Yoko Kanno

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Yoko Kanno

Background information
Born March 19, 1964 (1964-03-19) (age 44)
Flag of Japan Miyagi, Japan
Genre(s) Jazz
Classical
Orchestral
Electronic
New Age
Blues
Folk Rock
Electro Rock
J-Pop
Art Rock
Occupation(s) Composer, musician, conductor
Instrument(s) Keyboard, piano, accordion
Years active 1986–present
Associated acts TETSU100%, The Seatbelts, Samply Red, ORIGA

Yoko Kanno (菅野 よう子 Kanno Yōko?, born March 19, 1964 in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) is a composer, arranger and musician best known for her work on the soundtracks for many games, seminal anime films, TV series, live-action movies, and advertisements. She has written scores for famous animated works, including Macross Plus, Turn A Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, Vision of Escaflowne, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, and is the most trusted composer by veteran and new-wave directors such as Yoshiyuki Tomino, Shinichiro Watanabe and Shoji Kawamori.[1] Kanno has also composed music for JPop artists, the most notable being Maaya Sakamoto and Kyoko Koizumi. She is also a skilled keyboardist, and is the frontwoman for The Seatbelts, who perform many of Kanno's compositions on the various original soundtracks for which she is responsible.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Some of Yoko Kanno's most famous 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 . She was the lead member of the project band called The Seatbelts, which regrouped in the year of 2004 to compose the soundtrack of the PlayStation 2 Cowboy Bebop video game, released in Japan in 2005.

She has composed for many 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, Seven-Eleven, Microsoft, Nissan, Toyota, Shiseido, Avon, and Master Card to name a few. Grand Funk Inc. is her recording studio of choice in producing for these two media. Contributions to films started in the 90s but only since 2002 has there been a trend towards the medium. Most of the latter were shown in international film festivals.

She was married to fellow composer Hajime Mizoguchi, with whom she collaborated on the soundtracks for Please Save My Earth and Escaflowne. They divorced in 2007.

In addition to Japanese, she speaks very little English and some French, but claims that her English is "poor" and she needs translation help to converse in French.[1]

She has attended Otakon and Anime Expo in 1999, as well as Anime Expo New York in 2002.

Gabriela Robin, an enigmatic vocalist who has only ever worked with Kanno and her ex-husband Mizoguchi Hajime, is rumored to be a pseudonym of Kanno herself.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo Studio Albums

Date Title Notes
January 1, 1998 Song to fly Track 8 Performed and all songs composed, conducted by Yoko Kanno.

(Tracks 1-7,9-11) Performed by Cosmic Voices from Bulgaria, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra,
Warsaw Chorus, Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch, Franco Sansalone, Krzysztof Ciupinsky,
Steve Conte, Jadwiga Rappé & Gabriela Robin.
May 2, 2008 CM Yoko Compilation album of music for commercials done by Yoko Kanno over the years. All songs composed by Yoko Kanno

[edit] Anime works

Anime Title Year Kanno's Role(s)
Please Save My Earth 1994 Composer
(other tracks by Hajime Mizoguchi)
Macross Plus 1994 Composer
Memories: Magnetic Rose 1996 Composer
Vision of Escaflowne 1996 Composer
(other tracks by Hajime Mizoguchi)
X Clamp Characters File Vol1-4 1996 Composer
(one track for each album)
Clamp School Detectives 1997 Second ending theme
Noiseman Sound Insect 1997 Composer
Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight 1998 Composer for Opening theme
Cowboy Bebop 1998 Composer
Cardcaptor Sakura 1998 Composer for TV opening theme
Brain Powerd 1998 Composer
Gasaraki 1998 Composer for opening and closing TV themes
Turn A Gundam 1999 Composer
Dai-Guard 1999 Composer for Ending theme;
"Rocking Horse Stars"
Jin-Roh 1999 Pianist
Escaflowne: The Movie 2000 Composer
(other tracks by Inon Zur & Hajime Mizoguchi)
Earth Maiden Arjuna 2001 Composer
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door 2001 Composer
Pianist for The Seatbelts
RahXephon 2002 Composer for Opening theme for TV & OVA
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2002 Composer
Wolf's Rain 2003 Composer for TV & OVA
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG 2004 Composer
Genesis of Aquarion 2005 Composer
(other tracks by/in collaboration with Hogari Hisaaki)
Oban Star-Racers 2006 Composer for Opening and Ending theme songs
Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society 2006 Composer
Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha 2007 Composer
Genius Party 2007 Composer for "Baby Blue"
Genesis of Aquarion 2007 Composer
Macross Frontier 2008 Composer

[edit] Video games

Game Title First Released First System(s) Kanno's Role(s)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 1985 PC-8801, Sharp X1, FM-7 Composer
Nobunaga's Ambition Zenkokuban 1986 PC-8801, PC-9801, etc. Composer
Genghis Khan 1987 PC-8801, PC-9801 Composer
Nobunaga's Ambition Sengoku Gunyūden 1988 PC-8801, PC-9801 Composer
Ishin No Arashi 1989 PC-9801 Composer
Uncharted Waters 1990 PC-8801, PC-9801 Composer
Nobunaga's Ambition Bushō Fuunroku 1990 PC-9801 Composer
Nobunaga's Ambition Haōden 1992 PC-9801 Composer
Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons 1993 PC-9801 Composer
Nobunaga's Ambition Tenshōki 1994 PC-9801 Composer
Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream 2000 Dreamcast Composer
Cowboy Bebop 2001 Playstation Composer
Cowboy Bebop: Tsuitou no Yakyoku 2005 PlayStation 2 Composer
Ragnarok Online 2 TBA MS Windows Composer

