Hirokazu Ando (安藤浩和Ando Hirokazu, born March 2, 1969) is a senior sound composer atHAL Laboratory, one of the main composers of theKirby series, and the composer ofSuper Smash Bros.. Having worked onKirby since 1993 and held the role of lead sound composer since 2016, he is known for composing many of the classicKirby themes along withJun Ishikawa, and he often displays classical, jazz, and symphonic influences in his work.
Hirokazu Ando's artistic influences include classical pianistClaude Debussy,Ryuichi Sakamoto of the bandYellow Magic Orchestra,Dragon Quest composerKoichi Sugiyama, and Jun Ishikawa. On his songs, he plays live bass, ukelele, and melodica (though not piano). Ando does not consider himself a live performer, and insteadprograms his music with little consideration as to whether it could be performed in real life.[1][2]
Kirby Ultra Super Deluxe Original Sound Track (with Jun Ishikawa and Tadashi Ikegami; arrangement for "Milky Way Wishes: Staff Credits / Orchestra ver.", melodicas, bass, and ukulele for "Stage Medley / Acoustic ver.")
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The following are allKirby songs Hirokazu Ando has been credited for being in charge of:
While both Hirokazu Ando and Jun Ishikawa are credited for the music inKirby's Adventure, Ishikawa indicated that he was not personally involved with it in a 2010 interview, and both this comment and a 2017 interview indicate that Ando was solely in charge of the music forKirby's Adventure.[2][3] TheKirby's Adventure album credits Ando as the composer for every arranged track except "Sparkling March", an arrangement of "Green Greens" fromKirby's Dream Land, which indicates that Ishikawa is credited for the compositions thatKirby's Adventure reuses fromKirby's Dream Land.[5]
Yuuta Ogasawara, Hirokazu Ando, and Yuki Shimooka posing for a photo in an issue of Nintendo Dream magazine. Note Ando wearing one of his many chicken shirts.
Although Hirokazu Ando joined HAL Laboratory and theKirby series later thanJun Ishikawa, Ando has been the lead sound composer of theKirby series in recent works.
Hirokazu Ando strongly associates himself with chickens, having been born in a Year of the Rooster and taken a liking to them since elementary school.[6] This association manifests in several ways:
He has a pet chicken named Nago[7] (not named afterNago, but after a breed of chicken,Nagoya Cochin) whose voice was sampled forStar Dream's weathercock. In joking reference to this, he is referred to as "Weathercock Ando" in interviews onKirby: Planet Robobot's Japanese website.[7]
His signature includes a drawing of a chicken, which can be seen ina piece of commemorative artwork, a commemorative drawing of Chef Kirby for the release ofThe Sound of Kirby Café 2,[8] and his interviews in theOrchestra Concert andMusic Fest booklets.
As of 2018, Ando's favorite piece that he has composed is the ending credits theme ofKirby: Planet Robobot, "Memories (I'll Never Forget You)". His favorite theme by Jun Ishikawa is "Beautiful Prison" fromKirby: Triple Deluxe.[1]
↑3.03.1"This may just be my own personal sense of it, but I worked on the songs for the first Kirby game, and Ando-san did the music for the next one, Kirby's Adventure, and those two sounds established the basis for that special Kirby feeling." –Jun Ishikawa (Iwata Asks:Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wayback Machine snapshot))
(Wayback Machine snapshot);direct image link (Wayback Machine snapshot)
