Kensuke Ushio

Kensuke Ushio
牛尾 憲輔
Birth nameKensuke Ushio
Also known asAgraph
Born (1983-03-01) March 1, 1983 (age 41)
Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Occupations
Years active2007–present
Labels
Member ofLama
Websiteagraph.jp

Kensuke Ushio (Japanese: 牛尾 憲輔, Hepburn: Ushio Kensuke, born March 1, 1983) (stylized as kensuke ushio) is a Japanese composer, rock and EBM musician. He also releases work under the moniker Agraph.

He is a member of Japanese rock band Lama. Together with Lama, he released two full-length studio records: New! in 2011 and Modanica a year later. Both albums charted on the Oricon Albums Chart.[1]

As an EBM musician, he released three albums, all of which peaked in the Japanese Albums Chart.[2] He wrote and composed soundtracks for several anime television series and movies, such as A Silent Voice, Chainsaw Man, Devilman Crybaby and Liz and the Blue Bird.[3]

Biography

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As a child, Ushio learned playing piano. He studied arts and music at university. At the same time, he learned the usage of the audio editor software Pro Tools. At the age of 20, Ushio got his first contact with electronic music, such as techno.[4] He started his solo career in 2007 under the moniker Agraph and began creating electronic music. His debut album A Day, Phases, which was produced by Takkyu Ishino, was released in December 2008.[4] Two years later, his second album Equal was released, which ranked in the Japanese Albums Charts.[2] In 2011, Ushio and some former musicians of bands like Supercar and Number Girl formed a rock band called Lama.[5][6] The band released two albums, which both ranked on the official Albums Charts of Japan.[1]

Due to his involvement in Lama, Ushio's third album named The Shader was released in 2016, six years after his second album. Ushio works as composer of film music as well, with a particular focus on animated projects. Among his film and television credits are music composition for Space Dandy (2014), A Silent Voice (2016), Liz and the Blue Bird (2018), and Boogiepop and Others (2019).[7][8] He is a frequent collaborator of directors Masaaki Yuasa and Naoko Yamada, as well as the animation studio Science Saru, for which he has composed the scores of Ping Pong the Animation (2014), Devilman Crybaby (2018), Japan Sinks: 2020 (2020), and The Heike Story (2021).[9][10] For The Heike Story, Ushio combined ambient with traditional Japanese instruments that aren't featured in the western musical scale, with an emphasis on the biwa per the director's request.[11] In December 2021, Ushio was confirmed as the composer for MAPPA's anime adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga series Chainsaw Man,[12] which premiered on October 12, 2022, on TV Tokyo and other networks.[13][14] Ushio considered the soundtrack to be a challenge, having never written a score for a series based on a popular shonen manga at the time. He also collaborated with Sony Computer Science Laboratories to create a custom program as he sought to combine drum patterns with chainsaw samples.[15] Ushio arranged music for the Distant Future chapter of the Live a Live remake, originally composed by Yoko Shimomura, marking his first work on a video game. The game released on July 22, 2022.[16]

Discography

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Solo

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Year Album
2008 A Day, Phase[17]
2010 Equal
2016 The Shader[18]

Lama

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Year Album
2011 Now
2012 Modanica[19]

Works

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Anime

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Year Title
2014 Space Dandy
Ping Pong the Animation
2016 A Silent Voice[20] (A Shape of Light)
2018 Sanī/32
Devilman Crybaby[21]
Liz and the Blue Bird[22]
2019 Boogiepop and Others[23]
2020 Japan Sinks: 2020
2021 Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop
The Heike Story[24]
2022 Chainsaw Man[25]
2023 Make My Day[26]
The Dangers in My Heart[27]
Heavenly Delusion[28]
2024 The Colors Within[29]
Dandadan[30]
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth[31]
TBA Ikoku Nikki[32]

