Yoko Shimomura's Kingdom Hearts Advent Calendar 2020

[Sign]

December 14th: Roxas (KH2)

As I've mentioned in previous interviews, I just played the piano and this song came out. It's short and doesn't even have a chorus. I never thought [Roxas] would become such a popular character...! At the time, I was debugging it while thinking, "Huh? Where's Sora?" lol

 

[Face My Fears]

Roxas/The Other Promise are probably my top KH tracks of all time. I'm amazed that Roxas just came to her. She is a genius.

 

[Sign]

December 15th: Lord of the Castle (Re:CoM)

When I write fast piano passages, I have to play them at a reduced speed in order to create the data (because otherwise I can't play them lol). Re:CoM didn't [originally] use live performance audio, but we recorded it for KH1.5. Benjamin [Nuss], who played for us during that time, joined me in a concert afterwards.

 

[Sign]

December 16th: L'Impeto Oscuro (3D)

It's a song that I had made too last minute, so when it came time to record, I still hadn't hadn't gotten the director's approval yet. The approval actually came while we were recording; when I heard the call after we finished, I left the studio skipping.

 

[okhi12]

December 16th: L'Impeto Oscuro (3D)

It's a song that I had made too last minute, so when it came time to record, I still hadn't hadn't gotten the director's approval yet. The approval actually came while we were recording; when I heard the call after we finished, I left the studio skipping.

Well, it's not like it was a completely new song, right? It's a remix of Dark Impetus from BBS which enhances the previous version. In a way, it had already been approved.

 

[Sign]

Well, it's not like it was a completely new song, right? It's a remix of Dark Impetus from BBS which enhances the previous version. In a way, it had already been approved.

The way she reacted should be enough to say that even similar songs don't get an automatic pass.

 

[Deleted member 252753]

Thank you very much for these translations. Reading how nice and enthusiastic Shimomura is about doing the music for the series is really lovely.

 

[okhi12]

The way she reacted should be enough to say that even similar songs don't get an automatic pass.

My point is that getting Nomura's approval straight away is probably more difficult for new tracks he didn't heard before than a new version of an already accepted song for the same character/boss, because another track with the same base melody had already been approved before. She knew beforehand the melody was good enough and kept the continuity for the same character.
But I agree that's not as easy as it may sound and doesn't guarantee an immediate approval. Nomura is rather picky, which is actually a good thing for the OST of the games. I wish he was that picky with his own lore and writing, though.

 

[Sign]

December 17th: Guardando nel buio (KH)

I asked Tetsu-san, who was on a business trip, to listen to the sound from the speakers on his cell phone so that he could check the demo. I'm sorry for talking about such a last-minute production; Tetsu-san was even on the station platform at the time. I'm really sorry!

 

[Sign]

December 18th: Fate of the Unknown (KH2FM)

This song gave birth to Terra and Aqua's themes, and KH2's secret movie gave birth to the Keyblade Graveyard theme. It's really fun to think, "I'll definitely use this phrase the next time this scene or these people appear!"

 

[Sign]

December 19th: Vector to the Heavens (Days)

The title was inspired by the fact that Xion's name is derived from an imaginary number. "Vector" comes from the mathematical term. And the meaning behind the original English word "vector"? Where will those thoughts and heart go?

 

[Absent]

^

 

[Ranma]

I remember watching the KH2FM secret ending for the first time back in the day and dissecting Fate of The Unknown. I literally said "This part is definitely this character's theme!". It is so cool to think about how it ended up being true!

 

[DanChaos1]

The meaning behind the original English word "vector"? From the Latin vehō: "I carry, I transport, I bear". A wonderful hidden meaning for the vessel that carried Sora's memories of Kairi!

 

[Sign]

December 20th: One for All (3D)

In all of KH history, this song (together with the battle theme) was given a title earliest. I thought "This just HAS to be the title!" (laughs) I made it with the image of marching, parades, courage, a little comical, fun, and so on.

 

[Sign]

December 21st: Monster Smash! (KH3)

Only 10-second of the intro was ready early on, and I received a tentative OK for those 10 seconds. The song was actually completed at the end of development. The rest of the song kept playing in my head while I was working on other songs that had yet to receive approval.

 

[Sign]

December 22nd: Destati (KHO)

As I've mentioned several times in past interviews, this was the very first song I wrote for Kingdom Hearts. There have been numerous concert performances, arrangements, and soundtrack recordings, but MoM was actually the first time Destati was used in its entirety in-game.

 

[Xagzan]

Wait what part of the game was it used in? And which version?

 

[Sign]

Wait what part of the game was it used in? And which version?

Orchestra version. She's just talking about the playable track.

 

[Sign]

December 23rd: Happy Holidays! (KH2FM)

Christmas is finally upon us! I wanted to express the joyful atmosphere, sparkling lights, and snowy world, so I wrote this song. If you compare this song with that of another snowy world - Arendelle from KH3 - you might be able to feel the difference between them...!