Xenogears 20th Anniversary Concert -The Beginning and the End-

The Xenogears 20th Anniversary Concert -The Beginning and the End- was a concert held in April 2018, featuring orchestral arrangements of the Xenogears Original Soundtrack, as well as performances of certain tracks from the Xenogears Original Soundtrack Revival Disc -the first and the last- and CREID. Arrangements were done by Yasunori Mitsuda, Sachiko Miyano, Mariam Abounnasr, and Youki Yamamoto, with vocals by ANÚNA and Joanne Hogg. A Blu-ray disc recording of the concert was released in 2019.

Track List

 * 1) Dark Dawn
 * 2) Bond of Sea and Flame
 * 3) Village Pride
 * 4) Wind from the Valley - A Distant Promise
 * 5) Steel Giants
 * 6) Where Dreams Hatch
 * 7) Grahf, Ruler of Darkness - Fuse
 * 8) Dreams of the Brave - Deadly Dance
 * 9) Small Two of Pieces (Piano Version)
 * 10) Memories Left Behind
 * 11) We, the Wounded Shall Advance into the Light
 * 12) Windy Song
 * 13) Lost... -Screeching Shards-
 * 14) The End of Childhood
 * 15) Blazing Knights
 * 16) October Mermaid
 * 17) Shevat -The Wind Calls-
 * 18) Soaring - Wings
 * 19) Foreboding
 * 20) Awakening - Fangs Bared at God
 * 21) The Beginning and the End
 * 22) Small Two of Pieces -Screeching Shards-
 * 23) Stars of Tears
 * 24) Bartholomew & Lahan
 * 25) A Distant Promise (Music Box Version)

Creating the Blu-ray™

 * We had heard that you were not going to release the video as a product.

Yes, I wasn't planning to! (laugh) As I've mentioned before on my blog and other places, I believe that a live concert is a place to enjoy the heat, the atmosphere, and the tension of other audience members sitting next to you. You can't feel these things if you're not actually there. It's a great thing to go to an event that you can't truly experience without actually being there. I've seen live videos of various performances myself and just thought "Wow, I wish I was there..." Haven't you? I feel like that when I watch the work of other artists, and it always feels like I can't truly immerse myself in the moment. That was why I originally didn't want to release it. My job is to create a perfect product, with perfect performances and mixing. So, I always felt that if I were to release a Blu-ray™, it would have to be perfect. That's what I always told Square Enix, too. So then I told me, "Let's put aside the question of whether we're releasing a Blu-ray™ or not. There's the recording and the Niconico broadcast, and we have the videos as recordings for now. If you're still interested in the Blu-ray™ later, let's think about it then." (laugh) Square Enix is clever, I'll give them that!


 * It sounds like they had it all thought out!

Exactly! (laugh) 80% of me didn't want to release it. But if, by chance, the show went really well and I was able to unify the whole audience on top of that, and if a video could precisely convey the heat... then I could think about it.


 * By "heat," do you mean the temperature?

Right, right! You could say that it doesn't convey well on screen... Like the sense of isolation you feel when watching a fireworks display on a screen. (laugh) With thoughts like these, I just didn't even consider releasing a live show as a product.


 * But that changed later when you watched the recording, right?

That's right. The concert itself was just as I'd imagined. All of the staff gave it their all, and I think it turned out to be a fantastic concert. However, I can't really give an objective point of view because I'm in it. I was enjoying being on stage myself! (laugh) I was on stage all the way through the rehearsal, too. You know how you could only watch the first song on Niconico? I watched that.


 * I heard that you were hesitant about installing cameras.

Yes, I always told them that I'd rather open up the seats to let more people in rather than dedicating space just for cameras. But, you see, there were comments from people who really wanted to attend, but just couldn't come because they live too far away or because they have children. Hearing those comments, we decided on doing a live broadcast on Niconico that anyone could watch. When I watched the video back objectively for the first time, it was even greater than I'd imagined. The camera work and the lighting were amazing too. As for lighting, there was this lighting provider that I really wanted to use no matter what... So I thought it might be a waste not to record it in some form.


