2006 Archives


Monday, December 11/06

Sqaure Enix has a deadly arsenal of musical composers:

Hitoshi Sakimoto made a name for himself in the video game world with his stellar musical compositions for the Square Enix RPG Vagrant Story. Most gaming music enthusiasts recognize him for his work on the score for Final Fantasy Tactics. The soundtrack for FF Tactics is regarded by many as one of the best musical scores in the Final Fantasy franchise. Most recently he helmed the music production for Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XII, which was released on the PlayStation 2. A monumental task considering the fact that all previous Final Fantasy games had involved legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu. For his latest project, Hitoshi Sakimoto is stepping outside the realm of video game music.

Hitoshi Sakimoto to score his first ever anime soundtrack:

Studio Gonzo’s Romeo X Juliet anime TV series is one the most anticipated titles of 2007. The show's music is creating a lot of buzz, due to the fact that it is being scored by Hitoshi Sakimoto. This is the first time Sakimoto has worked on an anime soundtrack. Romeo X Juliet is scheduled to air sometime next year and people should look forward to the musical score as much as the show itself.


Official Romeo X Juliet Website: Japanese


Saturday, October 28/06

Diversity is a good thing:

When Tofu Records was established in 2003, they were dedicated to bringing the latest in Japanese pop music to the English speaking world. Since their humble beginnings they have released albums by some of Japan's biggest artists like Nami Tamaki, POLYSICS, Nana Kitade and Hyde. Tofu Records wanted to expand beyond Japanese pop music, so in the last two years they have released a couple of anime soundtracks. So far they have released an original soundtrack for the APPLESEED motion picture and a theme song compilation for the Full Metal Alchemist anime TV series. Well Tofu Records is diversifying once again with one of their latest releases, and it happens to be a video game soundtrack.

Tofu Records to release Final Fantasy XII compilation:

Tofu Records who are known for their Japanese pop music releases in North America, are releasing their first ever video game soundtrack. Titled Selections from Final Fantasy XII, the soundtrack features 31 tracks selected by composer Hitoshi Sakimoto for the US Tofu Records release. There are 30 instrumentals and 1 vocal track on the CD. The soundtrack includes the song Kiss Me Good-Bye which is sung by Angela Aki. The CD will be available on October 31 and the US release will include a bonus DVD with the music video for Kiss Me Good-Bye. Initial pressings of the CD will come with a bonus sticker featuring original artwork from the game. Tofu Records never ceases to amaze me with the quality of their releases. I don’t know about you guys but I’m pre-ordering my copy right away!


Official Website: Tofu Records


Tuesday, October 3/06

Sony Music Japan to shutdown English language site:
What more can you say? When I visited Sony Music Japan’s English language site yesterday I came across this following statement written in bright red:

Dear,
It is so sudden, but SMOJ English site will be closing soon.
We appreciate your browsing our site, and finding favorite artists through it for these
couple of years.
Hope you will keep on supporting our artists in the future.
Thank you so much.
Kindest regards,
Webmaster

I want to thank Sony Music Japan for maintaining a very respectable English language website these past couple of years. I will visit their official Japanese site in the near future, as I plan to continue to support their artists. Their English site will be offline soon, so enjoy it while its still there folks!


Sony Music Japan: English Site


Thursday, April 27/06

Sound Check: Seishun amiigo
Si, Seishun amiigo is no doubt one catchy track. This best seller from the special, one-time unit of Shuuji to Akira took the charts by storm at the end of last year. Although we may never see these vocalists as a duo again, they definitely left their mark.


Monday, January 16/06

Expectations are high for Yoko Shimomura:
One of the most enjoyable qualities of the musical score from the first Kingdom Hearts game was how composer Yoko Shimomura integrated all that quirky Disney music into the soundtrack. Shimomura kept the basic rhythm and melodies for all the traditional Disney music, but added her own musical flair by changing up the instruments which produced some wondrous results. The soundtrack for Kingdom Hearts 2 is scheduled for release on January 25/06 and fans expect Shimomura to deliver another promising musical score. Now go and pre-order a damn copy!


Official Game Website: English


Sound Check: Ashita wo mezashite!
TOKIO remains one of the most relevant pop acts to come out of Japan. The group celebrated their tenth year in the music industry back in 2004. Going into 2006, all signs point towards a path down continued success for the talented pop group.

Sound Check: CLEZER SLEAZOID
Dir en grey was formed back in 1997 and since their debut; they have become one of Japan's most popular modern rock bands.


Monday, January 9/06

Sound Check: Passion
Utada Hikaru's latest single!




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