AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH PUPIL

Alternative rock band Pupil has been a regular fixture in ANIMAX's events, starting with the highly successful "Fashion Ability" last year. This has led fans to wonder "What's up?" and "Has Pupil sold their soul to Animax?"

Well, you can wonder no more as tomorrow night June 8 before "Music Station", ANIMAX will unveil the video of its official theme song "Set Me Apart" written and performed by Pupil.

I got to chat with Pupil guitarist Yani Yuzon about the making of "Set Me Apart"…

1. How did this collaboration between Pupil and ANIMAX start?

ANIMAX actually commissioned us to do the song. They were looking for a band that best exemplifies ANIMAX and what it stands for. If you think about it Pupil is off the beaten track. We're not obscure, but we're not pop. The Animax folks liked the sound of our first album "Beautiful Minds." They got us for some events first to build the relationship and to see the crowd's response to our music. We got really awesome response.

2. What inspired you to write "Set Me Apart"?

Since the song was commissioned, the Animax execs did not have to pick from the material that we already have. It's custom made for the channel. Ely Buendia and band manager Diane Ventura, all of us, in the process of making the song, we watched the channel a lot and to discover underlying themes in the shows that they have. It all boils down to "Be different", which is the catch phrase of the network. Obviously we didn't want to come up with a song that's entitled "Be Different". We needed to find something that would sound more like us, describing the lifestyle that the channel portrays. We just emailed back and forth, rough drafts, the demo, the final song, until we came up with the video. Then we did recordings. Everything you see here is by and large the product of email.

3. Who came up with the concept for the video?

Animax and the production studio in

Malaysia

asked us for a concept. The whole band had a meeting. Then we suggested that it's typical in a video that a band plays together. Let that be in the end. Instead, we divide the time of the video into vignettes where we're situated in different worlds. "Different Worlds" is another song off our album. We needed to capture this idea. As you will see in the video tonight, Ely was in an elevator that turned into a spaceship that turns into a robot. I'm a post futuristic gunslinger. Dok is like King of the Waterworld. Bogs is the urbanite drummer. Initially, I was going to be the water guy because I surf. But I always wore the hat. So they figured "You're better off as the gunslinger". I like guns and stuff.

We filmed here on green screen. Then All the footage was brought to

Malaysia

where all the post production took place. The post-prod was a lengthy process as you can tell.

4. Are you happy with the results?

Yes, I think the video was really well made. Very stylish. But the guys in the band tease me a lot though. They would say "Thanks that you made us extras in your video." I would say, "Why? We're all equal." We always joke about it. You'll understand when you see the video.

5. This has been a monumental job for you, especially since Ely Buendia is still recovering from a heart attack.

Yes, it took half a year until today to make the song and the video for "Set Me Apart". I am grateful that we had a lot of continued network support. The Animax guys stuck through with us through Ely's heart attack. They had faith in the band and how the band can be the voice that represents their viewership. They trusted that in spite of everything else. And I thank them for their trust and their patience.

SET ME APART": THE AWESOME ANIMAX AND PUPIL COLLABORATION

Anime fans have long been curious and downright perplexed by the appearance of top Filipino alternative rock band Pupil in ANIMAX's recent events. Well, wonder no more!

Last May 22 at the Hard Rock Café, the ANIMAX and Pupil collaboration was revealed with the release of the 24/7 youth/lifestyle network's hard rocking theme song "Set Me Apart".

After treating VIPs, media representatives and winners of the Pupil Party contest to a sumptuous buffet, Pupil took to the stage to perform their greatest hits. Needless to say, they've got the crowd dancing and singing for more. But the BEST came at the end when Pupil performed live ANIMAX's official theme song Set Me Apart, which practically blew me away because of its hard rocking beat and meaningful lyrics.

According to guitarist Yan Yuzon, "Set Me Apart is custom made for the channel. Ely and band manager Diane Ventura, all of us, in the process of making the song, we watched ANIMAX a lot to discover underlying themes in the shows that they have. It all boils down to BE DIFFERENT, which is the catch phrase of the network. We needed to write a song that would sound more like us and aptly describes the lifestyle that the channel portrays. Set Me Apart is the result."

