Kōji Kondō

Infobox musical artist
Name=Kōji Kondō


Img_capt=Kōji Kondō at Tower Records
Background =non_performing_personnel
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Born=birth date and age|1960|8|13
flagicon|Japan Nagoya, Japan
Died=
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Occupation=Musician, composer
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nihongo|Kōji Kondō|近藤 浩治|Kondō Kōji|extra=born August 13, 1960 is a Japanese composer and musician best known for his scores for various video games produced by Nintendo.

Biography

Kondō was born in Nagoya, Japan. He took to music at an early age, writing simple tunes for fun even when young. At seventeen years of age, he decided to pursue music professionally Fact|date=March 2007. He undertook classical training, and he learned to play several instruments Fact|date=March 2007.

In the 1980s, Kondō learned that a company called Nintendo was seeking musicians to compose music for its new video game system, the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System outside Japan). Kondō had never considered writing video game music before, but he decided to give the company a chance. He was hired in 1983.

Kondō found himself in a totally different environment at Nintendo. Suddenly, he was limited to only four "instruments" (two monophonic pulse channels, a monophonic triangle wave channel which could be used as a bass, and a noise channel used for percussion) due to limitations of the system's sound chip. Though he and Nintendo's technicians eventually discovered a way to add a fifth channel (normally reserved for sound effects), his music was still severely limited on the system.

Kondō has stayed with Nintendo through various consoles, including the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo outside Japan), the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo GameCube, the Nintendo DS and most recently the Wii. These later systems have vastly improved Nintendo's audio capabilities, and Kondō today composes music with CD quality sound.

Kondō attended the world-premiere of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Illinois in May 2006. His music from the "Super Mario Bros." and "The Legend of Zelda" series was performed by a full symphony orchestra. This event drew nearly four thousand attendees.

Musical style and influences

Kōji Kondō is widely acclaimed thanks to his unique partnership crafting the most recognizable themes and soundtracks with industry giant Nintendo (and to his credit, a creatively fluent partnership with Shigeru Miyamoto). Fans and critics alike cite his greatest talent being his ability to craft melodies that while catchy and pleasant upon first listen, remain enjoyable even when looped over long periods of time and played through inferior sound equipment. His songs are certainly memorable; the title theme song to Super Mario Bros. retains its iconic status two decades after its initial release. Not unknown in the musical community, Mr. Kondō can count talent such as Paul McCartney among his admirers. [http://www.gamedaily.com/blog/2007/03/09/gdc-koji-kondo-looks-to-star-wars-superman-for-super-mario-gal] Kondō's music has been citedWho|date=August 2008 as being as integral to the Nintendo style as the game design of Shigeru Miyamoto.

Conversely, this familiarity is also the cause of most criticism of Kondō's work. Over nearly two decades in video game music, his style has changed very little. The themes of "Super Mario Bros." in 1985 are little different from those of "Super Mario Sunshine" in 2002, although the earlier game sounds more primitive due to technological constraints. This need for sameness over the years is something of a double-edged sword for Kondō; when he did try something different, as in "" (1998), some criticised him for abandoning the themes and styles they have grown to enjoy.

"Super Mario Bros. Theme" has been on Billboard Magazine's Hot Ringtones chart for over one hundred sixty weeks, where it also hit #1.

Kōji Kondō's work shows at least three major influences: Latin music, jazz music, and classical music (mainly ragtime and march music), often with a strong cinematic flair. Latin is particularly evident in his bouncy themes throughout the "Mario" series, such as the soundtrack to "Super Mario Bros. 3". The happy main theme has a slow, samba-like rhythm. The second theme offers a more up-beat, ragtime-like style. The Bowser theme would not sound out of place being played by a Mexican mariachi band. This influence also shows up in his more recent works, such as the Gerudo Valley theme from "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time", a song with a certain stereotypical Andalusian flair. Kondō also has been influenced by classic rock, as the Deep Purple instrumental "April" bears a striking resemblance to the main title theme of The Legend of Zelda. Kondō even uses a riff from the song as the looping end section of the underworld/dungeon theme from the same game.

