Resident Evil Composer Had Someone Else Write His Music

[Karloff]

Resident Evil Composer Had Someone Else Write His Music


Mamoru Samuragochi hired someone else to produce his last two decade's worth of work.

"I've been told that there are certain circumstances that make it hard for the person (who composed the works) to come out in public," says Mamoru Samuragochi's lawyer, "and Samuragochi has come to describe himself as the sole composer." The modern Beethoven - completely deaf since 1999 - who worked on Resident Evil and Onimusha could not bear to admit that the works attributed to him were not his own. His last two decade's worth of work was written by this unknown musician, and that includes the Hiroshima Symphony, his best known piece.

Samuragochi, a self-taught composer, struggled with hearing loss all his life, and eventually became completely deaf at the age of 35. He continued to compose, relying on what he described as his absolute pitch. "If you trust your inner sense of sound, you create something that is truer," he claimed [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/05/japan-beethoven-mamoru-samagochi-composer-deaf]. "Losing my hearing was a gift from God."

Only he knows who composed the works attributed to him. Samuragochi started commissioning music in 1996, when his hearing condition became worse, and relied on ghostwriters from 1999 onwards. Nippon Columbia Co. will stop shipping his music or selling it online, and says it is "flabbergasted and deeply infuriated" by this revelation. A nationwide concert tour featuring his work may be cancelled.

Samuragochi deeply regrets what has happened. "He is mentally distressed and not in a condition to properly express his own thoughts," his lawyer says. It's not clear why Samuragochi decided to admit now, after all this time, that the works attributed to him were not his own.

Source: Japan Times [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/02/05/national/noted-deaf-composer-admits-someone-else-writes-his-music/#.UvI9XbRdz6Q]


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[Cyrromatic]

Good lord, this is like straight out of Hollywood. One wonders how many unknown composers have been gnashing their teeth for the past 20 years because of this.

 

[luvd1]

20 years of claiming someone else's work, denial about the effect of his deafness "gift from god" and even now we are expected to feel he is a victim "mental distress" Wow. What a ego.

 

[fix-the-spade]

One wonders how many unknown composers have been gnashing their teeth for the past 20 years because of this.

Since they kept a lid on it all this time, assume that they have been well paid for their work, plenty of composers let someone else take the credit and walk into the sunset with their percentage. Wouldn't surprise me if this is the case here.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

20 years of claiming someone else's work, denial about the effect of his deafness "gift from god" and even now we are expected to feel he is a victim "mental distress" Wow. What a ego.

I imagine that he is quite upset and ashamed of what he did and I admire his moral courage to own up to it. He could have gone the rest of his life without this being known. At the very least he didn't take it to his grave and can face up to his mistakes and possibly atone for them. The 'mental distress' angle is so they can line up all the cards before they figure out what his next step is. I imagine his lawyer is telling him to shut his mouth and not answer the phone. Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth, and it takes a lot of courage to tell it. Not saying he should be left off the hook, but wow. fair fucks to the guy. Destroying his legacy in one go.

I think he is setting a good example with this. I imagine he might also be in bad health, but that is speculation on my part.

 

[cerebus23]

So hes like andy warhol. cept andy just used people and was not deaf at all.

Hey he came out and admitted said he was sorry. And clear he did write music at some point it would be nice for him to come out with some clarification on that end.

 

[Kage Kirishima]

20 years of claiming someone else's work, denial about the effect of his deafness "gift from god" and even now we are expected to feel he is a victim "mental distress" Wow. What a ego.

I imagine that he is quite upset and ashamed of what he did and I admire his moral courage to own up to it. He could have gone the rest of his life without this being known. At the very least he didn't take it to his grave and can face up to his mistakes and possibly atone for them. The 'mental distress' angle is so they can line up all the cards before they figure out what his next step is. I imagine his lawyer is telling him to shut his mouth and not answer the phone. Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth, and it takes a lot of courage to tell it. Not saying he should be left off the hook, but wow. fair fucks to the guy. Destroying his legacy in one go.

I think he is setting a good example with this. I imagine he might also be in bad health, but that is speculation on my part.

I agree with you there. It's nice to see someone looking at the more positive side of issues like this. We all make mistakes. What is important, is that we learn from them.

 

[BloodRed Pixel]

actually a win-win for everybody: unknown composers get paid (more than by publishing themselves) and he throws his name around gets the jobs.

Not that 90% of the Japanese music market, especially is a ghostwriter business, already.

 

[Spud of Doom]

That's an intense revelation. I'm assuming the ghostwriters were well paid, and probably experienced, considering their silence on the matter. Kind of a terrible situation for Samuragochi though, I wonder what prompted him to go public with this.

 

[Scrythe]

This is going to sound horrible, but why do I have the feeling this guy is going to commit suicide sometime this year?

Sounds to me like the words of a man wracked with unfathomable guilt.

 

[Crimsonmonkeywar]

The fact that he's deaf and can tell that a piece is worth it is an amazing task. Although I can read, compose, and alter music. I cannot tell if a piece, beyond basic movements and keys changes, will sound good. I simply know whether or not it would work. Especially when you add multiple instruments into the fold.

 

[Loonyyy]

So, an anonymous composer, or series thereof, got paid, and presumably was happy with their cut and arrangement, and yet there's quite sinister and malicious tone running through not only several of the replies, but the Escapist's Facebook link to the article "It turns out that the composer for Resident Evil wasn't actually composing anything besides checks to the person that was really writing the music."

Honestly, this just feels mean, and I'm a little saddened by all of this.

 

[Quellist]

20 years of claiming someone else's work, denial about the effect of his deafness "gift from god" and even now we are expected to feel he is a victim "mental distress" Wow. What a ego.

I imagine that he is quite upset and ashamed of what he did and I admire his moral courage to own up to it. He could have gone the rest of his life without this being known. At the very least he didn't take it to his grave and can face up to his mistakes and possibly atone for them. The 'mental distress' angle is so they can line up all the cards before they figure out what his next step is. I imagine his lawyer is telling him to shut his mouth and not answer the phone. Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth, and it takes a lot of courage to tell it. Not saying he should be left off the hook, but wow. fair fucks to the guy. Destroying his legacy in one go.

I think he is setting a good example with this. I imagine he might also be in bad health, but that is speculation on my part.

Totally agree with this. When he started going deaf i can imagine how he must have gone into panic mode. I hope some good comes out of this, both for him in the terms of accepting his condition and possibly fame for the anonymous musicians who composed for him, with a little luck this might be the break they need...