Category: Behind the Music
It was with a storming rage and a profound pain that I received the news this morning, about the death of a dear friend, a joyful old companion and a loving father, he played all those roles for me with his own unique personality.
For those who knew Teb, they might already know (since he actually went public with it too) that he fought AIDS for about 25 years now, he kept it quite and never complained about it to others when he was gaming on live or during his unforgettable shows. Instead he always put a smile on others faces, he worked so hard to create a global community dedicated specifically to video games music and gaming, two things he was most passionate about (well, we should add Abba to the list too).
F
inal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles belongs in a genre of its own right. I give the composer, Kumi Tanioka a vast amount of credit for composing an entire soundtrack with instrumentation based upon what she calls “ancient instruments”, ones that were popular during medieval and renaissance times but have faded out of mainstream listening, you won’t find trumpets, celestas and saxophones on this score- instead you’ll find shawms, recorders, gemshorns, serpents and pan pipes.
Some reviewers made comparison with Nobuo Uematsu’s Final Fantasy compositions, though the soundtrack received positive reviews from critics. Chudah’s Corner summarized its review by stating that the soundtrack is an “astoundingly memorable classic of videogame music”. This is also supported by other professional reviews, such as by an RPGFan reviewer that “don’t believe that any other soundtrack known to man surpasses it”, and a VGM World review who quotes that “the orchestral music is beautiful nonetheless”.
Dragon Quest series composer, Koichi Sugiyama, just wrapped up a Dragon Quest III (may 1) concert in Japan. Following the end of the event (that’s some promotional material from the concert to the right), someone at the event tweeted that Sugiyama stated DQX is being developed with the goal of a 2012 release in Japan.
They are two completely different things. In the studio, you can go back and try it again if you don’t like something you sang, which is great. When you perform live, you don’t get this option of course! It is great to record a song for the first time because you get the chance to capture it a certain way, which sets the bar for what fans will expect to hear when you perform live. So, you have to be thoughtful about your approach or any little nuances that you add because they will have to be repeated ! When I sing live I really try to focus on the lyrics and making the song come alive for the audience. It becomes a living, moving experience for me, Arnie, the orchestra, and the crowd. I feed off of all this energy which is easy to do because there is so much of it all around me. DW FF fans are some of the most loyal and enthusiastic fans I have ever seen. They make our job easy on that stage.
This exclusive, one night engagement features a specially designed program of new celebration arrangements and a pantheon of classic FINAL FANTASY music from throughout the entire FINAL FANTASY series. The Chicagoland Pops Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by GRAMMY Award winner Arnie Roth. More than 100 musicians on stage! Special guest artists to be announced soon! New HD video presentations with exclusive content from SQUARE ENIX throughout the performance!
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