Member Since: 3/26/2007
Band Website: square-enix-usa.com/uematsu/
Band Members: The Black Mages
Influences: Koichi Sugiyama, John Williams and Elton John
Sounds Like: The style of his compositions range from stately classical-like symphonic pieces that are sometimes similar to the style of German composer Peer Raben, who is quite popular in Japan, to New Age, to hyper-percussive techno-electronica, similar in sound to some music by the band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, one of his stated influences. The music from the game series has grown to such renown, Nobuo Uematsu was named as one of the "Innovators" in Time Magazine's "Time 100: The Next Wave — Music" feature. Uematsu's approach to Final Fantasy music is diverse, encompassing many styles. This diversity along with the popularity of the music has resulted in a variety of musical performances including classical symphonies, rock and acoustic. Uematsu is an acclaimed composer who has been touted as increasing the appreciation and awareness of video game music, not just in Japan, but also in North America and Europe. A prime example is the Final Fantasy VIII theme song, "Eyes on Me", composed and produced by Uematsu. The theme song featured Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong and sold a record 400,000 copies. It then went on to win "Song of the Year (Western Music)" at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1999 — the first time music from a video game won the honor.
Record Label: Universal Music Group
Type of Label: Major