Shoichiro Hirata Interviews

DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution-

The following interview/artist profile was included in the DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution- instruction booklet released in 2002.

Name: Shoichiro Hirata
Artist Name(s): Sho-T
Age: 33 years old
Time at Konami?: 7 years
First Konami Project: I think it was Konami Links
Favorite Instrument: Fender Rhodes
Favorite Music Style: I really enjoy house and R&B.
Favorite Music producer or artist: Some of my recent favorite artist include, Filur and Lisa Loeb (although her genre/style is completely different from mine). Also, I like Hikaru Utada a lot as well. She is a very talented singer/songwriter in Japan.
Favorite Bemani song you have written: Share My Love
Songs created in DDRMAX: Groove 2001, Share My Love
Favorite Song(s) in DDRMAX and why?: I love all the songs!
What do you think about the success of DDR in North America so far?:: I am happy about the success. The universal feeling of moving your body to music is something that everyone can enjoy and I suppose this partly explains the success.
How did you first get involved making Bemani music?:: I was involved in making songs for Beatmania IIDX and other Bemani games.
Did you always like Bemani-style music or did you like those dance styles after you started making songs?: Actually dance music was my strong point and I had always been thinking about finding a way to utilize that skill in video games as well.
What else do you still want to accomplish as an artist with DDR/Bemani songs that you have not done so far?: I would like to create songs with different music styles and genres.
Have you ever considered using famous artists or a DJ to make a new remix of one of your songs for a future Bemani game? Who would you like to have remix the song?: I would like to work with Armand Van Helden or Satoshi Tomiie.
Have you ever thought about making Dance music for official release (I.E. for DJs and consumer use)?: Of course! I always think about it and I will keep trying to achieve that goal.
What kind of hardware and mixing software do you use to compose your songs?: For the sequencing software, I use Logic Audio. Other than that, I use many synthesizers. My favorite one is MIDI MINI!
What was the most difficult/challenging situation that you have experienced working on Bemani/DDR games?: Although this is a recurring theme, it is tough to make the dance song short and cool at the same time, where the most pleasing part of dance music is the repetition. The other difficulty is how I can get the best of both worlds by making the music cool from an arrangement perspective while also making it fun as a video game.
Can you briefly describe the initial process/steps of how you determine the direction for a new song?: Usually I select a rhythm and begin to assemble the song accordingly.
When you are making a song, do you ever think about what some of the steps mght be like or do you already know from the beginning that this song is going to be a difficult song for players, etc?: Basically, I am not conscious about the steps or difficulty when I am in the process of writing a song. However, when I write a song, I sometimes think to myself "If this kind of gimmick is used, it would make the song fun to play in the game." or "With this type of step, it would be so cool."
Do you feel limited as an artist because of the game design and mechanics of DDR?: No. It is always exciting!
Many fans really enjoy the songs you have created for DDR/Bemani series because they hve a cool urban sound. Have you enjoyed urban music growing up or what inspired you to make this type of music?: Basically, I like creating UK-style sounds. However, when I was a student I really loved "New Jack Swing" (we call it R&B now) and I was thinking about how I could make that groove feeling too. Artists like Teddy Riley, Jam & Lewis and Chukii Booker were my life back then.
Do you have any comments or words to players?: I am so happy that video game music gets attention like this!