Nobuyoshi Sano (佐野 信義, Sano Nobuyoshi, born January 19, 1969), better known as sanodg, is a Japanese video game composer, musician and record producer. He is best known for scoring tracks for the Ridge Racer and Tekken series, as well as Drakengard.

Nobuyoshi Sano
佐野 信義
Also known assanodg
Born (1969-01-19) January 19, 1969 (age 55)
Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan
Genres
Occupations
  • Composer
  • musician
  • producer
Instruments
  • Piano
  • synthesizer
Years active1992–present

Biography

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Early life

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In elementary school, Sano listened to Yellow Magic Orchestra and played Space Invaders, gaining interest in both video games and music. Prior to joining Namco, he had no inclination towards composing video game music,[1] although he did write music with various synths as a hobby.[2] The first synth he bought was a Korg MS-10, while he borrowed other synths from friends as he could not afford those.[3] During his time at university, he studied telecommunication engineering.[4]

Namco (1992–2001)

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After graduating from university in 1992, Sano found two jobs for Korg and Namco. As he felt that the atmosphere of Korg's workplace was stoic and unwelcoming, he settled with a position as a sound designer at Namco.[3] Sano's first project was Zombie Castle, which he created the sound effects for. The following year, he composed the score of Numan Athletics, taking inspiration from techno. Sano also scored "Rare Hero" for Ridge Racer, a series he has composed additional music for since. During his early years at the company, he worked closely with senior composer Shinji Hosoe on several game projects, along with Ayako Saso, Takayuki Aihara and junior composer Hiroto Sasaki. He contributed several tracks to albums on Hosoe's Troubadour Record label and was also a member of his groups, Oriental Magnetic Yellow (OMY) and Manikyua-Dan.[3] OMY was a group parodying Yellow Magic Orchestra, where he was named Ryuichi Sanomoto, parodying Ryuichi Sakamoto.[5]

Following the departure of Hosoe along with co-workers Saso and Aihara who all joined Arika, Sano composed for Tekken 3 in 1996 with Keiichi Okabe. Serving as the sound director, he took a big beat approach to the music with a slower tempo than the music found in previous games,[1] as this genre had not previously been utilized in games.[4] Game director Katsuhiro Harada initially did not understand the big beat direction, but Sano was able to convince him that it would work well in the series.[6] During development, a tester criticized the music and wanted the music to sound closer to Virtua Fighter; this angered Sano, although the report was dismissed.[7] Both Sano and Okabe later worked on the PS1 version along with other colleagues, as well as both the arcade and PS2 versions of Tekken Tag Tournament. In 2000, Sano composed two tracks for Ridge Racer V, whose soundtrack was directed by Kohta Takahashi, who selected "cutting edge" artists and composers to contribute to the soundtrack, including colleague Yuu Miyake and German trance musician Mijk van Dijk.[8] At the time it had been 5 years since he last worked on a game in the series, and he did not expect to have ever become involved again.[9] His final in-house work at Namco was sound design for the unreleased game Starblade: Operation Blue Planet.

Cavia (2001–2010)

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In 2001, Sano left Namco citing unhappiness with its recent developments, and subsequently joined Cavia as a sound director.[1] With Takayuki Aihara, Sano composed Drakengard, which released in 2003. Their goal was to create an experimental soundtrack that reflected the hack-and-slash gameplay and dark atmosphere, as well as the narrative theme of "madness." The music was composed through sampling various shortened pieces of classical music, and was then performed by a full orchestra.[10][11] Sano and Aihara also sought to emulate the music of Northern Europe.[12] The soundtrack received a mixed reception from users, many of whom harshly criticized it for being repetitive and grating.[13] He detailed experiences of reading large volumes of negative comments surrounding the music on 2ch on a daily basis, which was much more than he had initially anticipated.[1] However, it has also been praised for its unconventional approach, especially years after the game was released. As a result of the initial reception, his role in Drakengard 2 was limited to sound direction.[14]

In addition to Drakengard, Sano composed the soundtrack of Resident Evil: Dead Aim, using a synth-heavy score inspired by Goblin. For 2004's Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Sano took inspiration from drum and bass to match the game’s sense of speed.[1] In 2006, Sano released a compilation album titled sanodg works, featuring a selection of tracks he considers to be his best. While the album was originally planned to include his work on the Ridge Racer and Tekken series, legal issues prevented their inclusion.[14][15] The same year, he produced a collaborative album with the company Melody Clip, titled FM Sound Module Maniax, featuring tracks from various video game composers written with FM synthesis, such as fellow ex-Namco composers Hosoe and Okabe, and famed composers Yoko Shimomura and Yuzo Koshiro. Ringtone versions were also distributed on Melody Clip free of charge.[16] Some composers chose not to exclusively utilize FM synths for their compositions, feeling that it was difficult to compose entirely with them.[17] He also served as the music supervisor for Bullet Witch; he requested then-SuperSweep composer Masashi Yano to participate due to his expertise with Hollywood-inspired orchestral scores. Yano and Sano were originally going to collaborate on the score, with Yano composing orchestral parts and Sano handling breakbeat and bass. After Sano combined their parts together, it resulted in a hybrid of orchestral and techno; he was dissatisfied with the results and left Yano to compose the entire score alone.[18]

