A Chat With Shota Nakama, Continued!

This is part two of an interview with Video Game Orchestra founder Shota Nakama! To read the first part, go here.

You were approached to arrange and perform the music for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII with the VGO. How did that come to be?

SN: When I met Masashi Hamauzu, the main composer of the FFXIII trilogy, obviously both of us had no idea this was going to happen. I was just trying to meet up with a bunch of Japanese game composers while traveling to Tokyo, and he was one of the persons I contacted.  So we met and I basically just introduced myself to him and told him what I think about the game music and so on.  Later I had an opportunity to perform with his band, IMERUAT, at Anime Central, which is one of the largest anime conventions in the US, held in Chicago.  During the con, Hamauzu-san and I basically spent a lot of time talking about not only music but also our lives and all. After that we basically became awesome friends.  So then one day he emailed me and asked me to take a part in the music he is working on, which was Lightning Returns.  Of course I said yes - who would say no to that, right?

So: You get the phone call. The soundtrack for the next Final Fantasy, arranging it and bringing it to life, is in your hands. What's the first thing that comes to mind?

SN: It is quite surreal to be honest. This is the franchise I have always enjoyed playing growing up, and I had never imagined to be a part of it when I was growing up in a little tiny island called Okinawa. The release of the game is by far the proudest and greatest moment of my career. Sometimes I wonder if that actually happened (laugh) But yea, thinking about it makes me want to move forward and produce more and more great things like the soundtrack.

Final Fantasy XIII had a generally traditional, sweeping score. XIII-2 had a pop vibe, for the most part. What genre does Lightning Returns explore?

SN: While the other two composers, Naoshi Mizuta and Mitsuto Suzuki, explored a variety of different styles of music, Hamauzu-san wanted to go back to a “pure” orchestral style from the beginning. Thus the majority of the scores we worked together is in that style.

What was it like to work in that situation? Any pressure?

SN: I did not really feel a pressure for some reason. However there was one time I just could not come up with new ideas and I was totally stuck at the same place of this one score for like a few days.  The deadline was coming closer, so to refresh myself, I traveled.  I went to Okinawa, Tokyo, Chicago, and some other places while working on the scores at home and hotels. For some reason that worked out really well and I was able to get back and finish up the entire music.  Looking back, I think I finished orchestrating all the scores, almost 60 minutes worth of music, in about 2 and half weeks.  I think that is quite fast (laughs)

Once you had arranged and were performing the pieces with the VGO, how involved was Square Enix?

SN: They did monitor some of our sessions via Skype, but both Hamauzu-san and the SQEX team let us work on the recording without saying much. It was actually really nice because we felt like they trusted us.

Are there any Lightning Returns pieces which stick out as particular favorites?

SN: Lightning’s Theme, Opening and Ending for sure. Lightning’s Theme is basically just a piano and strings but the piano lines are just too gorgeous. Hamauzu-san always comes up with such nice piano lines and I have no idea how he could pour out music like that.  The opening is literally the first piece I worked on from the soundtrack, so I remember being really excited to work on it.

For the Ending Theme, we recorded the solo violin part after we finished recording everything, and Hamauzu-san flew over to monitor the session. Sho Omagari, a Juliard graduate violinist, stepped into the booth and just totally killed it in one shot. It was absolutely the perfect, perfect take.  Then Hamauzu-san, while chuckling, opened his mouth saying something like “play it again and let me listen to it because it was just too good to be true”, and of course we did end up using that take. 

The VGO was also involved with the soundtrack of God Eater 2. Can we expect to see more developers turning to the VGO in the future?

SN: Definitely. As we have proved, we are capable of producing great music. This is not just because we have great musicians. This is also because a lot of our musicians actually do love games, and they love recording for games.  If I were a game developer, I think I would rather work with the people who love it than the people who are not really interested in it. 

You were approached to arrange a piece from Final Fantasy Tactics for a concert in Hitoshi Sakimoto's honor. What was that like?

SN: One of my friends worked for the show as a staff, and he contacted me to ask me to arrange something for the show. I agreed to do it because it sounded like an interesting program and I love Sakimoto-san’s music.  I did listen to the concert recording afterwards. The string quartet and pianist they had were quite amazing! I was really glad the whole thing turned out great and my arrangement was beautifully performed.

You are a classically-trained guitarist. A graduate from Berklee. You could take a shot at playing with Gustavo Dudamel. What about video game music attracts you to it?

SN: I was in Oregon in 2005, and I had an opportunity to study with Peter Zisa, who is one of the very best classical guitar teachers I have ever met. He is pretty much the reason why I got hooked with this whole classical guitar thing. I did continue taking classical guitar lessons from Apostolos Parazkevas in Berklee.  After Berklee I went to The Boston Concervatory where I received a master’s degree in Classical Guitar Performance in 2012.

Anyways, yes doing the classical music was really fun, and I still do play it whenever I get a chance. I do also play all kinds of music like rock, pop, blues, and etc. I can probably talk more about it and give some deep musical thoughts and analysis of why I love VGM, but it is just simply something I really do enjoy listening to and playing. It all comes down to it.

What's next for Shota Nakama?

SN: I am in touch with a Japanese game company for another recording project.  It is for another big game franchise that everyone knows about like FF. Of course I cannot say what it is yet, but I will let everyone know once the time comes.  Other than that, we have a performance at PAX East followed by a tour in Asia. I also have another project, ANI-ON LIVE!, a 7-piece rock band performing Anime music.  We are expecting some big shows at events throughout the US.  It will be another busy year, but I am totally looking forward to it!

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