Akihito Tokunaga (徳永 暁人, Tokunaga Akihito) (born 22 September 1971) is a Japanese musician, composer and arranger.…Akihito Tokunaga (徳永 暁人, Tokunaga Akihito) (born 22 September 1971) is a Japanese musician, composer and arranger. After making a name for himself working for Being Inc. in the 1990s, he has been signed to Giza Studio from 2000 until 2023. In 2004, Tokunaga formed the rock band doa. After departure from the agency in 2023, he has become freelancer musician under independent company Floodlight.
Yoshino Aoki (青木 佳乃, Aoki Yoshino) (born August 19, 1971) is a Japanese video game music composer and lyricist. She…Yoshino Aoki (青木 佳乃, Aoki Yoshino) (born August 19, 1971) is a Japanese video game music composer and lyricist. She began her career with video game company Capcom, and later co-founded the music studio Unique Note with another ex-Capcom composer, Tetsuya Shibata.
Junichi Masuda (増田 順一, Masuda Jun'ichi; born January 12, 1968) is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer…Junichi Masuda (増田 順一, Masuda Jun'ichi; born January 12, 1968) is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer, producer, singer, programmer and trombonist, best known for his work in the Pokémon franchise. He was a member of Game Freak where he was an employee and executive at the company since 1989 after Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori founded it, starting as a music composer. In 2022, Masuda was appointed to be Chief Creative Fellow at The Pokémon Company. With the development of new Pokémon games, Masuda took new roles in future projects. He began to produce and direct games, starting with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and became responsible for approving new character models. His style seeks to keep games accessible while still adding increasing levels of complexity. His work sticks to older mainstays of the series, including a focus on handheld game consoles and 2D graphics. His music draws inspiration from the work of celebrated modern composers like Dmitri Shostakovich, though he used the Super Mario series as a model of good video game composition.
Ichiro Ito (伊藤 一朗, Itō Ichirō; born 10 November 1967) is a guitarist in the Japanese rock band Every Little Thing. Ito…Ichiro Ito (伊藤 一朗, Itō Ichirō; born 10 November 1967) is a guitarist in the Japanese rock band Every Little Thing. Ito also works in composition and, sometimes, arrangement of some of Every Little Thing's songs.
Daria Kawashima (川島だりあ, Kawashima Daria; born 21 March 1967), known before as Miki Kawashima, is a Japanese musical…Daria Kawashima (川島だりあ, Kawashima Daria; born 21 March 1967), known before as Miki Kawashima, is a Japanese musical composer, singer-songwriter, lyricist under Being Inc. records.
Yoshiki Fukuyama (福山 芳樹, Fukuyama Yoshiki; born September 14, 1963) is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. In…Yoshiki Fukuyama (福山 芳樹, Fukuyama Yoshiki; born September 14, 1963) is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. In the anime Macross 7 he was the singing voice and guitar of the show's main character, Basara Nekki. He joined the band JAM Project in 2003.
Eiko Kawashima (川島 栄子, Kawashima Eiko; born 31 August 1961), better known as Anri (杏里), is a Japanese pop singer from…Eiko Kawashima (川島 栄子, Kawashima Eiko; born 31 August 1961), better known as Anri (杏里), is a Japanese pop singer from Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she achieved commercial success and popularity in the city pop music scene during the 1980s.
Otomo Yoshihide (大友 良英, Ōtomo Yoshihide; born August 1, 1959) is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He…Otomo Yoshihide (大友 良英, Ōtomo Yoshihide; born August 1, 1959) is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables and electronics. He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked in a variety of contexts, ranging from free improvisation to noise, jazz, avant-garde and contemporary classical. He is also a pioneering figure in the EAI-scene, and is featured on important records on labels like Erstwhile Records. He has composed music for many films, television dramas, and commercials. In 2017, Otomo became the 2nd Guest Artistic Director of The Sapporo International Art Festival 2017.
Satoshi Kadokura (門倉 聡, Kadokura Satoshi; born May 25, 1959), is a Japanese composer, arranger, producer and…Satoshi Kadokura (門倉 聡, Kadokura Satoshi; born May 25, 1959), is a Japanese composer, arranger, producer and keyboardist. He graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts. He was a producer of Wink, Noriyuki Makihara, Southern All Stars and many other artists. He also composes scores for video game series Metal Max.
Yuriko Nakamura (中村 由利子, Nakamura Yuriko) is a Japanese composer and pianist. Some of her songs were also used for the…Yuriko Nakamura (中村 由利子, Nakamura Yuriko) is a Japanese composer and pianist. Some of her songs were also used for the soundtrack of Shusuke Kaneko's Summer Vacation 1999.