Sano designed and produced KORG DS-10 for Nintendo DS.[19] He formed a trio of the same name consisting of himself, Yasunori Mitsuda and Michio Okamiya in order to promote the program.[20] The three had spoken about their interest in creating a synthesizer for the DS; Korg approved of this idea.[13] He intended it to be used for any genre the user desired to create music in, rather than a particular genre like chiptune or techno.[21] He also chose to model the synth on the Korg MS-10 as he bought this synth during his teenage years, and also felt that the DS vaguely resembled the synth.[22][23]

Detune (2010–present)

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Following Cavia's disbandment, Sano established Detune, a music software production company in May 6, 2010.[24] Detune developed a follow-up to KORG DS-10 titled KORG M01, intended as a DS version of the Korg M1 synth.[25] In 2012, Detune released iYM2151, a music program for the iPad based on the Yamaha YM2151 sound chip.[26] In the same year, Sano composed "Algorithm" for the game Orgarythm using iYM2151.[27] The following year, a Nintendo 3DS eShop version of KORG M01 was released worldwide, titled KORG M01D.[25] In 2014, he released a compilation album titled sanodg's arcade game music works, which features the soundtracks of four arcade games he worked on during his time at Namco.[28] During 2016 to 2017 he created a series of EDM-styled albums with Hiroyoshi Kato, the first of which was titled EDM IS GAME.[29]

He will score the upcoming mobile FMV game Clive is a Good Guy, developed by British game studio Indolent Games and set to be released in 2024. Upon seeing images of the game he described it as having a "very artistic feeling" compared to Japanese mobile games, and is particularly pleased to work on the game.[30]

Works

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Video games

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Year Title Notes
1993 Zombie Castle Sound effects
Numan Athletics Music
Eight Line Music; sound effects
Ridge Racer Music ("Rare Hero")
1994 Attack of the Zolgear Sound effects and editing; with Hiroto Sasaki
Ridge Racer 2 Music ("Grip" and "Rare Hero 2")
1995 Mach Breakers: Numan Athletics 2 Music with Hiroto Sasaki, Shinji Hosoe and Ayako Saso; sound direction
Tekken PS1 version; arrangements with various others
Ridge Racer LD Music with Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso and Takayuki Aihara
Rave Racer Music with Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso and Takayuki Aihara
Dirt Dash Music ("Hill")
Dunk Mania Music
Cyber Cycles Music ("Bahama")
1996 Xevious 3D/G Arcade version; music ("Area 4" and "Boss 4")
Tekken 2 PS1 version; arrangements with various others
Prop Cycle Music ("Wind Woods")
Dancing Eyes Music ("Angel Stage" and "Angel Motion")
1997 Tekken 3 Arcade version; music with Keiichi Okabe
Xevious 3D/G+ Console version; music ("Area 4" and "Boss 4")
1998 Tekken 3 PS1 version; music with various others
Gunmen Wars Music
1999 Tekken Tag Tournament Arcade version; music with various others
2000 Tekken Tag Tournament PS2 version; music with various others
World Kicks Music
Ridge Racer V Music ("Paris" and "RareHero2000")
2001 Taiko no Tatsujin Vocals ("Kimi ni, Romantic")
Unreleased Starblade: Operation Blue Planet Sound effects
2002 One Piece - Big Secret Treasure of the Seven Phantom Islands Sound direction
2003 Resident Evil: Dead Aim Music
Drakengard Music with Takayuki Aihara
2004 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Music; sound direction
Ridge Racer Music ("Chrome Drive" and "Rareheroes")
2005 Tekken 5 PS2 version; music with various others
Drakengard 2 Sound director
Ridge Racer 6 Music ("Floodlight" and "Radiance")
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Arrangement ("Martial Medicine")
2006 Bullet Witch Sound director; vocal arrangements
Ridge Racer 2 Music ("Paris Remix")
Ridge Racer 7 Music ("Hard Drive" and "Onyx")
2007 Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles Sound management
2008 Beatmania IIDX 14: Gold CS Music ("Playball")
KORG DS-10 Design with Yasunori Mitsuda
Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Music ("Sidechained Threats")
2009 BQLSI STAR LASER Sound design
KORG DS-10 PLUS Design with Yasunori Mitsuda
2010 LightBike 2 Music
Criminal Girls Music ("I Love You")
KORG M01 Design with Yasunori Mitsuda
Taiko no Tatsujin 14 Music ("Taiko Time")
2011 Taiko no Tatsujin Portable DX Vocals ("Boku wa Synth")
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade version; music with various others
Ridge Racer Music ("Virtuoso")
2012 iYM2151 Design
Ridge Racer Unbounded Music ("Down & Under")
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz Music with various others
Orgarhythm Music ("Algorithm")
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Console versions; music with various others
maimai PLUS Arrangement ("Space Harrier Main Theme [Reborn]")
2013 Tekken Revolution Music ("Lunar Fringe Theories")
KORG M01D Design
Drakengard 3 Music ("Exhaustion 3")
2014 KORG DSN-12 Design
TorqueL Music
2015 Tekken 7 Arcade version; music ("The Day Before the Glass Matrix")
Cosmic Break 2 Music
Groove Coaster 2 Original Style Music with various others
2017 Kakuriyo no Mon Music ("Yosen Hirasaka")
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Sound direction
Moeyo! Kung-Fu Lady Dragon Music ("Kokaku Stage (Seiryumon)")
2019 Beatmania IIDX 27: Heroic Verse Music ("Duration")
2021 Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139... Audio supervison
2024 Tekken 8 Music ("Hangar Rules")
Clive is a Good Guy Music

