Bleep

It may come as a surprise that the soundtrack for ‘My Neighbour Totoro’, synonymous with Ghibli itself, was written before the animation was produced. Hayao Miyazaki’s film had more or less articulated Joe Hisaishi’s compositions, arranged beforehand to capture a fairy-tale like curiosity. It is presented here narrated by Shigesato Itoi as the father and a suite without narration performed by the New Japan Philharmonic. The simplicity and wide-eyed innocence of its motifs convey a sing-a-long joy, but meanwhile bursts with unexpected elements: the influences of world music, minimalist avant-garde composition, and early electronic experimentalism. Blurring dreams with reality, musical themes relate powerfully to the nostalgic imagination and the inner life of childhood.