is a Japanese
video game composer
Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...
. After working for
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
in the early 1990s, he was employed by
Squaresoft and then
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
from 1995 to 2009. He is best known for scoring ''
Threads of Fate
''Threads of Fate'' is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation, released for Japan in 1999 and for North America in 2000. The story is split between two protagonists in search of an ancient relic said to ...
'' and co-composing ''
Final Fantasy X
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square as the tenth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Originally released in 2001 for PlayStation 2, the game was re-released as ''Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster'' for PlayStat ...
'' for Squaresoft, arranging for ''
Dawn of Mana
''Dawn of Mana'' is a 2006 action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed and published by Square Enix. It is the eighth game of the ''Mana'' series and the third entry in the ''World of Mana'' subseries, following the release of ...
'' and the
Nintendo DS version of ''
Final Fantasy IV
known as ''Final Fantasy II'' for its initial North American release, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1991, it is the fourth main instal ...
'' for Square Enix, and scoring
arcade video game
An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...
s such as ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' and ''
Mystic Warriors'' for Konami. Nakano has collaborated with
Masashi Hamauzu
is a Japanese composer, pianist, and lyricist. Hamauzu, who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010, was best known during that time for his work on the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''SaGa'' video game series. Born into a musical family in German ...
on a number of games.
He was introduced to music at the age of three when his parents offered him lessons in the
electronic organ
An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...
. After studying composition and arrangement at a
vocational school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
, Nakano worked for Konami from 1991 to 1994, where he scored numerous
arcade games
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
. Nakano is noted for his
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
style and for using
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
,
timbre
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...
, and
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
in his compositions.
Biography
Junya Nakano was born in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, Japan.
His parents introduced him to music when he was three years old, offering him lessons in the
electronic organ
An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...
through the
Yamaha Music Foundation
The Yamaha Music Foundation is an organization established in 1966 by the authority of the Japanese Ministry of Education for the purpose of promoting music education and music popularization. It continued a program of music classes begun by Yamaha ...
; they also encouraged him to join some
brass bands. After playing the 1979
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
''
Lunar Rescue
''Lunar Rescue'' (ルーナー・ レスキユー Runā Resukyū) is an arcade game released by Taito in November 1979. The gameplay has some resemblance to both Taito's own 1978 hit ''Space Invaders'' and Atari, Inc.'s ''Lunar Lander'' (release ...
'', he developed an interest in video games and subsequently began to enjoy
chiptune
Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles.
The t ...
music. By frequently listening to the radio, he started composing
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
music using the
NEC PC-9801
The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...
in 1985. In 1987, he attended a
vocational school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
to study composition and arrangement in hopes of entering the gaming industry. After graduation, he joined the
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
branch of
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
in 1991, where he contributed music to eight arcade games with several collaborators over a three-year period, including titles such as ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' and ''
Mystic Warriors''. Deciding he wanted to create more original music and have a chance to receive individual recognition, Nakano left Konami after completing the score for ''Golfing Greats 2'' in 1994.
Nakano joined
Square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
(now
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
) in 1995.
He created four pieces for the 1996 video game ''
Front Mission: Gun Hazard'', which featured composers
Nobuo Uematsu
is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Jo ...
,
Yasunori Mitsuda
is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono (series), Chrono'', ''Xeno (series), Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven (series), Inazuma Eleven'' franch ...
, and
Masashi Hamauzu
is a Japanese composer, pianist, and lyricist. Hamauzu, who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010, was best known during that time for his work on the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''SaGa'' video game series. Born into a musical family in German ...
. His first solo project came about with
Satellaview
The is a satellite modem peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Famicom in 1995. Containing 1 megabyte of ROM space and an additional 512 kB of RAM, Satellaview allowed players to download games, magazines, and other media through satell ...
's ''Treasure Conflix'' the same year.
In 1996, Nakano joined several of Square's composers to create the soundtrack for the fighting game ''
Tobal No. 1
is a versus fighting game, fighting video game for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation developed by DreamFactory and published by Square (video game company), Square in 1996. The game was DreamFactory's first release, as well as Square's first ...
''; he contributed three compositions.
Hamauzu and Nakano became friends after working on ''Front Mission: Gun Hazard'' and ''Tobal No. 1'', and they have later collaborated on several titles.
In 1997, Nakano served as
synthesizer programmer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
for the score to ''
Front Mission: Alternative''.
Nakano composed the soundtrack for the Japan-only adventure game ''
Another Mind
''Another Mind'' is the debut release from Hiromi Uehara, a jazz and jazz fusion pianist. It was released in 2003 and received the award for foreign jazz album of the year in the 2004 Japan Annual Gold Disc Awards.
Reception
Peter Marsh of BBC ...
'', which he was given a deadline of two months to complete.
