Yoko Kanno

Yoko Kanno
is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, video games, television dramas and movies. She has written scores for Cowboy Bebop, Terror in Resonance, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain and Darker than Black. Kanno is also a keyboardist and the frontwoman for Seatbelts, who perform many of her compositions.
Biography
Early life
Yoko Kanno was born on March 18, 1963, in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Her earliest experiences with music came from attending church with her parents. She studied keyboard from a young age on both the piano in her home and the organ at her kindergarten. In elementary school, she began participating in composition contests, but in high school, Kanno began to take more of an interest in literature than in music.
Kanno attended Waseda University, where she majored in literature, but she transcribed music for various student groups at Waseda in her free time. During this time, Kanno—whose parents had only allowed her to listen to classical music—was introduced to rhythm by a friend who played drums in a school band. She spoke of this experience in an interview with Akihiro Tomita:
While with this band, she studied the composition and style of popular music.
While at Waseda, the Japanese video game company Koei asked Kanno to compose the soundtrack to Nobunaga's Ambition. The game turned out to be a hit, and Kanno's music career was launched.
Professional life
Yoko Kanno's soundtrack themes include "Kiseki no Umi" (Lodoss War), "Voices" (Macross Plus), "Tank!" (Cowboy Bebop), "Yakusoku wa Iranai" (Escaflowne), "Gravity" (Wolf's Rain), "Inner Universe" (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) and Stand Alone Complex O.S.T. In regards to making the Stand Alone Complex soundtrack, she said:
Having composed in various genres, including blues, classical, jazz, techno and J-pop, she was once asked if she favored a particular genre:
Since she works in the animation industry, she only receives instructions and storyboards from directors which helps her with composing. However, it is uncertain if all of her works are to be included in the finished project. She once said that this is a way she likes to work, for she does not have to deal with rules during composing. In reference to this, she once stated:
She was the lead member of the project band Seatbelts, which regrouped in 2004 to compose the soundtrack for the PlayStation 2 Cowboy Bebop video game (released in Japan in 2005).
She has composed for Koei games released during the late 1980s to early 1990s and for Napple Tale, a Dreamcast game. Due to her close involvement in the Cowboy Bebop anime, the game released by Bandai also features her work.
Apart from anime and games, Kanno also composes for live-action films and television commercials. Some popular brands she has composed for are Canon, DoCoMo, Fuji Xerox, 7-Eleven, Microsoft, Nissan, Toyota, Shiseido, Avon and MasterCard to name a few. Her contributions to films started in the 1990s but only since 2002 has there been a trend towards the medium, with some of the latter being shown in international film festivals.
She attended Otakon and Anime Expo in 1999, as well as Anime Expo New York in 2002. In 2010, she made a surprise appearance at Anime Expo. Yoko Kanno performed her solo PianoMe concert at Otakon 2013.
She composed a three-movement suite, entitled "Ray of Water," for the ascension of Emperor Naruhito. It was performed for him and Empress Masako at the enthronement celebration on November 9, 2019. Yoshikazu Okada wrote the lyrics for the vocal portion, which was performed at the celebration by the idol group, Arashi.
Connection to Gabriela Robin
On many of Kanno's tracks, a woman named "Gabriela Robin" was credited as a lyricist and vocalist, but whenever these songs were performed in concert, either Maaya Sakamoto or Origa would perform them instead. In a 2009 written interview, Robin proclaimed that she would perform for the first time live at Kanno's 2009 Tanabata Sonic concert. However, at the end of the concert - which featured Kanno directing the Warsaw Philharmonic - Kanno turned to the audience and sang "Moon", a song previously attributed to Robin from the Turn A Gundam soundtrack, revealing that "Gabriela Robin" was simply a pseudonym Kanno used to write songs mixing English and Japanese freely. In a later interview, Kanno said she picked the name because the first orchestral recording she had heard was the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and at the time Yitzhak Rabin served as Israel's Prime Minister.
