Oban Star Racers Director Comments on Kanno
Here is a French interview of Savin Yeatman-Eiffel, director of the French animation Oban Star Racers. The opening and ending themes of this animation is composed by Yoko Kanno, and the background music is by Taku Iwasaki.
For those who haven’t listened to the intro and ending sequences, here they are:
INTRO: A Chance to Shine by AKINO
ENDING: Waratteta by Sukoshi
Yyrkoon, who also visits this website regularly, posted in YKDB an English translation of the part where Savin is asked about Yoko Kanno. Here I quote Yyrkoon’s translation:
How did you manage to convince Yoko Kanno to sign the credit titles?
Good question ! It was a long-term job, which took more than one year and a half. On the music, we had two great collaborators: Taku Iwasaki and Yoko Kanno. I was very fond of the work of Taku Iwasaki on Rurouni Kenshin (the 4 OAV of Kazuhiro Furuhashi) and I knew that he was also capable of composing original soundtracks like Witch Hunter Robin’s one, which is more modern and more occidental. He could also add some guitar, some electro sound, create interesting mixing. On Oban, he conducted a 40 musicians orchestra, then he mixed that music with some techno. At the end, his composition was superb, it spreads over 80 pieces of music which were often written specially acording to some image, which is pretty rare for a TV show. Of course, all of this cost a lot.Then we worked with Yoko Kanno. The productor with who we chose to work is M.Ota, and he was the one who presented us Taki Iwasaki. When I asked him, at the beginning of the production, whether we could try to request Yoko Kanno, he immediately ansewered it was impossible - she was too busy and he was too old and too tired to work with her again (!). I try again regurlarly about the credit titles and he finished presenting me two demos of a “young artist”. I listened to them and found them perfect. Actually it was she, the young artist, and these two musics became the opening and ending titles of the TV show.
In studio, Yoko is very passionate, very living. I never assisted to the eccentricities she is sometimes reproached for, I found her very accurate and very pro. We got a lot of chances, because only a few TV shows can pride themselves to have some Yoko Kanno on their credit titles, without taking in account that Oban is a french-japanese coproduction.
Will you answer to the question everyone is asking for : Are Yoko Kanno and Gabriela Robin the same person?
I know a lot of things, but I must keep the secret. I won’t say anything, even under torture ! (laugh)For the fans, by a fan ^^
PS : Sorry for the english errors if there are
I asked for permission to publish this excerpt here, primarily because of the second question
Did anyone else here think, after reading the translation, that the directoris a big fan of Kanno? If he wanted her to do the opening and ending sequences to pull a new audience, that would be a very effective move in my opinion 
Thanks Yyrkoon for the translation!
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August 7th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I know that the Oban project has begun for a very long time. Actually everyone thought this project died some years ago, because it must have been really hard to find the ressources for a french animation team. I think this project team is a group of passionate persons, who love japanese animation. So they know of course Yoko Kanno, and the director surely is a big fan of her, that’s why he tried to request her to work with Taku Iwasaki (like in Escaflowne or Aquarion where there were two composers doing the soudntrack). But it seems it was impossible, but the music director managed to find two songs for the opening and ending titles, I think the Oban project team is very lucky ^^ And I hope their next project (if there is…) will have again some Yoko Kanno musics !
August 7th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Yup, I hope there’d be more of Kanno, that means more stuff to blog about
I love this girl, she just goes on and on and on… did you notice that the fans recently have been digging far to find her oldest works? o__O I feel like I’m getting to know more about Kanno from both ends of the time spectrum.
PS. If I were a director who had lots of money, I’d probably hire her too
And we’d be doing a movie about cute, cute, cute animals!!!
August 8th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
(hey, I heard there’s going to be a movie?) They were talking about it in the YouTube videos that I posted o__O
August 9th, 2007 at 8:14 am
The ending is by “Sukoshi”, not “Mou Sukoshi”. I wonder what’s her real name…
Here’s a slightly different take on music in the answer to fans: http://www.obanstarracers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=583 (search for “Kanno”)
It’s been mentioned that Taku Iwasaki made enough music for four (!) soundtracks. Would be nice if they released them all, the music in this show is really great…
Incidentally, the OST can be purchased in the Oban fan shop. The fist volume has long Japanese version and short French versions of Chance to Shine.
http://www.obanfanshop.com/index.php?language=en
August 9th, 2007 at 8:16 am
BTW, Tsuneo Imahori (who plays guitar like on every Kanno album) plays for Taku Iwasaki too, also on this OST.
August 9th, 2007 at 8:30 am
I see only “Sukoshi” in the credits and also in the official site, but I see some sites say “Mou Sukoshi”… I wonder where that came from? The name translates into “A little more” from Japanese to English, I am guessing it’s NOT a real name.
I think there was someone before who contacted me and suggested that “Mou Sukoshi” is another of Gabriela’s pseudonyms, just like “Sister R”. Was that you roxfan?
August 9th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
No, I never said anything like that. I’m guessing some people might’ve been somehow confused by the ending theme to Midori Days (”Mou sukoshi, mou sukoshi”).
I also don’t think that “Sukoshi” is Gabriela. For one, it’s not in Kannoese
P.S. aren’t you going to edit the post? I don’t think we need to spread the confusion any more…
August 10th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Oh, yes of course
I’ve edited it. But I’m afraid it’s already been indexed by Google - I checked it yesterday.
By the way, Gabriela sang the Tombow Pencil CM and that’s in English