[Album] Hako No Niwa (SBPS-0006)

(All information courtesy of Chudah's Corner)
Hako no Niwa
Composed by:Yasunori Mitsuda
Publisher: Sleigh Bells
Catalog Number:SBPS-0006
Released: September 23, 2004

1) The Story Starts Here
2) Chikuridori
3) Scribblings
4) Careful Preparation
5) You Can See the Windmills from this Hill
6) Harape Colosseum
7) Gallery of Ice and Flame
8) A Flow of Scorching Heat
9) The Wind's Treasure Chest
10) Cactus
11) Trying My Ability
12) The Selfish Girl
13) The Small Hopes and Small Breaths of a Young Man
14) Tower of Sand
15) The Smug Gentleman
16) In Search of a Falling Star
17) Revolving Disk
18) Wagon Tracks
19) Forest of Illusion
20) A Lonely Heart and Inner Ambitions
21) Transparent Sadness
22) Invisible Toybox
23) The Flowers Dance
24) Awakening from Sleep
25) A Perpetual Recurrence
26) A Worthy Opponent's Trap
27) One Last Battle
28) Sealed Key
29) A Small Friendship
30) The Box Garden

Hako No Niwa was a startling departure for Yasunori Mitsuda in that it is an essentially lighthearted composition with a heavy emphasis on percussion instruments. The amount of creativity on display is startling as well; there's no hint of a Celtic sound or any sort of thematic material recycled from previous albums. One gets the feeling that Mitsuda had a ball writing this, and his enthusiasm is quite evident.

While he never quite abandons other orchestral elements, the percussion is the defining feature. Whether xylophone and marimba, as in "Scribblings," or the bongo and tambourine as in "Thoroughly Prepared," complex rhythm is Hako No Niwa's hallmark. The number of specialty percussion instrumets--dulcimer, tap shoes, hand claps, güiro--is amazing, and the way in which they and more traditional instruments are layered together is marvelously complex and immensely satisfying.

Most of the tracks are lighthearted swing-style tunes, often with quieter interludes, though a few are darker and more mysterious, most notably track 19, "Forest of Illusion," which uses echo effects, piano, and güiro to create an off-kilter soundscape that oozes mystery and strangeness.

Other standout tracks include the triple whammy of "The Story Starts Here," "Chikuridori," and "Scribblings," which combine the innovative percussion with light melodies and the occasional serious interlude, and "Invisible Toy Box," which uses a broken music box to create a whimsical yet unbalanced mood. "Toy box" is an excellent discriptor of the album as a whole; it's as if Mitsuda emptied his own toy box in orchestrating his composition, resulting in a wide variety of creative tracks. One of the best VGM pieces of 2004, and a delight for anyone looking for original orchestral VGM.

5/5

How ya doing, buddy?

I enjoyed reading your thoughts on Hako no Niwa, orion, and agree with you, largely.

This is an album I usually dip in and out of; I enjoy the individual pieces quite a bit, but never usually listen to it all the way through. In terms of composition, it's solid -- very much in the style of Mitsuda, yet with plenty of originality, demonstrating that his light-hearted side is often what he does best. I expect many will find it dull, and indeed I find lots of the album exactly that, but it demonstrates a considerable amount of musical maturity on Mitsuda's part and (likely) fits the game wonderfully. I love its lyrical nature and percussion use.

Mitsuda is a funny one to me. I only revisit his really unique works (Xenosaga, Moonlit Shadow, and Xenogears Creid) on a frequent basis, yet find very little to fault about his composition. Unlike Uematsu, Ito, Sekito, and several others, I feel he has demonstrated a profound ability to both reinvent himself and refine his old styles in recent years. I like how in touch he is with his music, though admit that some of his works are a tiny bit too consistent for my tastes.

4/5 for me, but only because of personal tastes, not any criticisms about the quality of the composition.

How ya doing, buddy?

I agree wholeheartedly with both of you. This is by far one of Mitsuda's most creative works to date. My favorite tracks include The Story Starts Here, Gallery of Fire and Ice, Flow of Scorching Heat, Tower of Sand, Forest of Illusion, and Sealed Key. I love how the album starts off light-hearted and simplistic compositions to more darker and complex works. And then at the end it gives you a mixture of the two. This is quite a mixed bag, and one that I enjoy listening to when I get the chance. I give this a perfect 5/5.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I just downloaded this from Tappy's FTP last night, and I must say, I am thoroughly enjoying it. The music makes me thinks of happy things, like toys and clouds and pastel colors and sunshine. It is certainly a departure from what I normally expect from Mitsuda.

So far, the songs that have stood out the most for my are "Scorching Flow" and "Revolving Disc". The strings in Scorching Flow are awesome, and the cadance in Revolving Disc clicks with me instantly.

So far, I'd give this a 5/5 easily.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?