 * Like some kind of sense of duty?

No one does concerts like this, even in the game industry, so it crossed my mind that maybe we should record it after all. But still, knowing that the concert had to be done properly, I told Square Enix that if all four performances were recorded, then I'd give it a listen and consider it once more. And then, they recorded all four of the performances perfectly using top-of-the-line microphones. (laugh)


 * That was quite the trick... Or strategy, should I say? (laugh)

Exactly. I knew exactly what they'd done when the data came in. (laugh) So I gave it a try and edited the first song, then I suddenly became completely absorbed in it. (laugh) I got completely carried away and thought, “Huh?! What's going on?" (laugh) The things I was originally apprehensive about were no longer an issue, and I began to feel more and more okay about releasing it.


 * What were you most apprehensive about?

I guess the performance was my biggest worry. The video, too. With video, visual information becomes particularly important, so I was worried about the video quality and the camerawork. They recorded both the afternoon and evening shows on the second day, but in the end, the way they thought carefully and prepared for this release was a great help for me in terms of my ability to edit it. My honest impression was that even the rough edit was really cool, and I wouldn't be able to help but release it once it was edited into a really good live concert video. But of course they wouldn't let me do that. (laugh) Also, feedback from fans was another big worry. Someone once wrote a comment that struck me: "I don't want to forget this concert, but I hate the fact that, as humans, our memories gradually fade away." I myself realized, hearing this, that I'll slowly forget how much I enjoyed this concert. It saddened me. It was these various elements coming together that made me want to create this product.

Memories of the Concert

 * The variety of stage performances, guests, videos on Niconico - how do you think they all influenced you?

I talked with Square Enix about the final music box, how it has to be the real thing. They went to all the trouble to make it from scratch...


 * When did they start making it?

Since some time at the beginning of the year. In the end, I decided it had to be a music box. It's sometimes good to make absurd requests, right? (laugh) However, I think everyone was deeply moved by that final scene. I've never heard of a standing ovation happening at the sound of a music box like that, especially in a concert hall! (laugh) It's because everyone was listening so intimately. I think it's proof that we could immerse the audience in the world of Xenogears, which made me glad that I did the concert. I thought it ended really well. Despite the hard specifications and time limitations, everyone gave their utmost. I am truly grateful to everyone who helped make this happen.


 * There were people who entered the hall crying, right?

Ah... (laugh) Well, speaking of things that left an impression on me, when I was mixing for this release, there is an announcement that plays at the end. The microphone picked up a lady crying nearby who said "That was so amazing!" (laugh) She was probably sitting apart from a friend and went to talk to them after it finished. The sound of her crying and saying it was so good, unable to suppress her emotions... When I heard that I was truly glad that we had held the concert. (laugh) That doesn't often happen when you go to watch a concert, right?


 * So how was the production at the venue?

The moment I set foot into the venue, I decided that I wanted to make it feel like the world of Xenogears. My original plan was to make the lobby look like the Eldridge, so I told them that I wanted a mechanical-looking setting, for the whole of one wall to look like the inside of a ship, and a starlit sky like a planetarium on the ceiling of the hall. (laugh) | wanted people to get excited just entering the venue. We couldn't do those things due to the budget and mechanics, but luckily, they created a similar atmosphere with lighting production. And then, Kunihiko Tanaka brought one of his own original pictures. In the end, that display was made possible thanks to everyone's great ideas and Kunihiko's kindness. Even with that, I think everyone was focused on creating an atmosphere that really said "Xenogears."


 * Is there anything that you can tell us now?

To tell you the truth, the Bouzouki microphone that I was performing with broke after the afternoon show on the first day. They set up a replacement microphone for me for that day's evening performance, and the audio engineer provided a different microphone for the next day. I was originally using a wired microphone, but then they replaced it with a wireless microphone... And because it was wireless, I could move around the stage. And that ended up changing the performance! (laugh) There were a few complications like that, but it all worked out well. I'm glad that everyone could enjoy it even with the issues.


