{"id":84898,"date":"2024-04-27T09:27:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T16:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/?p=84898"},"modified":"2024-12-16T11:30:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T19:30:31","slug":"interview-diving-into-anime-music-with-hiroyuki-sawano-and-sennarin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2024\/04\/27\/interview-diving-into-anime-music-with-hiroyuki-sawano-and-sennarin\/","title":{"rendered":"Diving into Anime Music with Hiroyuki Sawano and SennaRin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Hiroyuki Sawano<\/b> is one of anime\u2019s most well-known and renowned composers and producers, with composing credits for popular shows like <\/span>Attack on Titan<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Kill la Kill, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Guilty Crown<\/span><\/i>, and the upcoming <\/span>Solo Leveling<\/span><\/i>, which is scheduled to release in January 2024. Alongside Sawano is singer and lyricist <\/span>SennaRin<\/b>, who has worked with Sawano on songs for anime. She also made her solo debut in 2022 with the EP <\/span>Dignified,<\/span><\/i> which was produced by Sawano.<\/span>
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<\/span>Sawano made his first U.S. appearance at AnimeNYC 2023, where he, along with SennaRin, performed for the first time in America. Anime Trending was honored to both witness their first live performance as well as sit down in a roundtable discussion with Sawano and SennaRin to dive into the minds behind the most iconic sounds and lyrics in the industry.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Anime Trending:<\/b> This is your first performance in the United States. Could you share your thoughts and reactions for the first time? <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Hiroyuki Sawano:<\/b> For us to perform overseas together for the first time, that\u2019s something that we\u2019re very very excited about.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, a question for Sawano-san: Over the course of your career, you\u2019ve worked with a wide range of music artists, so what do you enjoy about working with SennaRin, and what are some unique elements of her sound that sets her apart from other artists you’ve worked with?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sawano:<\/b> [As a producer], I really like <\/span>SennaRin\u2019s<\/b> voice. She can really approach different sounds, and I really like her husky voice and how she performs live, so that was why I decided to produce for SennaRin.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For<\/b> the album <\/b>Dignified<\/i><\/b>, most of the music was written by Sawano-san, but SennaRin wrote most of the lyrics. What has the process been like producing and collaborating in that way? Does the music come first or the lyrics?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sawano:<\/b> For us, I created the song first and then passed it over to SennaRin, and then she created the lyrics afterward. That\u2019s the process.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You’ve created a number of musical works that a lot of international fans really like both for anime and for video games. How much information are you given in advance for each? In your words, what is the main difference in your approach for each of the different mediums?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sawano:<\/b> Of course, for stuff that has material, such as a manga, I’ll get the material and look over it, but for me, it’s not like I would read all the volumes or something like that. I look more general, like how the world is, and input my vision for the songs for that, and then I start the process from there.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So would it be correct to say that you reinterpret the world-building in your own music? <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sawano:<\/b> I think that\u2019s correct, I interpret that, but when I get an offer there\u2019s a certain sound that they\u2019re looking for, and there\u2019s a sound that I like, and I just try to input that and tackle it from that.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is for SennaRin. You started releasing covers at a fairly young age. You said you didn’t envision a professional music career. Do you still remember how you felt when Mr. Sawano reached out to you?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

SennaRin:<\/b> So originally when Sawano-san reached out to me, I had already been listening to his soundtracks, and so when he reached out to me it was really exciting because I was really familiar with his works already.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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\u00a9 SennaRin<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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AT:<\/b> This is for both Sawano-san and SennaRin. You\u2019ve worked on projects together such as <\/b>Legend of the Galactic Heroes<\/i><\/b>. Can you talk about the creative process specifically for that show, such as the tracks for \u201cDust\u201d and<\/b> \u201c<\/i><\/b>Melt?\u201d Is there anything from the setting of <\/b>Legend of the Galactic Heroes<\/i><\/b> that sticks out?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sawano:<\/b> For the scene, I wasn’t going deep into the storyline, but I checked out the promotional videos, and I looked at some clips of the battle scenes. What they had asked me was, \u201cCan you make an epic ballad?\u201d So that’s where I got my inspiration, and from what they had asked, I made a ballad.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

