Akira Yamaoka
Quick Facts
Biography
Akira Yamaoka (山岡 晃, Yamaoka Akira, born February 6, 1968) is a Japanese video game music composer, sound designer, guitarist, and producer, best known for composing various games in the Silent Hill series by Konami. He also once worked as a producer on the series, as well as serving as a composer and producer of the Silent Hill film and its sequel. Since 2010, he has been the sound director at Grasshopper Manufacture.
Life and work
Early life
Yamaoka attended Tokyo Art College, where he studied product design and interior design.He originally planned to follow a career in design.
Career
Yamaoka joined Konami on September 21, 1993. He immediately began to work on the games Contra: Hard Corps, Sparkster, and Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2. He then shortly thereafter worked on the music for the PC Engine and Sega CD versions of Snatcher. When Konami began searching for a musician to compose Silent Hill's score, Yamaoka volunteered because he thought he was the only one capable of making the soundtrack.Although initially hired as a composer, he soon became involved in overall sound design.
On December 2, 2009, it was announced that Yamaoka was leaving his long term employer Konami. On February 3, 2010, it was announced that Yamaoka has joined Grasshopper Manufacture and was working with Goichi Suda and Shinji Mikami on their action game, Shadows of the Damned. He was first appointed to the role of chief sound officer at Grasshopper, but became involved in aspects of game production as well.
On August 10, 2012, Yamaoka announced he would be releasing a second solo album in late 2012, one "different from the usual Silent Hill music." On October 31, 2012, he announced via Facebook, that the new three track Spanish language single "Revolución" would premiere at V-CON during a live performance. In 2014, he expressed interest in returning as a composer for Silent Hills, although the project was later canceled.
In late October and early November 2015, Yamaoka and his band performed tracks from the Silent Hill series at nine live events in cities across the United Kingdom, titled "Silent Hill Live". In July 2016, Yamaoka performed live at the BitSummit 4th indie game festival in Kyoto, Japan.
Personal life
Before working as a video game composer, Yamaoka initially sought a career as a designer, but instead became a musician after studying product design at Tokyo Art College.
Yamaoka stated in a 2009 interview that his favorite game creator is Suda51, and his favorite video game is No More Heroes.His favorite of his own soundtracks is Silent Hill 2. In March 2011, Yamaoka auctioned some of his musical instruments for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Play for Japan flood relief.In a 2014 interview, he stated his favorite film was Dario Argento's Suspiria.
Musical style and influences
When asked what other artists influenced his work, Yamaoka cited Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails as his "main inspiration, both performing and in music style." Among his other influences are Angelo Badalamenti (best known for his soundtrack work with David Lynch), Metallica and Depeche Mode.
When asked if his studies at Tokyo Art College had helped him in his musical career, he replied: "At that time, Mick Karn of Japan, Steve Strange of Visage, and a lot of other musicians combined the notions of Art and Music with their own new style. I got really influenced by that. Therefore, every time I write songs, I try to combine Art and Music." He has also stated that he derives much of his influence from baroque styles common throughout the 18th century.
Yamaoka stated some of his favorite songs to be "Der Mussolini" by D.A.F., "Amber" by Craig Armstrong, "Moments In Love" by Anne Dudley, "Moon Over Moscow" by Visage, and "The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone.
Works
Video games
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1991 | Smart Ball | with Yasuhiko Fukuda and Manabu Saito |
1994 | Contra: Hard Corps | with Hiroshi Kobayashi, Michiru Yamane, Hirofumi Taniguchi, and Aki Hata |
Sparkster | with Kazuhiko Uehara, Masahiro Ikariko, Minako Matsuhira, and Michiru Yamane | |
Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 | with Michiru Yamane | |
Snatcher | sound programming, with Keizou Nakamura, Masanori Adachi, Kazuhito Imai, and Masanori Oouchi | |
1996 | Gradius Deluxe Pack | with Miki Higashino, Kiyohiko Yamane, and Motoaki Furukawa |
Ganbare Goemon: Uchū Kaizoku Akogingu | with Michiru Yamane, Takayuki Fujii, Motoaki Furukawa, Tappi Iwase, Latino, Hiroshi Tamawari, and Shoichiro Hirata | |
Speed King | PlayStation version | |
Lightning Legend: Daigo no Daibouken | "Spring's Undersea Walking Hurricane (Rankerk Hatred)" | |
1997 | International Superstar Soccer Pro | |
Nagano Winter Olympics '98 | with Soshiro Hokkai and Keiko Fukami | |
1998 | Poy Poy 2 | |
NBA In The Zone '98 | with Yuichi Asami, Ryuichi Inoue, and Nobuhiko Matsufuji | |
Kensei: Sacred Fist | with Kyoran Suzuki and Norikazu Miura | |
International Superstar Soccer Pro 98 | with Shinji Enomoto, Kosuke Soeda, Nobuhiko Matsufuji, and Hideki Kasai | |
1999 | Silent Hill | |
ISS Pro Evolution | with Shinji Enomoto, Kosuke Soeda, and Hideki Kasai | |
1999–2012 | Bemani series | |
2000 | Gradius III and IV | |
ESPN MLS GameNight | with Shinji Enomoto, Kosuke Soeda, and Hideki Kasai | |
2001 | Silent Hill 2 | |
2002 | Contra: Shattered Soldier | with Sota Fujimori |
2003 | Silent Hill 3 | |
2004 | Rumble Roses | with various others |
Silent Hill 4: The Room | ||
2006 | Rumble Roses XX | with various others |
2007 | Silent Hill: Origins | |
2008 | Silent Hill: Homecoming | |
2009 | Silent Hill: Shattered Memories | |
2010 | No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle | with Jun Fukuda |
2011 | Shadows of the Damned | |
Rebuild of Evangelion: Sound Impact | arrangements | |
2012 | Sine Mora | |
Liberation Maiden | sound producer | |
Lollipop Chainsaw | music director | |
Silent Hill: Book of Memories | guitars on "Love Psalm (Book of Memories)" | |
Black Knight Sword | ||
2013 | Rotolla | |
Killer Is Dead | music director | |
2014 | Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day | |
Murasaki Baby | "Neeko" | |
2015 | Persona 4: Dancing All Night | "Time To Make History" |
2016 | Puzzle & Dragons X | with Kenji Ito, Yuzo Koshiro, and Keigo Ozaki |
The Silver Case | arrangements, "WHITEOUT" | |
Let It Die | music director | |
2017 | Astro Boy: Edge of Time | |
2018 | The 25th Ward: The Silver Case | with Baiyon, Erika Ito, and Masafumi Takada |
Films
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2006 | Silent Hill | executive producer |
2012 | Silent Hill: Revelation | with Jeff Danna |
2014 | Patema Inverted | sound director |
2017 | Kuso | with Flying Lotus, Aphex Twin, Thundercat, and various others |
Other
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2006 | iFuturelist | |
2011 | Play for Japan: The Album | with various others |
Sdatcher | ||
2012 | Revolución | |
"Rinkaku (Eternal Slumber Mix)" by Dir En Grey | ||
2014 | "Sustain the Untruth (Remix)" by Dir En Grey | |
2014 | • Daljit Kundi & Ludvig Cimbrelius - Matter is Energy (Akira Yamaoka Remix) • Daljit Kundi & Ludvig Cimbrelius - Voices from Within (Akira Yamaoka Remix) |