30 Sep 2009 - Lots More Final Fantasy XIII Music Details

The Final Fantasy XIII official website has been updated. It features a extended new trailer that features a beautiful chorale, a militaristic action theme, and a sample of the theme song. In addition, the official site features three pieces of background music that appear at random on entering. There is a previously released piano-based piece, a rarer battle theme, and a brand new orchestrated theme that only comes up occasionally. You can hear each theme by refreshing the main page and hoping you get lucky.

Hamauzu has also talked about the project in his blog. Aside the regular battle theme and event music, most of the soundtrack was composed in just the past year. Due to that tough schedule, Hamauzu solely determined the direction of the score and involved other staffs only in the post-composition process (e.g. mixing, arranging, recording, or orchestrating). The method he took was to work on 20-30 tracks simultaneously in one month and to submit them in bulks to the director. By starting to working on another track once he got stuck with one, he apparently could quickly finish composing a couple dozen tracks without a slump.

In addition, Yoshihasa Hirano's official website has confirmed a few details about the orchestral recordings. He confirms that the orchestral tracks for the game were recorded for Warsaw Symphony Orchestra in Poland. It's highly likely that Hirano orchestrated the scores, returning from his role on Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, though he doesn't officially confirm this role. This is one of several recent examples of Japanese composers outsourcing their orchestral performances to the more experienced orchestras of Europe.

Source: Square Enix Music (Thanks PQTN / Don / Eric)
Discuss: FFXIII Music Discussion