Motoi Sakuraba | |
|---|---|
桜庭 統 | |
| Born | (1965-08-05)August 5, 1965 (age 60) Akita Prefecture, Japan |
| Alma mater | Meiji University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | |
| Labels | TEAM Entertainment |
Musical artist | |
Motoi Sakuraba (桜庭 統,Sakuraba Motoi; born August 5, 1965) is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions invideo games, including theTales,Star Ocean,Mario Golf,Mario Tennis,Golden Sun, andDark Souls series, as well as several other anime series, television dramas, andprogressive rock albums.[1][2]
Sakuraba was born on August 5, 1965, inAkita Prefecture, Japan.[3] While attendingMeiji University, Sakuraba began to take music composition seriously and formed the progressive rock band "Clashed Ice" in 1984, consisting of him on keyboards and Genta Kudo on drums and vocals.[4] After the duo had graduated the following year, they were noticed by music producer Shingo Ueno, and ending up signing with Made in Japan Records. The band had then added bassist Tetsuya Nagatsuma, and was renamed as "Deja Vu".[4][5] In 1988, the band would release their only studio album,Baroque in the Future, composed by Sakuraba.[4] Although the band disbanded in 1989, Sakuraba would later go on to release another solo album,Gikyokuonsou, in 1991.
In late 1989, Sakuraba began working as a composer forWolf Team, joining Masaaki Uno and Yasunori Shiono. The professional friendships formed here in Sakuraba's early years have resulted in a great demand for his composing and arranging abilities. In 1994, former Wolf Team director and composer Masaaki Uno started working atCamelot Software Planning as a coordinator and sound director, developing games forSony,Sega andNintendo. Sakuraba has been called upon as a composer for many Camelot games, including all of the games in theMario Golf,Mario Tennis, andGolden Sun series.
In 1995, Wolf Team developed the breakthrough gameTales of Phantasia forNamco. This and other early games in theTales series primarily featured Sakuraba and fellow Wolf Team co-worker Shinji Tamura as composers. Also in 1995, former Wolf Team director and producer Jun Asanuma, as well asTales of Phantasia writer and programmerYoshiharu Gotanda, foundedtri-Ace with financial backing fromEnix. TheStar Ocean andValkyrie Profile games have been their main franchises. Sakuraba has been the composer for nearly all of their games.
In 1999, long time Sakuraba sound designer and programmerHiroya Hatsushiba, a former member of Wolf Team and tri-Ace, foundedtri-Crescendo. While initially continuing to contribute sound work to tri-Ace games, tri-Crescendo began game development in 2001. Together withMonolith Soft, tri-Crescendo started working onBaten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean; Namco provided the financial backing. Hatsushiba, as director and main programmer of the project, again called upon Sakuraba's composing services. This has extended to the sequel,Baten Kaitos Origins, andEternal Sonata. The remnants of Wolf Team later morphed into the Namco Telenet joint subsidiaryNamco Tales Studio in 2003.
In 2007, Sakuraba was selected to join a long list of video game composers to arrange music forSuper Smash Bros. Brawl. He chose to arrange the famous "Menu Theme" from the game's predecessor,Super Smash Bros. Melee. He also arranged "Gourmet Race" fromKirby Super Star, "Jungle Level Ver.2" fromDonkey Kong Country, "Mario Tennis / Mario Golf" fromMario Golf: Toadstool Tour andMario Power Tennis, "Victory Road" fromPokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the "Airship Theme" fromSuper Mario Bros. 3, the "Battlefield Theme", "Final Destination", and "Battle Scene / Final Boss (Golden Sun)" fromGolden Sun: The Lost Age.
Sakuraba then continued to write music for games in franchises he has worked with before, includingStar Ocean: The Last Hope,[6]Golden Sun: Dark Dawn,Mario Tennis Open,Mario Golf: World Tour, and manyTales series games, includingHearts,Graces,Xillia,Xillia 2,Zestiria, andBerseria.[6] He has also contributed to other well known games such as theDark Souls series,Kid Icarus: Uprising, andPhantasy Star Nova.[6][7] In 2014, he was selected to provide musical arrangements for Brawl's successor,Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.[8] For this title, Sakuraba arranged "Theme from Area 6 / Missile Slipstream" fromStar Fox 64 andStar Fox Command, "Battle! (Team Flare)" fromPokémon X and Y, and "The valedictory elegy" fromBaten Kaitos Origins.
In addition, Sakuraba has continued to write for non-gaming and anime projects, including solo albums such as "Forest of Glass", "What's Up?", and "Passage", as well as performing on several arrange albums.[6] In the 2020s, he composed for games such asOne Piece Odyssey andEiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
During July 2003, Sakuraba held a live concert in Tokyo, Japan. He performed progressive rock interpretations of his music from gamesStar Ocean: Till the End of Time,Star Ocean: The Second Story,Star Ocean: Blue Sphere andValkyrie Profile. His bandmates for this concert were bassist Atsushi Hasegawa (a member of the bandGerard) and drummer Toshihiko Nakamura.[9] As noted, this concert was released on DVD and CD. At the same time as they were rehearsing for the concert, Hasegawa and Nakamura assisted in recording new material for the Director's Cut ofStar Ocean: Till the End of Time.
The following year, the trio performed another concert. The venue was smaller, but included music fromBaten Kaitos and a couple of new, non-game-related pieces. This concert was not officially recorded and released, however. However, in 2006, a new concert was given in celebration of tri-Ace'sValkyrie Profile: Silmeria.[10]
In September 2011, Sakuraba and his band joined up with theEarthbound Papas inKawasaki, led by formerFinal Fantasy series composerNobuo Uematsu, to perform at Fantasy Rock Fest 2011. The event featured game music performances, along with newprogressive rock pieces from both bands. The first six tracks that Sakuraba and his band played were sold at the event as a preview CD for his then-upcoming solo albumAfter all..., which was released by Strange Days Records on October 19, 2011.
In June 2015, Sakuraba performed at theTales of Festival at theYokohama Arena, being the first time he performed tracks from theTales series at a live event.[11] A selection of Sakuraba's music from theDark Souls andTales series was performed live at theSalle Pleyel concert hall in Paris in February 2017.[12] The event, known as "Orchestral Memories", featured a guest appearance by Sakuraba.[12] The 2020Tales of Festival featured an original song by him called "Endless Journey", dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the series.[13]
Note: this list is not comprehensive and consists mostly of notable works.
| Year | Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Gensomaden Saiyuki | Music |
| 2001 | Star Ocean EX | Music |
| Saiyuki: Requiem | Music | |
| 2002 | Atashin'chi | Music |
| Weiß Kreuz Glühen | Music | |
| 2003 | Pluster World | Music |
| 2008 | Tales of the Abyss | Music |
| 2014 | Tales of Zestiria: Dawn of the Shepherd | Music withGo Shiina |
| 2016 | Tales of Zestiria the X | Music with Go Shiina |
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Gikyokuonsou |
| 2008 | Forest of Glass |
| 2011 | After All... |
| 2013 | What's Up? |
| Passage |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
