Yuki Kajiura LIVE vol.10"Kaji Fes."

Re:

george1234 said:
imo she can still do this for 10 more years, unless she has gathered so much money that she can live the rest of her life without, which is unlikely considering her popularity rate.

I dont think she is doing it for money solely. She truly loves it, thats why her music is so special and full of emotions! But yeah, she could do it for some longer time yet, it depends on when she starts to feel that its enough..

george1234 said:
I hope she can soon do a World Tour :nosebleed:
Seconded! :hero:


A very pretty interview :dote:
Kajiura-sama, we love you! :bow:
 
^ I didnt said she does it soleyly for money, but we do know its her only occupation, from which she earns her living expanses. Unless she has some money stored or some kind of appartments she's hiring to people, it would be difficult for her to stop so soon. I know she really loves to create music, and its clear that 95% of it has come from the heart.
 
^ yeah, I know, I didnt mean it to sound offensive, sorry. I wanted to say even if she has enough money for the rest of her life, she truly does love music so she will continue doing it regardless to that.
 
I don't think this interview is cause for concern. It sounds like Yuki meant it as a general statement, that like every job, it has its tough moments, when you want to quit--not that she's considering retiring.
 
I opened my copy of the vol #10 pamphlet. It has the usual stuff in it: foreword from Kajiura, new pictures like the ones on the bookmarks, interviews with all 21 performers, interviews with some of the producers that Kajiura has worked with, pictures of vol 1-9 (one page each), Kajiura’s entire discography in chronological order (singles, albums, DVD/BDs, sound tracks, sound tracks bundled with DVD/BD), list of songs she provided for other singers in chronological order (be it for lyrics, composition or both), movie music, TV series music, game music, musicals, list of all lives performed so far (date, artist, location, name of the live) and the set list for all YK 1-9 lives, inclusive of MCs.

The interviews with the 21 performers, aside from FBMs, were Q&A styled. FBMs and the producers’ interviews were essay styled. Guest performers’ were the shortest, with the same questions for all. Most of them talked about how/where they met Kajiura. Some producers spoke of how it was like to work with her. I haven’t read everything yet, but reading Watanabe Kei’s (NHK’s Historia) interview, I realized that he … he’s really just a fan. Lol.

I’ve always been curious about what the Anime/TV staff think about working with Kajiura so here’s a summary/translation for all of you. I switched from first to third person, and took only the necessary (read: conveniently easy to translate) parts for Watanabe Kei's interview. I’ve got most of the stuff here though. I then moved back to a full translation for Iwakami's interview in first person. Sorry 'bout the switch but I'm too lazy to redo Watanabe's interview. Word for word translation is tiring... Capturing the nuance of what was said is tiring... (pet peeve of mine, but it's not like I can capture what was originally said THAT well either. URGH)

Summary of Watanabe Kei’s interview, producer from NHK (Rekishi Hiwa Historia)
He first met Kajiura’s music through “Kimi wa boku ni niteiru” via his wife who watched Gundam and started buying FJ YUUKA’s releases after watching Intrigue in the Bakumatsu – Irohanihoheto. Soundtrack wise, he started with Tsubasa Chronicle’s OST via FJ KEIKO’s “Kaze no machi he” and fell in love with .hack//SIGN’s “in the land of twilight, under the moon” as well. For shows like Rekishi Hiwa Historia (Historia), usually the music would be chosen from existing tracks across different composers. He, however, wanted to do it the way movies and Anime does it as he believes the music will shape the feel of the show, and wanted world-view consistency by using only one composer. He was told that it was impossible to leave it to a single composer, since at least 200 songs will be needed. He then thought of Kajiura, that it would be possible if they used Kajiura’s existing songs as well. Since it was a new program, and nothing concrete had been laid out, rather than have Kajiura apply her music to match the show, he was ready to adjust the show to match Kajiura.

Shortly after it was decided that Kajiura would handle the music on Historia, YK Live #3 was held in Yokohama Blitz. At the time, he was in Osaka but he decided that he wanted to attend anyway (“I simply must attend!”), bought tickets and went all the way to Yokohama Blitz. He sent a flower stand, signing off as the staff on NHK’s history program since the program had yet to be officially announced. He heard some of the younger fans, who probably do not watch shows about history, that saw the flower stand go “huh, what’s this?” The program’s sound track was well received. When Kalafina sang for the show, it received even more attention. So much that if you were to do a search for Historia, Kajiura and Kalafina would turn up as suggestions. He was happy that he was able to introduce Kajiura’s music to history lovers watching the show, and to introduce shows about history to Kajiura’s fans.

