What an absurdly busy day I had. I literally just finished work just 12 minutes ago. Now this post is going to show up as tomorrow's post...Oh well. Today, I'm going to present one of my favorite videogame composers Michiru Yamane. She is most well known for her contributions to Konami's on-going series "Castlevania." The first time I really took notice of her name is in "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" when a friend of mines let me listen to the soundtrack. Here is one of tracks from the game:
Source: Youtube Channel shadowtheoblivious
Carving Wood Partita has the theme of an old Victorian feel to it using the harpsichord has the main melody with a backing of a full orchestra with layers of melody and harmony melding into one another. The intricate composition has the complexity and flow similar to Bach with his subtle tunes within the pieces he wrote.
Source: Youtube Channel SupraDarky
Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab is an example of Yamane's ability to create genre specific music within videogames. It has the strong beat of electro-house of an action game, but that haunting ambiance and melody keeps the Castlevania mood in mind.
Source: Youtube Channel Tabuu101
When I first heard Eneomaos Machine Tower, it blew me away. The mix between classical orchestration with a rock-ish bass and drums really melded well into the song and emphasized the adventure and conflict within the game. That dissonance in the melody of the piano, wind instruments and strings goes so well with all the harmony and melodic notes played by all of them in a round.
Source: Youtube Channel VGMChannel
Michiru Yamane's tunes are well known to Castlevania fans and highly regarded in the game industry. The melodies are memorable, the sound is unique, the compositions are complex, and just listening to them is magnificent even out of the game. The video above is actually an arranged version of Yamane's latest Castlevania work "An Empty Tome" from "Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia."
I have been listening to Michiru Yamane's music for a long time and have bought every Castlevania game that has come out with one of the reasons of her music being in it. I personally love the Castlevania series not only for its long history of good music, but the unique twists that have been implemented into the action side-scroller throughout the decades. I won't get into gameplay since the post is about the music. Castlevania has been strongly defined because of Yamane's contribution. The tunes never gets boring, and there have been a lot of songs that reoccur (granted that not all of them are from Yamane) and is appreciated by those who play the games over and over again. I would really love to meet her one day along side with the original composer of Castlevania Kinuyo Yamashita. I actually got a message from Yamashita thanking me for playing her music, it was truly an honor (too bad I stayed anonymous in the message). So go out and check out Michiru Yamane's music, even those not Castlevania related:
Source: Youtube Channel groudon2006
Her music is truly listen worthy outside the game. Gotta love her music~
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