RocketBaby:
When and why did you start working for From Software?
Kota
Hoshino: I've been working
for From Software since spring of 1998 because I thought my
music and their pictures would be in harmony.
RB:
What did you do before working at From Software?
KH:
I was a student.
RB:
How did you create the music for "Evergrace"?
KH:
I created it on condition that the sound would be played by
PS2. It was like spreading sound materials and reconstructing
them.
RB:What
are the ethnic instruments and themes used in "Evergrace" and
why did you select them?
KH:
At the beginning, I was thinking of expressing the "Voice".
I recorded my voice and some sample voices to my hard disk and
then edited them with Soundforge. It finally became the voice
(sound) that you can hear in opening of Evergrace. After I created
the voice, I got some more voice samples from a sampling CD
that expressed Ethnic feelings (meaning non-Asian), and I kept
editing them. The themes of Evergrace are expressed by sounds
that I like. I thought it was Ethnic music, but some people
said it sounded like Asian, so I thought it was interesting.
The pipe sound was actually created from Shakuhachi (a Japanese
instrument) and I also used Shamisen (a Japanese instrument).
This is why they thought it sounded like Asian.
RB:
How did you create your melodies for Evergrace?
KH:
I wanted to create Pop music, but not with Pop music style.
I tried to express the verge between Pop and non-Pop music.
Click images
to hear Real Audio samples
RB:
What is the percentage of real instruments to sampled instruments
used in Evergrace and what instruments did you sample?
KH:
The Voice is the only real instrument except for instruments
that I already have. Most of percussion is taken from a sampling
CD.
RB:
Any other details you wish to express out Evergrace?
KH:
I worked on Evergrace as a sound producer
and wrote all the music. I could write as I liked, which made
me appreciate all of the music. But, you know, it was really
hard work physically.
RB:
What were your first impressions of the PSX2?
KH:
I think PS2 is very delicate console. Although it's still immature,
I expect a lot from it.
RB:
What were your influences for Armored Core 2?
KH:
Playing Armored Core 2 was fun and it was good influence.
RB:
Did you work closely with Mijk Van Dijk and what did you think
of his music?
KH:
From the beginning I like techno/club music, so before
I met him, I already knew his music and listened to it. He gave
me mental stimulus. His music makes me happy and that's why
I like his music.
RB:
How does the music for Armored Core 2 differ from the original
"AC?"
KH:
For me, it is my role. I've been working on the Armored
Core series since Armored Core Master of Arena. I tried creating
better music that's based on other games in the "AC"
series. Armored Core 2 has Mijk Van Dijk and Tsukasa Saitoh,
so it has enough quality music. So I created different kinds
of music from them.
RB:
What time periods did you work on Evergrace and Armored Core
2? How were you able to create such different styles of music?
KH:
I worked on Evergrace from the end of 1999 to the spring of
2000. I worked on Armored Core 2 from June 2000. I'm not sure
how I could create different styles of music but I'm sure I
can create them. That is why I'm working for From Software.
Click on images
to hear Real Audio music samples
RB:
What are your strongest and weakest skills as a composer and
musician?
KH:
For my strongest point, I have a great opportunity to meet people
that give me good influences. For my weakest skill, I cannot
read music so I'm not pleased to create orchestral scores.
RB:
How does game music compare to other genres of music?
KH:
I personally think game music is not established so clearly.
It is hard to compare game music to other genre of music. But
if we keep pursuing it, we can establish it and we should work
hard to do that!
RB:
Do you have a favorite game composer and why?
KH:
Mr. Mitsuda, the composer of Chrono Cross, is a good composer.
Listening to his main melody, I thought it was good music and
I liked its simplicity. I also like Tsukasa Saitoh, a member
of our sound team. Mr.Saitoh created music for AC2 that made
some people think they were Mijk's.
RB:
What was your experience working on Frame Gride for the Dreamcast?
KH:
I worked on Frame Gride as a composer and sound effects creator.
Because I did not see any of the Dreamcast specific tools, I
did not realize I was working on Dreamcast.
RB:
Can you share some of your experiences on the following Playstation
games?
Echo Night series
KH:
For the first Echo Night, Tsukasa Saitoh composed the opening
title music, our boss Mr. Segawa composed the in-game music,
and I composed the ending title music. The difference between
the first and second games are our music and Yuji "KANDA
UK" Kanda's music.
Click on image
to hear Real Audio music sample
Spriggan
KH: It was my first time to
work as a sound producer. The sound effects were harder than
writing the music.
Shadow
Tower
KH: It
was my first assignment after joining From Software. Since Shadow
Tower doesn't have music in the game, there is not a lot of
my music. On a side note, Evergrace contains some of the music
that I originally created for Shadow Tower.
RB:
What is your favorite console to work on and why?
KH:
It is the PS2. It was hard to handle, but as I repeated my trial
and error, I felt a strong attachment to it.
RB:
Any advice for those who want to create game music?
KH:
I think it would be beneficial if you can get influences from
anything or people who can create things (I don't mean "music").
RB:
Any last words?
KH:
I'm very much interested in expressing "Reality." Everything
that is made of "Reality" has a great power, even
if it stands in a different position. It is great fun for me
to try to create such things.
RocketBaby
would like to thank Mr. Hoshino for taking time to answer our
questions. Special thanks to From Software and Noriko Ozaki.
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Music
used by permission of From Software.