Translation of Iwakami Atsuhiro’s interview, producer from Aniplex (KnK, Madoka, F/Z, SAO)
Iwakami: Upon reading the original novels for Kara no Kyoukai (KnK), I thought "The music for this series can only be done by Kajiura-san!" Of course, amongst the staff, there were other candidates but looking at the various works like our own Petit Cossette and works by other companies, we believed that Kajiura-san's music would suit the series best. The reason for that lay in the liner notes for Petit Cossette's soundtrack. Kajiura-san wrote "Petit Cossette is very close/similar to the music (singing) within me". The music I sought for KnK was precisely an extension of Petit Cossette, so I thought that if we could draw the music out from within Kajiura-san, that it would definitely fit the series. When I approached Kajiura for the project, I said "I want the music in Kajiura-san's head".

During our first meet up, Kajiura-san had already read the original novels, and said "I already have it (the music) in my head" (laughs). After that, several rough melodies that were long and almost like a suite were made. They fitted the visuals perfectly. Both the anime staff and the original writer, Nasu Kinoko, had no complaints whatsoever! From the perspective of someone who creates visuals/imagery, it's amazing that Kajiura-san possesses a combination of musical and literary talent. From reading the novel, she is able to understand it well and grasp its world view. She is able to deeply comprehend the parts with regards to "What would be moving?", "How do I go about matching the character's sentiments?" and so, she excels in creating music that matches the visuals well.

I feel that Kajiura-san's literary and interpretative talents were well demonstrated in Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica as well. Since it was an original anime, there was no original work for Kajiura-san to read. Instead, we gave her Urobuchi Gen's script, which she took a liking to. At the time, she said "It was so interesting that I missed my stop on the train" (laughs). We think it's interesting too but, without needing us to explain anything, Kajiura-san is able to understand it properly, and create wonderful music for the series whilst believing that this series would be a masterpiece. And that, is worthy of trust. The ability to comprehend the script properly is something that even some people in the professional world of video/imagery lack. It's a talent in literature or perhaps having a sense for the visuals/imagery, that's what she excels in.

KnK and Madoka Magica allowed Kajiura-san to express the music within herself, but I think it was a little different with Fate/Zero. I was a little anxious and thought "Would we perhaps end up forcing un-Kajiura-like music out of her?" But she was someone whom we could trust in, in terms of understanding/comprehending the visuals, and Kondou (Hikaru)-san was very impressed/charmed by her as well, it might have felt a little like we were being unreasonable in getting her to accept our request.

The music that was produced, however, betrayed our expectations in a good way. During the preview screening of episode 1, Kajiura-san's music was overwhelming in a way that was different from KnK, from the beginning to the end. Episode 1 was one hour long but, an extreme way to put it would be that part of it is like an hour long music video. It might be long in terms of anime, but there were no battles, nor were there any action scenes. It progressed with just the picture, dialogue and music coming together as one but, it made for such an interesting piece of work. It truly left me feeling, "Thank you for your time!"

This year, after a long time, there's the new film for KnK, and there's a entirely new movie for Madoka Magica. Is it because we're compatible with one another? Every piece of work I've teamed up with Kajiura-san for has turned out to be hits, so work just keeps coming, doesn't it? (laughs). From now on (as well), I'd like for Kajiura-san to lend me her strength in various ways, and would like to continue working with her.

Translation of Kondou Hikaru’s Interview, producer from Ufotable (Kara no Kyoukai, Fate/Zero)
Kondou: The first time I met Kajiura-san was probably during a meeting for Kara no Kyoukai (KnK). Prior to the meeting, I think Aniplex sent her a copy of the original novel but I felt it was very professional of her to have finished reading those thick and perplexing novels. Through that meeting, I thought, "We would be able to do it if it's with her". Rough sketches for the songs were submitted right after that, that was really cool as well. There was roughly 8-9 mins worth and it was like progressive rock.

Actually, until then, I had no idea what Kajiura-san was like. But because we (Ufotable) often adopt a unique way of making anime, it was important to make sure that the composer (we choose) can cope with it. In short, it wouldn't end with just submitting each track once. First, a demo would need to be created by matching the song to the visuals. Then it would need to be revised. We would then try and match the visuals to the song. This back and forth exchange would be repeated multiple times, and is a really difficult/taxing way of doing things. Moreover, there's 7 movies in total. When everything was over, I remember Kajiura-san telling me, "It was the most intense/hard work I've done in 10 years" (laughs). In spite of this, for her to do the same for the TV series, Fate/Zero, made me really happy.

