As yesterday marked the release of the Sonic Colors official soundtrack CD Vivid Sound X Hybrid Colors, the SEGA of Japan Sonic the Hedgehog site Sonic Channel interviewed composer Kenichi Tokoi (who previously composed for Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games and Sonic and the Secret Rings) and producer Tomoya Ohtani (Who composed for soundtracks such as Sonic World Adventure and Sonic Rush Adventure) with regards to their involvement with the soundtrack.
Although the interview was conducted in Japanese, we’ve picked out some interesting topics discussed! Tokoi and Ohtani first discuss how the title of the album came about; vivid was deemed a lively term and reflected the nature of the game well, with the word hybrid uniting the liveliness of the game with the music. Because of the mix of synthesised music, autotuned vocals and orchestral music, the term hybrid was also thought to also reinforce the nature of the diversity of music on the soundtrack.
Tokoi and Ohtani also comment on differences to composing the soundtrack compared to Sonic World adventure (or Sonic Unleashed), whereby the music in the game did not change for the stage, where as now every act on the Wii version of the game has a different tune. Thetr is also discussion of the similarities and differences between the title track “Reach for the Stars” and that for Sonic World Adventure “Endless Possibilities”, and how they feel variation of lead singers for the title tracks is beneficial.
The pair go on to talk at great extent about the inspirations and vibes considered when composing for varying levels; for example the twangy guitar was thought to capture the subtle hilarity of Sweet Mountain being an armoury masquerading as a confectionary factory. Heavy guitars were employed for the fast pace of the Asteroid Coaster, and the darker themes were used to convey the feel for the Terminal Velocity stages. Both composers also enjoyed creating the 8-bit versions of the tracks used during the virtual stages!
They interestingly also discuss how they feel they have not deviated much from the framework of most sonic Sonic soundtracks, but hope fans appreciate the more pop-themed opening tunes rather than feeling betrayed by the decision to have Cash Cash perform.
You can check out the full interview with pictures on the Sonic Channel Page.
If you haven’t ordered your copy of Vivid Sounds X Hybrid Colors, you can purchase this now from CD-Japan for ¥4200 (about $47 USD or £32 GBP).
Sonic soundtracks never fail to disappoint me. They all should be proud.
Uh, that’s “Tomoya Ohtani”, not Motoya Satoshi…
[Uh! What a schoolboy error! Wrote this at 4am, but still no excuse! You’ve earned yourself a promotion! – T]
@ Core: Thats what I was thinking as well that the pictures have Tomoya Ohtani in it not Motoya Satoshi
Isn’t there anywhere where I can buy a digital download of it instead?
SOMONE UPLOAD IT SO I CAN DOWNLOAD IT IMMEAIDATELY
Thanks for pointing that out guys – I wrote this at like 4am and my brain was certainly not functioning! – T
Sonic music is always awsome! SEGA just needs more “soft” tunes to it to make it sound luxourious ! I know sonic is all about looping music, but screw that, the music should fit into the games’ theme perfectly. Do any of u know DJ-Maxie on youtube? He did remixes of the classic sonic music games…can one of you go on YOUTUBE, and type in “Tropical Extinction (Angel Island Zone)” and click on the one that has a picture of sonic and knuckles. Listen to how BEAUTIFUL the remix sound is. Its magnificent. I think ALL of you people deserve to listen to this. Thank you 🙂
$47?!!! I could get the game for a few dollars more! When’s Sega gonna wise up and export these things to the West (or at least sell them through digital music retailers)?
Fucking LOL @ your corrections, T-Bird XDD