Rika Muranaka
Rika Muranaka left her native Tokyo as a teenager to study jazz piano with Alan Swain in Chicago. She began writing music at the age of 16, but initially created pieces only for herself. After graduating from Maine East High School in Park Ridge in 1979 and then attending Chicago's Northeastern Illinois University, she returned to Japan. In 1992, Columbia Records offered her a deal that resulted in four album releases. Her debut CD Slice of Life came out that same year featuring vocalists Dwight Dukes, Cynthia Harrell, and Stephanie B. This project was a collaboration with Michael Caruso, a Grammy-nominated songwriter.
Fascinated by the game industry, Rika Muranaka started working for Konami in the 1990s. At that time it was rare for game companies to hire professional music composers. Her motivation to write music for games was to change the standard for music in the industry because everyone thought video game music was simple and not so good. Her first projects involved songs for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the classic horror game Silent Hill. On these titles she collaborated with Akira Yamaoka, a Japanese video game composer. She composed the song I Am the Wind for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Esperándote for the original Silent Hill.
Her work at Konami led to an almost twenty-year working relationship with Hideo Kojima on the Metal Gear Solid game series. The company was small at the time and the team creating the game consisted of only about 20 people. They did not expect Metal Gear Solid to become so successful. Muranaka states that she had to be a mind reader as she did not know the storyline or where the music was intended to be used. She imagined what Hideo Kojima had envisioned without explicit direction. He told her she needed to create five patterns for action, five patterns for sneaking, and five patterns for ambient music. When she suggested writing a song in Gaelic, Hideo responded What the hell is Gaelic?
During the years of her work at Konami she had not only composed music and written lyrics but also produced and edited music. She arranged budgets, hired musicians, and organized orchestras needed to produce the music for the Metal Gear Solid game series. She involved jazz musicians such as Gerald Albright, Kevin Eubanks, and Hubert Laws in creating music for the game series. While working on Metal Gear Solid 2, Rika Muranaka brought in British film composer Harry Gregson-Williams into the game industry. She believes by doing so she contributed to setting the trend of attracting film producers to the music composition in game industry.
Despite being fond of writing for games, Rika Muranaka gradually developed passion to writing music for films, television, and animation. She describes the process of creating music for games and film as different. In games the music has to fit within a game meaning you have to make a transition every 30 seconds and it has to be loopable. For film you actually have a trailer or something to work with so you can use a time code to fit the music perfectly within a scene. After terminating her work relationship with Konami, Rika Muranaka transitioned to working on her own projects. These included a reality show Hollywood Dream and her own business RnD Entertainment, both collaborations with Grammy and American Music Award winning music producer Damien E-Love Matthias.
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Common questions
Where did Rika Muranaka study jazz piano before returning to Japan?
Rika Muranaka studied jazz piano with Alan Swain in Chicago after leaving her native Tokyo as a teenager. She graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge in 1979 and attended Northeastern Illinois University.
When did Rika Muranaka sign a deal with Columbia Records?
Columbia Records offered Rika Muranaka a deal in 1992 that resulted in four album releases. Her debut CD Slice of Life came out that same year featuring vocalists Dwight Dukes, Cynthia Harrell, and Stephanie B.
Which game series did Rika Muranaka work on for nearly twenty years at Konami?
Rika Muranaka maintained an almost twenty-year working relationship with Hideo Kojima on the Metal Gear Solid game series while employed by Konami. The team creating the game consisted of only about 20 people when they began the project.
What specific musical styles did Rika Muranaka compose for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night?
Rika Muranaka composed the song I Am the Wind for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night during her time at Konami. She collaborated with Akira Yamaoka to create music for this title and the classic horror game Silent Hill.
How does Rika Muranaka describe the difference between composing for games versus film?
In games the music has to fit within a game meaning you have to make a transition every 30 seconds and it has to be loopable. For film you actually have a trailer or something to work with so you can use a time code to fit the music perfectly within a scene.