Emi Evans

Game Music

SDCC 2011: More Than Just NieR Tribute Album -echo- On the Horizon

July 29, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

That’s right. One of the most interesting exclusive bits of information we got from Izumi Tsukushi and Akio Shiraishi this year at Comic Con was the fact that there’s another unannounced NieR album in the works in addition to the already-announced NieR Tribute Album -echo-. The two noted that they weren’t all that surprised by popularity of the music from the game, but have felt pressure to give the score more attention after the popularity of the 8-bit remix on the More SQ CD.

In terms of what the NieR Tribute Album -echo- is all about, we were told that it will be a multi-artist arrangement album. I asked if it would essentially be “NieR SQ,” to which the two chuckled and said, “Yes, kind of like that.” They would not confirm which artists are involved.

Are you looking forward to the NieR Tribute Album and this unannounced project as well? Isn’t it cool to see the soundtrack on sale on the floor with a placard about it being named soundtrack of the year (from OSV and other sites!)?
Indie Music, Reviews

Lost Gems Within freesscape’s Lost Petals Single (Review)

May 27, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

I mentioned in our review of Now is the point at which I touch eternity that freesscape had released “Lost Petals” as a separate single back in February. It’s been a little while since we took a look at the album, so I thought it was time to take a look back at the single, which is actually a whole lot more than your typical single.

More along the lines of an EP, Lost Petals features four tracks, and several of them offer up quite a surprise. See what I mean in our review after the jump. (more…)
Experimental, Game Music, Reviews

The Boys Are Back in Town: EARTHBOUND PAPAS Unleash Octave Theory (Review)

May 23, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

It was some time ago that Nobuo Uematsu announced that he had formed a new band called EARTHBOUND PAPAS. What was the band all about, and was it at all related to Nintendo’s Mother 2, which is known as Earthbound in West? Well, with the release of their debut album, Octave Theory, a couple months back, all speculation was laid to rest. This is Nobuo Uematsu’s new band.

But wait, what about The Black Mages, you ask? Well, The Black Mages belong to Square Enix, whereas the EARTHBOUND PAPAS are an independent group. Does it make a difference? As you’ll see from the track listing, a number of Final Fantasy tracks appear on the album, but the EARTHBOUND PAPAS really offer a distinct sound of their own.

Find out what we think of their debut offering and what other game arrangements are featured in our review after the jump. (more…)
Indie Music, Reviews

The Definitive freesscape: Now is the point at which I touch eternity (Review)

May 2, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on The Definitive freesscape: Now is the point at which I touch eternity (Review) Share this

Yes, freesscape is back! We first covered freesscape shortly after becoming aware of vocalist Emi Evans through her work on NieR. We took a look at their second album release, The Next Confusion, and mentioned that the duo’s third studio album, Now is the point at which I touch eternity, was on the way, and here it is!

Has the long, three-year wait been worth it? Will Evans’s newfound success in the videogame industry launch the electronic duo’s efforts to new heights? Find out in our review after the jump! (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

More BETTER or More of the Same? More SQ (Review)

March 9, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

The SQ series from Square Enix has admittedly been pretty hit or miss. The first album, Love SQ featured an eclectic mix of 10 arrangements from a pretty varied list of Squaresoft titles, while Chill SQ tackled the chillout genre to great results. While the “X’mas album” wasn’t an SQ album in name, it was in spirit, and we’re now getting the third official installment of the SQ album, More SQ.

Have they perfected the formula by now, or is this album just more of the same? With 13 arrangements and the longest run-time of any of previous SQ albums, there’s certainly more to consider.

Hit the jump for our review of More SQ. (more…)
Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Arranagements from NieR and Far: 15 Nightmares & Arrange Tracks (Review)

December 1, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

Well, this is certainly one of my most anticipated albums of the year. Most of us here at OSV absolutely adore the NieR soundtrack and vocalist Emi Evans’s distinct vocal stylings that made the soundtrack what it is. And that’s not to discredit the composition team over at MoNACA either, as they also performed wonderfully.

What we have here are several tracks from the 15 Nightmares DLC pack along with new arrangements of some of the music from the original soundtrack. We’ve known for quite some time that Emi Evans was not directly involved with new recordings on the arrange album, so I admit I was a bit skeptical, but given the quality of the source material, there’s no way that MoNACA could go wrong with this one, right?

Well, find out whether this album lives up to expectations in our review after the jump. (more…)
Indie Music, Reviews

Emi Evans Outside of NieR: freesscape’s Next Confusion (Review)

June 4, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Emi Evans Outside of NieR: freesscape’s Next Confusion (Review) Share this

In case you couldn’t tell, most of us here are completely in love with the NieR soundtrack. A big part of that soundtrack’s draw is the voice of Emi Evans, a London-born singer who is making a name for herself in Japan. While she’s been involved with the Etrian Odyssey Super Arrange Version series and NieR as far as the videogame industry is concerned, you may recall from our interview with her last month that her number one focus right now is on her trip-hop group, freesscape.

The group is comprised of Emi Evans on vocals, cello, piano, and Rhodes and Japanese composer, arranger and performer Hiroyki Muneta handling the music programming and a number of live instruments. While they are currently working on their third album, entitled “Now is the point at which I touch eternity,” we wanted to take a look back at the duo’s most recent album, Next Confusion, which was released in 2007.

This album in particular solidified the duo’s standing in the trip-hop genre, treading on territory familiar to fans of Bjork, Massive Attack, and even Radiohead at times. This contrasts greatly with their more stylistically diverse but equally interesting debut album, fragile perfection, which was released in 2004 (check out “Stretch” and “Little Miss Emily” on iTunes if you’re interested).

So, does Next Confusion stand up to Emi Evans’s recent achievements with the NieR soundtrack? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)