Yoko Kanno facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yoko Kanno
菅野 よう子
Kanno at Anime Expo 2010
Born	菅野 洋子 (1963-03-18) 18 March 1963 (age 62) Sendai, Japan
Other names	Gabriela Robin
Occupation	Composer arranger music producer
Years active	1985–present
Musical career
Genres	Jazz classical orchestral electronic new age blues folk pop art rock ambient post-rock heavy metal bossa nova jazz fusion funk soul music city pop
Instruments	Piano keyboard accordion
Labels	Captain Duckling Records
Associated acts	Maaya Sakamoto Megumi Nakajima May'n TETSU100% Seatbelts Samply Red ORIGA

Yoko Kanno (菅野 よう子, Kanno Yōko, born 18 March 1963) is a Japanese composer, arranger, and music producer. She creates music for many popular things. These include anime series, video games, TV shows, and movies.

Yoko Kanno has written music for famous shows like Cowboy Bebop, Terror in Resonance, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. She also composed for Wolf's Rain, Turn A Gundam, and Darker than Black. Kanno is also a keyboard player. She is the leader of the band Seatbelts, which plays many of her songs.

Early Life and Musical Start

Yoko Kanno was born on March 18, 1963, in Sendai, Japan. She first experienced music by going to church with her parents. She learned to play the piano at home and the organ at her kindergarten.

In elementary school, she started joining music contests. But in high school, she became more interested in literature than music.

Discovering New Rhythms

Kanno went to Waseda University to study literature. However, she spent her free time writing music for student groups. Her parents had only let her listen to classical music. But a friend who played drums in a band introduced her to new rhythms.

She once said that hearing live drums for the first time was amazing. It made her realize how much she loved music that wasn't classical. So, she joined the school band. In this band, she learned how to create and play popular music.

First Big Break

While at Waseda, a Japanese video game company called Koei asked Kanno to write music for their game, Nobunaga's Ambition. The game became very popular. This helped Yoko Kanno start her amazing music career.

A Career in Music

Yoko Kanno has created many well-known songs for different shows. These include "Kiseki no Umi" for Lodoss War and "Voices" for Macross Plus. She also wrote "Tank!" for Cowboy Bebop and "Gravity" for Wolf's Rain. She composed the entire soundtrack for Turn A Gundam.

Creative Approach to Music

Kanno has composed music in many styles. These include blues, classical, jazz, techno, and J-pop. She was once asked if she liked one style more than others. She explained that she doesn't think about music in terms of different styles when she creates it.

She focuses on what the scene or anime needs. For example, she thinks about whether it needs a love theme or a certain mood. She finds all music styles interesting and inspiring.

When she works on anime, directors give her ideas and storyboards. This helps her compose. She likes this way of working because she doesn't have to follow strict rules. She often starts composing even before the characters' names or the title of the show are decided.

Band Projects and Game Music

Yoko Kanno was the main member of the band Seatbelts. This band got back together in 2004. They created the music for the Cowboy Bebop video game on PlayStation 2.

She also composed for Koei games in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She worked on Napple Tale, a Dreamcast game. Because she was so involved in the Cowboy Bebop anime, she also worked on the game released by Bandai.

Music for Movies and Commercials

Besides anime and games, Kanno also creates music for live-action movies and TV commercials. She has composed for many big brands. Some of these include Canon, DoCoMo, 7-Eleven, Microsoft, Nissan, and Toyota.

Her work on films began in the 1990s. Since 2002, she has done more movie music. Some of these films have been shown at international film festivals.

Kanno at Otakon 1999

Yoko Kanno (left) with Megumi Nakajima performing at Anime Expo 2010

Live Performances and Special Works

Yoko Kanno has attended several fan events. She was at Otakon and Anime Expo in 1999. She also made a surprise appearance at Anime Expo in 2010. In 2013, she performed her solo PianoMe concert at Otakon.

In 2019, she composed a special three-part song called "Ray of Water." This song was for the new Emperor Naruhito of Japan. It was performed for him and Empress Masako at their celebration.

The Secret of Gabriela Robin

For many of Kanno's songs, a person named "Gabriela Robin" was listed as the writer or singer. But when these songs were performed live, other singers like Maaya Sakamoto or Origa would sing them.

In 2009, "Gabriela Robin" said she would perform live for the first time. This was at Kanno's Tanabata Sonic concert. However, at the end of the concert, Yoko Kanno herself sang a song called "Moon." This song was previously said to be by Robin. This showed everyone that "Gabriela Robin" was actually a secret name Yoko Kanno used. She used it to write songs that mixed English and Japanese words freely.

Kanno later said she chose the name because the first orchestra music she heard was from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. At that time, Yitzhak Rabin was the Prime Minister of Israel.

Personal Life and Interests

Yoko Kanno speaks a little English and some French, in addition to Japanese.

She enjoys music, photography, and writing. She has written articles for Newtype magazine. She also included her own photos with her articles. A collection of her photos of singer Maaya Sakamoto was shown at Sakamoto's 30th birthday concert in 2010.

In 2011, Yoko Kanno showed her support for the people affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. She composed a song called "Kimi de Ite, Buji de Ite" (きみでいてぶじでいて, Stay With Me, Stay Safe). Later, she composed the official support song for the first anniversary of the earthquake. This song was called "Hana wa Saku" (花は咲く, Flowers Will Bloom). It featured lyrics by film director Shunji Iwai. The song included famous people from the affected areas of Miyagi, Fukushima, and Iwate.

Discography

Studio Albums

Works

Yoko Kanno has created music for many different types of media. Here are some examples of her work:

Anime

Video Games

Television Dramas

Movies

Publicly Commissioned Works

Commercial Music

Yoko Kanno has composed music for many well-known companies' commercials, including:

• Canon
• NTT DoCoMo
• Fuji Xerox
• Seven Eleven
• Microsoft
• Nissan
• Toyota
• Shiseido
• MasterCard International

See also

In Spanish: Yōko Kanno para niños