Category: Song Reviews

Album: 紅の豚 サウンドトラック Picture this: you’re in an intimate jazz club in 1920s Adriatic coast, where cigarette smoke mingles with the salty sea air and a lone piano carries stories of lost love and faded dreams. This is exactly the atmosphere Joe Hisaishi conjured when he composed “MAMMAIUTO” for Studio Ghibli’s Porco Rosso, a piece…

Album: 天空の城ラピュタ サウンドトラック ～飛行石の謎～ The summer of 1986 was a race against time at Studio Ghibli. Joe Hisaishi found himself crafting what would become one of anime’s most beloved songs with barely weeks to spare before Castle in the Sky’s theatrical release. ‘Kimi wo Nosete’ (Carrying You) wasn’t just another film score – it was…

Album: 魔女の宅急便 サントラ音楽集 When Joe Hisaishi sat down to compose the soundtrack for Kiki’s Delivery Service in 1989, he faced an extraordinary challenge. With only days between returning from New York and recording with a full orchestra, the composer had to create music that would transport audiences to a fictional European town while maintaining the…

Album: となりのトトロ サウンドトラック集 Picture this: a renowned composer sits hunched over a tabla drum, recording himself playing ethnic percussion patterns that will later become part of an orchestral score for children. This isn’t some experimental fusion project—it’s Joe Hisaishi crafting the soundtrack for Studio Ghibli’s beloved “My Neighbor Totoro,” including the playfully spooky “Obakeyashiki!” (Ghost…

Album: 天空の城ラピュタ イメージアルバム ～空から降ってきた少女～ In the spring of 1986, composer Joe Hisaishi found himself under extraordinary pressure. Having reunited with directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata after their successful collaboration on Nausicaä, he was tasked with creating music that would answer a profound question: “What must adults leave for children today?” The result of this…

Album: 天空の城ラピュタ サウンドトラック ～飛行石の謎～ In a cramped coffee shop near Studio Ghibli in June 1986, three men huddled over rough film cuts and sketchy musical ideas that would soon become one of animation’s most beloved soundtracks. Joe Hisaishi, Hayao Miyazaki, and Isao Takahata were deep in discussion about the music for Castle in the Sky,…

Album: 魔女の宅急便 イメージアルバム In the vast catalog of Joe Hisaishi’s compositions for Studio Ghibli films, ‘Genki ni Naresou’ (It Seems I Can Be Cheerful) from the Kiki’s Delivery Service Image Album stands as a fascinating glimpse into the composer’s creative laboratory. This uplifting melody, written for Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved tale of a young witch finding…

Album: 紅の豚 サウンドトラック In the smoky atmosphere of an Adriatic seaplane bar, where jazz piano mingles with the clink of glasses and distant propeller hums, Joe Hisaishi found the perfect musical language for one of Studio Ghibli’s most sophisticated films. “Doom－雲の罠－” (Doom – Cloud Trap) from the Porco Rosso soundtrack represents more than just another…

Album: 魔女の宅急便 サントラ音楽集 Picture this: a Japanese composer, fresh off a plane from New York, racing against an impossible deadline to create music that would capture the essence of European folklore for an animated witch’s journey. This was Joe Hisaishi’s reality in the summer of 1989, working on what would become one of Studio Ghibli’s…