Those who are familiar with Asian cinema, and especially with such wonderful films as Erotic Desire or Wong Kar Wai’s 2046, surely know Shigeru Umebayashi. At least his work, since it is often the case that the people who created the soundtrack of a film, so crucial to its success, remain unknown to the general public, even if they may be captivated by the beauty or accuracy of their compositions.

In this light, the possibility of finding someone is great next Wednesday in Herodium and listen to a concentrated work by a Japanese composer, one of those who still create film music in the sense of pure art, and not in the sense of a simple “embedding”, sound attire that dresses the image on the screen, as is increasingly common in Western cinema.

“Of course, in the West there is a very diverse music for films. However, the division between the film’s soundtrack and its soundtrack is not very clear cut. I think that the most important mission of film music is to convey the deep emotional expression of the actor on the big screen. For example, in a war scene, there is a chance that some other sounds or a simple melody from a music box will move more than a loud symphonic orchestration. Maybe people like simple sounds and a music box more than a complex symphonic composition,” Umebayashi himself tells us.

On the other hand, today’s audience, especially the youth, is not “educated” enough to enjoy film music.

As image culture dominates virtually every aspect of everyday life, and as special effects make cinema—at least cinema—more and more like video games, this kind of attention and appreciation of music is required.

“Cinema is a finished work of art. It is also a product of modern digital technology these days. Always and in any era, film music is very important, as are all types of music that turn into film music as soon as they hit the big screen. However, this can also be dangerous. It’s time to rethink the essence of music in cinemas,” notes the Japanese composer.

Another thing that is completely lacking in today’s world cinema is epic narratives, films based on history or great myths, such as Zhang Yimou’s Flying Daggers, for which Umebayashi also composed the music.

But what was the last film he was “envying” and would like to star in? “More and more films only show plot twists. Very few strong and stable projects. Dog Power (2021) by Jane Campion is a fantastic work. I want to dare to compose music for films that don’t need special music.”

Although he comes from a sound tradition quite different from ours, Umebayashi used a variety of musical instruments, even bouzouki, in his early work. “I’ve always liked the sound of the sitar, bouzouki, etc. I haven’t really studied these traditional musical instruments. The music of the Beatles had a huge influence on me, and what I learned from them is very useful for my work.. For example, the song “Norwegian Forest (That Bird Has Flew)” by the Beatles, which begins with the sound of a sitar, fills me with a sense of freedom.

However, when we asked him if the Greek audience should expect anything special at Wednesday’s concert, he replied modestly in a (wise) Japanese manner: “Music has no boundaries“.

*Special thanks to Andreas Fotopoulos for his knowledge and invaluable help with the interview.