Koji Kondo: Difference between revisions
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==Musical style and influences== |
==Musical style and influences== |
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The "[[Super Mario Bros. theme]]" reached number one on ''[[Billboard Magazine]]''{{'}}s [[Hot Ringtones]] chart in 2009.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Kondo cites rock bands [[Deep Purple]] and [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]] as major musical influences.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.zelda.com/universe/game/twilightprincess/inside04.jsp |title=Inside Zelda Part 4: Natural Rhythms of Hyrule |journal=[[Nintendo Power]] |issue=195 |date=September 2005 |publisher=[[Nintendo of America, Inc.]]}}</ref> |
The "[[Super Mario Bros. theme]]" reached number one on ''[[Billboard Magazine]]''{{'}}s [[Hot Ringtones]] chart in 2009.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Kondo cites rock bands [[Deep Purple]] and [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]] as major musical influences.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.zelda.com/universe/game/twilightprincess/inside04.jsp |title=Inside Zelda Part 4: Natural Rhythms of Hyrule |journal=[[Nintendo Power]] |issue=195 |date=September 2005 |publisher=[[Nintendo of America, Inc.]]}}</ref> |
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He has also cited as influences the works of the Russian romantic composer [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]], particularly his four piano concertos.{{ |
He has also cited as influences the works of the Russian romantic composer [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]], particularly his four piano concertos.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ilJCerCucA |title=[NC UK] Koji Kondo Interview |}}</ref> |
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==Discography== |
==Discography== |
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Revision as of 04:16, 26 April 2012
Koji Kondo | |
|---|---|
 Koji Kondo in 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | August 13, 1960 Nagoya, Japan |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, sound designer, sound director, sound programmer |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, electronic organ, keyboards, synthesizers |
| Years active | 1983–present |
Koji Kondo (近藤 浩治, Kondō Kōji, born August 13, 1960) is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who has been employed at Nintendo since 1984. He is best known for scoring numerous titles in the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series.
Biography
Early life
Born in Nagoya, Japan, Koji Kondo began taking lessons in the electronic organ from the age of five. He improved his skills in the instrument in a cover band that played jazz and rock music.[1] Kondo studied at the Art Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts,[2] but was never classically-trained or particularly dedicated to music. However, he gained some experience in composing and arranging pieces, using both the piano and a computer to assist him. During his senior year, Nintendo sent a recruitment message to his university stating that they were interested in hiring people dedicated to composition and sound programming. An LCD and arcade gamer, Kondo successfully applied for the job in 1984 without requiring any demo tapes.[1]
Career
Kondo was the first person hired by Nintendo for the purpose of creating compositions, and was to play an integral role in making the company's games and music recognizable worldwide. The first games he scored were the arcade games Vs. Golf and Punch-Out!!. Despite creating very little music, he was able to overcome the challenges of sound design. As the Famicom had become highly popular in Japan, Kondo was assigned to compose music for the console's subsequent games at Nintendo's new development team, Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (EAD). Kondo also wrote an instruction manual on how to program Japanese popular music into the Famicom using the peripheral Family BASIC. To conclude his first year at Nintendo, he created the music to Devil World alongside Akito Nakatsuka.[1] In 1985, Nintendo started marketing the Famicom abroad under the name the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to capitalize on the 1983 video game crash that devastated Atari, Inc.[1] He composed the music for the hit releases Super Mario Bros. (1985)[3] and The Legend of Zelda (1986)[4] which helped the system to sell 60 million copies in total and established some of the most well-known melodies in the video game industry.[1]
Super Mario Bros., for many years the best-selling video game of all time, was Kondo's first major score. The game's melodies were created with the intention that short segments of music could be endlessly repeated during the same gameplay without causing boredom. Kondo's soundtrack to Super Mario Bros. gained worldwide recognition, and is to this day the most well-known video game score. The main theme is iconic in popular culture and has been featured in over 50 concerts,[1] been a best-selling ringtone,[5] and been remixed or sampled by various musicians.[1] Kondo's work on The Legend of Zelda scores has also become highly recognized. He produced four main pieces of background music for the first installment of the series; the overworld theme has become comparable in popularity with the Super Mario Bros. main theme. Following the success of The Legend of Zelda, he provided the score for two Japanese-exclusive titles, Nazo no Murasame Jō (1986) and Shin Onigashima (1987). He also created the soundtrack to Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987),[1] which was later rebranded outside of Japan as Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1988.[6][7]
Kondo returned to the Super Mario series to produce the scores to Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) and the SNES launch title Super Mario World (1990). Koichi Sugiyama directed a jazz arrangement album of Super Mario World's music and oversaw its performance at the first Orchestral Game Music Concert in 1991. After finishing the soundtrack to Super Mario World, Kondo was in charge of the sound programming for Pilotwings, and created the sound effects for Star Fox. In 1995 he composed for the sequel to Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.[1] Until the Nintendo 64 era, Kondo would usually write all compositions for a game, ending with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the last score he worked alone on.[8] Since then, he has been collaborating with other staff members at Nintendo EAD, supervising music created by others, as well as providing additional compositions for games such as Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.[9][10][11]
Concerts
Kondo attended the world-premiere of Play! A Video Game Symphony at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Illinois in May 2006. His music from the Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda series was performed by a full symphony orchestra. This event drew nearly four thousand attendees. He also attended and performed in a series of three concerts celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series in late 2011.
