The music in Rice Rhapsody creates the emotional landscape for the film. I knew that I wanted to work with Masahiro Kawasaki right from the beginning. I even wrote parts of the script listening to Kawasaki-san’s music for inspiration.
I first came to appreciate Kawasaki-san's music when I saw the Japanese film "Bounce KoGals" in1997 in Hong Kong. I recognized that Kawasaki-san's music was a very special element of the film.
I wrote to the director of Bounce KoGals, Masato Harada, who I had come to know a few years earlier, for an introduction to Kawasaki-san. When I called Harada-san in Tokyo, he couldn't talk for long because he was in a Press Conference with Tom Cruise. Harada-san was cast as Omura, a large and substantial role in The Last Samurai.
In time, Kawasaki-san and I started correspondence by email months before the shoot of Rice Rhapsody. I emailed my script to him for consideration. I knew the film was perfect for him to score and it turned out better than I had ever imagined. The response to his music from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and the U.S. was phenomenal.
Kawasaki-san was an integral part of the production right from the start. He came to Singapore while we were shooting, to soak in the ambience and seek inspiration from the sounds and colors of Singapore. He then came to Hong Kong to see our first cut and brought a lot of ideas and music demo tracks with him. Together, we decided the musical palette for the film.
Back in Tokyo, he assembled his favourite musicians, soprano saxophonist Makoto Hirahara, electric guitarist Nozomi Furukawa, acoustic guitar and mandolin player Masayuki Chiyo and Keita Egusa on piano for the recording of the tracks. For the final step, he joined us in Bangkok for the final mix of the film. It was a total joy working alongside him because it was easy for us to communicate with each other. He has a very instinctive way of approaching the music. Every piece of music fit into the film perfectly and at the same time, every piece was a surprise to hear. It was his music that finally inspired the English title Rice Rhapsody.
