Dog Ear Records

Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Xenoblade Will “Most Likely” Be A Great Soundtrack (Review)

July 14, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 7 Comments Share this

It’s finally here, the album we’ve all been waiting for. The past few months leading up to the Xenoblade soundtrack release have certainly been interesting with a slew of informing coming out about the soundtrack. First it was Yoko Shimomura’s involvement, then Yasunori Mitsuda coming in with the ending vocal theme, then Dog Ear Records handling the soundtrack release. The team even sat down with Satoru Iwata at Nintendo for a special Iwata Asks interview about the game’s music. People care about this game, and they also care a lot about the music.

With that said, the 4-disc monster is finally here. Many of you have already listened to it and have come to your own conclusions, but I have some strong feelings about the score. Notice how the title says that I think Xenoblade “WILL” be a great soundtrack?

Find out what I mean by that in my review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

More “Groups” From Dog Ear Records: Meet the PiA-COMS

June 28, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on More “Groups” From Dog Ear Records: Meet the PiA-COMS Share this

We had a great time with the original PiA-COM album, but given that it was titled “PiA-COM I,” it seemed likely we’d be getting more PiA-COM goodness in the future. Well, the is approaching very soon. On November 25, 2010, Dog Ear Records will release PiA-COM II, a new compilation of classic game music tunes arranged and performed on the piano. There’s even an official website and blog dedicated to the project.

What makes this announcement even more special, however, is the fact that along with KALAYCILAR and PiA-COM veteran pianist Keita Egusa, performers Hiroyuki Nakayama and Masato Kouda will be forming a trio called the PiA-COMS. Some may remember Nakayama’s name from the Kingdom Hearts piano collections and from a number of Uematsu projects, including Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and Guin Saga. Masato Kouda, on the other hand, is well known for his work on the Monster Hunter franchise as well as being a member of Square Enix’s Star Onions band. These additions should definitely make for an interesting PiA-COM II album.

What arranged tracks are you looking forward to hearing this time around? Are you excited that Nakayama and Kouda are joining the mix?

[via VGMdb]
Game Music

Uematsu’s New Band: What Are The Earthbound Papas?

May 10, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

Out with The Black Mages, in with the Earthbound Papas? Who knows! There’s a post on the Dog Ear Records blog about Nobuo Uematsu’s new band, the Eartbound Papas, who will apparently be featured as the accompanying band during the “Dancing Mad” segment of the Distant Worlds II concerts. As to who’s in the band or what their purpose is beyond the performance of “Dancing Mad” at these shows is unknown at this time, but I love the band’s name.

Uematsu has prepared the above video as a teaser for the group. I can’t say it looks all that promising, as Uematsu certainly needs some more practice on the drums, but watch until the end, as in typical Uematsu fashion, we get a funny English command which we are bound to follow. You can check out the teaser site here.

[via DER Blog]
Game Music, Japanese

Contest Reminder: Win Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories

May 3, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Contest Reminder: Win Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories Share this

There’s only a week left to enter our Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories Limited Edition contest. We had a lot of the fun with the album, and highly recommend checking it out. Here’s your chance to do it for free! The Limited Edition version is a physical release from Japan, complete with fancy packaging and 14 tracks on the disc, including an alternate version of “Gimme Gimme.”

All we’re asking is that you send us a brief “alternate story” based on one of the official pieces of artwork created for each of the tracks. The artwork can be viewed on the official Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories website, so get those entries in to [email protected] before May 10, 2010 at 11:59 PST to be considered!

Good luck!
Game Music

4-Disc Xenoblade Soundtrack… From Nobuo Uematsu’s Record Label!

April 28, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 6 Comments Share this

I suppose stranger things have happened. We’ve been looking forward to Xenoblade on the Wii, not only as a great-looking RPG on the console, but also for its soundtrack that will be composed by Yoko Shimomura. While we already knew about a pre-order bonus disc that was coming along with the game in Japan, a new posting on VGMdb indicates that a 4-disc Xenoblade soundtrack will be released on June 23, 2010 in Japan via Dog Ear Records. Yes, Nobuo Uematsu’s own record label.

I think it’s great (although not surprising) that this game is getting a soundtrack release based on the samples on the game’s official website (there’s a new one, by the way!), and I think it’s even more awesome that Dog Ear Records is branching out and releasing music from other composers. The game also featured a vocal theme from Yasunori Mitsuda, so this album represents somewhat of a reunion of former Square Enix composers.

Are you looking forward to Xenoblade and the soundtrack? Are you surprised it’s coming via Dog Ear Records?

[via VGMdb]
Game Music

Contest: Win a Copy of Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories Limited Edition!

April 26, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Contest: Win a Copy of Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories Limited Edition! Share this

Yes, here’s your chance! Thanks to the good folks over at Dog Ear Records, we have two copies of the lovely Limited Edition of Nobuo Umeatsu’s 10 Short Stories. The album, which we reviewed last week, features 14 tracks, 10 of which are unique vocal pieces that tell a story along with their accompanying artwork by Koji Shibano.

So, what do you have to do to win? Simple! Head on over to the official Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories website, scroll down until you see the images that accompany each track (as pictured above), pick one, and write your own short story based on what you think the picture represents! Please keep your “alternate” story short (a paragraph or so), and send them to [email protected] by no later than Monday, May 10 at 11:59 PST, at which point we’ll select two winners at random!

Do you think any of these images are dying to have their story retold? Win or not, are you excited about Uematsu’s new album?
Game Music, Japanese, Reviews

Gather Around For Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories (Review)

April 23, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Gather Around For Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories (Review) Share this

Well, it’s finally here. We’ve been hearing about Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories for what feels like ages now, and it finally hit the global iTunes store last month. We’ve looked at many of the pre-release singles that Dog Ear Records put out last year to generate interest in the album, and while all four of those tracks appear on the album and were quite good, there are actually some more surprises and, in my opinion, even better tracks found on the album.

Uematsu covers a variety of styles, from pop ballad to synth rock, jazz, and traditional Japanese, but each is viewed through the lens of children’s music. Every track works in cheery vocals by CHiCO, which I know not everyone appreciates based on the response to the iTunes singles, but trust me, her versatility on this album will surely provide something that will catch your ear.

So, how does Uematsu’s latest solo album compare to his last? Find out in our review after the jump! (more…)