10 Stories

Indie Music, Japanese

Dog Ear Records Announces 10 Short Stories in English

March 11, 2010 | Audun Sorlie | 1 Comment Share this

With the release of 10 Stories on March 10th, Dog Ear Records are going all out to give fans something special celebrating Uematsu’s anniversary in the game music world. First off is the album itself launching in 3 different forms, an English version, the original Japanese version, and a KARAOKE version all to be released on iTunes Music Store. The album is about having fun in life and based on compositions Uematsu did earlier in his life.

Secondly Dog Ear are holding a special event with guest artists performing. The event, named Inu-mimi Family Meeting vol.4 will be held at the Shibuya Duo music Exchange in Tokyo on March 13th 2010. You can expect names like Kenji Ito (Romancing SaGa composer) and Akiko Hasegawa (voice actress from THE IDOLM@STER) as well as the man himself, Nobuo Uematsu to perform at the event. Don’t be too sad if you can’t go, cause the entire event will be streamed on NicoNico Douga for those too far away!

For more info on both these events visit Dog Ear Records and NicoNico Douga.
Game Music

10 Stories Website Launches: Samples and… Extra Stories?

February 27, 2010 | Audun Sorlie | 2 Comments Share this

We’ve been talking about Nobuo Uematsu’s cheerful iTunes singles for some time now, being quite impressed by the results. As mentioned we never got around to talk about the last two singles, but fear not, it will all be good soon enough when the album drops inMarch.

To pump people up for it, Dog Ear Records has launched a new website for Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories! You can listen to samples presented in a nice video presentation, and there are links to all singles. It’s interesting to note that the album will actually feature 14 tracks, one of which is an alternate version and another of which is a bonus track. What does that make track 11 and 12? The album drops on March 10, so be sure to get it from your favorite importer.

Will you be picking the album up next month? Any thoughts as to the additional tracks?
Game Music

10 Stories: Two Singles We Neglected To Tell You About!

February 8, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Alright, our bad. We’re all looking forward to Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories (the now-official album title), and while we’ve looked at “Here Comes Conga Boy” and “Coconut Castaway” in depth, we never got around to mentioning the two latest singles that have been released, “The Chef Who Used His Noodle” and “Gimme Gimme.”

While “The Chef Who Used His Noodle” has a rather unfortunate title, the playful Asian-inspired music and lyrics make it my favorite single from the album released to date. “Gimme Gimme” gets a little funky with acoustic guitars and Rhodes piano. It almost sounds like something out of de Blob, which is high praise coming from me! They’re both currently available via iTunes around the globe for $0.99, so be sure to check them out ahead of the March 2010 release of Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories!

Are you looking forward to this album? What’s your favorite single released to date? Also, aren’t these cover images awesome?

[via DER Blog and VGMdb]
Game Music

37 Years in the Making: Nobuo Uematsu’s “Coconut Castaway”

September 3, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Several months ago Nobuo Uematsu released the first single from his upcoming 10 Stories solo album titled “Here Comes Conga Boy.” It was a great track, and he promised in our extensive interview with him back in July that the second single, “Coconut Castway,” would be released by the end of August. He was true to his word, as it’s now available on the iTunes Store worldwide!

The most interesting thing about this release is that it written when Uematsu was only 12 years old. Pretty amazing, really. It sports a similar style to “Here Comes Conga Boy” with its whimsical musical backing and high-pitched female vocals. It sports a distinctly “tropical” vibe, however, with playful guitars and upbeat percussion. There’s even this odd, polka-esque breakdown about midway through with some pretty startling effects on the vocals, but the piece works its way back up to its happy self before all is said and done.

It’s available on iTunes now, so I recommend checking it out. I’d say I like “Here Comes Conga Boy” better, but its a huge treat to hear music that Nobuo Uematsu created when he was only a kid.

Hit the jump for the official press release from Dog Ear Records with a special comment from Uematsu himself. (more…)
Game Music

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

May 29, 2009 | Don Kotowski | 2 Comments Share this

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! (more…)