[NO NAME?]

Nobuo Uematsu
Composer

Nobuo Uematsu was born on March 21, 1959 in Kochi, Japan. After graduating from Kanagawa University, he composed music for commercials before joining Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix Co., Ltd.) in 1986. He went on to compose music for over thirty game titles, including the award-winning FINAL FANTASY series. The FINAL FANTASY franchise has developed into one of the best-selling video game series across all platforms, selling over 60 million units worldwide (as of March 2004). Uematsu's soundtracks were a key element in the success of the series, carrying the deep storylines with sweeping emotional scores. In October 2004, Uematsu formed SMILE PLEASE Co., LTD. and continues to compose for Square Enix along with several other works.

Uematsu is a renowned composer who has been touted as increasing the appreciation and awareness to the advancements made in videogame music. A prime example is the FINAL FANTASY VIII theme song, "Eyes on Me," composed and produced by Uematsu. The theme song featured Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong and sold a record 400,000 copies. It then went on to win "Song of the Year (Western Music)" at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1999-- the first time music from a video game won the honor.

The music from the game series has grown to such notoriety, Nobuo Uematsu was named as one of the "Innovators" in Time Magazine's "Time 100: The Next Wave - Music" feature. Uematsu's approach to FINAL FANTASY music is diverse, encompassing many styles. This diversity along with the popularity of the music has resulted in a variety of musical performances including classical symphonies, rock and acoustic.

After a string of successful concert performances in Japan including a six-city, seven-show concert series titled "Tour de Japon – music from FINAL FANTASY–," the first stateside concert, "DEAR FRIENDS -music from FINAL FANTASY-," followed May 10, 2004 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Calif. selling out in 3 days. The performance featured music from world-renowned FINAL FANTASY video game series, performed by the acclaimed Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Due to the positive reception for this performance and clamor from fans for more, a concert series was recently announced for North America.

In February 2003, Uematsu formed a group called "The Black Mages," producing a self-titled album composed of FINAL FANTASY battle music arranged in rock style. Uematsu performs as the keyboardist himself. A two-day concert was held in Tokyo, Japan, commemorating the album. In January 2005, the Black Mages are scheduled to perform another series of concerts in Tokyo and Osaka, celebrating the release of the second album.

While he is best known for his work in video games, Uematsu's work spans a wide-range of outlets. Some of those works include composing the theme song for the animated film "Oh! My Goddess" and writing music for top Japanese vocalists such as Emiko Shiratori and Rikki.

It is not Uematsu's musical talents that fans are drawn to. Uematsu is known for his down to earth personality and openness with his fans in diary columns online and in print. His column "Nobuo Uematsu no Minna Sounano?" has appeared in the popular Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu for over two years. Two compilations of the columns have been released.



Non-gaming Compositions

1998 - 1999___Uematsu oversees and contributes music to "Ten Plants," a compilation of works by game music composers.
2000________ Uematsu composes "Try to Wish (What You Need)," the theme song of the animated feature "Ah! My Goddess." It is sung by Saori Nishihata and published by Pony Canyon.
2000________ Uematsu contributes the song "Forget Me Not" to Emiko Shiratori's solo album Cross My Heart.
2000________ Classical flutist Kazunori Seo commissions a piece for his program for his tour in Japan. Uematsu composes "Three Imagined Scenes," a piece for flute and piano.
2001________ Uematsu composes "Over the Fantasy," the theme song of the animated series FINAL FANTASY: Unlimited, presented by TV Tokyo. Kana Ueda provides vocals for the piece.


