is a Japanese composer and sound designer. He has scored almost every installment of Konami's horror video game series Silent Hill since 1999, also producing some of the entries and composing for three film adaptations. He has been the sound director at Grasshopper Manufacture since 2010 and has served as director and sound designer at Supertrick Games since 2018.
Early life Akira Yamaoka was born in Niigata on February 6, 1968. He sought to become a designer, but instead became a musician whilst studying product design and interior design at Tokyo Art College.
Career Yamaoka joined Konami on September 21, 1993. He immediately began to work on the games Contra: Hard Corps, Sparkster, and Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2. Shortly thereafter, he worked on the music for the PC Engine and Sega CD versions of Snatcher.
When Konami began searching for a musician to compose the score for Silent Hill, Yamaoka volunteered because he thought he was the only one capable of making the soundtrack. Although initially hired as a composer, he soon became involved in the game's overall sound design. He later named Silent Hill 2 as his favorite of his own soundtracks.
On December 2, 2009, it was announced that Yamaoka was leaving Konami. On February 3, 2010, he joined Grasshopper Manufacture and began working with Goichi Suda and Shinji Mikami on their action game Shadows of the Damned. He was first appointed to the role of chief sound officer at Grasshopper, but became involved in aspects of game production as well.
On August 10, 2012, Yamaoka announced he would be releasing a second solo album in late 2012 that would be "different from the usual Silent Hill music". On October 31, he announced that the new three-track Spanish-language EP Revolución would premiere at V-CON during a live performance. In 2014, he expressed interest in returning as a composer for Silent Hills, although the project was later cancelled.
From late October to early November 2015, Yamaoka and his band travelled to the United Kingdom for their Silent Hill Live tour, during which they performed songs from the Silent Hill series at venues in Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, London, Manchester, and Southampton. In July 2016, he performed live at the BitSummit 4th indie game festival in Kyoto.
Style and influences Yamaoka has named Suda51 as his favorite game creator and No More Heroes (2007) as his favorite video game.Nintendo Power, Volume 248 He has also named Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977) as his favorite film.
In July 2010, Yamaoka was invited by the website Nintendo Life to curate a short playlist for a new series exploring "the musical tastes of notable video game creators and figures". His playlist consisted of "Moon Over Moscow" by Visage, "Der Mussolini" by Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, "Amber" by Craig Armstrong, "Moments in Love" by Art of Noise, and "The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone. He further cited "Moon Over Moscow" as the earliest song that made him want to pursue music, and revealed that he wanted "The Ecstasy of Gold" to be played at his funeral.
When asked in February 2014 which other artists influenced him, Yamaoka cited Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails as his "main inspiration, both performing and in music style". He later said that his work on Silent Hill was directly influenced by Reznor, composer Angelo Badalamenti's work with filmmaker David Lynch (especially Twin Peaks), and the more atmospheric songs by Depeche Mode and Metallica.
On the topic of whether his studies at Tokyo Art College helped him in his musical career, Yamaoka explained, "At that time, Mick Karn of Japan, Steve Strange of Visage, and a lot of other musicians combined the notions of art and music with their own new style. I got really influenced by that. Therefore, every time I write songs, I try to combine art and music." He has also stated that he derives much of his influence from baroque styles common throughout the 18th century.
Personal life Yamaoka is married to fellow musician Ai "Tamu" Murata, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Nemophila. They have two daughters together.
