Underappreciated Composers Appreciation Thread

I know I've seen threads like this for soundtracks before, but I can't remember ever, or at least recently, seeing one for composers themselves.

This one goes out to all those fine musical virtuosos whose hard work goes unrecognized, slighted, glossed over, pushed by the wayside, ignored, overlooked, or otherwise not given its due time in the limelight by fans, reviewers, and any other involved parties.

For every Uematsu, Mitsuda, Koshiro, or Soule, how many other composers are there who get the shaft when it comes to recognition by the fans? Well, let's put a stop to that right here, right now.

This thread is for the acknowledgement and appreciation of those fine composers who fans always seem to forget about in IRC channels, game reviews, "best of" sites, forum threads, and the like. If there's a composer you feel is overdue for honourable mention, mention them honourably right here. Illuminate us as to what credits they have to their name. Maybe upload a sample of their work. And tell us why, dammit, they need to be known. Examples would be the case of OSTs like recent Final Fantasies or some of the Persona games, wherein multiple composers worked on the soundtrack but credit generally only goes to one (Masashi Hamauzu springs to mind in the case of FF). Worse still are cases like Shadow Hearts, whose OST was composed primarily by Yoshitaka Hirota, but somehow is too commonly credited in whole to Yasunori Mitsuda despite his only having written a handful of tracks for it.

One thing that's worth noting is that GFF isn't necessarily the best sample demographic due to its heavy slant toward VGM appreciation. The people here are probably more knowledgeable than any other forum I know, save for OCR and SlightlyDark. GameFAQs would be a better example of...okay, scratch that, GameFAQs isn't a good example of anything, ever. Still, you get the idea. Composers ignored by the unwashed masses.

So, to get the ball rolling, I'm going to nominate Noriyuki Iwadare. Well-known around these parts but I seldom hear his name mentioned elsewhere, and only 5 remixes of his work appear on OCR. This is a shame because while he doesn't go for the grandiose, operatic, or bombastic like some composers do, he writes consistently catchy, intricate, diverse music that's a lot of fun to actually listen to. I first discovered him through the Lunar remakes on PS1, and then really got into his work with Grandia 2 when a friend burned a copy of the bonus sampler CD for me.

A follow-up, and I admit this is straying a bit from my original intent but it might be another viable direction for the thread to take--Yuki Kajiura. Specifically where Xenosaga is concerned. I'm familiar with a lot of her other work, and I know she's pretty well established, but I've seen other forums and reviews wherein she takes a lot of flack over the XS2 and XS3 soundtracks for no good reason other than that they weren't composed by Mitsuda. This is just my opinion, and I have a lot of respect for both composers, but I found the XS2 and 3 soundtracks to be far more engaging and interesting than that of XS1. Mitsuda's work, while solid, sounded too stiff and stale, like he was trying actively to emulate John Williams rather than let his own style come through. It had far less personality than, say, Chrono Cross, and while it had its fair share of memorable tracks, Kajiura's work on parts 2 and 3 brought that missing element of "identity," for sleep-deprived and caffeine-crashing want of a better word, that let the soundtracks stand on their own as opposed to being "full of melodic references to the excellent Xenogears." 'Gears is great, its soundtrack was great, but I'd rather 'Saga had its own distinct sound than try to ride on nostalgia.

Alright, I'm shutting up and turning the floor over to whoever wants to give the next shout out to a deserving underdog.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Cool thread

Iwadare's a good example, yeah. Lunar 1 has an excellent score, both in the SEGA CD and the PS1 versions of the game (PS1 kicks SEGA CD's score's butt though, in my book).


My vote would be for David Kneupper. His site can be found at http://www.kneuppermusic.com

As you can see, he's in Hollywood these days.

But he provided the foundation for a little known score, which happens to be excellent, and probably the best of its' kind (Mayan beat music, basically, with rock, funk, soul etc).

He composed for Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, which I just updated my site with (http://smc.sq7.org/pitfallcd).