It was really helpful that Kajiura-san, aside from working with us, possessed great intuition. She really possesses remarkably good intuition! When we say "We want it done this way", it's amazing how she is able to understand/know what we want. Until now, I think the highest number of takes we went to was 4? In fact, that was just for one song, and we basically only needed 2 takes for most of the songs. It was really a great help that she could immediately understand our intentions.

I think that Kajiura-san is very "shoujo". I feel that in her little gestures, and in the way she talks as well. It feels like that "shoujo" part of her, or the sentimental part is brought out in her music. It can be felt in the songs that roar as well. And yet, Kajiura-san is very professional. There aren't many people who hold those two qualities. Those who hold "shoujo" characteristics are oftentimes difficult to deal with, while those who are professional are clerical. I think that the wonderful thing about Kajiura-san is that she holds both qualities. After all, I think that the reason why Kajiura-san often works with the same people again and again, is because they find it easy to work with her. The same can be said about personality as well, or the quality within a fixed schedule. I think that she is able to strike a good balance in those parts.

For KnK, if Kajiura-san had the amount of popularity she has now back then, then perhaps we wouldn't have been able to say "Please work with this schedule, until the 7th movie", because we made 7 movies in a little over 2 years. Even we probably wouldn't be able to if you were to tell us to do that now. I really think that we've come a long way. We went well over the budget as well... and would have been in quite a bit of trouble if it didn't sell (laugh). Even so, we had no other choice but to do it anyway. Iwakami (Atsuhiro)-san's power was amazing as well; it was a piece of work that everyone worked hard on, with the mindset "we have to proceed, regardless".

Looking at Kajiura-san now, I think she is like the old Phil Spector recording label. The situation that Kajiura-san is in right now, is that she's doing what the Phil Spector label and Ootaki Eiichi from the Niagara label wanted to do. At this rate, if she were to create an enterprise of Uta-hime groups, a lot of musicians would be able to realize the world of their dreams. Be it Phil Spector or Niagara, neither of them were able to create the hits they needed and closed down, but in Kajiura-san's case, she has a core in terms of writing music for movies, TV and anime so it would be easy for her to continue on. However, it would be impossible to do it alone. So, in order to do that, she would need to raise/nurture a disciple but I think it would be wonderful if she could create an entirely new system unlike anything in the past.

We're still making anime so, I hope that we would be able to work together again in the future. Firstly, I'm really glad that we can work together on KnK's Mirai Fukuin. After that as well, to the point where I want to tell her "Let's work (on this) together!" with regards to the other works that we are involved in (laughs). It's not so simple with regards to music but, I really think that it would be nice if we could create a series together again in the future. In this sense, I hope Kajiura-san wouldn't get any much more popular than she is now! (laughs)

FBM Trivia:
-Konno, Sakurada and Oohira refer to Kajiura as Kajiura-san. Meanwhile, the other FBMs, Korenaga, Satou and Jr., who have known her longer, refer to her as Kaji-chan.
-Most of them noted when they first worked with Kajiura. The person who has worked with Kajiura the longest was the drummer, Satou Kyoichi, since before See-Saw’s debut. Korenaga was through "Anna na ni issho datta no ni", Jr. close to 20 years through See-Saw and Konno for a CM from before Noir. The shortest is Kalafina’s pianist, Sakurada, who joined them for Kalafina's Red Moon tour.
-Korenaga and Satou have known each other since their amateur days
 
OMG that so awesome Hatou-chan, thanks a trillion times!! :nosebleed: :nosebleed: :dote: :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy: and the text flows great so I cant see something that was left out, but I dont understand the following metaphor

Looking at Kajiura-san now, I think she is like the old Phil Spector recording label. The situation that Kajiura-san is in right now, is that she's doing what the Phil Spector label and Ootaki Eiichi from the Niagara label wanted to do. At this rate, if she were to create an enterprise of Uta-hime groups, a lot of musicians would be able to realize the world of their dreams. Be it Phil Spector or Niagara, neither of them were able to create the hits they needed and closed down, but in Kajiura-san's case, she has a core in terms of writing music for movies, TV and anime so it would be easy for her to continue on. However, it would be impossible to do it alone. So, in order to do that, she would need to raise/nurture a disciple but I think it would be wonderful if she could create an entirely new system unlike anything in the past.

:@_@:

Oh so they switched producer for RHH ? Maybe that's why Yuki didnt produced 3rd soundtrack for it :ayashii:
 
Whole wide world of technology and there are only a few pictures of Kaji Fes and like one of ACEN.... :uh..:
 
Thanks a lot, Hatouchan.

Kondou Hikaru’s Interview was pretty interesting. I wonder if Kajiura sang the kajiurago for the demo songs.
 
Re:

george1234 said:
I guess most people are keeping them for themselves :uh..:

I wasn't going to take pictures without permission. We were given permission to take photos of the flower displays after the concert, and I have a few pictures of the queues outside.

