About
Also known as: Youmi Kimura, yumi kimura, 木村 弓
Few musicians can claim their work defined one of the most celebrated animated films ever made, but Youmi Kimura is one of them. Born in Osaka and trained in piano at California State University Fresno, she returned to Japan and built a singular style as a vocalist performing with lyre accompaniment. Taking inspiration from the films of Hayao Miyazaki, she wrote and recorded 'Always With Me', which Miyazaki had originally intended for a canceled project called 'Rin the Chimney Painter' before it became the closing theme of Spirited Away in 2001. The song moved around 404,000 copies in Japan that year. Kimura also wrote 'Promise of the World', which was rearranged and used as the closing theme for Howl's Moving Castle. Her contributions to both soundtracks earned her serious recognition, including the Music Award at the 56th Mainichi Film Awards alongside composer Joe Hisaishi, a Special Award from the Association at the 25th Japan Academy Film Prize, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music for Howl's Moving Castle. When Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, she reflected that Miyazaki's vision 'transcends culture and lifestyle', which feels like a fair description of her music too.