Akira Yamaoka facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Akira Yamaoka
山岡 晃
Yamaoka in 2010
Born	(1968-02-06) February 6, 1968 (age 57) Niigata, Japan
Occupation	Composer sound designer sound director
Years active	1991–present
Employer	Konami (1993–2009) Grasshopper Manufacture (2010–present)
Spouse(s)	Tamu Murata

Akira Yamaoka (山岡 晃, Yamaoka Akira, born February 6, 1968) is a Japanese musician who creates and produces music. He is famous for making the music for the scary Silent Hill video game series by Konami. He also worked on other games. Akira Yamaoka helped produce the Silent Hill games and even made music for the Silent Hill movies. Since 2010, he has been in charge of sound at Grasshopper Manufacture, another game company.

Early Life and Education

Akira Yamaoka went to Tokyo Art College. There, he studied how to design products and interiors. He first wanted to work as a designer.

Career in Video Games

Yamaoka joined Konami, a big video game company, on September 21, 1993. He quickly started working on music for games like Contra: Hard Corps and Sparkster. He also made music for different versions of the game Snatcher.

When Konami needed music for the first Silent Hill game, Yamaoka offered to do it. He felt he was the best person for the job. Even though he was hired to write music, he soon became involved in all parts of the game's sound.

On December 2, 2009, Yamaoka announced he was leaving Konami after many years. On February 3, 2010, he joined Grasshopper Manufacture. There, he worked with famous game creators Goichi Suda and Shinji Mikami. His first big project with them was the action game Shadows of the Damned. He started as the chief sound officer at Grasshopper. But he also began to help with other parts of making games.

In 2012, Yamaoka shared that he would release a second solo music album. He said it would be different from his Silent Hill music. Later that year, he announced a new three-song Spanish single called "Revolución." He performed it live at an event called V-CON. In 2014, he wanted to make music for a new game called Silent Hills, but that project was later canceled.

In late 2015, Yamaoka and his band played music from the Silent Hill series. They performed at nine live shows across the United Kingdom. These shows were called "Silent Hill Live." In July 2016, Yamaoka also performed live at an indie game festival in Kyoto, Japan.

Music Style and Inspirations

When asked about artists who influenced his work, Yamaoka named Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. He said Reznor was his main inspiration for both performing and music style. Other artists who inspired him include Angelo Badalamenti, Metallica, and Depeche Mode.

Yamaoka was asked if his art studies helped his music career. He explained that artists like Mick Karn and Steve Strange mixed art and music in new ways. This greatly influenced him. So, he tries to combine art and music every time he writes songs. He also gets ideas from the fancy, detailed music styles of the 1700s.

Some of Yamaoka's favorite songs include "Der Mussolini" by D.A.F.. He also likes "Amber" by Craig Armstrong and "Moments in Love" by Anne Dudley. Other favorites are "Moon Over Moscow" by Visage and "The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone.

Personal Life

Before making music for video games, Yamaoka wanted to be a designer. But he became a musician after studying design in college. In 2009, Yamaoka said his favorite game creator is Suda51. His favorite video game is No More Heroes.

In March 2011, Yamaoka sold some of his musical instruments. He did this to raise money for people affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. He said his favorite soundtrack he created is for Silent Hill 2. In 2014, he shared that his favorite movie was Dario Argento's Suspiria. Akira Yamaoka is married to Ai "Tamu" Murata. She is the drummer for the heavy metal band Nemophila. They have two daughters.

Works

Akira Yamaoka has created music for many different types of projects. Here are some of his works:

Video games

Films

Anime/television

Other Music Projects

See also

In Spanish: Akira Yamaoka para niños