Kondō's more jazz-influenced pieces also come from a wide variety of projects. One of the earliest examples of this is his minimalist underground theme from the first "Super Mario Bros." Kondō lists the late Henry Mancini as one of his most admired influences.Fact|date=September 2008

Kondō was trained as a classical musician, and this is evident in his more ambitious projects, such as the soundtracks to the "Mario", "Zelda", and "Star Fox" series.Fact|date=March 2007 These pieces are distinctively cinematic, reminiscent of John Williams' work on "Star Wars" or "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The title theme to the 1986 "The Legend of Zelda" is grandiose for all its low fidelity. Several of Mr. Kondō's themes have been famously recorded with full orchestral backing, with several tours of his work featured highly in concerts presented world-wide Fact|date=March 2007.

Kondō's work is also highly influenced by Eastern Asian music. His songs are predominantly melody-based with little supporting harmony, which is in keeping with the Asian tradition. This makes him somewhat unique among the most popular video game composers, as his counterparts such as Nobuo Uematsu and Koichi Sugiyama produce more Western-sounding compositions for their games.

Video game Soundtracks [ [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,56235 MobyGames - Koji Kondo ] ]

*"Duck Hunt" (1984)
*"Golf" (1984)
*"Famicom BASIC (1984)
*"Devil World" (with Akito Nakatsuka) (1984)
*"Soccer (1985)
*"Wrecking Crew" (1985)
*"Kung Fu" (1985)
*"Super Mario Bros." (1985)
*"Nazo no Murasamejo" (1986)
*"The Legend of Zelda" (1986, 1987)
*"Shin Onigashima" (1987)
*"" ("Super Mario Bros. 2" outside of Japan) (credited as Konchan) (1987)
*"Ice Hockey" (1988)
*"" (1986) [Did not actually work much on the game. All music and sound effects were taken, unaltered, from the first "Super Mario Bros." game, except for the end music which is prolonged in respect to the first game.]
*"Super Mario Bros. 3" (1988, 1990)
*"Pilotwings" (with Soyo Oka) (1990)
*"Super Mario World" (1991)
*"" (1991)
*"" (1993)
*"" (1995)
*"" (with Yoko Shimomura and Nobuo Uematsu) (1996)
*"Super Mario 64" (1996)
*"Star Fox 64" (with Hajime Wakai) (1997)
*"" (1998)
*"Super Smash Bros." (with several others) (1999)
*"" (with Toru Minegishi) (2000)
*"Super Smash Bros. Melee" (with several others) (2001)
*"Super Mario Sunshine" (with Shinobu Tanaka) (2002)
*"" (with Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, and Toru Minegishi) (2003)
*"" (with Toru Minegishi and Asuka Ohta) (2006)
*"Super Mario Galaxy" (with Mahito Yokota) (2007)
*"Super Smash Bros. Brawl" (with several others) (2008)
*"Wii Music" (with several others) (2008)

