PALGN: Night in Fantasia has been Eminence’s flagship show for many years. Could you tell us a bit about the evolution over the years in regards to the way the concert is conducted and the way the performance is presented?
Hiroaki: A Night in Fantasia started in 2003 at the Salvation Army Hall on Elizabeth Street. We weren’t known as Eminence back then and it was organized with very limited budget, rehearsal time and production cost. The concert turned out to be a success with the hall being filled up to the point where some people were standing to just view the concert.
In 2004, we christened the orchestra as Eminence Symphony Orchestra and restructured the members as well to reflect on what we wanted to be, the best Australia can offer. We also started bringing in guests like Nobuo Uematsu to the concert.
In 2005, we started running visuals on screen and moved our concert venue to the Sydney Town Hall. In 2006, we went to Melbourne to perform at the Hamer Hall as well as our usual Sydney concerts. In 2007, we invited a record number of 7 celebrity guests from Japan.
And this year, we have set several new benchmarks:
- 10 guests from Japan and US
- First time US guests will be attending our concerts
- Concert Venue moved to Sydney Entertainment Centre
- Several original arrangement created by original composers
- Concert CD released globally
Hiroaki: Personally, I am very much looking forward to Prince of Persia, Shadow of the Colossus, Darksiders and Afrika. These arrangements were created by their original composers and they bring a new but familiar outlook to the music itself, it’s like expanding the world you already know. What’s even cooler is that these composers were limited by game design when creating these compositions. Now there are no limitations and they are absolutely free to compose the way they intended to.
PALGN: This year we will once again be seeing an elaborate use of visual images to compliment the performance. Can we expect any major changes in the way this will be executed?
Hiroaki: I think we’ve pretty much mastered this art already so unfortunately no, we don't have anything new. Perhaps we can get some suggestions!
PALGN: Who are the performers this year? Among the many guest musicians making an appearance this year, Aubrey Ashburn will be performing a song, so will any of the other special guests take part in the actual performance?
Hiroaki: Aubrey Ashburn is not the only special guest performer this year. Chiaki Takahashi will be singing solo for the music from Idolm@ster, AIKA will be singing for the song for the new Shadow of the Colossus arrangement and the great Kow Otani himself will be performing on the piano for the arranagement as well.
PALGN: When it comes to track selection, do you have any preferences in mind? And do you look for a particular style of music for a live performance?
Hiraoki: When I select tracks, I look at the concert as a whole. What I want to see is diversity in style, emotion and in the games/anime titles. And of course, the quality of the original production!
"I am very much looking forward to Prince of Persia, Shadow of the Colossus, Darksiders and Afrika."
PALGN: Tell us about the projects you have worked on since the last tour. We are aware that you've recorded some music for some upcoming titles, such as Starcraft 2 and Diablo III. What was that like?
Hiroaki: Recording for Diablo III was absolutely awesome. The original music was done by Matt Uelmen and arranged by Russell Brower. I remember Russell had all unnecessary staff leave the control room before the recording was done. The musicians were given code word IDed music so they had no clue what title it was. We had to explain the musical notions directly without using phrases that would give away the game itself.
We’ve also been involved with a recording earlier this year but I am not at liberty to talk about it yet. I will let you guys know when it’s released on iTunes!
PALGN: Eminence continues to represent videogame and anime music, how do you feel about the current state of video game and anime soundtracks?
Hiroaki: There has been an increase in both of these genres with regards to the usage of live orchestral sounds. Unfortunately the quality of these compositions is not on the increase and the ratio of mediocre compositions and great compositions is getting worse each year. At times like this, I often turn back to the SNES era and listen to tracks by Kikuta (Secret of Mana), back when music was created with utmost delicacy and thought.
"I often turn back to the SNES era and listen to tracks by Kikuta (Secret of Mana), back when music was created with utmost delicacy and thought."
PALGN: Being the founder of Eminence, how do you feel about the direction it is heading and where do you see it going?
Hiroaki: It is very difficult, what we do is preserve and spread our idea and vision. The type of music performed by the instruments we play is not “dead”, we know we’re always going uphill and no matter how many people fill out the concert seats, we will still be challenged financially and by other music production companies who are willing to cut corners.
That being said, I am very satisfied with the way things are going artistically and I guess all we can do is keep at it!
PALGN: Tell us about some of your musical influences and more importantly, what really inspired you to play video game and anime music in the first place?
Hiroaki: Secret of Mana was what influenced me to play video game music and Princess Mononoke was what influenced me to play anime music. I love music which has been through a lot of effort and the two titles above have some very good writing. Although they are worlds apart in terms of musical genre, they both have multiple melodies played at once (contrapuntal writing) and it really melds very well with the titles. This kind of music connected with me and I wanted to put a little bit of myself into the music I love. Hence, we perform this type of music.
PALGN: It was announced that the concert will be recorded and released on CD along with a limited edition. At the moment it is only available on the official site. Are there any plans for a nationwide retail release?
Hiroaki: There are only plans for international release through the Japanese postal services. However, we are open to nationwide retail release if anyone would be interested.
PALGN: Do you have any future plans and projects that you would like to tell our readers?
Hiroaki: We do, but as you all know, most projects we’re working on now are classified by our respective clients.
"Princess Mononoke was what influenced me to play anime music"
PALGN: We all understand that you're a talented musician yourself and play as first chair violin and violin solo. What inspired you to choose this instrument?
Hiroaki: I wasn’t, it was my parents that made me play the violin. I only gradually started liking it and then ended up loving what I do as I grew older.
PALGN: What video games have you been playing lately? And is there any video game soundtrack in particular that you are currently listening to?
Hiroaki: I am currently re-playing Soul Calibur IV and Valkyria Chronicles, we worked on the soundtrack of both games. I’m thinking of buying Dragon Quest IX but I left my DS at my home in Sydney, so I guess I’ll have to wait a while.
I am currently listening to the set list for ANIF09. It’s the Shadow of the Colossus original arrangement.
PALGN: Thank you for your time, best of luck in your performance, we are very much looking forward to it! Is there anything you would like to say to our readers who will be attending the show?
Hiroaki: Thank you! And to the readers, who are attending the concert. Please bring all your friends and family too!
For more information about A Night in Fantasia 2009, read our preview here.
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