Personal life
In addition to Japanese, she speaks a little English and some French, but claims that her English is "poor" and she needs translation help to converse in French. In regards to spirituality and religion, she said:
Besides music, Kanno also enjoys photography and writing. She has written a number of journals for Newtype magazine, of which photos for illustrations are done by Kanno herself, and a selection of photos taken by Kanno of her protégé (and former production partner) Maaya Sakamoto were featured in the special event program for Sakamoto's 2010 thirtieth birthday concert at Nippon Budokan.
In 2011, Kanno expressed her support and wishes to the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, composing a song titled . Later, she composed NHK's official support song on the occasion of the first anniversary of the earthquake entitled , including lyrics by Sendai film director Shunji Iwai. The song features notable natives from the affected areas of Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate.
Discography
Studio albums
Other involvements
Works
Anime
Video games
Television dramas
Movies
Publicly commissioned works
Commercial music
Companies that have commissioned Kanno for commercial music include:
AEON
AGF Maxim
Ajinomoto
Asahi Glass Co.
Avon
Cafe Noevir
Citizen Watch Co.
Canon
Cosmo Oil
Daikin
Daio Paper
Daiwa House
FamilyMart
Fancl
Fuji Xerox
Fujitsu
Google
Glico
Gravity
Half Century More
Haus Ten Bausch
Hisamitsu
Hitachi
House
IBM
Japan Medical Association
Japan Railways
Japan Telecom
J-Phone
Kanebo
KDDI
Kirin Beverage
Kincho
Kubota
MasterCard International
Meiji
Microsoft
Mister Donut
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Mitsui Home
Morinaga
Nagatanien
National Ionity Nanocare
Nikon
Nintendo
Nissan
NTT DoCoMo
Ono Pharmaceutical
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.
Pioneer
Platinum Guild International
Pola
Seiko Epson
Sekisui House
Seven Eleven
Sharp
Shimura
Shiseido
Sony
Suntory
Taiyo Life Insurance
Takano Yori Beauty Clinic
Tepco
Tirol Choco
Tokyo Gas
Tokyo Metro
Tombow Pencil
Toyota
Try Group
UFJ Bank
Vodafone
Yukiguni Maitake
Hired vocalists
Artists who have performed at least one of Kanno's vocal tracks:
Aceilux
Afra
Aimer
Aki Okui
AKINO
Akino Arai
Anna Tsuchiya
Aoi Teshima
Arnór Dan
Artur Stefanowicz
Ben del Maestro
Carla Vallet
Chinatsu Yamamoto
Chiyono Yoshino
Chris Mosdell
Cosmic Voices from Bulgaria
Crystal Kay
Donna Burke
Egil Olsen
Emily Bindiger
Emily Curtis
Etsuko Yakushimaru
Feather and Down
Franco Sansalone
Hajime Chitose
Hanna Berglind
Hassan Bohmide
Heartsdales
Hitomi Mieno
Ilaria Graziano
Jadwiga Rappe'
James Wendt
Joyce
Kaoru Nishino
Kei Kobayashi
Kyoko Endo
Kyoko Katsunuma
Kyōko Koizumi
Makino Yui
Mari Iijima
Maryanne Murray
May'n
Maaya Sakamoto
Mai Yamane
Masaaki Endoh
Masayoshi Furukawa
Megumi Nakajima
Mem Nahadr
Miki Imai
Motohiro Hata
Origa
Pierre Bensusan
POP ETC
Raiché Coutev Sisters
Raj Ramayya
Reynada Hill
Ryo Nagano
Scott Matthew
Seika Iwashita
Shanti Snyder
Soichiro Otsuka
Steve Conte
Sydney Thiam
Tim Jensen
Tokiko Kato
Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch
WISE
Wuyontana
YOSHIKA
YUKI
Yuho Iwasato
Yuuki Ozaki
References
External links
Yoko Kanno discography at VGMdb
1963 births
20th-century Japanese composers
20th-century women composers
20th-century women pianists
Anime composers
Bebop composers
Blues musicians
Japanese music arrangers
Japanese television composers
Japanese women film score composers
Japanese women pianists
Japanese women record producers
Living people
Musicians from Miyagi Prefecture
Victor Entertainment artists
Video game composers
Waseda University alumni
Women television composers