Topic: I'm trying to imagine a Castlevania soundtrack done by Yoko Kanno...

[Lumi Kløvstad]

All I can think of is the soundtracks to the Escaflowne anime and film, only darker and more gothic.
In short, completely fucked up epic awesome of amazing. Every inch of it.

Dammit, this needs to happen.

[TheouAegis]

As much as I love some of Kanno's work (Macross Plus is still my all-time favorite anime soundtrack and is just fucking mind-blowing when you compare it to her other works), I'm afraid I'd have to disagree on this one. I don't think she's suitable for CV.  Maybe Zelda, Adventure Island, or possibly even Metroid, but not Castlevania.

The next CV composer should totally be Hyadain.
:end troll mode:
 

Yuki Kajiura would be a better pick. Or Joe Hisaishi. That's a bit of a surprise twist, maybe, but when it comes to repetitive music (which is what video game music is), he's quite good. And the dude has a decent range of musical styles. Yeah, I just called Joe Hisaishi a dude.

My top pick though is, in all honesty, Susumu Hirasawa. I will stand by that one to the death.

OOHH! OOH! The guy that did the soundtrack for Urotsukidouji! That's a good one!

[Odile Kuronuma]

As much as I like Yoko Kanno and the Escaflowne ost, I don't think she would make a mide blowing ost for Castlevania. Her music is not dark enough.
Not sure for Joe Hisaichi either. For the same reasons, altough I think he could do better than Yoko Kanno.
Yuki Kajiura could do well. I like what she did for Le portrait de petite Cosette(that's the right way to say it in French btw)
Susumu Hirasawa's music is very dark so it could fit in a Castlevania game. The only problem is he uses the synthetizer too much.And some of his songs are really bad (the song  Ball from the Berserk ost comes to mind).
I'd like to see what Toshihiko Sahashi could come up for Castlevania. I really like the Big O's ost.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Yoko Kanno did "Tank!" from Cowboy Bebop. :3
To be honest, however, I have not heard of Kanno's other works but I do believe some of them are in videogames.

[Odile Kuronuma]

OOHH! OOH! The guy that did the soundtrack for Urotsukidouji! That's a good one!

Masamichi Amano.

[shelverton.]

I dunno if Castlevania music necessarily needs to be "dark". It depends on what we mean by dark, of course. A lot of the older music in the series is really catchy and upbeat, without sounding "happy". Many of the "darker" soundtracks are my least favourites cause they tend to be more mood pieces than actual songs. But there are definitely some fantastic dark stuff too. Maybe my definition of "dark" is different from yours though. I guess I want more "heroic" than "dark". Dunno. I just want catchy!

[Odile Kuronuma]

Yeah I get that. Maybe dark isn't the right word. Gothic maybe, but then some pieces in Castlevania aren't gothic at all. Tbh I don't mind having catchy tunes, as long as they're good. Quality is my only concern when it comes to Castlevania's music.

[Kaori]

I like what Yoko Kanno did in Escaflowne, but I just can't see her music done in CV. However, Yuki Kajiura? Konami would have my money faster than you can blink. 

Huge fan of Kajiura right here. I first heard her music in .Hack//Sign way back when it was on TV, and I fell in love with her music instantly. .Hack//Sign was one of the few anime soundtracks I've ever bought.

[Havatchu]

This thread could use some music examples for comparison.

[TheouAegis]

Masamichi Amano.

I should rep-up for that, but I'm kinda creeped out by you even knowing that.... 

I got into Kajiura first through Noir (her BEST soundtrack), then .hack\\Sign (great soundtrack), and then Mai-HiME (very good soundtrack). I didn't even realize it was her in Boogie Pop & Others until the end credits rolled. Others of her songs though are pretty obvious it's her. Many of Kanno's are like that too. Hirasawa's are almost dead obvious. When I first watched Paprika, I didn't think much of the circus theme, but as soon as the opening credits began, within 3 seconds (not exaggerating) I blurted out excitedly, "OH MY GOD! HIRASAWA! IT'S HIRASAWA!!"

And some of his songs are really bad (the song  Ball from the Berserk ost comes to mind).
I'd like to see what Toshihiko Sahashi could come up for Castlevania.

Nobody's perfect... And it's a video game. Last I checked, video games all use synthesizers. I know what you meant, but seriously, every video game uses synthesizers for their music. But I am tooootally with you on Sahashi. He'd bring back the classic style of Castlevania that only those in denial don't miss. His music is closer to Konami Kukeiha Club's old style.


Ok. So dude wanted samples for our listening pleasure. Commence spoiler tagging!

