Kenji Kawai | Artist

Kenji Kawai is a Japanese music composer and arranger born 1957 in Shinagawa, Japan. Known as one of the biggest names in the soundtrack world, he has worked on a wide range of mixed media productions, including anime, TV shows, films and video games. After dropping out of a nuclear engineering program at Tokai University, Kawai began studying music at Shobi Music Academy. However, he dropped out after half a year. With a few friends, he created the band Muse, playing fusion rock and participating in music competitions. After leaving Muse, Kawai began composing music for commercials in his home studio. While recording music for radio he met music director Naoko Asari who advised him to compose anime soundtracks. Following his huge success with Ghost in the Shell, Kawai became involved in live action movies, contributing to horror films such as Ring, Ring 2, Dark Water, Avalon, and the Hong Kong film Seven Swords. Kawai has worked on several projects with director Mamoru Oshii and has written scores for all of Hideo Nakata's films. The most recent film featuring his music is 2009's Assault Girls by director Oshii. Kawai's music has received the Annie Award and Hong Kong Film Award. In 2005, for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence he was also nominated for an Annie Award. For the music of Seven Swords and A Battle of Witts he was nominated for Best Original Film Score Awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2006 and 2007. Standout albums include Ghost in the Shell (1995), Vampire Princess Miyu (2001), Innocence (2004) and Ghost in the Shell 2 (2008). The artist has been recognised for his superb accompaniments to sci-fi series by having an asteroid named after him. Asteroid 117582 Kenjikawai, was discovered by Roy A. Tucker in 2005 and was named in Kawai's honour, with the official naming citation published by the Minor Planet Center on January 9, 2020.

Artist Website: kenjikawai.com

Featured Albums: Kenji Kawai

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