Emily's interview:

Describe Yuki's sound in one word.

EXCITING!!!

What great things do you feel about Yuki?

Even though we are from different cultures, we communicate through music, and Yuki's music is amazing.

What are your wishes (or hopes) for Yuki from here on?

Ihope that she becomes even MORE known all around the world!

Tell us your future plans. What is up coming for you?

A lot! I will soon be performing in an off-Broadway musical called "Women of a Certain Age" in New York City.

Tell us about your enthusiasm for Yuki live!

I am so honored to be singing Yuki's music in Japan, which is one of my favorite places in the world!
 
@Tokyogirl1996
What kind of photos do you expect to find? Of them on stage? If so, you're not going to find any because photography isn't allowed there. They made no other appearance outside either. There wasn't any meet and greet session. They're not parading overseas. It was a concert in a concert hall that forbade recording of any sort, be it audio or visual. The only photos you will find are those taken and posted by the artists themselves or by media sites that were allowed to take pictures. ACEN, though, I have no clue.

If you're referring to the merchandise, some of them have already been posted.

@george1234
I'm not too sure about Watanabe actually. I remember reading that he's no longer at NHK so I added that "(ex-)". Will confirm once I get back.
Yeah. I might have gotten the NHK producer thing wrong. I think he just moved to a different part of NHK. Not sure if he is still serving as producer on Historia though.

Ah... I'm just gonna try paraphrasing a little here?
Basically Kondou's saying that Kajiura is in a position to do (or was it that she's already doing it with FJ/Kalafina...?) what the labels "Phil Spector" and "Niagara" wanted to do and that she would have an easier time compared to them because of her BGM side (her connections to BGM or her already established base in BGM?). Those two labels needed to make hit songs in order to survive, but couldn't and dissolved. He says that if she were to start an enterprise (a label comapany? a management company? production? I'm not too sure) for uta-himes (songstress. literally song/singing princesses, which is what Kajiura uses when she refers to her girls ah.. sounds wrong. *wink* lol *nosebleed* don't mind me), she could make a lot of musicians' dreams come true, I suppose. Like they wouldn't need to create something mainstream, or to make hits, but to follow whatever artistic choice they want to make.

Off the top of my head, and what I remember is a bit jumbled up, but in the book's interview with Kajiura, she did say that she needed to create pop songs during the start of her career for See-Saw, because that was what appealed to the mainstream. Now, she doesn't need to. I think it's why she likes making anime BGM as well. There's more freedom there. If you were to ask her to make a group like Kalafina years back, during her earlier days, she would have said NO. Can't remember why though. Maybe I'll translate some of the other interviews if they don't look so daunting. Kajiura's interview consisted of questions on her various groups throughout her 20 years. IIRC, FJ is something that she really likes. She indicated that she really wants to make more songs for FJ but is too busy to do so.

But Kondou thinks that something of that scale can't be handled by her alone, so she would need to train/nurture a disciple/pupil. If she does go ahead with such an endeavor, she's gonna create a system unlike anything we've seen before.



Sorry about the awkward, long sentences in some of the translations. Blame it on my lack of experience and choice to work on it, in parts over several (mid)nights.
 
Thank you so much Hatouchan!! :sohappy: And Kuga-san too for sharing the interview! :sohappy:
 
thank you for translating! :bow: and thank you Kuga for typing that up : )
Kaji-chan :dote:
 
Thanks Hatou-chan for the explanation!!

FJ is something that she really likes. She indicated that she really wants to make more songs for FJ but is too busy to do so.

I really hope so! After all its time for their 2nd (or 1st Real) album :dote:
 
Front of the queue:

76517.img.jpg


Rear of the queue:

76518.img.jpg
 
^ I wouldn't exactly call that the front of the queue. That was more like almost mid-point.
 
Re:

Hatouchan said:
@Tokyogirl1996
What kind of photos do you expect to find? Of them on stage? If so, you're not going to find any because photography isn't allowed there. They made no other appearance outside either. There wasn't any meet and greet session. They're not parading overseas. It was a concert in a concert hall that forbade recording of any sort, be it audio or visual. The only photos you will find are those taken and posted by the artists themselves or by media sites that were allowed to take pictures. ACEN, though, I have no clue.

No pictures were allowed at ACen either. Though I did see some on facebook, apparently he or she did not get caught and taken out of the hall.

Kugayama said:
Front of the queue:

76517.img.jpg

I was near the door to the right there. :XD:
 

Attachments

  • 76517.img.jpg
    76517.img.jpg
    150.2 KB · Views: 283
Back
Top