following day...I spend days and nights filling the notes on the music paper. On the evening before the recording, I rewrite every part all over again from the score given to me by the music copier. In this case we organized the days into 24 channel multi recording - rhythm section, strings, brass, woodwind, synth, with every workday being 5-6 hours each.
Let me give you a glimpse of the actual work of music recording using the aforementioned "Infiltration - The Giant Enemy Mecha Factory".
 
In order for M25 to continue the tension, the heightened mood was supported by the monosyllable tone of the strings and synth and accentuated by finely honed hi-hat. Also to make suspenseful tone really stand out I used the minor third and then switched to minor major seventh chord with piano and electric guitar.
 
M22 was supposed to convey an inhuman sound, so I fed the data to MC-4 and I let the computer perform the music, with the exception of the string melody by the development section. I think we did at least 5 or 6 dubbings for this tune. Also I put the finishing touches on the tune by adding stuff like brass and included some strings and flute.
Then the mixdown is done.
 
In this case we did one for TV and one for the soundtrack in one day each.
 
While this music is used for the scenes it was originally designated to, of course, it is also used for other scenes where it seems to synergize well with the art. The fact that there were surprisingly times when the scenes worked out unexpectedly well, makes this another fun part of combining music and visuals.

Animage 1978 - Galaxy Express 999 Interview with Nozomi Aoki

 

The December 1978 issue of Animage features some coverage on the Galaxy Express 999 TV anime, and even happens to include some comments from composer Nozomi Aoki himself (plus a pic of the guy when he was young—not something you see quite often!).

I commissioned Windii once again to help get these comments translated as I was curious myself to see what they talked about. These were finished & posted in June 2022 but I am re-posting here (as usual) for easier accessibility. Translation can be found below.
Many thanks to Mitchell (@RoarkVegeta on Twitter) for the scans!

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—How do you evoke imagery when you compose?! Aoki: I create the atmosphere by reading the collected volumes and looking at the design materials. —What did you emphasize this time? Aoki: The romantic aspect. However, even though it is romantic, I tried to arrange it rhythmically in a modern style. But since it is not an action piece, I used a lot of stringed instruments to give it a softness. —Did you plan from the start to create something different from conventional children's animation? Aoki: Not necessarily, but when I tried to make the most of Mr. Matsumoto's illustrations in composing the music, the result was naturally different from conventional anime BGM. —Give us one final word. Aoki: You can enjoy this work for the music alone. Please listen!

Joe Cool — Party Animals (1984): Liner Notes (from Tetsuo Sakurai) + Band Member Biographies

 

Back in July of this year I posted my vinyl rip of an 80s Japanese fusion album by the band "Joe Cool", titled Party Animals—included in the liner notes are biographies of the musicians and an introduction written by Casiopea member Tetsuo Sakurai.

I provided a DL link to an English translation of these notes (TL'ed by Windii) but I will be reposting on this blog for easier accessibility.

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I recently went to New York to record with Casiopia. When I had finished recording and mixing, I decided to give Will Lee a call. I was a big fan of his when he came to Japan with The 24th Street Band 4 or 5 years ago, and since we've been introduced I had talked with him at Sadao Watanabe's concert parties and so on, so I decided to call him when I went to New York.

Several times I heard a grumpy female voice reply that he was away, but he left a message at the hotel and I succeeded in contacting him. In a "heeey, man" kind of tone, he was all like "When did you come to New York? I had no idea. Heard you're here to record. I guess that's done now. You should have called me earlier. By the way, what are you doing tomorrow? You want to go scuba diving with me?" but unfortunately it was not convenient for me, so I asked him back with "Do you have any shows scheduled the day after tomorrow and after that? I'd love to go hear you live!" and he said "Unfortunately, I'm going on tour with a new band the day after tomorrow and won't be back in New York for about 10 days. How about after that? Oh, what, you're leaving already? I'll see you next time, then." so we didn't see each other after all. Now that I remember, it seems that the touring band at that time was JOE COOL. He is now a regular band member of a very popular TV show in New York, and I have seen the show several times and enjoyed it very much, but it was unfortunate that once the band started playing, it was commercial time.

The other three members are all well-known studio musicians whose names can be found on many records and who have done many sessions together, and listening to their debut album as a permanent group called JOE COOL, I am looking forward to hearing what kind of work they will develop in the future.

Tetsuo Sakurai (Casiopia)

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Will Lee, Rob Mounsey, Jeff Mironov, and Chris Parker—these four super musicians have been playing together for some years, mainly at famous jazz clubs such as Michaels in New York City, as a venue to express their unique and fascinating works and musical creations. In early 1982, they jokingly named themselves JOE COOL and began to work together in earnest as a permanent group.