Albums

*Super Mario Bros. Original Soundtrack (Cassette) (1986)
**Cat. Number: 10FC-2046
**Track 1 is original. Track 2 is the 'Orchestra Version'.
*Super Mario Brothers ~MARIO SYNDROME~ (Record) (1986)
**Cat. Number: K13A-748
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Disco/Dance-style Arrangements of Super Mario Bros., featuring vocals
*Famicom Music (1986; reprinted in 2002)
**Cat. Number: 28XA-69 (reprint: SCDC-00145)
**Tracks 1, 2, 4-6 and 9-11 are original. Tracks 3 and 7 are arranged versions.
**Arrangement by Yoshihiro Kunimoto
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario Bros. (1, 7)
***The Legend of Zelda (11)
*Nazo no Murasame-jou / The Legend of Zelda (1986)
**Cat. Number: 10FC-8001
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Features 'Orchestra Versions' of the music from the two games
*Famicom Music VOL.2 (1987; reprinted in 2002)
**Cat. Number: 28XA-197 (reprint: SCDC-00151)
**Tracks 1-5 and 7-10 are original. Track 8 is an arranged version.
**Arranged by Yoshihiro Kunimoto
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Shin Onigashima Part 1 (1)
*** (6)
***Nazo no Murasamejou (8)
***Shin Onigashima Part 2 (10)
*Toy Music: Dancing Super Mario Brothers — Akihabara Electric Circus (1988)
**Cat. Number: CT32-5299
**Tracks 2-10 are arranged versions. Track 1 is original.
**Arranged by Akihabara Electric Circus
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Theme of Disc System (1)
***Nazo no Murasamejou (2)
***Super Mario Bros. (4, 10)
***Shin Onigashima (6)
***The Legend of Zelda (9)
*Super Mario Bros. 3: G.S.M. (FC) Nintendo 1 (1988)
**Cat. Number: D25B-0005
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Tracks 1-4 are arranged versions. Track 5 is original.
**Arranged by Yoshihiro Kunimoto (1, 4) and Nobuyuki Ohnogi (2, 3)
*Fantastic World of Super Mario Bros. 3 (CD/Cassette) (1988)
**Cat. Number: BY12-5031 (Cassette version: KHY-1036)
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Tracks 1-4 are arranged versions. Track 5 is original.
*Super Mario Bros. 3 ~ Akihabara Electric Circus (1988)
**Cat. Number: CT32-5329
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**All tracks arranged by the Akihabara Electric Circus
*Super Mario Bros. 1.2.3.: Hop! Step! Jump! (1989)
**Cat. Number: CA-3393
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Tracks 1 & 2 are arranged versions. Track 3 is original.
**Arranged by the Mario Freaks Orchestra (1, 2)
*Super Mario Bros. Special (1990)
**Cat. Number: MECG-28003
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Tracks 1, 4, 6, 9, 12, 14 and 17 are Drama tracks. Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16 are Vocal arranges.
**Drama track voices:
***Mario: Nozomu Sasaki
***Kuribo (Goomba): Megumi Hayashibara
***Princess Peach: Maria Kawamura
**Singers:
***Shinichi Ishihara
***Yashino Takamori
***Kiyoko Itayagoshi
***Takahide Inoue
***Chika Sakamoto
*Game Music Graffiti (1990)
**Cat. Number: COCA-6969~70
**Contains arranged versions of music from Famicom and Game Boy games
**Arranged by the Mario Freaks Orchestra
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Disc 1:
****Super Mario Bros. (3)
****Super Mario Bros. 3 (3)
****Devil World (with Akito Nakatsuka, 4)
****Disc System Theme (10)
****The Legend of Zelda (11)
****Nazo no Murasamejou (12)
**** (not Super Mario Bros. USA, 13)
***Disc 2:
****Shin Onigashima (4)
*Super Mario World (1991)
**Cat. Number: WPCL-233~4
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Disc 1 contains arranged music from Super Mario Bros. 1, 3, and Super Mario World
**Disc 2 contains original music from Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3 and Super Mario World, as well as Sound Effects libraries from each
**Disc 1 arranged by Soichi Noriki
*Game Music Concert ~ The Best Selection (1991)
**Cat. Number: WPCL-560
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario Bros. (arranged by Nobuo Kurita, conducted by Kōsuke Onozaki, 5)
***Super Mario World (arranged by Nobuo Kurita, conducted by Kōsuke Onozaki, 6)
*** (arranged and conducted by Toshiko Watanabe, 7, 8)
**Performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
*Nintendo Super Famicom Game Music (1992)
**Cat. Number: TOCT-6429
**Kōji Kondo's featured compositions:
***Super Mario World (8, 26-29)
*** (6, 7, 30-32)
**Tracks 1-8 are arranged versions. Tracks 9-32 are original.
**Arranged by Takami Asano
*Famicom Music ~ Best Selection (1992)
**Cat. Number: SRCL-2476
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario Bros. (1)
***The Legend of Zelda (3)
**Contains arrangements of popular Famicom game music
*Nintendo Super Famicom Game Music ~ Fun Together With Beyer (1993)
**Cat. Number: ACD-1143
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
*** (1-5)
***Super Mario World (27-31)
**Contains piano solo arrangements by Asako Niwa
* (1993)
**Cat. Number: ALCB-829
**Arrangements of music from various Mario games, rap/hip-hop style
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario World (1, 2, 10, 11, 20)
***Super Mario Bros. 3 (7)
***Super Mario Bros. USA (16)
*The Legend of Zelda: Sound and Drama (1994)
**Cat. Number: SRCL-2940~1
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Disc 1 contains arranged (1-8) and drama (9) versions of . Disc 2 contains original music from The Legend of Zelda, and The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods.
**Disc 1 arranged by Yoshiyuki & Masumi Ito
*Game Music Concert 4 - Live Best Collection - (1994)
**Cat. Number: SRCL-2736
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario Bros. (3)
**Performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra
*Yoshi's Island Original Sound Version (1995)
**Cat. Number: PSCN-5040
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
*Game Music Concert 5 - Live Best Collection - (1996)
**Cat. Number: SRCL-2739
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
*** (2)
**Performed by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
*Super Mario RPG Original Sound Version (1996)
**Cat. Number: PSCN-5047~8
**Composition by Yoko Shimomura, Nobuo Uematsu, and Kōji Kondō
**All tracks arrangaed by Shimomura.
**Kōji Kondō composed:
***Disc 1: Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 26, 30, 37, and 38
***Disc 2, Tracks 15, 16, and 22
*Super Mario 64 Original Soundtrack (1996)