 * Are there any particular comments that you remember from after the show?

Each of the musicians said that they wanted to perform more! (laugh) It's as if they all enjoyed it so much it didn't feel like work anymore! (laugh) It struck me how they all, staff and musicians included, commented that they had never been part of such an enjoyable concert before. It was also memorable how the word "Xenoloss" originated from fans on social media. I guess the audience could see that we were enjoying it ourselves. While it is work, you also have to think about how to enjoy it. I'm really glad that it was fun despite the complications we had, and that there was no awkward nervousness or negative atmosphere. It's nice to forget that work is work! (laugh)

Highlights of the Blu-Ray™

 * What would you say are the highlights of the Blu-ray™ ?

All of it! (laugh) From start to finish, it's packed full of highlights. I always watch it to the very end... Haruka Sakamoto's guitar solo is so cool, and I could cry no matter how many times I watch Joanne's entrance... It impresses me that, during the encore, all of the musicians are playing energetically and everyone in the hall is smiling. There are too many highlights, I can't choose just one! (laugh)


 * Which particular parts of the video left an impression on you?

Probably the scene showing the game screen. I originally didn't want the game screen to play at all. But Yumura, the stage director, asked me, "Are you completely against using video from the game, then?" It's not that I hated the idea, but there were so many possible factors, like making the video editing more difficult and the bright stage lighting being a problem, so I was worried that it might negatively affect the video itself. That idea just didn't really click with me, to be honest. However, watching through the edited video helped me realize that it wasn't a matter of whether to include footage of the game or not, but what was important was figuring out how to show it. Especially the scene in which Joanne sings at the end of the show. In that scene, the screen is showing important points in the game, then at the end it just shows the game's logo. You get to the end... And it's just the logo! I suddenly got goose bumps... It was mesmerizing. (laugh) Because if there's a video, you just end up watching that. It's okay if it links well with the show, but if it plays continuously like a music video in combination with the music, it just doesn't evoke the scene in the same way. Like in the title sequence of a TV show; I think that's okay if the music and the video fit perfectly well, or if the scene itself isn't particularly memorable. For example, it's amazing the moment the shape of the Nisan pendant is shown. And, instead of using the screen, there are also scenes that were supplemented using lighting production. There may be a lot of factors coming into play here, but I was completely into the video when I saw it. I guess it's important to find a way of presenting it as a whole.

The definitive concert Blu-Ray™!

 * I heard you took charge of the production of this Blu-ray release, from editing to mixing.

It took four months... Not good! (laugh) I sometimes asked myself if I was being too picky. (laugh) But I made it to the very end. It was an extremely fulfilling task for me. It was just several days ago that we finished editing. The engineers told me that, to begin with, four performances is a huge amount of content. "The performances were really good and it's been edited beautifully. It's the perfect live video; it'll be just like listening to a CD," they said. They told me that it was going to take a long time. (laugh) So, I think we overdid it. (laugh) It took a significantly long time, but I think it's become a product that everyone will want to own. Even those who aren't aware of Xenogears should watch it. This concert Blu-ray™ is exactly what I wanted it to be. It's perfect! That's how confident I am. The current video is just patched together as a draft, but the video is even greater in its fully-edited form!


 * Finally, do you have a message for everyone?

I couldn't be happier now that I've released this Blu-ray™, the culmination of the Xenogears 20th Anniversary Concert, to the world in such an exceptional state. I want everyone to watch, listen, and feel the "heat." Also, if your memory of the concert starts to fade, I want you to watch this Blu-ray™ again and be reminded of how you felt the first time. I'm not sure if I'll be able to hold concerts of a similar caliber as this for future anniversaries (laugh), but it would make me truly happy if fans watch this Blu-ray™ and thoroughly entertain themselves over and over again. I hope to receive comments from enthusiastic fans (laugh), saying "Your position and the lights are different!," as if I'd held the same concert again.