If you look at the main page of my site, you'll see why I consider him underappreciated, aside from the fact that the game wasn't huge (taken from http://smc.sq7.org):

Quote:

The excellent Activision soundtrack is a 'soundtrack remake' from the Windows 95 release (the best release), based upon the original SNES game audio, composed by the very talented composer David Knuepper. If you like the music, please contact him! He loves talking about the old days and deserves most of the credit, but unfortunately his thunder was stolen by the company he was working for, Soundelux, who are credited for the SEGA CD/Windows 95 release (same audio in both) when they only 'arranged' his original work (if you listen to some of the SNES soundtracks floating around the web, you'll hear what I mean!).

Based on that premise, he's an underdog.


Simialrly, Gilles Douieb, who composed a similar (funnily enough) and equally excellent score for the two Coktel Vision games, Inca and Inca 2 (http://queststudios.com/quest/incacd/incacd.html), is underappreciated. It was widely thought until recently that the score was composed by an in-house composer who composed for most of Coktel's games.

This was Douieb's only VG score ever, and that's crazy, given how amazingly good it is. Although he is in a successful band in France anyway.



As for more mainstream composers, I think Apogee's Bobby Prince is probably underappreciated (how many of us hummed those tunes?), as is a lot of Western VGM composers.

I can't think of many underappreciated Japanese composers (although Iwadare's a good example), although I can think of lots of overappreciated ones

- Spike

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm agree with Kajiuran case.Ep II&III has more live in I and now she's my most Fav.
What about Michiko Naruke?
Her style is really outstanding but I hardly found anybody to seem to like her work. She also done a great job in WA alter code F,which got very low interesting from people.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Oh, I could go on and on with a plethora of composers out there who are underappreciated and overshadowed. Here are a couple that I feel fit that mold:

SuperSweep (Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso, Nobuyoshi Sano and Takayuki Aihara)
This crew has put out some incredible stuff over the years but not many people know it. Shinji Hosoe has gotten a bit more fanfare lately with his work on stuff like Ibara and Xenosaga Ep. II, but those largely pale in comparision to his early work at Namco. Peruse through the Namco GSE's and you'll hear some great things from these composers. Driving Emotion Type-S has an excellent soundtrack as well.

Gamadelic / Data East Sound Team
Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, does chiptune music better than these guys. If you're into chiptune music, and haven't checked these guys out, you're cheating the hell out of yourself.

Hidenori Shoji
This guy's resume isn't that long, but it's impressive, nonetheless. Fighting Vipers 2 and F-Zero AX/GX both have great scores. Also, the soundtrack set for Ryu ga Gotoku & Ryu ga Gotoku 2 is one of my top 3 favorites of the year so far. It bleeds awesomeness.

Hideyuki Fukasawa
Chaos Legion. Shin Onimusha. Mobile Suit Gundam Target in Sight. Listen to those... NOW!

Daisuke Nagata and Kou Hayashi
These two have a short resume too but are worth mentioning. The soundtracks for Chaos Field and Radirgy both rock, and they have another project coming out soon (the name of the game escapes me right now). Looking for great shooter music, these two are right down your alley.


Well, those are some composers that I think are really underappreciated and don't get as much recognition as they should. I also agree with Yasuhisa Watanabe (Yack.) as well. I'm sure I'll have some more later.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

That's difficult. Most of the composers that I like aren't really underappreciated. They are not appreciated at all. Nobody talks about them. It makes me feel sort of lonely

Hideki Higuchi
My personal number 1 for relaxing music. Most of his work has been collaborations with other musicians and it always worked. He first came to my attention when the Dear My Friend OST was released and while I first thought most of this excellence was Masahiro Kajihara's participation, I've finally come to acknowledge Hideki Higuchi's talent: The beautiful use of violins in Moshimo Ashita ga Hare Naraba, the happy traditional music in Popotan, the movie-like atmosphere in Elysion, that's all to his credit.
To put it in a nutshell, Higuchi's music is making the world a better place ♪～


Hijiri Anze
Right now I'm just assuming Hijiri Anze is a 'she' after reading her quote in Biohazard Liner Notes

Quote:

I am female warrior Alexia in Bio Hazard Code: Veronica...just kidding. I am Hijiri Anze, in charge of composing BGM.

