Latest news with #Soken
ABC News
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Final Fantasy XIV composer Masayashi Soken on making music that stops the world
Japanese video game composer Masayoshi Soken doesn't see his work as separate from the games he scores, it's all part of the full experience. The Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XVI composer was recently in London for live performances of his music. Music from video game series Final Fantasy, a long running role-playing franchise with more than 30 titles, is being toured globally as part of Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy an orchestral concert series. "When we are creating music for games, I do have to acknowledge that there isn't a lot of freedom to do whatever you want, it is not easy to make game music like this," says Soken "When I'm putting music into Final Fantasy XIV, I'm trying very hard to think about the game experience overall, I think that each sound that goes into it is incredibly important, but I'm not trying to think of each of the songs as separate to the game." Photo shows ABC Game Show promo image with stylised joy stick Discover a new world of music, as composer, multi-instrumentalist and performance poet Meena Shamaly brings you iconic soundtracks and orchestral scores from digital gaming. Unlike film and television composers who score music after the scenes are shot, composers for video games often work hand in hand with the game development team as the game is being made to make sure music and sound effects respond to gameplay. Music in video games is often dynamic responding to player actions and milestones within the story, with each player experiencing their own audio mix and sequence. Soken says it's a challenge but the response from players makes the process worth it. Drinking buddies with Nobuo Uematsu Soken's career spans nearly thirty years, originally starting at Konami, working as an editor and sound designer as well as composer and eventually becoming sound director. He has also worked closely with another composer whose name is still synonymous with the Final Fantasy series, Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu composed soundtracks for the first 12 mainline Final Fantasy games, starting in 1987 with the original game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Photo shows Japanese composer Nobuo Umeatsu sits playing viola in a lounge surrounded by cds and musical equipment This self-taught Japanese composer is behind some of the most beloved video game music The two musicians worked together on the original 2010 version of the multiplayer role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV and would drink together every day after work. "If I focus on my relationship with Uematsu, I think that when we moved the company [office] to a location that was quite far from Uematsu's house, he slowly started coming less into the company and eventually he left. For me that was a major part of my history when I look back." "We would go out drinking every day before we moved and that's not to say we didn't drink at all, but I did find that quite sad that we couldn't do that anymore, we didn't have that flow of literally going to drink every single day." Uematsu established the signature Final Fantasy sound which draws influences from classical music, along with rock and jazz, with composers like Soken building on that canon 'sound' of the games with their own compositions. The famous piece One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII for example draws equally from the music of Stravinsky and Jimmy Hendrix according to interviews with Uematsu. Loading YouTube content Each piece of music in Final Fantasy features a strong memorable melody, which works as well with the original basic 1980s and 1990s chiptune synthesisers of early video game consoles or arranged for a full orchestra. The main theme of the series, Prelude, originally composed by Uematsu and featured in nearly every game in the series has been recontextualised in Soken's Final Fantasy XVI piece, Land of Eikons, which moves the classic harp melody into a darker minor key. Composing with acting performance as a guide Soken, who only speaks Japanese, says his music was inspired heavily by acting performances of lead characters in the game, even though in some cases he couldn't understand what the performers were saying. "For [Final Fantasy] XVI quite early on in the process I knew that all of the voice actors would be key and I was able to receive inspiration from the acting performances of the voice actors while writing," says Soken. "I'm not very good at speaking English, so when I listen to the English voice acting, I can't really tell the details of the words but I can understand what is actually being portrayed through the performance. "That is proof for how extraordinary their performance was and so I wanted to make the best music that I can to contribute to that game experience that was already there." The concert series Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy was co-founded by game series composer Nobuo Uematsu and music director and conductor Arnie Roth. ( Supplied: AWR Music/ Square Enix ) Music that stops the world Soken plays rock versions of his Final Fantasy music live with band The Primals, and said that he was still touched by the energy that players around the world share after playing the games and listening to his performances. "We have Primals performances in big halls and when we play [Final Fantasy XIV musical piece] Rise, there's obviously that time-stop moment and you see tens of thousands of people stopping all together, that is brilliant to see." "I really am just touched by the energy that all of the [players] have and I'm very much moved by their extraordinary energy." Loading YouTube content "So I would say that what hasn't changed in all these years is that all of this is about the game experience, everyone is trying to feel the game." " I think that there are aspects of music and sound that are more important than others but what I like about it is that I'm just a gamer, that's how I feel. " Sign up to the ABC Classic Newsletter Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