Jun Miyake (Japanese: 三宅 純 Hepburn: Miyake Jun, January 7, 1958, in Kyoto) is a Japanese composer. His music (e.g., the…Jun Miyake (Japanese: 三宅 純 Hepburn: Miyake Jun, January 7, 1958, in Kyoto) is a Japanese composer. His music (e.g., the songs "Lilies in the Valley" and "The Here and After") was used in the film Pina, nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature in January 2012. He has also been awarded by the German critic's award, Der Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, as Best Album of the Year for his last three albums, Stolen from Strangers, Lost Memory Theatre act-1, and Lost Memory Theatre act-2. Miyake has now released 17 solo albums, and has worked on films, documentaries, dances, advertisement, and theatre pieces. His main instruments include the trumpet, flugelhorn, melodica, piano, keyboard, fender rhodes, and programming.
Hideki Matsutake (born August 12, 1951 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese composer, arranger, and…Hideki Matsutake (born August 12, 1951 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese composer, arranger, and computer programmer. He is known for his pioneering work in electronic music and particularly music programming, as the assistant of Isao Tomita during the early 1970s and as the "fourth member" of the band Yellow Magic Orchestra during the late 1970s to early 1980s. Through his participation in the session recording of Ryuichi Sakamoto's 1978 album Thousand Knives, he joined the recordings of Yellow Magic Orchestra during 1978–1982 as their sound programmer, to become known as "the fourth member" of the group. In 1981, he formed a unit of his own under the name Logic System, which released its latest album in 2020. He also continued to take part in solo activities by YMO members such as Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi beyond the group's breakup in 1983. He was also a member of the video game music group Akihabara Electric Circus in 1988 and composed music for the 1996 video game Guardian Heroes. Matsutake was also a member of the musical group MONOLITH, which was responsible for creating the music for various Dragon Ball video games and insert songs from 1990 through the mid 2000s. Today, Matsutake is also Chairman of Japan Synthesizer Programmers Association (JSPA).
Osamu Kitajima (喜多嶋 修), also known by the pseudonym Justin Heathcliff, is a Japanese musician, producer, composer, and…Osamu Kitajima (喜多嶋 修), also known by the pseudonym Justin Heathcliff, is a Japanese musician, producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who is known for new-age music, as well as folk, jazz fusion and electronic music.
Hiroshi Yoshimura (吉村 弘, Yoshimura Hiroshi; 22 October 1940 – 23 October 2003) was a Japanese musician and composer. He…Hiroshi Yoshimura (吉村 弘, Yoshimura Hiroshi; 22 October 1940 – 23 October 2003) was a Japanese musician and composer. He is considered a pioneer of ambient music in Japan. His music lies mostly in the minimalist genre of kankyō ongaku, or environment music—soft electronic melodies infused with the sounds of nature: babbling brooks, steady rain, and morning birds. However, not all Yoshimura's work included nature sounds. Green (1986) only had them in the United States release, as they were excluded in the Japanese version.
Toshiro Mayuzumi (黛 敏郎, Mayuzumi Toshirō; Japanese pronunciation: [majɯꜜzɯmi toɕiɾoː]; 20 February 1929 – 10 April…Toshiro Mayuzumi (黛 敏郎, Mayuzumi Toshirō; Japanese pronunciation: [majɯꜜzɯmi toɕiɾoː]; 20 February 1929 – 10 April 1997) was a Japanese composer. He was known for his implementation of avant-garde instrumentation alongside traditional Japanese musical techniques. His works drew inspiration from a variety of sources ranging from jazz to Balinese music, and he was considered a pioneer in the realm of musique concrète and electronic music, being the first artist in his country to explore these techniques. Over the span of his career, he wrote symphonies, ballets, operas, and film scores. Mayuzumi was the first Japanese composer to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score, for the 1966 film The Bible: In the Beginning.... He was the recipient of an Otaka prize by the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Purple Medal of Merit. John Huston called him a "modern Beethoven".
Ippo Yamada (山田一法 Yamada Ippō) is a video game music composer. He has contributed music to such titles as Mega Man Zero…Ippo Yamada (山田一法 Yamada Ippō) is a video game music composer. He has contributed music to such titles as Mega Man Zero (2002), Mega Man ZX (2006), Mega Man 9 (2008), and Azure Striker Gunvolt (2014). He is a founding member of Inti Creates, a Japanese video game development company formed by ex-Capcom staff in May 1996.
