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Product ReviewsKoudelka Original Sound Trax ReviewsAverage Customer Review :  Total Reviews : 1 Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers. Not Something Enjoyed By All..., 2006-04-09Reviewer : Fatigue - See all my reviews Let's cut straight to the chase. The game Koudelka was quite plainly a financial flop. The problem was that it reeked in sales and the financial conditions were simply unstable. This was certainly not the turn out that the president of the game's developing company, Hiroki Kikuta, wanted. After leaving employment from Square (lastly composing for Soukaigi), he created his own company called Sacnoth, and his first game being a flop hit him devastatingly. He did a lot of work for the game, including writing the scenario, designed the historical background, directed the CG cinematics and events, and finally, composing the score. Now, not all was a failure in Koudelka. The game helped inspire a spiritual sequel, a, now, cult favorite series known as Shadow Hearts, sparking the career of young composers, Yoshitaka Hirota and Ryo Fukuda, Hirota, himself, mentioning that he wanted to create a darker sound for the original Shadow Hearts. Clearly he was inspired by Kikuta's largely unorthodox music. The score to Koudelka, however, is quite unique. There isn't a lot of music at all, and on the album only seven tracks are 'musical', followed by a boat load of short clips. Is the music good or bad? Do the short themes suffice enough to raise the album's profile? All will be revealed in this review. The first part of Koudelka contains music from fairly significant parts of the game. In only three tracks, they share the side of Kikuta that rarely shines in game music, with the exception of the ending theme which was composed by Maurice Duruflé. "Requiem (Opening)" takes an outlook on the composer's dark and deep style as he uses vocalist Catherine Boot to express the melody in a chilling way. Boot's operatic voice has the ability to freeze up the body, it's that chilling, and with help of chimes that play during certain times, the dark effect is easily noticeable. It's a track that is the very definition of minimalism, a theme which is heavily relied on during a large portion of the soundtrack. I find it weird that "Ubi Caritas et amor (Ending)" is the second track. Usually, on the standard tracklist layout, you'll find the ending at, quite obviously, the end of the list. Again, this is unorthodox, but then again, so is the score in its entirety. Duruflé and arranger Nick Ingrain create a theme much like the former track. They use a choir, The London Oratory School, without instrumental backing with a deep meaning engraved into the piece's melody. I like how the group is having a muffled discussion, at the beginning, before a pleasant solo vocalist enters to launch the track and choir. Fans of Soukaigi should be very comfortable with the next track, "Dead (Title BGM)", as we see the return of the successful string ensemble ideas used in Kikuta's former work, built up of two violins, a viola and a 'cello. Quite simply put, this is a beautiful piece, composed and arranged to perfection, although not as elegant and well-rounded as some of the Soukaigi tracks ("Broken Memory" and "Lovely Strains" for reference). Still, this track is most definitely a highlight on the album. Up next are the most 'musical' tracks on the entire album. But quite honestly, I was hoping for lush and eloquent music along the lines of Soukaigi or, at the very least, the same grace and serenity found in Seiken Densetsu 3, however, I found that the music falled short of the standards set by Kikuta's previous works. I was expecting this to some extent; Koudelka being a survival horror RPG, it didn't need that same musical depth. "Waterfall" is almost eight and half minutes (the longest track on the album) of percussion and basic melody. Surprisingly, not a lot happens; the 6 note melody plays continuously with the occasional support of other instruments, including the strings and pan flute, but it's very dominantly percussive as the taiko drums and maracas repeat and loop many times. "Incantation again" is quite styled very primitively, although a little more action than the previous theme. Kikuta makes use of ancient and exotic instruments, appropriately suited to match a chanting or summoning sequence, while the same percussion is reused from "Waterfall". The rhythmic energy is nice and the atmosphere Kikuta produces takes you back to prehistoric times as I can imagine this track being played beside a bunch of free roaming dinosaurs with an erupting volcano in the distance. There is a little bit of change in "Patience" and is the most melodic track encountered thus far, in addition with some pleasant harmonic chords. It's as equally percussive as all the tracks heard post-"Dead (Title BGM)", but the real nifty difference is the woodblock xylophone that performs an almost danceable beat, making this perhaps one of the most enjoyable tracks heard yet. There is also an additional percussion solo that bridges the end of the piece with the beginning of the repeat that is also a pleasing addition. Finally, "Kiss Twice" is much like the former track but features much deeper development leading up to the emotional climax at 2:19 when the pan flutes intertwine and harmonize to an extent which is tear jerking. After the mixture of interesting themes, the albums height comes to a sudden stop as the beginning of the main course of the soundtrack commences. Following are a mixture of inconspicuous and beautiful tracks, although most do not even surpass the one minute mark. All tracks are dark in nature and most have endings (not to mention, quite sudden conclusions) which suggest that they were used in cut scenes, and even if they lack a great deal in the development department, they can provide for a short scary listen. Of course, it does help to have that extra progression in a theme, and at the end of the day, it's these tracks that come out on top (even if their numbers are extremely limited). "Scene 7c" combines Kikuta's gorgeous style with complete minimalism but with satisfying growth; his purity in the theme completely overcomes the blatant shortness with much success. "Scene 6a" is simply a stunning listen. The