In March 2011, Yamaoka auctioned off some of his musical instruments to raise funds for charity after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Works
Video games Year Title Notes 1991 Smart Ball with Yasuhiko Fukuda and Manabu Saito 1994 Contra: Hard Corps with several others Sparkster with several others Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 with Michiru Yamane Snatcher PC Engine version, Sega CD version, PlayStation version, Sega Saturn version 1996 Gradius Deluxe Pack with Miki Higashino, Kiyohiko Yamane, and Motoaki Furukawa Ganbare Goemon: Uchū Kaizoku Akogingu with several others Road Rage/Speed King PlayStation version Lightning Legend: Daigo no Daibouken "Spring's Undersea Walking Hurricane (Rankerk Hatred)" 1997 Moon: Remix RPG Adventure "Tears of Machine" and "TILT" International Superstar Soccer Pro 98 with several others Nagano Winter Olympics '98 with Soshiro Hokkai and Keiko Fukami 1998 Poy Poy 2 NBA In The Zone '98 with Yuichi Asami, Ryuichi Inoue, and Nobuhiko Matsufuji Kensei: Sacred Fist with Kyoran Suzuki and Norikazu Miura 1999 Silent Hill ISS Pro Evolution with Shinji Enomoto, Kosuke Soeda, and Hideki Kasai 1999–2012 Bemani series 2000 Gradius III and IV ESPN MLS GameNight with Shinji Enomoto, Kosuke Soeda, and Hideki Kasai 2001 Silent Hill 2 2002 Contra: Shattered Soldier with Sota Fujimori 2003 Silent Hill 3 2004 Rumble Roses with several others Silent Hill 4: The Room 2006 Rumble Roses XX with several others 2007 Silent Hill: The Arcade with Masayuki Maruyama and Jun Ito Silent Hill: Origins Silent Hill: The Escape 2008 Silent Hill: Homecoming Otomedius Gorgeous!arrangements 2009 Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2010 No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle with several others 2011 Shadows of the Damned Rebuild of Evangelion: Sound Impact arrangements 2012 Sine Mora Liberation Maiden Lollipop Chainsaw music director Silent Hill: Book of Memories guitarist on "Love Psalm (Book of Memories)" Black Knight Sword 2013 Rotolla Killer Is Dead music director 2014 Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day Murasaki Baby "Neeko" 2015 Persona 4: Dancing All Night "Time To Make History" remix 2016 Puzzle & Dragons X with Kenji Ito, Yuzo Koshiro, and Keigo Ozaki The Silver Case arrangements, "WHITEOUT" Let It Die music director 2017 Astro Boy: Edge of Time World of Tanks "Battle in Japan" with Andrius Klimka 2018 The 25th Ward: The Silver Case with Baiyon, Erika Ito, and Masafumi Takada 2020 Dead by Daylight Chapter XVI: Silent Hill Ninjala with several othersWorld of Tanks"Mirny-13 – Hangar Theme" with Aleksandr Khilko and Aleksey Vanchuk 2021 The Medium with Arkadiusz Reikowski 2022 Deathverse: Let It Die 2023 Decarnation Stray Souls 2024 Silent Hill: The Short Message Silent Hill 2 Remake Slitterhead 2025 Silent Hill f with Kensuke Inage, Dai, and Koichi "Xaki" Sakita Let It Die: Inferno Sound Director Total Chaoswith several others; theme and end credits2026Pathologic 3composer of an original track
Films Year Title Notes 2006 Silent Hill with Jeff Danna, also executive producer 2011 Julia X "Julia's Wish" 2012 Silent Hill: Revelation with Jeff Danna 2017 Kuso with Flying Lotus, Aphex Twin, Thundercat, and various others 2023 Joshurei 2026 Return to Silent Hill also executive producer
Anime Year Title Notes 2013 Patema Inverted sound director 2022 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Anime series based on Cyberpunk 2077
Other Year Title Notes 2001 Fukuro Ki-No-Ko 2003 Usagi 2006 iFuturelist 2011 "Ex Animo" by Play for Japan: The Album with various others Sdatcher An episodic radio drama prequel of Snatcher 2012 Revolución "Rinkaku (Eternal Slumber Mix)" by Dir En Grey 2013 "Rose Cat" by World 1-2 with various others 2014 "Sustain the Untruth (Remix)" by Dir En Grey 2016 Enn Mo Takenawa "Yuigon Zakura"
References
External links
Official website Archived Konami blog