About Me

Hello there!

My name is Alain, I’m based in Japan, and I am the editor and owner of this “casual” soundtrack concert review and report site.

So what do I mean by “casual”? From the quality and depth of my writing it is obvious that I am not a journalist by trade, nor do I aim to be one.

I’m just some guy writing about what he loves in his free time – if what I write makes you love listening to soundtracks and going to soundtrack concerts even more, then I’ve achieved my goal.

I should also stress that I am not compensated in any way for these reviews, nor have I monetized this site in any way- I’m not doing this for the money.

Like everyone else, I pay top dollar to go to these concerts, get concert merch, and stay at hotels if concerts finish late. I am able to meet composers from time to time by simply waiting outside stage doors or attending official meet-and-greet events. My only real advantage is that I have a family member that works for the airline industry which gives me certain airline “benefits.” 🙂

In a nutshell, I’m just a fan who loves soundtracks and going to soundtrack concerts, and I just want to share my passion with the world.

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So, how did I get into this hobby?

I have been listening to and collecting soundtracks since the mid-90s.

Although I’d always had a casual interest in film music as a child, the true power of film music didn’t really hit me until I was blown away by Hans Zimmer‘s score to THE LION KING. As I was still in primary school at the time and not even familiar with the concept of film music being available on cassette or CD, my passion for film music didn’t really progress much after that.

It was only years later when THE ROCK came out that I really became a fan, actively seeking out scores with the miniscule amount of pocket money I had.

My early obsession will all things Zimmer somehow led into the music of John Barry, which I am sure would surprise many since they are complete opposites in terms of style and approach to film. I can only explain this by stating that if the music moves me, then it is good – I really don’t care who wrote it, if they used an orchestra or not, and if the music is dominated by themes or has none at all. If it moves me, I like it and I’ll listen to it again.

While John Barry will always be my favourite composer, I will also readily admit that John Williams is the GOAT of film music. He just cannot be touched in terms of his compositional technique and mastery at giving a film exactly what it needs.

As a young boy growing up in Australia, there were never any film music concerts in town (or at least I didn’t know about them – this was the pre-internet/social media age after all!). Honestly, I didn’t start going to film music concerts until I moved to Japan at the ripe old age of 21. With a real full-time job and real money, I could actually afford to go to concerts without having to beg my mum for money!

The first film music concert I ever went to was a Joe Hisaishi concert in Tokyo in 2003. This was soon followed by a bucket list item: flying to London for the opening of the musical BRIGHTON ROCK in order to meet John Barry. This was some 20 years ago and I still remember it as if it was yesterday!

Over the years I’ve continued to travel the world seeing concerts, but luckily, many big composers now make stops in Japan, so I’ve been able to hear (and sometimes meet!) composers like Michael Nyman, Ennio Morricone, Alexandre Desplat, Justin Hurwitz, Eric Serra, Danny Elfman, and Alan Menken.

I deeply regret not having seen various composers in concert like James Horner, Michael Kamen, Jerry Goldsmith, Francis Lai, Michel Legrand, Basil Poledouris and Elmer Bernstein while they were still with us. That is why I go to concerts whenever possible, because we really don’t know how long our film music heroes will be around or healthy enough to conduct or perform their own music in concert. And that is my basic philosophy: No regrets, in music or life!

Thanks for reading & see you at the next concert 🙂

All the best,

Alain