harp moves with such diligence with the violin and flute overplaying sad chords until they unite and complement each other with their soothing sounds. I find "Scene 6b" somewhat of a mysterious listen. There is nothing unusual in the music, but the effect on the emotions after the track has played is dramatic and leaves a certain emptiness that only wonders why the music had to end. It's exactly the pieces like this that deserve more attention but never got it. "Scene 2Bd" shows to be an idealistic theme that, while not perfect, echoing in the flaws of all its brothers, it has that progression that sticks out, and evolves like something you would in your average horror movie (starting off with a suspended ambient noise, followed by driving percussion, screeching violins, and a resounding 'cello). Some tribal attributes are present in "Scene 14" while sounding like it could fit yet another dismayed scene. It's like the previous track as it is fast, loud and exciting, but, again, because there simply isn't enough music, it takes more effort to actually get 'in to' to music itself. But it's the last 'scene' pieces which actually stand out, compared to the hefty majority of the others. For fans of "Trigger Situation" from Masashi Hamauzu's Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cerberus score, "Scene 18" should come as some surprise, as Kikuta uses the same free choral sample. The choir gradually builds from whispering soft Latin phrases to climaxing with supplementary members shouting the same words in a more forceful tone. "Scene 17" takes on the same approach as "Dead (Title BGM)" with a small synth ensemble of strings, and although painfully underdeveloped, it's certainly a pleasant listen after so many atmospheric, ambient tracks. It was truly disappointing to hear the track build up to where the choir and the strings unite and then suddenly finish, as it had potential of being a wonderfully styled track. Finally, "Scene 20" beautifully finishes off the short tracks with a gorgeous Asian inspired theme, consisting of the always graceful harp accompanied by an Asian instrument performing a tenderly melody helped by the sweetness of the harp. Unquestionably one of the better tracks from the short collection of themes. So what's left in this unimaginably weird album? Live performances, of course! But composer Kikuta has no involvement in these tracks whatsoever, leaving the duties of arranging three of his key pieces from early on in the album to Naoya Akimoto, accompanied by a group of talented musicians. What I simply adore about what Akimoto did to these pieces is that he made the tracks totally differ from those fairly simplistic originals. "Live Waterfall" best describes the contention proposed. Akimoto changes over 8 minutes of repetitious percussion and cuts down to just over 4 minutes of energy, excitement and stamina. The arranger replaces the melody with his electric guitar, a good decision made, also complimenting the hastened pace and beat. Long time VGM percussionist and drummer Masaharu Ishikawa makes the noticeable difference with his live drumming, and a welcome one too. Kikuta's synthetic beats got tedious and tiresome, but Ishikawa provides fresh movements that never get the better of the listener. The high standard remains at a consistent level with "Live Incantation", another superb arrangement on Akimoto's part. A live vocalist is used to enhance the mystical summoning environment, switching over the pan flutes of the original "Incantation again" to Reimi Tanaka, who performs passionately with the exoticness of the instrumentation. The short guitar (sitar?) solo from 3:10 to 3:33 adds a pleasant Indian taste to already culturally rich theme, which is then followed by Tanaka's ethnic voice to the very end. Quite a fitting conclusion to a truly unusual piece. The last arrangement and piece on the album is "Live Patience". Akimoto arranged it so it is more melancholic than the original, completely stripping it of its exotic prowess. Akimoto's guitar sounds wonderful playing the melody, and the way the theme develops captivates and prompts me to listen further. The keyboardist, Tadamasa Suzuki, gets a little more attention with his soft movements with his instrument (imitating a Rhode piano), but the gentleness goes well with the emotions set by the guitarist. The game's financial flop title cannot be held against Kikuta's music, despite how good or bad the game was. And while there isn't much to perhaps listen to over and over again, what Kikuta creates is very interesting. The highlights on Koudelka are found at the beginning and the ends of the album. All tracks from "Requiem (Opening)" to "Dead (Title BGM)" are outstanding, with a mixture of choral performances and touching instrumentals. The live performers on these tracks help the album immensely and help immortalize that Kikuta can compose and arrange terrific themes with live instruments. The following tracks could've been much better listens if they didn't sound like they are carbon copies of each other. Personally, I'm not mad on the whole identical percussion theme going on in-between the four tracks, but it gets exasperating after "Incantation Again". Don't get me wrong, they are good themes, composed well and have sufficient development, but a little diversity could've been a better option. Not a lot to mention about the short tracks. I don't honestly know if the album could've been better with or without them, although I do know for sure that some of the ten second tracks could've been cut out completely. And lastly, the live tracks are simply incredible performances and not to mention outstanding arrangements on Mr. Akimoto's part. There aren't too many Soundtracks that completely blow away their original themes, so this obviously a primary reason to why someone would buy this album. After putting two and two together, Koudelka comes out as a strong work by Kikuta, but by no means his strongest (this goes to his work coming out of Square). The weaknesses are definitely a factor to consider as they can affect the enjoyable rate of the album. Buy Koudelka if you really want to hear some different work by Kikuta, but be prepared for some unpleasant tracks and ideas. Was this review helpful to you?   |
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