[Laputa] Hisaishi Interview: about new soundtrack
Ryoko Toyama (airami@starleaf.net)
Sat, 24 Jul 1999 13:14:33 +0900
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"According to Disney's staff, foreigners (non-Japanese) feel uncomfortable
if there is no music for more than 3 minutes (laughs). You see this in the
Western movies, which have music throughout. Especially, since it is the
natural state for a (non-Japanese) animated film to have music all the time.
However in the original Laputa, there is only one-hour worth of music in the
2 hour 4 minute movie. There are parts that do not have any music for 7 to 8
minutes. So, we decided to redo the music as (the existing soundtrack) will
not be suitable for (the markets) outside of Japan.
"If we just add new music, it won't go well with the music made in 14 years
ago. So we completely re-recorded everything. Of course, we can not demolish
the melody of Laputa, so I changed the arrangement of it while keeping its
integrity.
"The American way of putting music in a movie is basically very simple. They
just match the music with the characters. For example, when the army shows
up on screen, you hear the army's theme. The music explains the screen
images--that is the point of Hollywood music. Until this time, I avoided
such an approach, as I felt that it would make music dull, although I
understand such an approach. But when I redid (the music of Laputa this
way), I learned a lot.
"We do not have a concrete plan for the soundtrack (album) release yet, but
(the completed soundtrack) is great. Miyazaki-San was also very pleased.
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