Quote Originally Posted by End View Post
I'd like to ask you what your favorite genre of music is, best bands to listen to get into it, and the "why" of it.

I'd also like to ask you what composers you really "vibe" with. I can start. Yuki Kajiura, Keiichi Okabe, and Daisuke Ishiwatari. Yes, those are all Japanese composers. Two of which make regular use of "chaos language" (i.e. vocals that are utter nonsense and have no actual translation and there's a damn good reason for that). But the theorycraft they employ... I always knew they were smart as hell but once you actually understand a bit of theory boy do you start to appreciate them more. Even Yuki who many claim is just repeating herself at this point. Well, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

As an aside, listen to Yuki's work in relation to the "Kara no Kyoukai" series. That was her at her best I'd say. Ufotable, Nasu, and anyone related to them knew to tap her when it came to a project they wanted to have an "impact" afterward.
I also like Japanese music mostly listen to game OSTs such as Touhou (and fanmade derivative songs), and old school game OSTs which are too many to mention lol. Other than that I like some J-pop/rock bands from the 00s (imo best era when animu openings all had SOUL) such as School Food Punishment, Soutaiseiriron (vocals by Yakushimaru Etsuko who has the sweetest voice I have ever heard, also their songs often have apparently nonsense or esoteric lyrics if you wanna check that out), Round Table (feat Nino) and a few others. I feel vocal songs should belong to a different category because they limit their instruments to help the voice be noticeable, versus non-vocal songs which use instruments as a "voice".

Other than those, I enjoy western 70s and 80s songs, from disco style to the synthesizer era (I love those early synth and techno songs). It's no coincidence that 00s Japanese pop/rock was influenced by western 70s/80s songs and that's probably why I like em so much.

The main reason I like videogame music is the way they design simple motifs and weave them into the OST in such a way that it sticks into your head but at the same time the overall pieces can still be musically complex, as well as versatile since the same motif can be made brighter or darker with a little bit of theory knowhow. Currently I'm working on making my own games (while leveraging my musical experience) and the best way to learn about it is just listening and analyzing different game OSTs. I mean most people versed in music think game OSTs are unsophisticated but it ain't true lol