Kanno Yohko Excels at jazz, pop and classical; one of Japan's most prominent composers

(click to show/hide)

Macross Plus - Sharon Apple Concert HD
Record of Lodoss War: TV Series - Kiseki No Umi (Sea of Miracles)
Ghost in the Shell OST - Torukia
Darker than Black OST - Contact
Turn A Gundam the Movie OST - Final Shore
Brain Powerd OST - Ai no Rinkaku (Field of Love)
Escaflowne - OST ~ Dance of curse ~

Kajiura Yuki Excels at world music, pop and electronica; one of Japan's most popular composers

(click to show/hide)

NOIR Soundtrack - salva nos
Noir OST, Aka to Kuro
Yuki Kajiura - The Battle Is To The Strong
.Hack// Sign Orginal Soundtrack ~ In the Land of Twilight under the Moon
My-Hime OST Vol. 1 23 Mezame
Double Cast OST Track 14- Confront
Best VGM 622 - Xenosaga III - Godsibb
Erementar Gerad Soundtrack - Kasukanari Aogi no Sai

Sahashi Toshihiko A total 80's cheese classic songwriter; well-established anime soundtrack composer

(click to show/hide)

Ghost Sweeper Original Soundtrack I - 11 - Gekka no Mure
Cutie Honey Flash Song Collection OST Track 06 Hoshi no nare
Cutie Honey Flash Song Collection OST Track 04 True Love
Full Metal Panic - The Second Raid - Shissou
Magic Knight Rayearth OST 1 - Doushi Clef
Magic Knight Rayearth OST 1 - Mamono Shutsugen! ~ Mahou no Chikara
Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers Original Soundtrack. 2: Ultimate Monster Against Ultra Brothers
Zipang 02 'Mirai' Theme
Capeta Ost - 09 Capeta no Toushi
Hunter X Hunter [OST 2]: Kinkyu Jitai

All rise for the National Anthem of Macross!
( /;_;)
Macross Plus OST - National Anthem of Macross

[Odile Kuronuma]

I should rep-up for that, but I'm kinda creeped out by you even knowing that.... 

I looked up for his name.But  I know about Urotsukidoji . So yeah you should be creeped up a bit XD
 
I agree with what you said about Hirasawa.Lots of his video games stuff isn't that good, compared to his non video game music.  He's pretty unpredictable in his choices. He can come up with awesome songs like Sim City, and then do something completely chaotic for Berserk, which btw fits the universe . I like that about him.
Susumu Hirasawa - Sim City

[TheouAegis]

New idea!

Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group - The Complex Rock Tour Live.mp4

[Abnormal Freak]

I don't see Yoko Kanno music working for Castlevania.

That said, I strongly disagree that music for the series has to be gothic. The series' music has always had a variety of styles and moods, including pop and rock music that isn't goth in the slightest.

All THAT said, Kanno is amazing. I particularly love the Sharon Apple tunes; I've yet to hear any other pop music that sounds anything like that. I'd love a whole album or two or more like that. Not likely to ever happen, though...

Pulse-Yoko Kanno

Idol Talk

Between my brother and I, we own quite a number of Yoko Kanno CDs. We both have the two Macross Plus OSTs (I only have the US releases, but they're good enough for me), I have the extra albums and Cowboy Bebop OSTs, and he has the Escaflowne albums and Kanno's Song to Fly. She's a great artist for sure.

[TheouAegis]

And that's why I'm siding with Sahashi Toshihiko or Blue Man Group. Blue Man Group can pull off some darker yet hardcore rock, whereas Sahashi has a long-established history of 70s and 80s pop rock. Some of Sahashi's music is downright cheesy, but others are quite memorable. ... Don't ask me to name any off the top of my head, though.

Even Escaflowne's soundtrack style wouldn't be that good in a Castlevania game. Kajiura or Sahashi are likely the best Japanese choices, BMG being one of the best Western choices. Although Oomph! or Blutengel have done some instrumentals that would work in a Castlevania game. Combichrist did a couple but I prefer Oomph!'s and Blutengel's styles as they incorporate more variety into their songs.

Now I guess I still need to defend my Joe Hisaishi suggestion. It would provide Castlevania with a different touch of music. I mean, IGA took it from 80s pop to ... I dunno, whatever you want to classify the music in IGA's games as. Then we have LOS's style. Hisaishi would bring something a little, I dunno, mellower and transcendental, maybe? He's not all piano ballads or happy plucky tunes, y'know. ... Okay, so some of my selections below would work better in an ECCO The Dolphin game, but whatever. I could see them working in a Castlevania game too.

(click to show/hide)

Joe Hisaishi - Techno Police 21C OST - [TRACK 1]
Sonatine I Act Of Violence - Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi - Play On The Sands (From Sonatine)
久石讓 - Kids Return
Kids Return OST - Defeat 11 - Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi - Brother
Green Requiem Joe Hisaishi
I could see this for a courtyard/forgotten garden theme
13: Robot Soldiers/Resurrection/Rescue CitS OST
Boss fight or tower theme

And if those aren't good enough for you or you still think Joe isn't compatible with Castlevania, or at least Classicvanias, listen to the whole fucking Venus Wars soundtrack. People forget he actually rocked out in the old days.

[Odile Kuronuma]

Ok this is turning into "who'd you choose  to become the next composer for Castlevania", and maybe it was already pointed out in other threads, but I really think Motoi Sakuraba should work on CV. Ok he worked on a lot of video games series, but he also composed music for Gensomaden Saiyuki the anime.Some of his songs sound very Castlevania-ish, or at least how I imagine a CV soundtrack would be like. For example, Beat the angel from Tales of Symphonia would fit in a Castlevania game perfectly.What do you guys think?
Tales of Symphonia: Beat the Angel