I recently went to Otakon to see a few concerts and interview a couple people. One of which is Portland, Oregon native, Becca. During the interview, I found out that she’s becoming a bigger fan of anime since doing some voice work in Ultraviolet: Code 044, loves the fashion sense in the Harajuki district of Tokyo, and wants to visit Mt. Fuji next time she goes.

Although she has yet to debut in the United States, she’s becoming more popular in Japan, set to release her second album there soon. Check the break for a bit of history and an in-depth look at some of her work and some advice she gives other artists looking to follow in her footsteps! (more…)

Being a huge fan of Malice Mizer and Moi dix Mois, I decided to check out Kanon Wakeshima, since Mana, the man behind the other groups I mentioned. I immediately fell in love with her live cello playing and the beautiful artistry found within her music videos. When I heard that she was going to be one of the performers at Otakon, I had to register in order to see her live in concert. It was definitely a great time, and although she only played 7 songs, it was definitely a thrill! The press seats were great, much better than when I was in Boston for Kalafina! Check the jump for a small concert summary and my interview with this beautiful celloist! (more…)

A member of Square Enix’s music team, Mitsuto Suzuki is one of the true lesser-knowns, as he has yet to fully score a Square Enix game on his own. I first discovered Suzuki on a “best of battle tracks” album from Square Enix (this one). A bonus track featured Mitsuto Suzuki’s electronica arrangement of a boss battle theme from Romancing SaGa 2. And I absolutely loved it. So much techno music today turns me off instantly, but Suzuki was a master of subtle, ambient electronica. I knew that I wanted more.

I learned that Suzuki’s been around as a musician for quite some time, but under a variety of names. He was first known as ARP2600 in the mid 1990s, and he gained a sizable following in the Japanese techno scene. He formed a group called Overrocket in 1997, and a year later, he released a side project under the name “Electric Satie” (the project was a remixing of the work of French composer Erik Satie). Now at Square Enix, Suzuki-san primarily does synth and sound manipulation, though he occasionally gets a shot at music arrangement with the company as well (see above).

So I finally got around to checking out Suzuki-san’s full-length album, “In My Own Backyard,” which was released in October 2007. It’s in the same vein as that one arrangement I’d previously heard: ambient electronica, mastered to sheer aural perfection.

Okay, so the album’s not perfect. There were a few things that stood out as “negatives” in my mind. After the jump, you’ll find a detailed review of Suzuki’s solo album: In My Own Backyard.

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Lots of people have made a big fuss about the vocal theme to Mirror’s Edge, Still Alive. Though I am personally a bigger fan of the vocal theme to Valve’s Portal (also called “Still Alive”), there’s no question that Lisa Miskovsky’s vocal performance for Mirror’s Edge was fantastic. So memorable was it, that five DJs and other remixers jumped in to do their own versions of “Still Alive,” which can be found on the EP “Still Alive – The Remixes.”

But what about the in-game score to Mirror’s Edge? Turns out it’s pretty hip as well, as long as you can get into the whole ambient/psybient/Goa scene. Swedish composer Magnus Birgersson, who goes by the moniker “Solar Fields,” composed the score for Mirror’s Edge. And, fortunately for us, said score has been available for digital download (Amazon MP3 and iTunes) since May of this year.

After the jump, you’ll find a full review of the Mirror’s Edge Original Videogame Score.

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We recently got word that Takayuki Nakamura, who is best known for his recent work on the Lumines series, is composing the music for this strange-looking Wii title, PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit. Click the link to check out a trailer, featuring some of Nakamura-san’s music, courtesy of Nintendo. The game is a party game in the same vein as the Mario Party series, except it’s a WiiWare title that you can play online. The music does not seem to hold the typical electronic style that we expect from Nakamura, but it’s still sounding pretty cool.

No word on an official soundtrack release yet, as the game itself is only scheduled for a rough “Fall 2009” release. But we thought you’d like to know what Nakamura is up to these days.

OverClocked ReMix has taken on a number of ambitious projects over the years, including the official score for Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Two years ago, they released Voices of the Lifestream, which featured remixes and rearrangements of every single song from the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack. Now, it seems, they’re at it again.

OCR founder David Lloyd (a.k.a. djpretzel), project director Andrew Luers (a.k.a. OA), and many other high-level members of the OCR community, acted as judges in picking which submitted arrangements would go on the new Final Fantasy IV tribute album, “Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption.” The album is “three discs” (though, of course, it’s downloadable-only), and it hits every single one of the 44 tracks from the Final Fantasy IV soundtrack.

After the jump, I share my thoughts on this massive, nearly overwhelming collection of remixed music. (more…)

Chris Huelsbeck and Yoko Shimomura, East and West of video game music meeting in a grand concert. Who would’ve thought it! But this is becoming a reality in unique concert in Stockholm, Sweden: Sinfonia Drammatica. The concert will combine both Huelsbeck’s Symphonic Shades with drammatica, Yoko Shimomura’s orchestral album. Arnie Roth will be conducting the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and as a special treat to those lucky folks able to attend (I hope to be one of them myself!), Chris Huelsbeck and Yoko Shimomura will even be available for a meet and greet.

We had the chance to interview both of the composers and get their thoughts about this unique East-meets-West event, and also got their opinions on each other’s music.  We’re definitely looking forward to the show on August 4, 2009, so click the link to see what they have to say about it! (more…)