"Heavy Metal L-Gaim" LD Box Set - Liner Notes from Kei Wakakusa

 

A LD box set that was released for Sunrise's Heavy Metal L-Gaim in the 90s contains lots of liner notes with interviews of various people that were involved with the show's production—on the music side of things, MIO (1st OP/ED singer) and Kei Wakakusa (BGM composer) have their own spotlights on here!

This post will focus on Kei Wakakusa. LD scans were taken from Erik's site (of PPP) and English translation was provided by Windii.

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Many fans of Heavy Metal L-Gaim would probably cite the charm of the music created by Kei Wakakusa as one of the most appealing aspects of the series. The two-side L-Gaim Odyssey album released at the time of the broadcast also showcases the talent and passion of Mr. Wakakusa. We let him recount his thoughts and feelings at the time.

Kei Wakakusa: Born February 10, 1949 in Yamagata Prefecture. Belongs to Imagine Inc. He is active in a wide range of fields including musical arrangements, TV dramas, animation, and films. His major works include anime and tokusatsu like "Six God Combination God Mars", "My Daddy-Long-Legs", "Moldiver", and "Blue SWAT", TV dramas like "The Hangman" series and "The Art of Loving", arrangements for songs like "Kamome Wa Kamome" (Singer: Naoko Ken, winner of Japan Record Award Gold Prize), "Aisarete Serenade" (Singer: Yang Soo Kyung, winner of Japan Record Award for Best Arranger), etc.

As with the visuals, we aimed for something new in the music as well.

This is my second work of music for an animation, following God Mars, which I was very absorbed in, and I think that with L-Gaim I was able to sublimate that in a way. Of course I have my regrets, but I put a lot of effort into it, and I think the fusion of music and animation worked out rather well in this series. Director Tomino had already had success with Gundam, and this is a follow-up to that. When I met him, I felt his enthusiasm for L-Gaim. I was impressed by what Director Tomino said: "Animation is performed by pictures, not people, so it lives or dies depending on the music."

I heard that many young artists were used for this work, and I was also inspired by Mr. Tomino's willingness and attempt to create something new. At the time, John Williams's soundtracks were already highly acclaimed, and the era was one in which a full orchestra was the norm for background music. I tried to create something different, so I devised a lot of different ideas. L-Gaim had the impression of "heavy metal" in its title, and I tried to create pieces that made extensive use of step recording. At the time, we only had a 24-channel multi-recorder, and that wasn't enough at all (laughs). So we linked two recorders together to make 48 channels, and we did a lot of other things to make it work. It was a very rewarding job. I made an album called L-Gaim Odyssey as well as a soundtrack album of the series, and it was an album that reflected my inner self. It is the lore of L-Gaim that was created by feeding back the world created by Mr. Tomino deeply into my mind. It is an album in which I put out what I felt in my heart. I used melodies from the soundtrack, but I took that as my theme and developed it freely according to the story I had in mind. At the time, albums like that sold quite well (laughs). I was also able to make various interesting attempts, such as featuring the sounds of insects and drums. Odyssey is still the job I feel most attached to.

In the days of L-Gaim, music was valued and rewarding.

Originally, I wanted to do film music, and that's how I got into this field. I think that film music can express the feelings behind the story, or in other words, what is written between the lines of a text. I like grandiose music, but I am interested in expressing the inner life of human beings through music. Film music allows me to pursue this. However, there are so many jobs that are X years in conception, X years in production, and X weeks in music. There is no way that something created in a few weeks can compete with something that took years of work by the filmmakers. In that sense, the status of music in animation is higher than in Japanese live-action films, and it is more rewarding because budgets are available. Budget is very important for music. It determines what kind of musicians you can use and how many musicians you can use in a group. At the time of L-Gaim, music was valued even more than it is now, and it was a particularly rewarding job. The luxury of those days made for a favorable environment, and it was a great learning experience for me as well.
(At Mr. Wakakusa's home in March 1996)

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A note: L-Gaim Odyssey refers to two albums by Kei Wakakusa based off Heavy Metal L-Gaim, containing image music centered around the world of L-Gaim, as well as alternate arrangements of BGM used in the show.

Rokushin Gattai God Mars - Liner Notes from BGM Collection Vol. 1, by Sei Toujoubeppu & Kei Wakakusa (Part 2)

 

This is a continuation of an English-translated version of liner notes that were included in God Mars' first BGM collection. Whereas the first part discussed comments left by Mr. Toujoubeppu—the music selector for the show—this part will cover the comments left by composer Kei Wakakusa.

Translated by "Yume".

