Masashi Hamauzu
|
This article is a work in progress and may have some incomplete or missing content. |
Masashi Hamauzu (浜渦正志 Hamauzu Masashi, born September 20, 1971 in Munich, Germany) is a Japanese composer. He worked for Square Enix for 15 years writing VGM. After completing the soundtrack to Final Fantasy XIII, Hamauzu left the company, and his possible current projects are yet to be announced.
He is also a bass vocalist, having performed in Nobuo Uematsu's One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII.
Contents
Music style
Employing a fine balance of consonance and so-called tasteful dissonance in his music, one could draw parallels between Hamauzu and the impressionist composers such as Ravel and Debussy, although Hamauzu also often manages to sound quite romantic and chopinesque. He particularly enjoys making use of the violin and piano, juxtaposed with other instruments. His music is written in many different styles, perhaps even using a classical-inspired approach on one end of a soundtrack to an electronic-based approach on the other, as in the score to the game UNLIMITED SaGa.
Video game works
Hamauzu's start with Square Enix came by creating a small handful of tracks (along with other composers) for Front Mission: Gun Hazard and Tobal No. 1. Later collaborations would include Final Fantasy X (with Nobuo Uematsu and Junya Nakano) and Musashi: Samurai Legend (with Junya Nakano, Takayuki Iwai and Yuki Iwai). His latest work was the monumental Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack.
Hamauzu has also produced arranged albums for a few of his works, including Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon ~Coi Vanni Gialli~ (consisting of orchestral arrangements) and Piano Pieces "SF2" Rhapsody on a Theme of SaGa Frontier 2 (a collection of piano pieces and an orchestral rhapsody for piano and orchestra). He also arranged the Final Fantasy X Piano Collections and the Sailing to the World Piano Score, the latter soundtrack originally being composed by Yasunori Mitsuda.
List of Projects
This list includes solo work, and co-composer work. It does not include arranged albums.
- Front Mission: Gun Hazard (1996): composer
- Tobal No.1 (1996): composer
- Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon (1997): composer
- SaGa Frontier 2 (1999): composer
- Final Fantasy X (2001): composer, arranger
- UNLIMITED: SaGa (2002): composer.
- Musashi: Samurai Legend (2005): composer
- Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- (2006): composer
- Sigma Harmonics (2008): composer
- Final Fantasy XIII (2010) : composer
Other works
In 2007, Hamauzu released a CD consisting of miniatures for piano, piano quartet and various other chamber ensembles. The music on this CD, which goes by the name VIELEN DANK, is Ravelian in character.
Discography
This will include all CD's containing Hamauzu's music, including arranged albums. The list is incomplete.
- Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard Original Sound Version (1996)
- Tobal No.1 Original Sound Track (1996)
- Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon Original Soundtrack (1997)
- Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon COI VANNI GIALLI (1998)
- SaGa Frontier II Original Soundtrack (1999)
- Piano Pieces "SF2" Rhapsody on a Theme of SaGa Frontier 2 (1999)
- Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack (2001)
- Piano Collections Final Fantasy X (2002)
- Unlimited: SaGa Original Soundtrack (2003)
- Musashiden II Blademaster Original Soundtrack (2005)
- Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack (2006)
- Sailing to the World Piano Score (arrangement only; original music by Yasunori Mitsuda) (2006)
- Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII - MULTIPLAYER MODE Original Sound Collections (2006)
- VIELEN DANK -Masashi Hamauzu- (2007)
External links and references
- Square Enix Music Online Biography of Masashi Hamauzu
- Square Enix Music News Note telling of Hamauzu's resignation from Square Enix.
- Wikipedia