Video games

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Year Title Notes
2022 Live a Live arranged "Unseen Syndrome" and "Captain of the Stars"[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Rama no Arubamu Uriage Rankingu" LAMAのアルバム売上ランキング [LAMA Album Sales Rankings]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Agraph no Arubamu Uriage Rankingu" agraphのアルバム売上ランキング [Agraph Album Sales Rankings]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  3. ^ "Kensuke Ushio no Sakuhin" kensuke ushioの作品 [Kensuke Ushio's Works]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Hashimoto, Shōhei. "agraph - Ongaku Natarī Tokushū Intabyū" agraph - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー [agraph - Music Natalie Feature / Interview]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "Liz and the Blue Bird Press Release" (PDF). Pony Canyon. June 25, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "Nakamura Kōji, Furukawa Miki-ra ga, Shin Bando LAMA wo Shidō!" 中村弘二、フルカワミキらが、新バンドLAMAを始動! [Kōji Nakamura, Miki Furukawa, and Others Start New Band LAMA!]. Oricon (in Japanese). February 28, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  7. ^ Loo, Egan (March 9, 2018). "Boogiepop and Others Light Novel Gets 2018 TV Anime by Madhouse". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  8. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 24, 2018). "Anime Expo Hosts U.S. Premiere of Liz and the Blue Bird Anime Film". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  9. ^ Coats, Cayla (July 22, 2020). "To Make Something Solid: A Conversation with Kensuke Ushio, Composer of Japan Sinks 2020". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  10. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 2, 2021). "Science SARU Reveals The Heike Story TV Anime by Naoko Yamada". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Interview: The Heike Story Music Composer Kensuke Ushio". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  12. ^ "アニメ『チェンソーマン』公式サイト". アニメ『チェンソーマン』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  13. ^ アニメ「チェンソーマン」10月放送開始！戸谷菊之介、楠木ともりらキャスト発表. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. August 5, 2022. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  14. ^ アニメ「チェンソーマン」10月11日放送開始、Prime Videoで最速配信も決定. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 8, 2022. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  15. ^ "INTERVIEW: Behind the Scenes of the Chainsaw Man Soundtrack with Kensuke Ushio". Crunchyroll. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "LIVE A LIVE HD-2D Remake Original Soundtrack". Square Enix. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  17. ^ "a day, phases | KSCL-1330 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  18. ^ "the shader | BRC-497 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  19. ^ "Lama – Modanica (2012, CD) - Discogs". Discogs (in German). 12 December 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  20. ^ "スタッフ". 映画『聲の形』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  21. ^ "MUSIC". DEVILMAN crybaby | 公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  22. ^ "スタッフ". 『リズと青い鳥』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  23. ^ "Boogiepop and Others Anime's 2nd Promo Video Reveals 14 More Cast Members, January 4 Debut". Anime News Network. November 30, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  24. ^ "TVアニメ「平家物語」公式サイト". heike-anime.asmik-ace.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  25. ^ "Chainsaw Man TV Anime's 1st Teaser Video Unveils Staff". Anime News Network. June 27, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  26. ^ "Make My Day Anime Film Reveals Cast, Mecha Design, February 2023 Debut". Anime News Network. September 25, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  27. ^ "The Dangers in My Heart Anime's Teaser Reveals Cast, Staff, April Debut". Anime News Network. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  28. ^ "Heavenly Delusion Anime's Teaser Promo Video Reveals Full Staff". Anime News Network. November 25, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  29. ^ "GKIDS, Anime Ltd. License Naoko Yamada, Science Saru's The Colors Within Anime Film". Anime News Network. April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  30. ^ "Yukinobu Tatsu's Dandadan Manga Gets TV Anime by Science Saru in 2024". Anime News Network. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  31. ^ "Orb: On the Movements of the Earth Anime's Video Reveals More Cast, Staff, October 5 Debut". Anime News Network. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  32. ^ "Tomoko Yamashita's Ikoku Nikki Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
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