If you've read my other article, 10 Things You Know When You Grew Up in a Musical Family, I talked briefly about the importance of an art-piece's soundtrack; be it a movie, a video game, an anime, a radio drama or a TV show. It can set the mood just as well and sometimes even better than dialogue can at times. It creates a tone and mood, oftentimes without saying a single word. It speaks to the talent and effort that composers put into creating pieces for various media that oftentimes goes under-acknowledged.
If you have any awesome composers that you want to tell me about in the comments, please do!
1. Koichi Sugiyama
Koichi Sugiyama has worked on the world-famous "Dragon Quest" series for its 30-year lifespan. Sugiyama's talent shines through each time you play a "Dragon Quest" game. It enriches the experience in such a way that years after playing his games as a child, I can still recall tracks from his games by memory.
As a child, I was engrossed by not only the colorful world, emotional storytelling, complex characters and captivating game-play of "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King," but also its soundtrack, from the optimistic swinging beats of "Peaceful Town Theme 1" to the grace of "Heavenly Flight". One of the most famous tracks of his is the Overture of the Dragon Quest franchise, which gets you immediately pumped up for what you're about to play.
Please, check out this man's amazing work.
2. Alexandre Desplat
Now we go from video games to film, and from Japan to the most French of the French: Alexandre Desplat. Just look at that charming stubble, sparkling eyes and impeccably-tied scarf.
Alexandre Desplat has worked on many Oscar award-winning films like Argo and The King's Speech. He's also worked on a variety of world-acclaimed projects and adaptations "The Painted Veil," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and "Zero Dark Thirty," just to name a few.
Some of my favorite pieces of Desplat's are on his "Oscar bait" films, especially the "Painted Veil: (2006). I love how in this track he really makes an effort to incorporate ancient Chinese instruments with Western ones to display the conflict between the competing worlds during the early 1900s in Shanghai. Some of my favorite tracks are the main score and "River Waltz".
If you haven't already check out some of the OST tracks of this guy, please do.
3. A. R. Rahman
Definitely most widely known for working on "Slumdog Millionaire," Rahman is one of the best-known modern Indian composers internationally. Now, if you haven't seen "Slumdog Millionaire," then I must first ask: What kind of rock have you been sleeping under and/or congrats on getting out of your near-decade-long-coma. Unlike the previous two entries, Rahman uses a lot more vocals in his work and relies more heavily on techno beats. He often combines techno beats with traditional Indian instruments, incorporates artists like M.I.A into his scores and experiments with things like rap and hip/hop. This paints us a picture of an India that is changing at a massive rate, heading rapidly into the future, but at the same time struggling with social injustices like the caste system and sex trafficking.
Anyway, some of his most famous tracks from "Slumdog" include "Jai Ho", "O...Saya", "Paper Planes" and "Ringa Ringa". Other great tracks from the movie composed by Rahman are "Riots" and "Liquid Dance".
His work on other Bollywood movies have been exceptional as well, such as "Jiya Re" from "Jab Tak Hai Jaan".
4. Taku Iwasaki
Don't let those indoor sunglasses fool you, this man is the real deal. He has worked on "Soul Eater," "Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace," "Classroom Crisis," "Bungou Stray Dogs," "Black Butler," "Gatchaman Crowds" and "Gurren Lagann."
His style oftentimes combines techno, house, hip-hop/rap, rock and traditional musical instruments. Sure that sounds like it'd be a jumbled mess, but it somehow comes together through the magic of being the beast that is Taku Iwasaki.
My favorite tracks from "Gatchaman Crowds," "An Unbeatable Network" and "Crowds".
Here's some from the famous "Black Butler" that I adore, "Nigram Clavem", "Ciel" and "Di 'a' vertiment".
Here's some from "Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace," "Aku no Michishirube", "Game of Laplace" and "Zunosen!!".
Some from "Soul Eater," "Step Up", "Konfrontation", "M alleus Maleficarum"
And here's some from "Bungou Stray Dogs," "Inou no Susume", "Rashomon", and "Leaping Wings".
5. Paul Cantelon
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Best known for his work on producing scores for films like "Everything is Illuminated," "The Other Boleyn Girl," "Convicted" and "The Visit," Cantelon is a talented contemporary musician who is more akin to Desplat's style.
His most on "Everything is Illuminated" include, "Prologue Babushka", "Inside Out" and "Sunflowers".
Some of his tracks on "The Other Boleyn Girl" include, "The Execution" and "My Sweet Lord".