After the live performance, they showed the cutting edge music video for "Set Me Apart", not once but twice, because of the clamor from the audience, and with good reason.


Not to give too much away, you'll be seeing the members of the band transformed into animated characters. Lead vocalist and guitarist Ely Buendia is transformed into a mecha pilot. Yani Yuzon is a futuristic gunslinger battling ninja ghouls reminiscent of the anime Hellsing. Bassist Dok Sergio is the King of Waterworld while drummer Bogs Jugo is a moody urbanite playing his drums in the middle of a busy freeway. The stylish video was directed by ANIMAX and produced by one of Malaysia's leading broadcast design and animation studios.

Indeed, Set Me Apart is the very impressive product of the collaboration between Pupil and ANIMAX.

According to Judy Chow, Director of Animax Marketing, "We've always had a partnership with Pupil. They supported a number of our events before like Fashion Ability and Love Is In the Air. I think they're a perfect fit for our channel, because they have a lot of inside values, which we would like to get across as well. The song is all about being different, having your own style, being an individual. And I think the band is very much like that. They constantly reinvent themselves, and yet they still stay true to their music. So we think they appeal to the youth, which is who our viewers are. I believe that's the true collaboration."

MUSIC IN ANIME

Music has long played an important role in anime. Writing and performing the opening (OP) and ending (ED) themes of popular anime has served as a springboard to a lucrative recording career for many J-artists. To further increase the fervor of fans for certain anime titles, the seiyuu or voice talents have sung in character albums, launching singing careers for them as well.

In recent years, music by western composers and artists has become prominently audible in anime soundtracks, ranging from classical to pop to alternative music.

If you've been mesmerized by Kimiko Itoh's haunting "Follow Me" from Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence, is actually set to Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo's second movement from Concerto de Aranjuez. Jazz versions of this tune were made popular by jazz legend Miles Davis and the James Last Orchestra.

Listen very closely to the whimsical ending theme "DuDiDuWa ~ LaLaLa" by Kotoko from The Adventures of Tweeny Witches. It is just a modern remake of the classic waltz "Beautiful Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss.

The dramatic background score of Gankutsuou/The Count of Monte Cristo comes from Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Manfred Symphony" and Gaetano Donizetti's tragic opera "Lucia Di Lamermoor." Classical music lovers would readily recognize Robert Schumann's "Traumerei" as among the piano pieces that Eugenie Danglars performed in her first concert.

From classical to modern… Because of the success of anime in western countries, even popular composers and artists from the

U.S.

and

Europe

have contributed to the making of anime soundtracks and themes. A perfect example is award-winning composers Hans Zimmer and Mark Mancina, who wrote the brilliant score for Blood+.

Jean-Jacques Burnel, composer, vocalist and bass player of the British New Wave/Alternative Rock band The Stranglers, not only wrote the score for Gankutsuou/The Count of Monte Cristo, he also wrote and sang the OP and ED themes of this now classic anime, namely "We Were Lovers" and "You Won't See Me Coming", respectively.

British music icon David Sylvian wrote and sang the haunting ED theme "For The Love Of Life" for the anime suspense/thriller Monster. Popular Eighties New Wave band Duran Duran's debut hit "Girls On Film" was used as the OP theme for the Japanese release of Speed Grapher. Recently, the Red Hot Chili Peppers hit "Dani

California

" was used as the theme song for Death Note Movie 2: The Last Name.

Presently racing up the charts is "Inori ~ You Raise Me Up" by Korean American R&B singer

Lena

Park

. The song itself was written and composed by Rolf Lovland of the Irish band

Secret

Garden

, with lyrics by Irish novelist Brendan Graham. Even popular British soprano Sarah Brightman is all set to release "Be With You: Itsumo Soba ni", the theme song for the latest Pokemon movie.

Anime and music… It's a collaboration that is sure to enthrall anime fans and music lovers alike for years to come.