Japan Times
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
More than just training: Sumo's open practices are intense — and entertaining
Last week's column detailed how regional tours continue to provide wider access to sumo in an era when demand for regular tournament tickets far outstrips supply. But while the jungyō are an excellent introduction to the sport, and feature all kinds of interesting aspects of sumo not seen in regular meets, there is one element of the tours that sometimes leaves hardcore fans dissatisfied. No matter how entertaining the matchups may be, the fact that there is little at stake in what are essentially exhibition bouts means the intensity of jungyō matches falls well short of what is usually seen during sumo's six yearly honbasho. For fans unable to get seats at one of those bimonthly tournaments, however, there is another option. Normally held behind closed doors and accessible only to members of the Sumo Press Club, the Yokozuna Deliberation Council (YDC) practice, known as Soken in Japanese, is occasionally opened up to the general public. This year the Soken, which will be held ahead of the Summer Basho, is the one to which fans can gain admittance. Scheduled to take place at Tokyo's Kokugikan on May 2, the practice is free to attend and should feature all of the sport's top wrestlers participating in a series of training bouts that have a higher intensity than those seen during regional tours. Although banzuke ranking positions aren't at stake, the fact that the practice is so close to a real tournament ensures most of the rikishi are in advanced stages of preparation and are giving it their all in an effort to reach full match fitness. For yokozuna, and to a lesser extent ozeki, there is the added motivation of needing to perform at a high standard to avoid incurring criticism from YDC members. Adding to the atmosphere of seriousness is the fact that, even when the event is open to the public, cheering or shouting out support for wrestlers is discouraged. The Japan Sumo Association (JSA) asks attendees to watch the practice in silence, and not use phones. Gates open at 8 a.m. and, going on past years, proceedings should conclude around 11 a.m. One point to be aware of is that while Kokugikan can hold 11,000 people, the upper floor normally isn't open to the public for Soken, and if the first floor reaches capacity, no one else will be admitted. Ura is mobbed by wrestlers vying to be next during a Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice in 2016. While the Soken is normally conducted in an air of solemn focus and seriousness, there are occasional moments of levity. | John Gunning Because of that, and the fact that it's first-come, first-served in terms of seating, it's advisable to arrive at the venue early to secure positions close to the wrestlers. One pro tip is to try and find seating on the front side (behind the white cloth covered table at which the YDC members sit) as wrestlers standing around the ring can block views of what's going on in the ring from the east, west and back sides of the arena. Physical checks for sumo's newest batch of recruits also take place at Kokugikan on May 2, giving those in attendance at the Soken an opportunity to see some of the future stars of sumo take their very first steps as professionals. In terms of the number of high-level sumo contests, it's hard to beat the Soken. On no other occasion can you see all the sports top-rankers engage in anything like the volume of bouts that take place at the YDC practice. Pre-tournament tensions not only contribute toward ensuring fierce fights, but can sometimes lead to tempers flaring. Two decades ago, notoriously fiery yokozuna Asashoryu engaged in a series of heated battles with Russian standout Roho and Hakuho, then an up-and-comer. Normally sumo practices of such intensity only take place inside a single stable or perhaps during training sessions among ichimon (groups of aligned stables). With some of the more promising third-tier wrestlers also staying on to train with those in the second division (or second with third), the Soken offers an early opportunity to evaluate the career prospects of young talent or college stars who earned advanced starting positions in the professional ranks. Being able to watch the best wrestlers currently in sumo duking it out for an hour or more isn't the only thrill for sumo fans when it comes to the Soken. Numerous stars of the past can be seen as many, if not most, stablemasters are in attendance, and the YDC practice often brings out former legends no longer in the JSA such as Konishiki. While the Soken is normally conducted in an air of solemn focus and seriousness, there are occasional moments of levity. Throughout sumo's history there have always been wrestlers who can't resist hamming it up or playing to the crowd no matter the situation. With training bouts often following a 'king of the hill' pattern, winners are mobbed by those trying to be picked next. Sometimes 10 or more men will immediately rush into the center of the ring at the same time in an attempt to get the attention of the winner. Now and again, a showman will take that to extremes by bear-hugging the winner or grabbing his face with both hands in an attempt to prevent him from picking someone else. Such lighthearted interludes are the exception rather than the rule though, and for the most part the Soken is conducted in impressive near-silence, only broken by the sounds of exertion from the sport's top competitors. With Hoshoryu having withdrawn midway through his first tournament at sumo's highest rank in March, the upcoming YDC practice is sure to see a refocused version of the sport's lone yokozuna, and that should provide a spectacle to satisfy the most demanding of fans.