The soundtrack was really good, and I'm glad Cuffs and âge have given her the opportunity to compose music for some more games. Her talent is obvious and she's proven she can compose action, slow-paced and dramatic music.
Her next project is Amesarasa and from what I've heard so far it's another masterpiece.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I think bishop's post on Data East Sound Team represents my opinion. Listen to Side Pocket's delicious jazz on Snes, and seriously, how come they left the composer anoymous? )=O

I'm also a huge fan of underappreciated Kentarou Haneda. I think there are much to be discovered on this man, but too bad, his albums are really tough to get. O_o;

Other composer I also enjoy, but not really known widely is Manyo/Little Wing. I listened their works first at Piannissimo, and I'm looking forward to listen other works by them.

I think Isamu Ohira, the mastermind behind GT1's jazz music is quite underappreciated. I have yet to see other people to reply on the thread to discuss this guy's works. Even though his works are very limited, but I dont think he should be ignored.

and teioh, I'm bit interested to listen Hideaki Higuchi's composer, I hope you dont mind to upload some of recommended works by him sometime. I love listening relaxing music. =)

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by CelticWhisper

Examples would be the case of OSTs like recent Final Fantasies or some of the Persona games, wherein multiple composers worked on the soundtrack but credit generally only goes to one (Masashi Hamauzu springs to mind in the case of FF).

I was going to mention myself how no one but Shoji Meguro seems to get any recognition for SMT and SMT spinoff stuff. Especially overlooked is Kenichi Tsuchiya, whose tracks I like more than Meguro's in Nocturne. Picking up Rebus and Persona 2 only to see that he contributed to those excellent scores confirmed that for a guy whose style I enjoy, he seems to be a bit unknown.

And yeah, I have to constantly remind people that FFX had two other composers besides Uematsu. It's usually to say that Hamauzu outdoes the other two, but still.

Originally Posted by CelticWhisper

Worse still are cases like Shadow Hearts, whose OST was composed primarily by Yoshitaka Hirota, but somehow is too commonly credited in whole to Yasunori Mitsuda despite his only having written a handful of tracks for it.

Heh. Everybody loves Mitsuda, right? Why mention anyone else?

As for Iwadare, I usually like him, but I only love him in the original Grandia. That's why he isn't one of my top tier composers. He's probably underappreciated compared to some other popular composers, but who isn't next to Uematsu and Mitsuda? I'm not sure about Koshiro being overly popular though. The only ones who would hold him so highly are those familiar with his work in the chiptune days. Some people today might only know of him through Shenmue.

Hiroshi Tamawari is probably underappreciated. I really like his stuff in the Vandal Hearts series and yet some people seem to dismiss it as being wannabe Sakimoto stuff. I actually nominated a song of his in the battle theme contest a few years back but it didn't get far. His battle themes in Vandal Hearts II are awesome.

I'm not sure that Tenpei Sato gets much love since his music is a bit lighthearted. For me Phantom Brave has one of the best PS2 soundtracks there is. Unfortunately, the Disgaea monster seems to overshadow everything, though even then you rarely hear about the music.

Noriko Matsueda (and Takahito Eguchi, since they often work together) has done some good stuff and yet she gets hate for replacing Uematsu in FFX-2. I like the music in The Bouncer quite a bit and you also have stuff like Front Mission 2 and Racing Lagoon.

FELIPE NO

Oriental:

Kohei Tanaka - He's done good work on lesser-known, quirkier games like Lennus and Alundra. I'm particularly partial to Lennus, which is let down somewhat by terrible synth but really shines in arranged form.

John Pee - Not his real name (what is it with Japanese composers and bizarre psuedonyms?), he composed the lion's share of Treasure Hunter G and did a fine job with it. So let's hear some more!

Takayuki Aihara - His contribution to Children of Mana was impressive, moreso on the whole than veterans Iwata and Ito. I think that he could really shine in a solo assignment.

Occidental:

Mark Morgan - He's only written a handful of scores, but has still managed to land dozens of tracks in the upper echelon of my playlist. Planescape Torment is a classic in every sense of the word, while Fallout 1&2 are both highly effective (especially 2) and the work he did on Citizen Kabuto before dropping out is quite good as well.

