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

 

A continuation of liner notes that were included in a 90s LD box set that was released for Sunrise's Heavy Metal L-Gaim.

Whereas the last post focused on Kei Wakakusa, this focuses on MIO—the singer for the 1st OP & ED. LD scans were taken from Erik's site (of PPP) and English translation was provided by Windii (again).

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Xabungle, Dunbine, and L-Gaim. One unforgettable element of Tomino's works is MIO's vocals. How did she first encounter anime songs, which she continues to sing to this day with the support of her fans?

MIO: Born October 3, 1956 in Tottori Prefecture. She has sung theme songs and insert songs for a series of Tomino's anime such as Combat Mecha Xabungle, Aura Battler Dunbine, Heavy Metal L-Gaim, etc. The theme song for L-Gaim ("L-Gaim ~Time for L-GAIM~") reached the 16th highest position on the Oricon Chart. Recently, she sang the theme song for Mobile Suit Gundam 0083, and her singing can be heard on the 4th Super Robot Wars S CD. In July 1996, she is scheduled to perform a live concert focusing on anime songs.

A little coincidence led me to start singing anime songs.

My first song for animation was an insert song for Xabungle directed by Tomino. After that, I sang the theme song for Dunbine, which led to L-Gaim.

I started singing when I moved to Tokyo for college, and at first I sang part-time. At that time, I sang anything and everything, and through doing so, I realized that I liked 16-beat African-American music. Then I joined a soul band and started singing at US military camps and music venues, and at the time of Xabungle, the director wanted a singer who did not sing for anime all that much to sing, so I, who used to sing at discos, was given the opportunity out of many candidates. So, they gave me the chance to listen to the song, and it was a great song. I was very eager to give it a shot (laughs)! So I was able to enjoy singing it very much.

The lyrics that Director Tomino writes have very deep meanings, as does "Starlight Shower", which was the ending of L-Gaim. I am not very familiar with anime, but I think those lyrics are unique. It's simple, but I think it's something novel that transcends the boundaries of new and old. The lyrics make me sad, even though they don't say anything specific. So rather than trying to sing it well, I sang it with a simple mind. Of course, he has written a lot of lyrics, but I think he has a lot of words that you can't find in a professional lyricist. In fact, he wrote lyrics for two songs on my album, which are very much in Tomino's world (laughs).

For the opening song, L-Gaim, Mr. Kyouhei Tsutsumi came to the studio to record it. The recording went smoothly and without much difficulty, since the song was very groovy. I remember Mr. Tsutsumi praised the high pitched scream (laughs) of "L-Gaim!" at the end of the song (laughs).

I would like to continue singing anime songs.

When I decided to release my solo album, I recorded English versions of Dunbine and L-Gaim as well. I made them on the spur of the moment, but it was almost like I was in my element (laughs). I like the groove of English. The year before last and last year, I was invited to an event called "Anime East" on the East Coast of the United States, where I sang the English version of L-Gaim. Of course, the people who came to the event were all foreigners, but they knew the L-Gaim theme song and sang "heavy metal!" and the chorus (laughs).

I watched Dunbine and L-Gaim on TV, but not every time. I still have the impression that L-Gaim was just a cool series. L-Gaim was very fashionable and I liked it. It's nice to see it come back to life like this after so many years. Because of this, I think I have to sing each song with care (laughs). I would like to sing more and more anime songs in the future if I am asked to do so.

(March 1996, at Roppongi music venue SPATS)

"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.

"The Anime" May 1980 - Ideon OP/ED Coverage

 

The third highlight (out of several) focusing on the music of Space Runaway Ideon that had been included in several spotlight pages for the show in several magazines. Whereas the previous highlights were from Animage, this one is from "The Anime" instead.

This one is very brief but it once again focuses on the OP/ED. As usual, English translation below (to be exact, this is for the text in the red & green bars in the middle of the page). Magazine scans were provided by Mitchell (@RoarkVegeta on Twitter), and the interview was translated by Windii.

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The theme songs for Space Runaway Ideon has just been recorded.