**Cat. Number: PCCG-00357
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Track 1 voiced by Charles Martinet
**Track 36 is a piano arrangement
*Star Fox 64 Original Soundtrack (1997)
**Cat. Number: PCCG-00421
**All composition by Hajime Wakai & Kōji Kondō
***Kōji Kondō (1-7, 32-39)
***Hajime Wakai (8-31)
*The Legend of Zelda The Ocarina of Time Original Soundtrack (1998)
**Cat. Number: PCCG-00475
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
*Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Original Soundtrack Vol. II ~ The Lost Tracks~ (1998)
**Cat. Number: 8110010
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**German promotional soundtrack
**Tracks 1-20 are original. Tracks 21-23 are arranged versions.
**Arrangement by Acoustic Department
*The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony (1999)
**Cat. Number: ZMCX-102
**All composition by Kōji Kondō (except Track 13 Kōji Kondō with Akito Nakamura, Kozue Ishikawa & Minako Hamano)
**(String) Orchestra arrangements of . Track 13 is a medley from the series.
**Arrangement by Ryuichi Katsumata
*The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Re-Arranged Album (1999)
**Cat. Number: TKCA-71824
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
**Arrangement by MOKA
*N64Y2K: Millennium Trax (1999)
**Cat. Number: 3591040
**Kōji Kondō composed tracks 1, 6, 8, 14-16, and 20
**Arrangements by Acoustic Department
*Nintendo All-Star Dairanto Smash Brothers (2000)
**Cat. Number: TECD-35446~7
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario Bros. (2, 10)
***The Legend of Zelda (4)
*The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask Original Soundtrack (2000)
**Cat. Number: PICA-2006
**All composition by Kōji Kondō, except for Disc 1: Tracks 36 & 52, and Disc 2: Track 7, composed by Toru Minegishi
*The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Orchestrations (2000)
**Cat. Number: FMCN-1003
**All composition by Kōji Kondō and Toru Minegishi
**Arranged by the Majora Philharmonic Sound Orchestra
*Smash Brothers DX Orchestra (2002)
**Promotion album included with the December 2002 issue of Famitsu Cube+Advance Magazine
**Conducted by Taizo Takemoto
**Performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
**Recorded at Tokyo Festival Hall, August 27, 2002
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***The Legend of Zelda (3)
***Star Fox 64 (with Hajime Wakai, 9)
***Super Mario Bros. (12)
***Yoshi's Island (12)
*** (12)
***Super Mario Bros. 3 (12)
***Super Mario 64 (15)
*The Legend of Zelda: Takt of Wind Original Sound Tracks (2003)
**Cat. Number: SCDC-00250~1
**Composition by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, and Kōji Kondō
*PEACH — Healing Music (2003)
**Cat. Number: CN-P004
**Promotional album, available only to members of Club Nintendo
**Tracks 1-22 are original. Tracks 23-26 are arranged versions: 'recorded musical performances with instruments, presented by the Nintendo Music Staff'
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario 64 (2, 3, 26)
*** (7, 8, 10, 11)
*** (9)
*** (with Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, and Toru Minegishi, 12, 21, 24)
*** (19)
***Super Mario Sunshine (with Shinobu Tanaka, 20)
***Super Mario Bros. 3 (22)
*Mario & Zelda Big Band Live (2003)
**Cat. Number: SCDC-00315
**Composition by Kōji Kondō (1-7, 9-18), Kazumi Totaka (8), Kenta Nagata (9, 10), Hajime Wakai (9, 10), Toru Minegishi (9, 10), and Shinobu Tanaka (4, 17)
***Super Mario Bros. (1, 3, 5)
***Super Mario 64 (2, 18)
***Super Mario Sunshine (4, 12, 17)
***Super Mario Bros. 3 (6)
***Yoshi's Island (7)
***Yoshi's Story (8)
*** (9, 10)
*** (11, 14, 15)
*** (13)
***The Legend of Zelda (16)
*Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 1 (2004)
**Cat. Number: SCDC-00317
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario Bros. (4-11)
***Devil World (with Akito Nakatsuka, 26-28)
***The Legend of Zelda (55-66)
***Nazo no Murasamejou (67-75)
*Famicom 20th Anniversary Arrange Sound Tracks (2004)
**Cat. Number: SCDC-00320
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Shin Onigashima: The First Part (arranged by Takayuki "J99" Aihara, 5)
***Nazo no Murasamejou (arranged by Yasuhisa "Yack." Watanabe, 6)
***Super Mario Bros. (arranged by Motoi Sakuraba, 8)
***The Legend of Zelda (arranged by Metal Yuuki Group, 9)
*Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 3 (2004)
**Cat. Number: SCDC-00319
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Shin Onigashima: The First Part (1-13)
***Shin Onigashima: The Second Part (14-24)
*Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 01 Super Mario Bros. (2004)
**Cat. Number: SDEX-0010
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
*Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 10 The Legend of Zelda (2004)
**Cat. Number: SDEX-0019
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
*Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 11 Nazo no Murasame-jou (2004)
**Cat. Number: SDEX-0020
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
*Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 14 Shin Onigashima -Part 1- (2004)
**Cat. Number: SDEX-0023
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
*Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 15 Shin Onigashima -Part 2- (2004)
**Cat. Number: SDEX-0024
**All composition by Kōji Kondō
*Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: S-3 Mario Bros. / Super Mario USA (2004)
**Cat. Number: SDEX-0027
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario USA (6-17)
*Famicom Sound History Series "Mario the Music" (2004)
**Cat. Number: SCDC-00360
**Composition by Kōji Kondō, Hirokazu Tanaka, Akira Nobuya, and Noriko Tsutomu
**Kōji Kondō's featured compositions:
***Super Mario Bros. (4-11)
***Super Mario Bros. 2 (12)
***Super Mario Bros. 3 (13-42)
***Super Mario USA (43-53)
***Dr. Mario (54-69)
***Yoshi's Cookie (70-79)
*Nintendo Sound History Series "Zelda the Music" (2004)
**Cat. Number: SCDC-00395
**Contains music from throughout Nintendo's history, from the Famicom to the GameCube

