Laura Shigihara
Laura Shigihara | |
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| Born | United States |
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | J-pop, indie pop, classical music, instrumental hip hop |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Associated acts |
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| Website | laurashigihara.com |
Laura Shigihara (Japanese: ローラ・シギハラ, romanized: Rōra Shigihara) is an American-born Japanese singer-songwriter, video game developer, composer for video games, and Twitch streamer. She is best known as the lead composer and sound designer for the tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies and as the creator of the acclaimed indie RPG Rakuen.
Shigihara has worked on over 30 other published video game titles including Deltarune, World of Warcraft, To the Moon, High School Story and the 5th Anniversary Edition of Super Meat Boy. She co-created the ending theme song for Minecraft: The Story of Mojang with C418 and worked together with Yasunori Mitsuda on the official Square Enix Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross 20th Anniversary Album.[1]
Biography[]
Shigihara, whose mother is French and father is Japanese, grew up in both the United States and Japan.[2] She was classically trained on the piano for 11 years and taught herself guitar and drums. During college at UC Berkeley studying International Relations, Business and Computer Science,[3] she was given an old version of Cakewalk which she used to start learning about mixing, arranging and production by recreating old video game soundtracks and composing her own songs. After a friend leaked her original material to record companies in Japan, Shigihara was offered record contracts as a singer there, but ended up turning them down for personal reasons.[4]
Shortly after returning to the US, Shigihara took a job as the sound director for a company that produced an audio talk show and English learning materials through Apple Japan. She also released a studio album and composed her first video game soundtrack for a small casual game called Wobbly Bobbly. She was so excited to be working on a video game that she told them she'd work for free. The company liked her work and paid her to create music for several subsequent projects.[4] From there she built up her portfolio and has worked on over 30 published titles including Plants vs. Zombies, Deltarune, World of Warcraft, Minecraft and the indie RPG To the Moon.[1] She participated in Akira Yamaoka's charity album Play for Japan where she contributed an original song called "Jump",[5] alongside other composers like Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda.[6] On November 16, 2011, she released her single "Cube Land" in relation to Minecraft and Plants vs. Zombies.[7]
Shigihara is also active as a game designer—she created the adventure game Rakuen.[8][9]
Shigihara is a Christian.[10]
Shigihara is a Twitch streamer who streams weekly performing songs she composed, as well as singing English/Japanese cover songs of various genre.[11]
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | My Blue Dream | Debut album |
Singles[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Blood Elf Druids" | World of Warcraft |
| 2011 | "Want You Gone" | Portal 2 |
| "Celestial Beings" | Celestial Mechanica | |
| "Cube Land" | Minecraft / Plants vs. Zombies | |
| "Everything's Alright" | To the Moon | |
| 2012 | "From the Ground Up" | Minecraft |
| 2013 | "Lament of the Highborne" | World of Warcraft |
| 2014 | "First Day" | High School Story / Choices |
| "Where No One Goes" | How to Train Your Dragon 2 | |
| 2016 | "Better Days" | A Quiver of Crows |
| 2017 | "Searching My Life" | Rakuen |
| "Wish My Life Away" | Finding Paradise | |
| 2019 | "Pirate Seas" | Plants vs. Zombies 2 |
| 2020 | "Adamas Nivis" | Original song |
| "Kingyo Hanabi" | Cover | |
| "Ballad of the Goddess" | The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword | |
| "Stronger Than You" | Steven Universe | |
| "Old Cafe" | Animal Crossing | |
| 2021 | "Much Wow, So Space"[a] | Original song |
| "Electric Disco Shiba" | Original song | |
| "Work Hard, Play Hard" | CS:GO Music Kit |
Soundtrack albums[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Melolune | Original Soundtrack, Part 1 |
| 2010 | Plants vs. Zombies | Original Soundtrack |
| 2015 | Super Sweet Boy | EP / Music from "Super Meat Boy" 5th Anniversary |
| 2017 | Rakuen | Original Soundtrack |
| 2020 | Dunk Lords |
Shigihara's works also include:[12]
- Deltarune (Toby Fox/2018), arranged/performed "Don't Forget"
- Farmer in the Sky, director, writer, composer
- Band Saga (Rekcahdam, Playism/2016), singer
- Cosmic Star Heroine (Zeboyd Games/2016), singer/lyricist "Lauren’s Song"
- Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross Arrangement Album ハルカナルトキノカナタヘ クロノ・トリガー&クロノ・クロス アレンジアルバム (Yasunori Mitsuda/2015), contributing Lyricist/Arranger/Singer
- CHUNITHM (Sega/2015), Sung "Alma's Theme" by Yasunori Mitsuda
- Penny Arcade's "On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4" (2013), voice of MistleToe
- Minecraft: The Story of Mojang, co-created ending theme song "Tsuki No Koibumi"
- Aether (The Basement Collection) (Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel/2012), original song
- Theme Park (Electronic Arts/2011), lead composer
- Ghost Harvest (Electronic Arts, 8lb Gorilla/2011), composer
- Sweet World (Kabam/2010), lead composer and sound designer
- Minesweeper (Microsoft, TG Xbox 360/2009 TBA), lead composer
- Quintessence: The Blighted Venom (Kan Gao/2009 TBA), ending theme lead vocalist
- Domino Master (Microsoft, TG Xbox 360/2008), assistant sound designer
- U.S.G. A New Beginning (GPTouch/2008), ending theme composer and lead vocalist
- Interpol 2: Most Wanted (Big Fish Games, Tikgames/2008), contributing composer
- Waterscape Solitaire: American Falls (Tikgames/2007), lead composer and sound designer
- Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos (Big Fish Games, Xbox 360, Tikgames/2007-2008), lead composer and sound designer
- Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom (Big Fish Games, Tikgames/2007), lead composer and sound designer
- Flowershop: Big City Break (Big Fish Games, Tikgames/2006), lead composer and sound designer
- Wobbly Bobbly (Tikgames/2006), lead composer
Notes[]
- ^ Stylised in lowercase
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "VGM « mybluedream". Shigi.wordpress.com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ arcticpenguin (May 5, 2009). "Interview with Laura Shigihara- Composer for Plants vs. Zombies". Play as Life. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ "laurashigihara.com". laurashigihara.com. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Poisso, Lisa (November 1, 2010). "15 Minutes of Fame: Laura Shigihara, voice of WoW's Singing Sunflower". Wow.joystiq.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ "The Album | Artists | Play For Japan – A Game Industry Relief Effort". Play For Japan. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ "News – Interview: Yamaoka, Shigihara, And Jackson Play For Japan". Gamasutra. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ ""Cube Land" – A Minecraft Music Video – An Original Song by Laura Shigihara (PvZ Composer)". YouTube. April 1, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ http://store.steampowered.com/app/559210/Rakuen/
- ^ https://projectrakuen.com/
- ^ "The GameChurch Podcast 85: Laura Shigihara of Rakuen and Themes of Redemption". Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- ^ https://www.twitch.tv/supershigi
- ^ "Credits". Laura Shigihara. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
External links[]
- American people of Japanese descent
- American singer-songwriters
- American people of French descent
- Living people
- Video game composers
- American women pianists
- American expatriates in Japan
- 21st-century American pianists
- 21st-century American women pianists