More often than not, the songs that Sawano-san produces have lyrics written by Benjamin, Mpi, or cAnOn. However, SennaRin has participated and written the lyrics for every song so far aside from \u201cDust.\u201d So what was the decision behind this?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sawano:<\/b> Working with SennaRin, I saw she was really skilled in creating lyrics for the songs and the melodies, and she could really fit the lyrics and slot them in with my songs. So I think for the projects I work on with her, I want to pass those tasks to her. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So as a follow-up to that, will the three new songs released and \u201cS9air\u201d also have lyrics written by SennaRin? Can you tell us a little bit about the new songs and what you would like for fans to anticipate?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

SennaRin:<\/b> The first two songs,\u201dYet\u201d <\/span> <\/span><\/i>and \u201cRay<\/span>,\u201d<\/span> are available now, and people can check them out. For the song \u201cMist,\u201d we finished it into a really cool new song, so I want fans to really look forward to that one.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I would love to talk a little bit about the cover videos that started your career. What inspired you to release them, and did you self-produce them? <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

SennaRin:<\/b> I love to sing, and I wanted to sing, and YouTube is a worldwide platform, so I just wanted to see how far my voice could reach, and so that\u2019s kind of where it all began.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Sawano-san: What was your biggest inspiration in becoming a composer? As a composer, now that you’ve worked in this industry for quite a while and you’re probably one of the most famous soundtrack composers within the anime-game industry, what would you consider the most important aspects of creating songs? <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sawano:<\/b> Tetsuya Komuro<\/b> was one of the biggest influences for me to become a composer, and also if you know the band, <\/span>Chage and Aska,<\/b> I was really inspired by Aska. I wanted to actually be a singer-songwriter, but I didn’t have much talent in singing. I guess I transitioned to more, you know, like Komuro-san, because he made a lot of soundtracks, so I leaned toward that realm. I listened to a lot of Joe Hisaishi’s tracks and that kind of inspired me to do a lot of the movie music as well. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

F<\/span>or advice for people who want to become a composer, you have to keep going with your music, even if people say it’s not good or they put you down. What’s important is, don’t quit and just keep continuing, and I think that’s the best advice I can give for people who want to become a composer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So because it is the 10th anniversary, I have to ask: What was it like working on <\/b>Kill la Kill<\/i><\/b>?<\/b> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sawano:<\/b> As you know in <\/span>Kill la Kill<\/span><\/i> the show is where the girls are dressed very eccentrically and sexy, and so I thought, \u201cWhat’s going on?\u201d Before that gig I worked on <\/span>Attack on Titan<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Blue Exorcist<\/span><\/i>, so building on that I wanted to make something that’s cool and very entertaining, so that’s kind of how I approached <\/span>Kill la Kill<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TRIGGER\u521d\u306eTV\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300e\u30ad\u30eb\u30e9\u30ad\u30eb\u300f\u304c\u7686\u3055\u307e\u306b\u652f\u3048\u3089\u308c\u3001\u3081\u3067\u305f\u304f\u5341\u8972\u5e74\u3092\u8fce\u3048\u308b\u3053\u3068\u304c\u51fa\u6765\u307e\u3057\u305f\u203c\ufe0f

\u3053\u308c\u304b\u3089\u3082\u672b\u6c38\u304f\u5fdc\u63f4\u5b9c\u3057\u304f\u304a\u9858\u3044\u81f4\u3057\u307e\u3059\u2702\ufe0f

TRIGGER's first TV anime \u201cKill la Kill\u201d has reached a fantastic 10th anniversary thanks to all of you!!#\u30ad\u30eb\u30e9\u30ad\u30eb\u5341\u8972\u5e74<\/a> #KilllaKill10th<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/sXoRrj8MLb<\/a><\/p>— TRIGGER Inc. (@trigger_inc) October 4, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>