WThe Earthbound Papas are a Japanese progressive rock/metal band performing songs and interpretations of music from video games, notably including the Final Fantasy series. Nobuo Uematsu, the acclaimed composer of music in the Final Fantasy series, formed the band after his previous band, The Black Mages, disbanded in 2010. In addition to new arrangements of some Final Fantasy tracks, they have also arranged tracks from other projects that featured Uematsu as a composer and they have produced original compositions for the band's albums.
WFinal Symphony is a symphonic concert tour first held at the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal in Wuppertal (Germany) on May 11, 2013. To date, it has seen 22 performances worldwide. The concert tour features arrangements of video game music selected from the Final Fantasy series, specifically Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X. It is divided into three acts: a symphonic poem for VI, a piano concerto for X, and a symphony for VII. The concert is produced and directed by Thomas Böcker, with arrangements provided by Finnish composer and musician Jonne Valtonen, along with Roger Wanamo and Final Fantasy X composer Masashi Hamauzu with consultation from Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. The original works were composed by Uematsu and Hamauzu, and an introductory piece was composed by Valtonen. The premiere concert was performed by the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra under conduction from Eckehard Stier, with guest performer Benyamin Nuss joining the orchestra on piano.
WFinal Symphony II is a symphonic concert tour first held at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Germany on August 29, 2015. The concert tour features arrangements of video game music selected from the Final Fantasy series, specifically Final Fantasy V, VIII, IX, and XIII. It is divided into four acts, one per game, with the newest game, Final Fantasy XIII, first, and the oldest, V, last; all four arrangements are single-section arrangements, with the IX portion as a piano concerto. The tour is a follow up to Final Symphony, a similar tour of orchestral arrangement performances from Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X beginning in 2013 and continuing to date. The concert is produced and directed by Thomas Böcker of Merregnon Studios, with arrangements provided by Finnish composer and musician Jonne Valtonen, along with Roger Wanamo and Final Fantasy XIII composer Masashi Hamauzu. The original works were composed by Nobuo Uematsu and Hamauzu, and an introductory piece was composed by Valtonen. The premiere concert was performed by the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn under conduction from Eckehard Stier, with guest performer Mischa Cheung joining the orchestra on piano.
W"Kimi ga Iru Kara" is a song recorded by Sayuri Sugawara as her second single. The single was released on December 2, 2009 by For Life Music. The song is the theme song for the Japanese release of Final Fantasy XIII. The B-side, "Eternal Love" was also used in the game as the insert song. The other B-side, "Christmas Again" samples a piece of Franz Liszt's work.
W"Kiss Me Good-Bye" is the third single by Japanese singer Angela Aki, and is the theme song of Final Fantasy XII. It was written by Aki, composed by Nobuo Uematsu and arranged by Kenichiro Fukui. Although the title version of the single is in Japanese, the version included in the game is sung in English. The single was released on March 15, 2006. The song peaked at number six on the Oricon charts.
W"Redemption" is a single released by Japanese musician Gackt on January 25, 2006. It peaked at third place on the Oricon singles chart and charted for twelve weeks. In 2006, it was the 83rd best selling single with sales of 124,955 copies, making it to be Gackt's eighth best selling single. The "Longing" and "Redemption" were theme songs of the video game Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. It was certified gold by RIAJ.
W"Stand by Me" is a song originally performed in 1961 by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King and written by him, along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who together used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called "Stand by Me Father," recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. The third line of the second verse of the former work derives from Psalm 46:2c/3c.
WSymphonic Fantasies: Music from Square Enix was an award-winning symphonic tribute concert originally held in Cologne, Germany on September 12, 2009, at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall featuring video game music from Japanese game developer Square Enix. The concert featured symphonic movements based on the Kingdom Hearts series, Secret of Mana, the Chrono series, and the Final Fantasy series. It was produced and directed by Thomas Böcker, with arrangements provided by Finnish composer and musician Jonne Valtonen with assistance by Roger Wanamo. Due to overwhelming demand, a second concert was added at the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen, on September 11, 2009. Both performances were by the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and the WDR Radio Choir Cologne under conduction from Arnie Roth, with guest performers Rony Barrak and Benyamin Nuss joining the orchestra. Symphonic Fantasies was broadcast over radio on the WDR4 station and streamed live video online.
WVoices of the Lifestream is an unofficial tribute album released by OverClocked ReMix in honor of Nobuo Uematsu's score for the popular video game, Final Fantasy VII. The album was released on September 14, 2007, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII. Since its release, the collection has received praise from numerous video game sites and professional composers.