Jolene Khor and Robert V. Lampkin - Hinode
Jolene Khor and Robert V. Lampkin are both award-winning composers with an admiration for legendary Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi. Khor, who teaches composition, piano, Jazz and music theory in London mixes her Classical and Jazz training with her love for Japanese and Chinese aesthetics, creating a phenomenal global blend that sure currently uses to score video and even tabletop games. Meanwhile Lampkin utilizes his unique approach to score both small films and games. Today we are excited to share our thoughts on Jolene Khor and Robert V. Lampkin’s song, “Hinode” as well as share our interview with these talented composers!
“Hinode”, which is the Japanese word for sunrise, is an instrumental piece that has deep and universally enjoyable textures that make it a true delight to listen to. Toward the end of the first third of the song, a strong feeling of whimsy begins to set in and the track begins to feel nostalgic and downright magical. This song feels like it is pulled straight out of an anime score and is teeming with the kinds of sounds you would expect from Japanese or Japanese-inspired composers. If I had to pick one word to describe this piece, it would be impressive. It is impressive in its melodic structure, its rich and enjoyable textures and most of all, the way it makes you feel; it is truly a special song!
Now let’s jump into the interview!
What can you two tell us about yourselves?
Robert: My name is Robert and I’m a freelance composer, orchestrator, and occasional arranger specialising in orchestral composition. I really love listening to other composers works and, if I’m fortunate, speak with them about their process.
Jolene: My name is Jolene and I am too a freelance composer, orchestrator and music arranger for films, television, podcasts, as well as table top and video games. I specialise in orchestral traditional asian composition. Similar to Robert, I enjoy listening to different compositions from different composers, especially through the medium of video games.
Why did you decide on this project and where did you gather your inspiration from?
This project was a collaboration focusing on our mutual respect and admiration for Joe Hisaishi’s work in Studio Ghibli’s productions, with the final goal of having a live orchestra play the piece and learning as much as we could along the way.
Can you describe the completely-remote process for creating this song?
Having a completely remote recorded collaboration was a challenge, but nothing that couldn’t be managed with enough time. I think because we didn’t have too much of a deadline for this, we could work with everyone’s schedules nicely. The process really started with a few Instagram DM’s, where we talked and brainstormed ideas. Then we actually got on Zoom to start writing and improvising themes. After we had a starting point, the piece kind of fell together through a give-and-take thread of iterations. By that point, all that was left was part and score prep, and finding the musicians to handle the solos. First came the string orchestra recording in Budapest in mid-October, then the soloists in November and December.
Why was this piece called Hinode and what is its meaning?
We named this after the Japanese word for sunrise, symbolising the start of the new year while also paying tribute to the happiness and love we both have for music, but especially Joe Hisaishi’s works.
What are some accomplishments you hope to achieve this year?
Robert:
This year, I’m hoping to have another recording session completed and get a few more film credits to my name. I have a few cool things lined up that I’m really excited for, like the LAFCI workshop next week, which I’ll be attending online. All I can really hope for this year, though, is to look back on them and be able to say I had fun, and helped others have fun as well.
Jolene: I'm currently composing for the video games The Gods Fabled Soil Frontier and Towers as well as a soundtrack for the tabletop games by Emberwind, Nomnivores Games. I'm also working on collaborations with musicians, filmmakers as well as tabletop DMs. I will be sharing these works on my socials and website so stay tuned!
After the interview, I can tell you one thing - even though I knew both Khor and Lampkin are influenced by Joe Hisaishi and I also detected the Japanese/anime influences in this piece, I totally missed how Ghibli-inspired this song sounds on my first listen, though I cannot unhear it now! Upon re-listening I can literally feel the whimsy I mentioned earlier and now I cannot stop imagining Ghibli-inspired visuals when I listen to this piece now. Lampkin and Khor really accomplished their goal to craft a Hisaishi-influenced song and all I can say is - wow! This song truly is something special and I think that it really needs to be heard, especially by Studio Ghibli fans and even broader fans of Japanese media.
Check out Jolene Khor’s Linktree as well as Robert V. Lampkin’s Linktree to find all of their links, including their respective websites, social media and the streaming sites where they post their fantastic music. We have “Hinode” embedded below - check it out and send these two phenomenal composers some love!