Musical style and influences
The "Super Mario Bros. theme" reached number one on Billboard Magazine's Hot Ringtones chart in 2009.[citation needed] Kondo cites rock bands Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer as major musical influences.[12] He has also cited as influences the works of the Russian romantic composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, particularly his four piano concertos.[13]
Discography
| Video games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Co-worker |
| 1984 | Golf | Composition | |
| Family BASIC | Sound programming | ||
| Devil World | Composition | Akito Nakatsuka | |
| 1985 | Soccer | Composition | |
| Super Mario Bros. | Composition | ||
| 1986 | The Legend of Zelda | Composition | |
| Nazo no Murasamejo | Composition | ||
| Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels | Composition | ||
| 1987 | Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic | Composition | |
| Shin Onigashima | Composition | ||
| 1988 | Super Mario Bros. 2 | Composition | |
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | Composition | ||
| 1990 | Pilotwings | Sound programming[14] | |
| Super Mario World | Composition/arrangement | ||
| 1991 | The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | Composition/arrangement | |
| 1993 | Star Fox | Sound effects | |
| 1995 | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | Composition/arrangement | |
| 1996 | Super Mario 64 | Composition/arrangement | |
| 1997 | Star Fox 64 | Composition/arrangement | Hajime Wakai |
| 1998 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | Composition/arrangement | |
| 2000 | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | Composition/arrangement | Toru Minegishi |
| 2002 | Super Mario Sunshine | Composition/arrangement | Shinobu Tanaka |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | Composition/arrangement | Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, and Toru Minegishi | |
| 2004 | The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure | Composition/arrangement | Asuka Ohta |
| 2005 | Mario Superstar Baseball | Sound Support | Taro Bando |
| 2006 | The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | Composition | Toru Minegishi and Asuka Ota |
| New Super Mario Bros. | Composition | Asuka Ota and Hajime Wakai | |
| 2007 | Super Mario Galaxy | Composition | Mahito Yokota |
| 2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Arrangement | |
| 2009 | The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks | Composition | Toru Minegishi, Manaka Tominaga, and Asuka Ota |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Sound Advisor | ||
| 2010 | Super Mario Galaxy 2 | Composition | Mahito Yokota and Ryo Nagamatsu |
| 2011 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D | Music Supervisor | |
| The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword | Composition | Hajime Wakai[11] | |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Chris. "Koji Kondo". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ "Mario and Zelda composer Koji Kondo shares all at GDC '07". Music4Games. 2007-01-19. Archived from the original on 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ "Super Mario Bros. Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ "The Legend of Zelda Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ Pearce, James Quintana (2007-01-04). "Top Selling Ringtones In US For 2006". mocoNews. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
- ^ McLaughlin, Rus (2007-11-08). "IGN Presents The History of Super Mario Bros". IGN. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
- ^ "Super Mario Bros. 2 Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
- ^ Kohler, Chris (2007-03-15). "Behind the Mario Maestro's Music". Wired. Condé Nast Digital. Archived from the original on 2011-02-13. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ Super Mario Galaxy Original Sound Track Platinum Version (Media notes). Nintendo Co., Ltd. 2008.
- ^ Gifford, Kevin (2010-02-24). "How Mario Music Gets Made". 1UP.com. UGO Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-28.
- ^ a b Napolitano, Jayson (June 21, 2011). "Koji Kondo Talks Ocarina of Time, Gives Details on Skyward Sword". Original Sound Version. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
- ^ "Inside Zelda Part 4: Natural Rhythms of Hyrule". Nintendo Power (195). Nintendo of America, Inc. September 2005.
- ^ "[NC UK] Koji Kondo Interview".
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Greening, Chris; Harris, Dave (March 2011). "Interview with Soyo Oka". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
- Koji Kondo at IMDb
- Game | Life Video Games Live 2007 Interview
- Advanced Media Network Video Games Live 2007 Interview
- IGN GDC 2007 Interview
- Interview with Music4Games
- Kelly, Piaras (26 March 2004). ""Inside Nintendo: Koji Kondo". Archived from the original on 2007-10-14.. Accessed 17 February 2006.
- MacDonalad, Mark (3 May 2006). "Koji Kondo Interview, Part 1". 1UP.com. Accessed 17 February 2006.
- Van Zelfden, N. Evan (30 May 2006). "Play! kicks off world tour in Chicago. GameSpot.com. Accessed 17 June 2006.
- The Legend of Zelda: Super Best Collection interview at BerriBlue