Hiroaki Yura

Game Music, Reviews

LOST SPHEAR ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (REVIEW)

January 16, 2018 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on LOST SPHEAR ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (REVIEW) Share this

Last year Tokyo RPG Factory released its first game, I Am Setsuna which was featured a battle system similar to Chrono Trigger and a piano based score composed by Tomoki Miyoshi. Although I didn’t get around to reviewing I Am Setsuna‘s soundtrack‎ I did share my thoughts on it, stating that it suited the icy setting and story of sacrifice surrounding the main character.

Tomoki Miyoshi has returned to score Lost Sphear, Tokyo RPG Factory’s second official release. The game is already out in Japan and will be available in early 2018. The soundtrack to Lost Sphear breaks free of the solo piano and branches out with a much more diverse use of instruments. Read on for my full review of the soundtrack.
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Game Music, Indie Music

Project Phoenix’s Latest Update Features A New Track by Tomoki Miyoshi

February 18, 2017 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on Project Phoenix’s Latest Update Features A New Track by Tomoki Miyoshi Share this

Project Phoenix is upcoming Indie JRPG that ran a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2013. Since that time the developers have been posting regular updates on the progress of the game. On February 15, 2017 in the 140th update, a new music track composed by Tomoki Miyoshi was revealed. Tomoki Miyoshi received a lot of praise (mine included) for his work on the piano based soundtrack for I Am Setsuna which was released last year.

Since the update fell close to Valentine’s Day, Hiroaki Yura, Director/Producer shared music that is from one of the romantic moments from Project Phoenix. You can listen to the track by following the link to the Project Phoenix Update here (Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the music link). The track features some lovely high noted flute, soft piano and graceful strings.

In reading through the past updates I also noticed that another track by Tomoki Miyoshi was shared on Soundcloud this past October in Update #135. According to Hiroaki Yura, this music is planned to be used whilst traveling between towns, hopefully, on horseback. You can listen to that track “Plains of the Far Realm” below.

More details on Project Phoenix is available on their official site. Although the game won’t be released until 2018, I have a feeling the soundtrack will show up on my most anticipated list for 2018!

Are you looking forward to Project Phoenix?
Game Music, Japanese

Game Music Laboratory Unplugged Concert Feat. Hiroki Kikuta and Kenji Ito

March 24, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Game Music Laboratory Unplugged Concert Feat. Hiroki Kikuta and Kenji Ito Share this

With all that’s going on right now in Japan, it’s hard to think that I was there just a month ago. While I was there, I had the opportunity to attend a concert in Tokyo hosted by Eminence called Game Music Laboratory. This was an acoustic set concert following one of their heavier performances, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As it turned out, the evening was dedicated to the music of Hiroki Kikuta and Kenji Ito, and was a blast.

I figured we’d post the setlist, comment a bit on the performance, and give you a photo gallery to enjoy courtesy of Hiroaki Yura and Jillian Aversa. Hit the jump for more! (more…)
Game Music, Japanese, Reviews

Catch up with Kikuta: Singles You Didn’t Know About (Review)

March 14, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Catch up with Kikuta: Singles You Didn’t Know About (Review) Share this

While Kikuta’s Shining Hearts score is what everyone is talking about these days, he’s been producing a massive number of singles over the past couple of years. What singles am I talking about? You won’t find them on VGMdb, so who knows, but they’re all the way up to META-0015 on the Metaphasic Child label.

We’re taking a look at a number of recent singles, including those in the META series along with Shackles of Night from Otakon 2010 and “WHITE and SHADOW ~Mugen no Rinbu~,” Kikuta’s image song from Shining Hearts. A number of these singles are rather incestuous, covering the same tracks on different discs, so we’ll sort all of that out while we’re at it.

Hit the jump to catch up with Kikuta. (more…)
Anime, Reviews

10 Years of Makoto Shinkai & Tenmon: Promise Project (Review)

January 22, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 5 Comments Share this

Makoto Shinkai is an artist and anime director who some have called “the new Miyazaki.” His anime films, and short films, have left a lasting impression on Japan in the last ten years. Also, a bit of trivia: Shinkai was a graphic designer for Falcom during the time they developed Ys & Ys II Eternal.

In the same way that Miyazaki and Hisaishi are an inseparable team, it seems Shinkai found his star music composer: Tenmon (full name Atsushi Shirakawa). Tenmon actually worked with Falcom as well, years before Shinkai joined Falcom. Tenmon is responsible for many soundtracks in the Brandish series, apparently. But you’d never guess that when comparing those soundtracks to the anime soundtracks written for Shinkai’s work.

Now, put together the instantly-memorable visuals from Shinkai with Tenmon’s beautiful, new-age-ish orchestral work, and leave Hiroaki Yura and the members of Australia’s Eminence Symphony Orchestra to do their own “best of” image album. What do you get? Something beautiful, that’s what you get.

For more on my thoughts about this wonderful, out-of-left-field project from the Eminence Orchestra, just keep reading… after the jump! (more…)
Anime, Game Music

The Renewal of Eminence: ‘A Night in Fantasia 2009’ Report

November 5, 2009 | Wes Chung | 4 Comments Share this

[Editor’s Note: We have a new name on the site today, and that’s Wes Chung from Australia. He was fortunately able to attend the recent A Night in Fantasia 2009 concert held by Eminence, and has a very lengthy (but ‘goody’) report of the show. Join us in welcoming him to the team, and enjoy his write-up!]

Just over a month ago, the aptly-named Eminence Symphony Orchestra returned to the stage in their hometown of Sydney, Australia, for a one-night-only performance of prominent anime and video game music. Having taken a two-year hiatus to work on studio projects such as Soul Calibur IV and the Blizzard arrangement album Echoes of War, the brainchild of concertmaster Hiroaki Yura had fans in a mild state of frenzy with anticipation. An unprecedented campaign, including radio giveaways and TV coverage, preceded one of the largest and most ambitious orchestral game and anime concerts ever, let alone little old Sydneytown.

So did Eminence live up to their name and deliver a performance worthy of their pioneering career? Read on to find out… (more…)
Game Music

The Best of Blizzard: Echoes of War Arrange Album Tracklist and Interview

October 27, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 12 Comments Share this

It’s a big day in the world of game music. The Eminence Symphony Orchestra has just announced that it has recorded an entire album of arranged music from the classic Blizzard catalogue. The album, titled Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment, will feature music from Warcraft III, World of Warcraft (including music from the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King), StarCraft, StarCraft II, Diablo II, Diablo III, and even StarCraft: Ghost.

We’ve been fortunate to get an interview with Eminence director Hiroaki Yura, who we spoke with a few months back, regarding the project. We learn about the exclusive arrangements that will be featured on the album, including an appearance by Kow Otani, as well as Eminence’s close collaboration with the original composers of the music and the possibility of a second Echoes of War album in the future. Pre-orders are available now, so I recommend heading over to the official Echoes of War website to get your hands on this… after you read our interview, that is.

Hit the jump for the complete track list and for the down low on what’s looking to be one of the biggest game music albums of the year. (more…)