Kenichiro Fukui | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1970-03-04)March 4, 1970 (age 55) Hyōgo, Japan |
| Genres | Electronic dance music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, musician, keyboardist |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, organ, guitar, drums,keyboard |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | Universal Music Group Dog Ear Records |
Kenichiro Fukui (福井 健一郎,Fukui Ken'ichirō) is a Japanesevideo game composer andelectronic musician. Before working atSquare Enix, he was employed atKonami. He was also an arranger and a keyboardist in the bandThe Black Mages. Additionally, Fukui arrangedAngela Aki's "Kiss Me Good-Bye" fromFinal Fantasy XII. In October 2007, he left Square Enix to become a lecturer, although he continued to work with The Black Mages until the band dissolved in 2010, and continued to do freelance work with video games.[1] HisKonami Kukeiha Club nickname was "Funiki Fukui". He lives inYokohama, Japan.[2]
Fukui was born on March 4, 1970, inHyōgo Prefecture.[3] He joined the video game companyKonami in 1991. While there, he contributed to the soundtracks ofLethal Enforcers,G.I. Joe andViolent Storm. He was also one of the keyboardists for theKukeiha Club, and played in the live event at theBudokan in Tokyo.[1]
In 1995, he moved to Osaka to join "Solid", a subsidiary ofSquare (nowSquare Enix). He was later transferred to Square's main office in Tokyo. While there, he wrote music for games such asEinhänder,Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, andProject Sylpheed, and did arrangements forFinal Fantasy VII: Advent Children andHanjuku Hero 4: 7-Jin no Hanjuku Hero. He played the keyboard and organ for 2005'sRomancing SaGa: Minstrel Song, the first game he worked on for which he neither composed nor arranged the music.[4]
In 2000, Fukui andTsuyoshi Sekito formed an experimental partnership to compose music for the video gameAll Star Pro-Wrestling in a rock style. After the game's success, the two continued to compose in the same style. In 2002, Fukui and Sekito decided to arrange some of the compositions ofNobuo Uematsu, the primary composer for themusic of theFinal Fantasy series. Uematsu, a fan of rock music, enjoyed these arrangements, and Fukui and Sekito asked him to join them in making a rock band. Declining at first due to feeling too busy with his composing duties and attempts to become a music producer with hisSmile Please label, Uematsu agreed to join them in a single live performance as a keyboardist, and afterwards decided to join the two in makingThe Black Mages; Fukui and Sekito had refused to start one if Uematsu was not involved as one of the musicians.[1] The band went on to produce three albums before dissolving in 2010; while some of the members went on to form theEarthbound Papas, Fukui was not one of them.[5][6]
In 2007, Fukui was appointed at the HAL College of Tokyo (which opened in spring 2009), to teach classes relating to music composition and performance.[1][7]