His subsequent score to the 1999 title ''
Threads of Fate
''Threads of Fate'' is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation, released for Japan in 1999 and for North America in 2000. The story is split between two protagonists in search of an ancient relic said to ...
'' (known as "''Dewprism''" in Japan) gave him worldwide recognition.
Since scoring ''Threads of Fate'', Nakano has collaborated with several composers on major projects instead of being the sole composer.
In 2001, Nakano and Hamauzu were chosen to assist Uematsu in the production of the score for the critically acclaimed ''
Final Fantasy X
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square as the tenth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Originally released in 2001 for PlayStation 2, the game was re-released as ''Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster'' for PlayStat ...
'', based on their ability to create music that was different from Uematsu's style; Nakano created 20 pieces.
One of his tracks from the game, "Guadosalam", was arranged for the piano and featured in the album ''
Piano Collections Final Fantasy X'' (2002). Following ''Final Fantasy X'', Nakano composed the soundtrack to
Asmik Ace Entertainment
, formerly is a Japanese film production and distribution company. In the past, the company has distributed video games. It was formed in 1997 through a merger between the Asmik Corporation and Ace Entertainment, both of Japan. The name Asmik ...
's flight simulator ''Sidewinder F''.
Back at Square Enix, he created the music for ''
Musashi: Samurai Legend'' with Hamauzu and the duo Wavelink Zeal (Takayuki and Yuki Iwai) in 2004. In 2006, Nakano created seven tracks for the
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
game ''
Project Sylpheed
, also known as ''Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception'' in North America, is a space simulation game for the Xbox 360 console. It was developed by SETA and published by Square Enix and Microsoft. The game is acknowledged as the spiritual successor ...
'', which also featured several other composers. Later the same year, he arranged four pieces from the ''
Mana
According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a ...
'' series for ''
Dawn of Mana
''Dawn of Mana'' is a 2006 action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed and published by Square Enix. It is the eighth game of the ''Mana'' series and the third entry in the ''World of Mana'' subseries, following the release of ...
'' (known as "''Seiken Densetsu 4''" in Japan).
He was also selected to arrange half of ''
Final Fantasy IV
known as ''Final Fantasy II'' for its initial North American release, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1991, it is the fourth main instal ...
''s
Nintendo DS remake under the supervision of Uematsu, and composed the soundtrack to its 2008 sequel, ''
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years''. On December 31, 2009, Nakano confirmed that he had left Square Enix and would be joining his former mentor and collaborator Yuji Takenouchi's supergroup "GeOnDan", whom have since disbanded. Nakano's last projects for Square Enix before leaving were the soundtracks to ''
Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn'' and ''
Daughter of the Dusk''.
Musical style and influences
Nakano is best known for creating
ambient music
Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...
with
percussive
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...
,
timbral
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musical ...
, and
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
ic elements.
According to an interview conducted by the website RocketBaby.net, Nakano was composing music focusing on an instrument's tone and acoustics until 1995, while after that time, he slowly moved his focus toward studying the harmony and melody important to music as a whole.
After joining Square, he started focusing on rhythm and timbre which he implemented in titles like ''Front Mission: Gun Hazard'', ''Treasure Conflix'', and ''Tobal No. 1''.
The music in ''Threads of Fate'' contains many different styles like ambient,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, and
Spanish music
In Spain, music has a long history. It has played an important role in the development of Western music, and has greatly influenced Latin American music. Spanish music is often associated with traditional styles such as flamenco and classical ...
; the tracks have been described as "mellow" and "upbeat". For ''Final Fantasy X'', Nakano was responsible for most of the ambient-styled compositions, which featured percussion, timbre, and rhythm. Nakano stated in the original soundtrack's
liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes.
Origin
Liner notes are desce ...
that he wanted to create music with a "vibrant and dynamic feel" that tied together his years of experience with game music.
[Uematsu, Nobuo; Hamauzu, Masashi; Nakano, Junya. ''Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack'' liner notes. ]DigiCube
DigiCube Co., Ltd. (株式会社デジキューブ; ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dejikyūbu'') was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of Digi ...
. 2001-08-01. SQEX-10013
transcript
. Retrieved on 2009-08-08.
When starting out in the field of music, he was influenced by brass bands he was involved with and electronic organ music; however, he could not think of a specific musician who influenced him. Nakano cites Hamauzu as the colleague he admires most at Square Enix, and is particularly interested in the sounds he creates. When asked about his thoughts of Uematsu and how he had influenced his work, Nakano replied: "He is a very youthful and active person, but he hasn't influenced my work."
Works
''All works listed below were composed by Nakano unless otherwise noted.''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakano, Junya
1971 births
Ambient composers
Japanese composers
Japanese male composers
Japanese music arrangers
Living people
Musicians from Kyoto
Square Enix people
Video game composers