Yuu Miyake (三宅 優, Miyake Yū, born November 19, 1973 in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese composer and sound engineer who formerly worked at Bandai Namco Entertainment. His most known work surfaced with Katamari Damacy soundtracks, on which he served as a sound director. Other notable works include various tracks in the Tekken and Ridge Racer series.[1]
Yuu Miyake 三宅 優 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | eutron Yuusama U |
| Born | November 19, 1973 Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
Biography
editAs a child, Miyake attended his mother's Electone classes. However, he could not adapt to the pieces he was given to play. He also listened to anime themes, disco and Yellow Magic Orchestra.[2] He later aspired to have a career in illustration, frequently producing drawings. His interest in video game music developed after the release of Haruomi Hosono's Video Game Music, an album featuring music from Namco games he had already enjoyed. He started creating music aged 14,[3] using a PC-88.[2]
Prior to joining Namco in 1997, Miyake was a university student specializing in management information. During the job interview with Namco he was nervous, and initially failed, but was successfully hired after an executive pushed for him to join.[4] His first game with the company was the console version of Tekken 3.[5] Although he was originally only assigned to work on music for the ending movies, Nobuyoshi Sano was impressed and allowed him to work on other music for the game. He was given creative freedom while also following the game's sound direction of big beat music, although he felt pressure to catch up with the music that his seniors, Sano and Keiichi Okabe, were creating.[4] His experience on Tekken 3 led to him working on subsequent titles in the franchise, including Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken 4. He considers his work on these games to be his "specialty".[2]
In 2000, Miyake worked with Namco director Keita Takahashi on a video project called Texas 2000. While employed at Namco, Miyake was given freedom to provide freelance work spanning various areas, including composition, programming and recording. He composed for promotional videos and commercials,[6] and also provided additional sound design and programming for Mondo Grosso's songs "Everything Needs Love" and "Shinin'", both of which appear on his album Next Wave.[7][3] He also participated in colleague Hiroshi Okubo's nanosounds circle, contributing tracks to multiple albums between 2000 and 2004.[8]
Takahashi was so impressed with his work on Texas 2000 that he eventually gave him full responsibility as sound director on the 2004 game Katamari Damacy.[9] He was also given extensive trust and creative freedom, and considers the sound design and music to have been a major aspect of the game's success. In addition to covering a wide range of genres, he aimed to write catchy melodies for the game, feeling that video game music since the second half of the 90s had become unmemorable. He also served as the sound director for future titles in the series, and composed for Takahashi's Noby Noby Boy in 2009.[1][2]
In 2011, he left Bandai Namco and established Miyakeyuu Studio, feeling that he would not grow any further as a musician at the company. He has continued to contribute tracks to further Bandai Namco games, and has also worked on games by other companies, including Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz and Gunslinger Stratos. He also started a side project with former Bandai Namco co-worker Yoshihito Yano, named Mikanz.[2] Miyake attended MAGFest 13 in January 2015, holding a QA conference and performing various Katamari Damacy series songs under his DJ handle of "eutron".[10] Yano also attended the event.[11]
Outside of his work in the video game industry, he has worked as a part-time lecturer at Tokyo Polytechnic University since 2014. He tries to ensure that his classes are up-to-date and as fun as possible for students.[4]
Works
editVideo games
edit| Year | Title | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Tekken 3 | Music; console version with various others | [6] |
| Tenkomori Shooting | Sound effects | [6] | |
| 1999 | Tekken Tag Tournament | Music; arcade version with various others; sound effects | [6] |
| 2000 | Tekken Tag Tournament | Music; console version with various others | [6] |
