Getting to watch a video game music composer perform his own pieces live is a unique and wonderful experience. Nobuo Uematsu performs for an audience periodically, as does Koji Kondo. This is a video of Motoi Sakuraba performing the battle theme from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. This performance shows how comfortable Sakuraba is when in front of a piano synthesizer (and how much he loves to include rock organ in his compositions). Enjoy!
"Cutting Edge of Notion" - Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (written and performed by Motoi Sakuraba)
With some of gaming's most famous RPG series under his belt, Motoi Sakuraba is one of the finest and most prolific video game composers in the field today. He's composed the music for the Tales series, the Star Ocean series, the Baten Kaitos games, the Golden Sun series, both Mario Tennis and Mario Golf, and a host of others. He transcends not only genre boundaries, mixing pastoral, orchestral sounds with a rock fusion sound, but also company boundaries, as he has worked for as many as ten different developers thus far. But what is it that makes his music so great?
I can't think of much to write at the moment. I have a few Composer Spotlights running through my head, but those always take so much research and dedication, neither of which I have at the moment. I didn't just want to give a Song to Grow On though; so, I thought I'd share a song that's incredibly special to me. This is "Sulyya Springs" from Final Fantasy XIII:
"Sulyya Springs" - Final Fantasy XIII
For those curious as to why this is my favorite song (and are braced for some personal emotionality), click below.
I've been having trouble thinking of which games I'd like to write about. I was anxiously awaiting word back from Killscreen Daily, a video game publication, about whether or not they would accept my pitches for articles for their next issue, but I recently received word that my pitches were rejected. Better luck next time, I suppose? In the meantime, my sister and I just finished our first playthrough of Atlus's new game, Catherine, and I thought I'd add even more support to the critical acclaim that it has already gotten. I'll mostly be talking about the music and the choices made by composer Shoji Meguro, but first, some background information.
Those expecting a hentai game when they bought Catherine were sorely mistaken.
A couple years ago, I was surfing the Internet when I came across a Youtube channel created by a lady named Aivi Tran (also known as "waltzforluma"). Judging by the name, I figured it would have plenty of videos related to video games. Little did I know that almost all of her videos were performances of her own arrangements of video game music. Aivi is an accomplished pianist, arranger, and composer with a passion for video game music. Given her many beautiful arrangements, I recently contacted her to ask for an interview. I soon learned that she also has quite a way with words!
This week, I rented Sonic Colors just to try it out. I'd read drasticallycontrasting reviews (although I've since realized to never listen to anything Jim Sterling has to say), and I hadn't really touched any Sonic games since Sonic and The Secret Rings (which was terrible). I thought I'd give it a shot and see for myself. In my humble opinion, it's pretty fantastic. Gameplay-wise, it's what Sonic Adventure 2 should have been, and the music was composed by five of the six people who worked on Sonic Unleashed, so you know it's good. In fact, a detailed review is to come.
In the meantime, however, I thought I'd share this incredibly relevant piece from Sonic Colors, originally composed by Kenichi Tokoi and performed by the always amazing Aivi Tran. I just received her responses to my questions, so my interview with her will be posted within the next couple days. This arrangement was a collaboration between Aivi and Dave Harris, with Aivi providing the piano and Dave providing the synthesized accompaniment. This rendition is what finally convinced me to rent Sonic Colors in the first place, as a matter of fact. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. (Also, keep a watchful ear and eye out for a small clip of Green Hill Zone and some Sonic pixel art!)
Planet Wisp (Act 1) - Sonic Colors (as arranged by Dave Harris and performed by Aivi Tran)
Since this blog is about all things video game music related, I thought that I would try to get some inside info from people actually in the thick of the business. The OneUps are one of the more famous video game music cover bands in the nation, and I was lucky enough to get an interview with them for the blog!
The OneUps, from left to right: Jared Dunn (drums, keyboard), Mustin (bass, keyboard), Tim Yarbrough (electric guitar), and William Reyes (guitar, guitar synth)