Michael Hoenig - He's scored exactly two games, but both were done well, with impressive thematic and atmospheric qualities. He scores mostly films these days, but I wish he'd do some more game scores like Baldur's Gate.

Christophe Heral - Beyond Good and Evil was a heady combination of electronics, orchestra, and acapella. Yet I fear that the game's failure, and the cancelled sequels, might preclude Heral from getting more work, despite his brilliant effort.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by bishop743

Gamadelic / Data East Sound Team
Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, does chiptune music better than these guys. If you're into chiptune music, and haven't checked these guys out, you're cheating the hell out of yourself.

Are there any works in particular that you would recommend? I'd be interested in checking them out.

As for mine:

Tamayo Kawamoto - I've just been getting into Zuntata again, and while most people think of Yack. or OGR, I've always been drawn to Tamayo's music from the Ray series. Some cool electronica with a bit of a jazzy tinge to it that fits very well with the games. In fact, I'm listening to the Ray Storm soundtrack right now. I don't know what else she has done, though there was that porno music from the 1998 Zuntata concert.

Hayato Matsuo - The other composer for Ogre Battle et. al. His work for Front Mission 3 and Master of Monsters is where I took notice of him, though. Very cool stuff.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Toma

Are there any works in particular that you would recommend? I'd be interested in checking them out.

Oh yes! I have plenty to recommend. Magical Drop 1, 2 and 3, Fighters' History, Skull Fang: Avengers in Galactic Storm and WOLF FANG + TUMBLEPOP are all good places to start. They are all full of chiptuny goodness.

Originally Posted by Toma

As for mine:

Tamayo Kawamoto - I've just been getting into Zuntata again, and while most people think of Yack. or OGR, I've always been drawn to Tamayo's music from the Ray series. Some cool electronica with a bit of a jazzy tinge to it that fits very well with the games. In fact, I'm listening to the Ray Storm soundtrack right now. I don't know what else she has done, though there was that porno music from the 1998 Zuntata concert.

Definitely have to agree with you on Kawamoto. The Ray series has great music, especially Raystorm. I also enjoy the soundtrack for Bujingai, which she co-composed with Hideki Takahagi, another very underated comopser.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Quote:

John Pee - Not his real name (what is it with Japanese composers and bizarre psuedonyms?), he composed the lion's share of Treasure Hunter G and did a fine job with it. So let's hear some more!

Totally agree, I'm playing THG for the first time ever with my brother, and neither of us can believe how amazing the score is for a SNES score. I think it'd be fair to say it's right up there with Secret of Mana/Tales of Phantasia, which are spectacular scores (in my book).


I'd actually assumed THG was composed by Sakuraba.

- Spike

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

For you John Pee fans, his real name is Mitsuhito Tanaka. The bulk of his work is SNES stuff (http://snesmusic.org/v2/profile.php?...r&selected=310), but he also has an NES credit with a few other people, Tecmo World Wrestling.

In case you didn't know.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Spikey

I'd actually assumed THG was composed by Sakuraba.

No, but Sakimoto did have a hand in it. Though Pee/Tanaka composed more tracks than anyone else, the OST is one of the most famous examples of multi-multi-multi-composer collaborations, with additional music from Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu Iwata, Toshiaki Sakoda, Yoko Takada, Akiko Goto, and Tomoko Matsui.

Originally Posted by CHz

For you John Pee fans, his real name is Mitsuhito Tanaka. The bulk of his work is SNES stuff (http://snesmusic.org/v2/profile.php?...r&selected=310), but he also has an NES credit with a few other people, Tecmo World Wrestling.

Thanks for the info. I knew Pee was a psuedonym (some reviews actually refer to the composer as American, though!) but having his real name is a real boon.

Still, though, out of all the psuedonyms to choose...Pee?

I was speaking idiomatically.

I'd just love to clarify, Yuki Kajiura and Kohei Tanaka do often recieve very little recognition for their VGM compositions. However, they're extremely famous for their anime music, with albums appearing from them almost every season with at least one series of anime.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Satoshe Ise and Hideki Okugawa from many Capcom fighting games. They consistently produce inspiring melodies in their soundtracks and show what true hip-hop is supposed to be like.

FELIPE NO