Xanadu Next music composition/arrangement analysis

XANADU NEXT Original Sound Track (ザナドゥ・ネクスト オリジナルサウンドトラック) Falcom Sound Team jdk musician breakdown

Falcom Sound Team jdk = Hayato SONODA, Wataru ISHIBASHI (minimal involvement, see https://web.archive.org/web/20160928232739/http://vgmdb.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12023), Takahide MURAYAMA (real name is Eiichiro YANAGI), Takahiro UNISUGA
"La Valse Pour Xanadu" originally composed by Toshiya TAKAHASHI

Some tracks arranged by Ayako SHIBAZAKI and Yukhiro JINDO. Until further confirmation by Nihon Falcom, fanmade tracklist credits are based on speculation through observation and comparison (methods include comparing tracks based on confirmed tracks per musician according to interviews/conversations with former Sound Team jdk personnel)

01 	"Two love" = SONODA (formal, elegaic waltz using his familiar orchestral instruments; loops twice with minor variation around ending, plays on title screen and is the OST's motif, a la "Hoshi no Arika" from Sora no Kiseki SC)
02 	"LA VALSE POUR XANADU ~ XANADU NEXT OPENING" = TAKAHASHI, arranged by JINDO (instruments are his, not to mention a very bombastic, unpredictable cinema orchestral style all throughout the piece; he later rearranged this theme in Falcom Field Zanmai)
03 	"Harlech" = MURAYAMA (track's reminiscent of some of ISHIBASHI's tracks from Zwei!!, but more subdued in dynamics, spaced-out development by comparison, and finally it has accordion which only appears in Falcom OSTs of the period where Murayama's credited)
04 	"LA VALSE POUR XANADU ~ XANADU NEXT FIELD" = TAKAHASHI, arranged by SONODA (based heavily on tempo/spare instrumentation of the original, third major phrase varies chords before transitioning into final refrain of the motif; instruments are tell-tale SONODA)
05 	"The Eternal Maze" = MURAYAMA (or UNISUGA?) (could be UNISUGA, given the reverb, simple but distinct instrumentation, and contrast with "Clover Ruins"—leans towards MURAYAMA because of pad synth similar to "A Tempo" from Sora no Kiseki FC Unused Music and subtle background cymbal SFX)
06 	"Clover Ruins" = MURAYAMA (more subtle dynamics/accents in phrases + interweaving build-up of percussion and background SFX, marks this as late-period MURAYAMA; vibraphone and sitar don't show up this much in tracks done by other members, and timpani part/rhythm varies in a way typical of MURAYAMA's jazzier/syncopated tracks (like "Pinch!" from Sora no Kiseki FC)
07 	"LA VALSE POUR XANADU ~ XANADU NEXT BATTLE" = TAKAHASHI, arranged by SONODA (military march style, very strict phrase endings, and instrumentation (doubled brass, snare drum, &c.) not far off from the previous "La Valse Pour Xanadu" arrangements)
08 	"Egret Mountains" = SONODA (like the above track, with longer development before loop)
09 	"The Treacherous Woods" = MURAYAMA?(structure is different from "The Eternal Maze", and percussion not quite as idiosyncratic as "Clover Ruins"—guitar instrument isn't a sitar either; string section also isn't as advanced as you'd expect from MURAYAMA, but overall the percussion section is still more complex than UNISUGA's tracks in Sora no Kiseki SC)
10 	"LA VALSE POUR XANADU ~ XANADU NEXT INTERMISSION" = TAKAHASHI, arranged by JINDO (melodramatic cinema-style orchestra, similar to "XANADU NEXT OPENING" and the Falcom Field Zanmai arrange)
11 	"Xanadu Labyrinth" = SONODA (once again, very similar to other TAKAHASHI arranges by SONODA)
12 	"The One" = MURAYAMA (syncopated drumming a la MURAYAMA's Sora no Kiseki FC battle themes, lot of interplay with melody repeating in variations)
13 	"Time Crevice" = MURAYAMA (UNISUGA didn't produce anything around this time as weird, minor-key, and dependent on stylings like sped-up doubled violin glissandos; definitely not SONODA either, or a holdover)
14 	"Bump in the road" = SONODA (not far off from "Great Awe" in Sora no Kiseki SC, emblematic of SONODA's traits and unpredictable boss fight marches)
15 	"The Castle of Strange Rock" = SONODA (mix of legato strings, sampled "low quality"/otherworldly vibes, and various clarinets—lot of background SFX that MURAYAMA and UNISUGA avoid in other tracks, and from 1:21 to loop the piece resembles other SONODA tracks in Xanadu Next, making this one of his more creative themes from the period)
16 	"Beginning of the end" = UNISUGA (experimental to a fault, with a seemingly unfinished choral intro; rest of track mixes reversed synth swells with brass, pizzicato, booming bass drum, reverb-rich effects which MURAYAMA uses differently, and lots of sharp electronic flourish—not comparable to "Time Crevice" or MURAYAMA's other electronica examples)
17 	"Devil advent" = UNISUGA? (layering and muted bassline similar to MURAYAMA's synth orchestra, but snare style, harp interplay, and reverb indicate UNISUGA; different enough from "Bump in the Road" and "Castle of Strange Rock" that SONODA's not as likely)
18 	"Evildoer" = MURAYAMA (matches style of the final boss theme from Guardian Heroines, which YANAGI did BGM for after leaving Falcom; drums and guitar are way different from what other three musicians were using, + symphonic metal feel here)
19 	"True Intent" = SONODA
20 	"Two love ~ Eternity" = SONODA, arranged by JINDO (see below)
21 	"White Lie in Black" = ISHIBASHI, arranged by SHIBAZAKI ("Direction: Yukihiro Jindo") (from Zwei!! through Xanadu Next ISHIBASHI was largely responsible for writing credits and image songs at Falcom; his e-mail to Matron/jdkluv suggests he did maybe one track on the OST, and this seems like it based on anachronistic arrangement style and J-pop tone; "Two love" may be derived from this track, or perhaps the opposite)
22 	"Two love ~ Requiem" = SONODA, arranged by JINDO (both endgame "Two love" arrangements share a style with "XANADU NEXT INTERMISSION", and SONODA mainly reserved his most detailed orchestral tracks for Sora no Kiseki SC the following year)
23 	"LA VALSE POUR XANADU ~ XANADU NEXT EVENT" = SONODA (accordion and odd French horn aside, it fits his style better than MURAYAMA's)
25 	"White Lie in Black (Less Vocal)" = see previous
24 	"LA VALSE POUR XANADU ~ XANADU NEXT DEMO" = TAKAHASHI, arranged by JINDO (excerpted from "XANADU NEXT OPENING")
26 	"Introduce (2004 Debut Movie Music)" = ISHIBASHI (flute and violin are from Ys VI, but more notably, first major crescendo is abnormally strong; together with ethereal chorus/French horn and synth pad strings, its style is riskier, more angular than SONODA and lacking MURAYAMA hallmarks (nor Atsushi SHIRAKAWA before them, though Maiko HATTORI's style is closer))