Interview with Music Composer Kenji Kawai

This publication presents an interview with the renowned Japanese composer Kenji Kawai, conducted during the Málaga Soundtrack Festival (MOSMA) in 2016 at the Teatro Cervantes in Málaga, Spain. Known for his influential work in film, anime, and video games, Kawai discusses his creative process, the importance of visual references when composing music, and his collaborative relationship with film directors. During the conversation, Kawai reflects on the similarities and differences between composing for cinema, animation, and video games, drawing on his experience working on titles such as Ghost in the Shell and the PlayStation 3 game Folklore. He also addresses the influence of traditional Japanese musical elements—such as taiko drums and the shakuhachi flute—on his compositions, particularly in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. The interview was conducted by Andrés Domenech Alcaide and interpreted by Kayoko Morimoto. It was originally published in Spanish on CoolJapan.es on 25 July 2016 and is republished here under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.