| Ridge Racer V | Music with various others | [6] | |
| Photo Battle | Music | [6] | |
| 2001 | Tekken 4 | Music; arcade version with Satoru Kōsaki and Akitaka Tohyama | [6] |
| 2002 | Tekken 4 | Music; console version with various others | [6] |
| 2003 | R: Racing Evolution | Music with various others | [12] |
| 2004 | Katamari Damacy | Music with various others; sound director | [1] |
| Tekken 5 | Music ("Red Hot Fist" and "Orbital Move"); arcade version | [13] | |
| Ridge Racers | Music ("Pulse Phaze") | [14] | |
| 2005 | Tekken 5 | Music; console version with various others | [13] |
| We Love Katamari | Music with various others; sound director, chorus ("Katamari Holiday") | [1] | |
| Cobra the Arcade | Voice recording | ||
| Ridge Racer 6 | Music ("Acid Eutron #001") | [15] | |
| Me & My Katamari | Music with various others; sound director | ||
| 2006 | Ridge Racer 7 | "Electro Madness" | |
| 2007 | Beautiful Katamari | Music ("Guru Guru Gravity" with Tetsuya Uchida and Yoshihito Yano); guitar ("Sayonara Rolling Star"); sound director | |
| 2009 | Noby Noby Boy | Music; console version with various others | [2] |
| Katamari Forever | Music with various others; sound director | [1] | |
| 2010 | Noby Noby Boy | Music; mobile version with Taku Inoue, Ryo Watanabe and Sexy-Synthesizer | [2] |
| 2011 | Touch My Katamari | Music with various others | [2] |
| Ridge Racer | Music ("Future Driven") | ||
| 2012 | Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz | Music with various others | [2] |
| Tekken Tag Tournament 2 | Music ("The Big One ~Quiet Strings Mix"); console version | ||
| 2013 | Tekken Revolution | Music ("El Condor") | |
| 2014 | Gunslinger Stratos 2 | Music ("9Elements") | [2] |
| 2015 | Persona 4: Dancing All Night | Arrangement ("Now I Know (Yuu Miyake Remix)") | |
| Synchronica | Music ("Real-Eyes") | ||
| 2016 | Tekken 7: Fated Retribution | Music ("Metallic Experience") | |
| 2017 | Tekken 7 | Music; console version with various others | |
| CROSS×BEATS | Music ("Phoenix") | ||
| 2018 | Peko Peko Sushi | Music | |
| Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight | Arrangement ("Deep Breath Deep Breath (Yuu Miyake Remix)") | ||
| 2024 | Tekken 8 | Music ("Kakuri-yo Kagura") | |
| Satoshi Yūgi Ohenro 88 | Music; sound effects | [16] |
Other
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | NHK NBA program | Opening music |
| 2002 | "Everything Needs Love" / Mondo Grosso ft. BoA | Additional programming |
| 2003 | After the Eclipse / Sun Paulo | Recording with Mitsuyoshi Kishida and Toshiyuki Mori |
| Montuno No. 5 / Qypthone | Remix ("Montuno No. 6"); German version |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Napolitano, Jayson. "Katamari Music Maestro Yu Miyake Interview". Original Sound Version. originalsoundversion.com. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greening, Chris (December 1, 2012). "Yuu Miyake Interview: Katamari Sound Director Goes Freelance". Video Game Music Online.
- ^ a b "Groovy Sauce". Qypthone.
- ^ a b c "Tone Glow 156: Yuu Miyake". Tone Glow. August 16, 2024.
- ^ Davies, Paul (August 15, 2001). "PlayStation News: Tekken 3 musicians choose Big Beat - ComputerAndVideoGames.com". ComputerandVideoGames.com. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Miyake, Yuu. "eutron music profile". eutron music. Archived from the original on April 4, 2005.
- ^ Mondo Grosso (June 25, 2003). Next Wave (CD).
- ^ "nanosounds". nanosounds. Archived from the original on March 4, 2005.
- ^ Kazuhito Udetsu (August 21, 2009). "Katamari Forever's Blog - The Music of Katamari Forever". IGN.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
- ^ "Yuu Miyake (三宅優) | MAGFest - Music and Gaming Festival". MAGFest. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Kulikowski, Patrick (20 February 2015). "MAGFest 13: Maryland, January 2015". Video Game Music Online. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Kotowski, Don (October 15, 2014). "R:Racing Evolution Direct Audio". VGMO.
- ^ a b Ciulla, Tommy (August 1, 2012). "Tekken 5 & Tekken -Dark Resurrection- Original Soundtrack". VGMO.
- ^ Greening, Chris (August 1, 2012). "Ridge Racers Direct Audio". VGMO.
- ^ Ciulla, Tommy (August 1, 2012). "Ridge Racer 6 Direct Audio". VGMO.
- ^ "「悟遊戯 OHENRO 88」開発開始PV". YouTube. April 20, 2024.
External links
edit- Yuu Miyake at IMDb
- Yuu Miyake at MobyGames