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"This was the first anime I worked on: Rokushin Gattai God Mars"

Composer: Kei Wakakusa

"Rokushin Gattai God Mars" was the first anime I worked on. That's why I approached it with a great deal of enthusiasm. However, looking back at this project I realize I was driven by the desire to get it done properly, and so ended up rushing things. Because of the constrained schedule, I was really worried if I had enough time to finish everything I wanted. To compose so many tunes, I needed a whole month at the very minimum—but asking for this would have been outright selfish of me...
Having said that, I am really grateful to Mr. Toujoubeppu for the guidance he provided to all the staff members. I believe there were many things I couldn't have done without his assistance.

Either way, this was the first time I wrote a score for an anime. I had to write the tunes while imagining the corresponding scenes. This job was really fun, but also really complicated. "What if I am not skilled enough to, so to say, turn the visuals into music properly?" Such a thought kept weighing on me. For example, my tunes had to evoke the images of Emperor Zel and Planet Gishin, as well as the different types of evil and justice...
I held long conversations with Mr. Toujoubeppu, and then had to find the correct approach by trial and error. Now I'd like to describe some of the troubles I faced.

I have used two drums while arranging the show's theme song, and its tempo was unusually fast. Even the best studio musicians struggled to play it. Also, when I was writing the intro, I struggled to convey the sense of awe which God Mars, a 50-meter high robot, would strike into the onlookers. I believe I did my best to write the soundtrack for this show. Mr. Mizushima's singing was really good. Also, I am really thankful to Mr. Toujoubeppu for using my songs this effectively.

Speaking in general, this job had both extremely fun and extremely difficult moments. I felt considerable time pressure working on it. If I had a chance to redo this, I'd need some more time to further improve and refine my work. 

I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Mr. Toujoubeppu in particular, but also to all the people whom I worked with, and all those who supported me. I am thankful to all the staff members.

Rokushin Gattai God Mars - Liner Notes from BGM Collection Vol. 1, by Sei Toujoubeppu & Kei Wakakusa (Part 1)

 

The liner notes inside the gatefold pages of God Mars' first BGM collection release (K22G-7068) contain some comments left behind by Sei Toujoubeppu, the show's music selector, and Kei Wakakusa, the show's music composer. I decided to scan said comments back when I used to own a copy of this release and passed it off to someone else for translating.

An English translation of these comments (courtesy of "Yume") can be found below :)
This post will cover the comments written by Mr. Toujoubeppu.

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"The challenges we faced while producing BGM for "Rokushin Gattai God Mars"

Music Editor: Sei Toujoubeppu

Kei Wakakusa was in charge of the music production for "Rokushin Gattai God Mars", and this is how we got to know each other. This was the first time Mr. Wakakusa had to work on an anime, which forced us to hold staff meetings over and over again.

For example, we wanted a soundtrack piece titled "Planet Gishin" to convey the idea of evil spreading through the universe, and it was really difficult for us to get such a vague idea across. We'd like you listen to the results of our hard work, and to compare the images evoked by both parts of this song. Another point of concern was the need to properly convey the image of Zel, the villain who lives on said planet. In a sense, Mr. Wakakusa could have been opposed to the very idea of such a villain residing somewhere in space. The melody he composed to be used as the villain's theme was so beautiful, it wasn't easy to properly incorporate it into the series. I believe each and every of the songs composed by Mr. Wakakusa reflects his own personality, the kindness and warmth of his heart.

The show's theme song is called "The King of Space! God Mars". When we listened to its demo tape for the first time, we thought it was impressive far beyond our wildest expectations. We also thought it has been arranged in a wonderfully professional manner. Before I met Mr. Wakakusa, somebody told me he is a real workaholic. I didn't realize the sheer extent of that until we started to work together.

Now, let me shed some light on the way we picked specific tunes to use. First, the dialogue was recorded and synchronized with the footage in a process called "timing". That's how a rush print was made. Then we watched said rush print and decided where to insert the music, aiming to achieve the most dramatic effect. Afterwards we took the footage with the voices we have previously recorded, and selected one from over a hundred BGM pieces to be added to each given scene. Naturally, we kept each of the BGM pieces in mind while doing so. The hardest part here was matching the BGM to the timing of each scene, so we felt truly indescribable joy when we got the timing just right.

Our field of work may seem really fun from a layman's point of view, but in fact it is really complicated. I believe only those who call editing their passion would be able to get things done. I could go as far as to say even the most ardent music appreciators may find this line of work too hard for them. So to say, on many occasions outstanding music painstakingly created by the composers becomes nothing more than background music after it passes through my hands…

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.