Signature Games / CD Titles

• FINAL FANTASY series (I through XI) background music composer/producer
• "Eyes on Me" composer/producer (From the FINAL FANTASY VIII original soundtrack --- sung by Faye Wong, released 1999)
• "Melodies of Life" composer/producer (FINAL FANTASY IX ending theme --- sung by Emiko Shiratori, released 2000)
• "Suteki Da Ne" composer/producer (FINAL FANTASY X theme --- sung by RIKKI, released 2001)

Games: Music Composition (note: Based on release in Japan)

1985 Genesis ___________________(PC)
1986 King's Knight _______________(NES)
____-Blasty (co-composer)_________(PC)
____-Alpha ____________________.(NES)
1987 ALIENS ___________________.(PC)

*** Working on the rest.


CD Releases (Japan)

1988 FINAL FANTASY: All Sounds of I and II
1989 FINAL FANTASY: Symphonic Suite
1990 FINAL FANTASY III: Legend of Eternal Wind
1991 FINAL FANTASY III Original Sound Version
____-FINAL FANTASY IV Original Sound Version
____-FINAL FANTASY IV: Celtic Moon
1992 FINAL FANTASY V Original Sound Version
1993 FINAL FANTASY V: Dear Friends
1994 FINAL FANTASY VI Original Sound Version
____-FINAL FANTASY VI: Grand Finale
____-FINAL FANTASY 1987 - 1994
____-F.F. Mix (FINAL FANTASY Remix)
____-FINAL FANTASY: Pray (Vocal Collection I)
____-Phantasmagoria (original album by Nobuo Uematsu)
1995 FINAL FANTASY: Love Will Grow (Vocal Collection II)
1997 FINAL FANTASY VII Original Soundtrack
____-FINAL FANTASY VII: Reunion Tracks
____-Ten Plants (Compilation of works by various game music composers)
1999 FINAL FANTASY VIII Original Soundtrack
____-FINAL FANTASY VIII Single "Eyes on Me" (sung by Faye Wong)
Ten Plants 2 (Compilation of works by various game music composers)
2000 FINAL FANTASY IX Original Soundtrack
____-FINAL FANTASY IX ending theme song "Melodies of Life" (sung by Emiko Shiratori)
____-FINAL FANTASY IX Original Soundtrack Plus
____-FINAL FANTASY X theme song "Sudeki dane" (sung by RIKKI)
____-FINAL FANTASY X Original Soundtrack
____-Ah! My Goddess: The Movie Original Soundtrack (Title track "Try to Wish" sung by Saori Nishihata)
2001 FINAL FANTASY X: Feel/Go Dream - Yuna & Tidus (collaboration with Mayuko Aoki and Masakazu Morita)
2002 FINAL FANTASY XI Original Soundtrack
2003 Black Mages: Battle Music from FINAL FANTASY
____-Hanjyuku Hero vs. 3D Title Track Single
____-Hanjyuku Hero vs. 3D Original Soundtrack


source: Uematsu's Music


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I absolutely admire Uematsu. He inspired me to play the piano. Gotta love his compositions. Anyone else listen to his music?

[Sanochi]

This guys teh legend!
if you've played FF and don't love his stuff then your insane, thats a fact.

[NO NAME?]

^ True that. Are there such people who play FF, but dislike his music? They're crazy if there are such people. I wonder what he's up to now. Oh yeah, gotta love The Black Mages too

[RiderKamen]

My favorite music pieces:

Intro to FF 7 when the camera showed Tifa walking out an alley.

Sepiroth battle theme one winged angel.

Theme for FF1

FFX Sin rock theme

FF8 theme

[ocha^]

my brother is a very big fan of him
i like FF IX theme http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=D4Q9w0COAM4 his music is very 'soulful'. it makes the gameplay more dramatic.
and the orchestra of his score is lovely http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=rLnZ5jcsRpc ♥
me too think he is the legend

[Lu.cile]

he is a GENIUS
really talented

[pet]

so that's him! first time i've seen his pic. he's a genius!

[Scy91]

this man is the shat,
loveee this dude in a non-homosexual manner.

[riceavocado]

I love his work on the piano collections of Final Fantasy, but I'm also confused as to which pieces are him and by other Square-Enix composers because every site has different information.

[rogueeex]

This man's a GENIUS!
I love all of his work

[b06]

I so love this guy, his music is awesome!

[iota]

I don't play FF, but I've listened to quite a few songs from it. I love his compositions, especially "Tifa's Theme".

