Hiroki Kikuta interview (new interview 2007-06-16)
 

I don't know much about him, but I figured some of you might find it interesting. I have to thank Jeriaska (the author) for notifying me about it.

http://www.squarehaven.com/news/?id=1176

Freaking sweet. I absolutely adore Kikuta, and I really appreciate the fact that he is such an outsider. His music is amazing, and I hope he composes for games again soon!

Kikuta's one of my favorite composers, so naturally that was a very entertaining read. Jeriaska made some excellent inquiries. I found the question about Kikuta's youth to be especially interesting, and it was also intriguing when he mentioned that he didn't think he changed that much as an artist over the past 17 or so years.

Also, of course, it's awesome to hear that he's still as passionate as ever about composing music. I had my doubts for a while. Does this mean we'll start seeing more Kikuta music popping up? I can only hope it does.

There's also an informative biographical article on Kikuta at Square Haven, in case anyone's interested: The Pioneers: Hiroki Kikuta

*listens to Soukaigi*

Very nice!
Anyday you get to read about Kikuta is a good day.

Addition:
I wonder if anyone could dig up any leads on some of his early Anime or Illustration work...

"At a club in college, I created amateur anime films, and they played at a few Sci Fi conventions. Those are good memories. After college, I entered the manga industry, and I spent a few years as an illustrator. But that's a different story, entirely."

Would be interesting to see his works in that category...

Very cool. I'll look forward to Concerto Gate. The article didn't mention that hentai game thing that Kikuta composed a couple years back! Hehe.

That's Kikuta-san? Hm, I ever thought he's older *laughing* Nevertheless, nice interview. Thanks for posting here!

I like the new, hip look Kikuta-san has. Now it's Uematsu's turn. ;)

He makes it seem like certain key points in his past made him able to think up an artillery of melodies and progressions that he keeps employing. Fortunately, he still manages to push out something new with each new album, and at the least, quite different styles in which to put his familiar progressions and melodies. I quite like his One-Sided Flower song from...one of his hentai games (not SR), even though it's just a borrowed idea from his "Dolphin" song from SD3 and SoM+ (and strangely, it sounds like Captain Jack's song "Little Boy"). Good use of new samples and slight alteration of said progression. ...It's obvious what he means by "I don't evolve as a composer...

...I found that an interesting counter-description to a line Jeremy Soule critiqued about himself during an interview, saying, "I am always evolving; I am in no way right now the best composer I can become."

Queued up Sakura Relaxation for another listen a couple days ago, inspired by this interview. Funny how much it borrows from Secret of Mana. There are two tracks that steal progressions from it directly. Good stuff, definitely recommended.

Oh, and I'm sure Kikuta is just being overly modest. Seems to be a common trait over there. I'd like to think he doesn't believes his best work is behind him. He would never be striving for something better at that rate.

I personally wouldn't mind that trait to sweep over to more people in the West. Makes for more enjoyable interviews imo.

New interview up. I think this one is even more interesting:
http://www.squarehaven.com/news/?id=1301

Yeah, the part about him applying to FALCOM first (and they turned him down!?) before applying at Square was a new revelation...

Yep. Would have been curious to hear his influence on Falcom's works. =3

Hope these articles managed to live up to the expectations of Hiroki Kikuta's fans. I had the help of a friend of mine, Taka, who is an actor/ stage director in Los Angeles and professional translator. Kikuta-san brings a wealth of philosophically weighty subjects and precise technical details to a conversation, so it was fortunate that a first-rate interpreter was willing to help out with the interview.

One of the organizers of the Sakura-Con anime conventions, Mr. Koshida, also offered his time to this project and brought with him a wealth of information on the videogame industry. It was very fortunate that these factors happened to come together and I hope it met the expectations of readers who have been following the musician's career since Secret of Mana.

It certainly did meet expectations.
As you said, having the cooperation of the other 2 gentlemen helped keep things professional, and that certainly shows in the quality of dialog.
My thanks extend to Taka and Koshida as well as you.