Born on 21 March 1959 in Kochi, Japan
Living currently in: Tokyo, Japon
Studies : he got his degree from Kanagawa University
Admission in Square : 1985 (left it in 2004)
Main works : Final Fantasy Series
Musical Preferences: Orchestral, electronic, rock, symphonic rock, neo-classical metal
Instruments played : Keyboard, organ, piano, violin, banjo
Web site: " DOGEARRECORDS" Sir Nobuo Uematsu was never formally taught how to play piano, he started playing it at the age of 12, lead by his passion for music and his admiration for Elthon John, he became a famous figure in the video games music field.After graduating from the Kanagawa University, he joined many amateur bands as a keyboard player and composed for television commercials.A friend of his was a Square employee and asked if he would be interested in creating music for some of the titles they were working on, Sir Uematsu gladly accepted and made his first game score for "Genesis". In 1985, he met Hironobu Sakaguchi (director of Squaresoft) who approached him with a full-time job offer as music composer for some of his games. Sir Uematsu agreed to that and started composing small pieces for video games but they passed unnoticed.
In 1987, as Squaresoft was on the brink of bankruptcy, Uematsu and Sakaguchi worked together on the first Final Fantasy that was meant to be the last game the firm was supposed to develop. Unlike what they were expecting, Final Fantasy was a huge success, giving birth to an on going game saga and starting a world wide success story in the RPG history. The game's popularity was strongly attached to Sir Uematsu's compositions, with his distinguished style and the memorable melodies that accompagned the game scenes.
Throughout all the game sequals Sir Uematsu never stopped fascinating us with his sublime contributions. Sir Nobuo Uematsu has also worked on other video games like Chrono Trigger (1995) Romancing Saga 2 (1993) and Final Fantasy Legends (1990) featuring other talented composers like Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Itō. He even brilliantly composed for animated movies like Oh My Goddess (2000) and various animated series like Guin Saga (2009), Final Fantasy Unlimited (2001).
Uematsu also worked with Sakaguchi's development studio Mistwalker and was assigned to write music for two famous Xbox 360 RPGs, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey (2007). Uematsu also created the main theme for the multi-composer game Super Smash Bros Brawl in 2008.
In February 2003, Uematsu's rock band The Black Mages was founded and expanded to six members since its conception : Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui,Tsuyoshi Sekitoand,Keiji Kawamori, Michio Okamiya, and Arata Hanyuda. They interpreted rock arrangements for Final Fantasy Music , released three studio albums, and performed at several concerts.
His works on the Final Fantasy main themes turned out to be huge hits too, one of the most romantic titles His theme song to Final Fantasy 8, "Eyes on me", was even rewarded and won "Song of the Year (Western Music)" at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1999.
His main works on the Final Fantasy serie were source of inspiration for many arrangements that followed later, from orchestral to rock, Sir Uematsu's compositions were played during various concerts like the outstanding "Dear Friends" or "Distant Worlds" concerts, and even during non game related events for example :"Liberi Fatali" that was played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens during the women's synchronized swimming event.
He was given the title of "the John Williams of the video game world", Sir Uematsu is the most well-regarded composer in the video game community, recognized as a major contributor in the Video Game Music field, making from his captivating music a widely appreciated work expanding beyond the video game industry.