The two theme songs are "Ideon's Resurrection" (sung by Isao Taira) and "In the Cosmos with You" (sung by Keiko Toda, chorus by Time Five). Both songs are composed by Koichi Sugiyama and the lyrics are written by Yoshiyuki Tomino.

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At first I didn't think there was any significance to this highlight in particular, until I read through it again and noticed a small detail that had previously slipped by me: Time Five's involvement in this! They were a male chorus group active throughout the 70s & 80s—in regards to anime they provided the background choral vocals for the Kojika Monogatari OP and the Space Cobra TV ED, though it was uncredited. 
For the longest time I had always wondered if Time Five were involved in the Ideon TV ED as well—this magazine pretty much confirms it, as they also went uncredited in the OSTs themselves!

Animage May 1980 - Ideon OP/ED Interviews with Koichi Sugiyama + Keiko Toda + Isao Taira

 

This is the second highlight (out of several) focusing on the music of Space Runaway Ideon that had been included in several spotlight pages for the show in a few magazine issues. This one in particular came out in Animage's May 1980 issue, the same month the show started airing. (In hindsight, I probably should have posted this one first before the June 1980 issue, but oh well)

Below is an English translation of the above text. Magazine scans were provided by Mitchell (@RoarkVegeta on Twitter), and the interview was translated by Windii once again. Many thanks!

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Recording is complete!

On March 7, recording of the theme song "Ideon's Resurrection" and the sub-theme song "In the Cosmos with You" was held at King Records. Both songs were written by Yoshiyuki Tomino and composed by veteran composer, Koichi Sugiyama. The sub-theme song is especially beautiful, so stay tuned!

Recording of the theme songs

Koichi Sugiyama:
I was blessed with great singers for this series. They are both very good. I discussed with the staff the possibility of creating a song that could be appreciated by adults, and "In the Cosmos with You" is a very mature song. It's beautiful. I wouldn't be ashamed to submit it to a music festival.

Isao Taira:
"Ideon's Resurrection" is a difficult song with a complex melody. It has been a while since I sang a difficult song. Usually, I sing songs for children, such as "With My Mother." From April, I will also sing a cheering song for the Hanshin Tigers.

Keiko Toda:
"In the Cosmos with You" is a great song, isn't it? I was so glad that someone else didn't sing it for me. If you read the lyrics carefully, they are sad. But it is made in a cheerful way. I love the fact that the sad lyrics are not placed over a sad melody.

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Note to self: absolutely hilarious that Keiko Toda refers to the ED's melody as a cheerful one, it does NOT sound like that at all lmao

Animage June 1980 - Ideon BGM Interview with Koichi Sugiyama

 

The June 1980 issue of Animage features a spotlight on Sunrise's Space Runaway Ideon anime, which had only just begun airing on TV a couple months prior. Included in this spotlight is an interview done with the show's composer—Koichi Sugiyama—where he talks about the BGM he composed for the anime.

Below is an English translation of the interview. Magazine scans were provided by Mitchell (@RoarkVegeta on Twitter), and the interview was translated by Windii. Many thanks!

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What's the BGM?!
Music: Koichi Sugiyama

Anime BGM is a genre that fans pay particular attention to. What are the musical tendencies of Ideon's background music?

Sugiyama:
Animation music, especially background music for science fiction, is often thought of as using a lot of electronic technology. For Ideon, I tried to make use of live sound rather than synthesizers and other artificial sounds. In other words, we used the sound of an orchestra as it is.
This time, I created 10 movements of background music. Each of them is composed of several pieces. I wanted to create pieces of music with the scale of Ideon. I tried to depict the cosmic expanse and the people who live within it. This BGM will soon be released as a King Records LP, and I hope everyone will listen to it. I am very proud of it, after all!

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That about wraps it up. Short, I know...to be honest, his response here isn't any different than what he had written later in the liner notes for the Kojika Monogatari OST (he had also written on there that he wished to use live sounds rather than synthesizers).

This is the first (out of several) translated interviews I'll be posting, BTW. Keep an eye out for the other ones!

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…