Notes

References

*Kelly, Piaras (26 March 2004). " [http://www.gamerseurope.com/articles/486 Inside Nintendo: Koji Kondo"] . Accessed 17 February 2006.
*MacDonalad, Mark (3 May 2006). " [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=5&cId=3140040 Kōji Kondō Interview, Part 1] ". 1UP.com. Accessed 17 February 2006.
*Van Zelfden, N. Evan (30 May 2006). " [http://www.gamespot.com/news/6151989.html Play! kicks off world tour in Chicago] . Gamespot.com. Accessed 17 June 2006.

External links

* [http://www.squareenixmusic.com/composers/kondo/ Comprehensive Kōji Kondō Profile at Square Enix Music Online]
* [http://www.myspace.com/kojikondofan Kōji Kondō tribute page on MySpace]
*imdb name|id=0464848|name=Koji Kondo
* [http://www.last.fm/music/%E8%BF%91%E8%97%A4%E6%B5%A9%E6%B2%BB?q=koji+kondo Kōji Kondō at Last.fm]
*Sheet Music Arrangements
** [http://www.ninsheetmusic.net NinSheetMusic] (Includes other Nintendo related sheet music)
** [http://herbalcell.com/piano Zelda sheet music, including hard to find songs]
** [http://individual.utoronto.ca/auyeun/vgsheetmusic.html Video Game Sheet Music]
** [http://sheetmusicswap.com/music.php?composer=11 Kōji Kondō Sheet Music]
*Fan remixes of Kōji Kondō's work:
** [http://www.ocremix.org/composer/id/2/koji-kondo/ Composer profile] at OverClocked ReMix
** [http://www.zreomusic.com Zelda Reorchestrated]
*Interviews:
** [http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/03/vgl_koji_kondo_.html Game | Life Video Games Live 2007 Interview]
** [http://wii.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=9177 Advanced Media Network Video Games Live 2007 Interview]
** [http://wii.ign.com/articles/772/772299p1.html IGN GDC 2007 Interview]
** [http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=186 Interview] with Music4Games