What is JOE COOL?

"We're a group of musicians who play music that we really want to express, so that the audience can enjoy it. We want to surprise you with our sound." -Rob Mounsey

"We want to entertain and inspire the audience. We want them to leave a little happier and with a smile on their face than when they came." -Will Lee

"It's the fulfillment of our desire to play music that we really want to play, new music that moves and inspires." -Chris Parker

"It's a place to create music that stimulates and communicates the imagination." -Jeff Mironov

New York's novel sound...JOE COOL is sure to convey the sound of New York City as it continues to be born today.

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Will Lee

Born in 1952 in Texas to a musical family, he was introduced to music at the age of three. He was captivated by the exciting music his parents listened to. He later learned that it was by Miles Davis. It wasn't until middle school, when he started playing the French horn, that he really immersed himself in music. The impact of hearing the Beatles, however, led him to the drums, and by the age of 12 he had formed a surf band. The fact that there was no bassist in the band he joined later became an important encounter for Will with the bass.

When he entered the University of Miami to major in music, he initially chose French horn, but naturally changed his major to bass since he was playing it night after night in live sessions. While still in college, Will received a call from Randy Brecker asking him to play in "Dreams" and moved to New York City, where he toured with a wide range of artists, starting with "Dreams" (Michael and Randy Brecker, Bob Mann, Barry Rogers, Eddie Vernon, Billy Cobham, Will). Around the same time, he also began working as a studio musician, and as you know, he has been involved in countless albums. He was also a key support member of Sadao Watanabe's summer tour last year and this year.

He cites Larry Graham, Chuck Rainey, Ray Brown, Marcus Miller, Abe Laboriel, Jaco Pastorius, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, and Kenny Karen among his musical influences.

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Rob Mounsey

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington in 1952, he later moved to Ohio. Although he was a Beethoven-loving kid, he really started studying music at the age of 9. At the age of 11, he began composing symphonies, and his dream at that time was to become a conductor of a great orchestra. In 1970, Rob won the BMI's 18-nation World Student Composition Award for his symphony, and then went on to study at Berklee College of Music. In 1976, he was invited by Leon Pendarvis to come to New York City. At the same time he began working on a number of albums. For example, Steely Dan's "Gaucho," Donald Fagen's "Night Fly," Simon & Garfunkel, Spyro Gyra, Diana Ross, and many others. In 1983, he produced Michael Franks's "Passion Fruit" for the first time.

Rob is interested in psychology, folk music (especially from India and South America), and computer music as influences in conceiving and composing music. Among the artists who have had some influence on him are Bill Evans, Richard Tee, Don Grolnick, Leon Pendarvis, Dave Grusin, Gil Evans, Beethoven, Stevie Wonder, Rimsky-Korsakov, The Beatles, LaBelle, Italo Calvino, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, among others.

Rob is also on this year's Sadao Watanabe tour with Will Lee.

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Jeff Mironov

A native of New Jersey, he picked up his first guitar at the age of 9. In high school, he played in dance bands and big bands, gaining experience as a guitarist. It was a studio job in New York City when he was 16 years old that turned him into a full-fledged professional. Jeff's playing is heavily influenced by Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and Jim Hall. He has played on many sessions with, for example, Brecker Brothers' "Detente," Dave Grusin's "Mountain Dance," Dave Valentin, David Sanborn, Steely Dan, Watanabe Sadao, Michael Franks, and many others. He is also in the process of composing a score for a guitar arrangement of a piece by pianist Bill Evans.

Jeff has been searching for the perfect environment in which to play, and he has found it right here in JOE COOL. He will continue to create more and more ambitious works in this environment.

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Chris Parker

Born in Chicago in 1950, he was already tinkering with his father's drum set at the age of three. His father played soprano saxophone, clarinet, and drums, making for a perfect musical environment. All four of Chris' brothers are still in various well-known bands today.

He played trumpet from elementary through high school. At that time, he played with Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington (who was a major influence on Chris' choice to become a drummer), Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and his favorite drummers, Stevie Wonder, are his influences. His first professional session was at the age of 12, playing in a cocktail lounge, but he later gained experience playing in jazz combos, R&B, and soul bands. After moving to Woodstock, he became an original member of Paul Butterfield's group and the Brecker Brothers Band in his late seventeen years. Since then, he has played with Joe Cocker and Stuff, and has recorded and toured with many other artists.