Anime

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Year Title Notes
2009 Arad Senki: Slap Up Party Music ("XXX")
2013 Genshiken: Second Season Music ("SUMIRE #propaganda")
Yowamushi Pedal Music ("Are!!")
2018 The Journey Home Music ("Trust Me")

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Chris, Greening (August 11, 2014). "Nobuyoshi Sano Interview: Musical and Technical Innovator". Video Game Music Online. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Man Behind iYM2151". MATRIXSYNTH. May 10, 2012. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "ゲームミュージック&アニメ専門店". ga-core. June 10, 2009. Archived from the original on November 30, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Davies, Paul (August 15, 2001). "PlayStation News: Tekken 3 musicians choose Big Beat - ComputerAndVideoGames.com" (PDF). ComputerandVideoGames.com. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "OMY". Troubadour Record.
  6. ^ "Extended Play: How Tekken 3 made everybody love kung-fu fighting". PlayStation Blog. June 8, 2017.
  7. ^ "ゲームミュージック&アニメ専門店 ga-core - ジーエー・コア -" (in Japanese). June 17, 2009. Archived from the original on August 26, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  8. ^ Greening, Chris (June 15, 2011). "Kohta Takahashi Interview: Cutting-Edge Namco Scores". WGMO.
  9. ^ Sano, Nobuyoshi. "RIDGE RACER V 開発者リレーエッセイ/第7回:サウンドチーム【2】". Bandai Namco Entertainment.
  10. ^ Ben, Schweitzer. "Drag-on Dragoon Original Soundtrack :: Liner Notes Translated by Ben Schweitzer". Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  11. ^ Ishida, Katsuo (November 10, 2003). "「ドラッグ オン ドラグーン」 サウンドクリエイター インタビュー". GAME Watch (in Japanese).
  12. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (May 22, 2003). "Drakengard Interview". IGN. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "GameSetInterview: Korg DS Trio Talk App Creation, EXTRA Concert". GameSetWatch. December 11, 2008. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "ゲームミュージック&アニメ専門店 ga-core - ジーエー・コア -" (in Japanese). June 26, 2009. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  15. ^ Sano, Nobuyoshi (2006). ""sanodg works"". sanodg. Archived from the original on November 1, 2006.
  16. ^ "Melody Clip♪". Famitsu. Archived from the original on August 20, 2006.
  17. ^ "いまの時代だからこそFM音源がイイ――そして超大型野外ゲームフェスを企む佐野電磁氏の野望". ITmedia. March 27, 2006.
  18. ^ Bullet Witch / Staff Blog / 2006年6月 (in Japanese). Bullet Witch Official Blog. Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  19. ^ "The Nintendo DS is your instrument: the Korg DS-10". Ars Technica. November 9, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  20. ^ "Game Music Superstars Plan Tokyo Concert". Wired.com. September 8, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  21. ^ Mielke, James (July 25, 2008). "Korg DS-10 Developer Interview". 1Up.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011.
  22. ^ North, Dale (November 14, 2008). "Destructoid interview: KORG DS-10 producer Nobuyoshi Sano". Destructoid.
  23. ^ Maekawa, Makoto (October 6, 2010). "シンセな恋の物語". Rooftop (in Japanese).
  24. ^ "株式会社DETUNE" (in Japanese). Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Interview: KORG M01D Creator Nobuyoshi Sano Talks About Making Sweet Music On The 3DS eShop". Nintendo Life. November 18, 2013.
  26. ^ "『【ナムコ世代必見】iPadに降臨した、FM音源の皇帝「iYM2151」" (in Japanese). ASCII. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  27. ^ "『orgarhythm(オルガリズム)』でDETUNE佐野電磁氏とのコラボ楽曲が配信開始" (in Japanese). Famitsu. December 20, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  28. ^ Greening, Chris (April 12, 2014). "Nobuyoshi Sano prepares three new album releases". Video Game Music Online.
  29. ^ Greening, Chris (April 24, 2016). "Nobuyoshi Sano and Hiroyoshi Kato to team up for new EDM album". Video Game Music Online.
  30. ^ "Legendary games composer Nobuyoshi Sano boards Mobile FMV Game Clive is a Good Guy". EIN Presswire. July 13, 2023.