[NO NAME?]

Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Stories: It’s The Beginning of Some New and Excitingly Different Stories
05.29.09 | Don Kotowski



Did you know that 2009 marks Nobuo Uematsu’s 50th year on the planet? Well, in honor of his 50th birthday, he’s decided to publish a solo album entitled 10 Stories. However, unlike a traditional release, he’ll be releasing songs from the album every two to three months until Spring 2010 arrives. At this time, the full album will be available for purchase, with an English version as well. So what will this album be about? Well, all the music and lyrics are written by Uematsu himself and is performed by NOBIYO and the Dog Ears and it aims to bring happiness to a wide range of ages via experimental ways.

Check out details about the first single after the break!

The first single is entitled “Here Comes Conga Boy.” The inspiration for this song, according to Uematsu, was a small boy who plays Conga every morning at the riverside near Uematsu’s house. It’s quite the playful song, featuring a ton of vocalists and lots of cheery instrumentation. For those on the fence about his newest project, you can always visit the site for a small teaser.

So, you might be asking yourself, “When will the first single be released?” The answer to that question is quite simple really. It’s available now on iTunes in all regions so, if you are interested, you know where to look! I really enjoyed this one myself so I look forward to what else he has in store. I mean, I loved his only other solo album, Phantasmagoria, so I think I’ll enjoy this one too. At least, it’s off to a great start!

Are you a fan of Uematsu’s other solo album? What did you think of the sample on the website? What other kind of styles would you like to hear?

http://www.originalsoundversion.com/?p=3078

E3 2009Exclusive News! Uematsu Confirmed For Final Fantasy XIV’s Full Score
06.04.09 | Patrick Gann



Sony let the cat out of the bag on Square Enix’s new MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV. The press sheet released alongside the announcement later that day (Tuesday, June 2), listed Nobuo Uematsu as the composer.

However, many people we spoke to on the show floor were skeptical. “Oh, he probably just wrote the theme song, or a small portion of the soundtrack.” Nope, nope, nope! For the first time since Final Fantasy IX (which came out nearly a decade ago), Uematsu is writing the entire score of a Final Fantasy.

This information was not revealed at Wednesday’s press conference (June 3rd, noon PST). The information came from a reliable source at Square Enix. In a complete coincidence, Mike Tidwell (of RPGamer) and I met up with a member of the FFXI team (now on the FFXIV team), and we picked his brain for information. We asked about the Uematsu listing on the press release. Apparently, Uematsu was offered the opportunity to score the Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack, and he happily agreed to write the full score. No, Uematsu is not back under Square Enix: he’s still an independent artist under his own “SMILEPLEASE” company. And there’s no guarantee that other composers won’t contribute additional music. But at this point, Uematsu is the sole composer, and the plan is for him to score the entirety of Final Fantasy XIV, at least for time of release (as for expansions, that’s too far in the future for anyone to predict).

The only music you can hear from the game presently can be found on the game’s official site, as well as the trailer. We look forward to hearing more Uematsu music as he makes his glorious return to the series that he helped to define so many years ago.

http://www.originalsoundversion.com/?p=3122

[hungrycollegeboy]

This guy is pure awesome. I don't play the Final Fantasy series, yet I listen to their soundtracks, lol.

[Tonyc402]

This guy is AMAZING! I really liked his piece " To Zanarkand" from FFX and "Eyes on Me" for FF7. Does anyone know if he'll be doing the music for FF13?

[NO NAME?]

^ Other than the main theme, nope.

FFXIII - Masashi Hamauzu
FF Versus XIII - Yoko Shimomura

[-_-]

He's pretty much a genius. I have the chocobo theme set as my alarm clock.

[riceavocado]

Nobuo is one of my top artists on last.fm, that's how much I love his work.

[Phantos]

this guy is a huge legend and he is one of my top picks artists!!!

[lovebum4life]

I love To Zanarkand and Sight of Spira.....Also the FFVIII Theme This guy is a genius!