[edit] Movie works

Film Title Year Kanno's Role(s)
Yamato Takeru 1994 Composer
Asalto 1996 Composer
Boku wa benkyo ga dekinai (I Can't Study) 1996 Composer
Natsu jikan no otonatachi 1997 Composer
Tokyo. Sora 2002 Composer
Mizu no onna 2002 Composer
03 + 2003 Composer
Shimotsuma monogatari (Kamikaze Girls) 2004 Composer
Ashura-jô no hitomi (Blood Gets in Your Eyes) 2005 Composer
Su-ki-da 2005 Composer
Honey and Clover 2006 Composer
Elegant World (The Show Must Go On) 2007 Composer
Say Hello! 2007 Composer

[edit] TV works

TV Show Year Kanno's Role(s)
Yo ni mo Kimyou na Monogatari - Mama Shinhatsubai 2001 Composer
Mayonaka Betsu no Kao (The Other Side of Midnight) 2002 Composer
X'smap~Tora to Raion to Gojin no Otoko~ 2004 Composer
Chichi ni Kanaderu Merodi 2006 Composer
Camouflage 2008 Composer

[edit] Works for Associated Acts

Band Album Year Kanno's Role(s)
Tetsu 100% Tokyo Taco Blues 1986 Composer for one track
Tetsu 100% 1987 Composer for four tracks
Ato3cm 1987 Composer for five tracks
Jack in the Box 1988 Composer for three tracks
Manatsu no Santa Claus 1988 Composer for one track
Sunao 1989 Composition credited to band
Samply Red Perfect Rouge 1996 Composition credited to band
Ah-ra ii Kimochi 1996 Composition credited to band
(with Riyu Konaka) Kiseki to Taitsuku 1996 Composition credited to band
Happy Go Lucky OST 1997 Composer for 8 tracks
Kemeko no Uta (Happy Go Lucky) 1997 Arrangement credited to band
It's for my Ego 1997 Composition credited to band
Perfect Rouge I, II, III 2002 Composition credited to band

[edit] Works for Pop Albums

(In Order of Starting Year of Affiliation)

Artist Album Year Kanno's Role(s)
Chiyono Yoshino Montage 1988 Composer for two tracks
Song Bird 1989 Composer for three tracks,
arranger for two tracks
Melanger 1990 Composer for one track,
performer on two tracks
Keiko Nakajima Keiko Nakajima 1990 Composer for all tracks
Kyoko Endo Renai 1990 Arranger for seven tracks
Kobitori ni Naritai 1993 Arranger for all tracks
Fuyu no Miwa 1993 Arranger for all tracks
Hashire Hashire 1999 Arranger for two tracks
Aki Okui Lost Melodies 1994 Arranger for two tracks
Straw Color 1997 Arranger for one track
Tsuki no Mayu 2000 Composer for all tracks
Hitomi Mieno Hajimari no Boukenshya-tachi
~Hikari no Chizu~		 1995 Composer for two tracks
Miki Imai Love of my Life 1995 Arranger for four tracks
Thank You 1996 Arranger for four tracks
IMAI.MIKI from 1986 1998 Arranger for one track
Blooming Ivory 2000 Arranger for one track
Yuri Shinatori Atarashii Kutsu 1995 Composer for two tracks,
Lyricist for one track
Caramel Pop 1995 Composer and lyricist for two tracks
Kyoko Koizumi Otokonoko, Onnannoko 1996 Composer for eight tracks,
arranger for all tracks except 9 by Samply Red
For my Life(Single) 1999 Composer for two tracks
Maaya Sakamoto Grapefruit 1997 Composer for all tracks
Dive 1998 Composer for all tracks
Hotchpotch 1999 Composer for all tracks
Lucy 2001 Composer for all tracks
Easy Listening 2001 Composer for all tracks
Tune The Rainbow 2003 Composer for all tracks,
two tracks composed with Alexander Borodin
Shonen Alice 2003 Composer for all tracks
Akino Arai Sora No Mori 1997 Composer for five tracks
Sora No Miwa 1997 Composer for two tracks
Hiru No Tsuki 1998 Arranger for two tracks
RGB 2002 Composer for one track
Yasui Inoue Kyuu Dan 1998 Composer for one track
Crystal Kay Eternal Memories 1999 Composer for two tracks
Komichi no Hana 1999 Composer for one track
C.C.L Crystal Lover Light 2000 Composer for one track,
Arranger for one track
Kei Kobayashi Nagashime Play 2003 Composer for all tracks
SMAP Say What You Will 2005 Composer for two tracks
Yukawa Shione Yuki No Waltz 2007 Composer for one track
AKINO from bless4 Lost in Time 2007 Composer for all tracks

[edit] Companies that Commissioned Kanno for Commercial Music [2]

[edit] Hired vocalists

[edit] References

  1. ^ Production IG Interview with Yoko Kanno for Ghost in the Shell: SAC
  2. ^ Grand Funk Inc. Official Website
  3. ^ Yoko Kanno Database Ilaria Graziano Profile
  4. ^ Yoko Kanno Database Raj Ramayya Profile

[edit] External links