On Yoko Shimomura and musical works

I recently had the opportunity of translating (from French to English) an interview with Shinji Hashimoto and Yoko Shimomura, two people behind the development of the Kingdom Hearts series. That interview was taken by KHDestiny at the Japan Expo 2012 in France, and before being translated and featured onto KHWiki, KHDestiny were the sole holders of the interview text.

Read the contents of the interview here.

As many may know, Yoko Shimomura is responsible for the game's soundtrack. After perusing this interview text a number of times, I've come to realise that a lot of us work the way she does.

We work alone at our desks, often unsure of what we do, and it takes feedback from people telling us how much those songs have moved them. And when we hear that feedback, we are humbled and happy. I can imagine it being especially the case for Shimomura, who has worked on the KH soundtrack for the past ten years.

Is there anything she would like to remake? Yes, she would feel like us every once in a while, thinking 'oh, I could change this', but once a work is finished, it is finished -- and you doubt the gamers would have it any other way.

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DemonicDragon93 2012-07-25 07:48:38

honestly didn't know she worked alone like that. No wonder why her music is total kick ass. Inspiring piece. thanks for that

Troisnyx 2012-07-25 07:48:38

Anytime! ^_^

BlazingDragon 2012-07-26 22:16:08

Thanks for posting this! :o

I can definitely relate to much of what Shimomura said. There are many pieces that I feel are not very good, but then people listen and tell me how touched they are. After a few months, I'll listen again and think, "This is actually well done. It's better than I initially thought." Fan input and constructive criticism make a world of difference for me.

Troisnyx 2012-07-26 22:16:08

Anytime! ^_^
That is how art works -- and art is perfected in humility. The best thing about Shimomura is that even with ten years of working on that series and getting so much enthusiasm from the fans, she is still humble. While I begin to wonder at her working on Parasite Eve, I applaud her for pretty much everything else she's done.