Artist Interview: Shinji Hosoe and SuperSweep Team

Are you familiar with legendary composer Shinji Hosoe and his studio, SuperSweep? Hosoe-san has worked on key franchises across his decades of experience, making a name for himself as a master of electronic music and shmup titles in the early days, and establishing the sounds for franchises such as Zero Escape, Ridge Racer, and Street Fighter EX. He’s a sought after arranger, having worked on arrange albums for Nintendo (Dr. Mario, Metroid Fusion), Mega Man, Ragnarok Online, Phantasy Star, and more. He also serves the game music community through SuperSweep Records, continuing to publish game music on CD format in Japan.

Read his full biography, credits list, and hear some sample music on his Scarlet Moon Artists page. Check below for an interview with Hosoe-san about his style, inspirations, and collaboration with Scarlet Moon.


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Artist Interview: Hiroki Kikuta

While Hiroki Kikuta is best known for his SNES-era scores to Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana, he’s also been an indie game developer himself, and worked on productions big and small, from his time doing a lot of eroge titles and original works up through his partnership with Scarlet Moon where he’s constantly in demand to contribute to indie RPGs. His biggest titles recently include Indivisible, Trinity Trigger, Infinity Knights: Xross, and Visions of Mana.

Read his full biography, credits list, and hear some sample music on his Scarlet Moon Artists page. Check below for an interview with Hiroki Kikuta about his style, inspirations, and collaboration with Scarlet Moon.


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Artist Interview: Peter Reid Jones

We’ve had the pleasure of working with Peter Reid Jones hot off his work on the RWBY animated series. Since that time, we’ve worked on over a dozen indie game titles and counting. We admire Peter’s versatility, enthusiasm, and can-do attitude. Hear his incredible work in RWBY: Arrowfell, Evil Tonight, Dark Deception, and many more.

Read his full biography, credits list, and hear some sample music on his Scarlet Moon Artists page. Check below for an interview with Peter Reid Jones about his style, inspirations, and collaboration with Scarlet Moon.


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Artist Interview: Ken “coda” Snyder

Ken “coda” Snyder is definitely our retro music extraordinaire, making a name for himself in the chiptune scene. He is versatile, however, writing music in a variety of retro and modern formats, touching on everything from pop and electronic to rock and more. His biggest works in the indie game space include his FM score to Read Only Memories: Neurodiver and his upbeat electronic contributions to the Drive Ahead! series. He’s also a popular arranger, having contributed remixes to Shovel Knight, Fez, and Duke Nukem 3D.

Read his full biography, credits list, and hear some sample music on his Scarlet Moon Artists page. Check below for an interview with coda about his style, inspirations, and collaboration with Scarlet Moon.


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Wizardry Variants Daphne Original Soundtrack (BSPE-1229~30)

Hitoshi Sakimoto is once again contributing to the biggest RPG franchises across the industry. While not a total stranger to Wizardry, having contributed to Wizardry Gaiden: Prisoners of the Battles and Wizardry Gaiden: Five Ordeals, Wizardry Variants Daphne is his first full Wizardry score. While many fans knowhis signature fantasy orchestral sound, he actually got his start doing electronic music, and this time he is able to blend both sides seamlessly to create some really cool soundscapes, with key themes and stingers weaved throughout to tell the game’s story through sound. The two-disc collection with English and Japanese track titles, Japanese commentary, and images from the game is certainly worth your attention.

As to the music, expect dark and foreboding soundscapes. Sweeping strings, but with guttural electronic bass swells. Live folk instruments, but with crystalline synth pads. It’s a great combination of styles with a number of surprising moments. Key themes include the somber opener, “Distant Memories,” which will have Sakimoto fans feeling right at home, and the pop-infused main theme that features throughout in “Wizardry Variants Daphne.” Electronic elements are highlighted in different ways across tracks such as the otherworldly “Tales of the Abyss,” the growly “Inhuman,” and the distant and menacing “Port of Amnesia.” The orchestral/instrumental side is emphasized with the regal “Royal Capital Luknaia,” the spunky “Adventurer’s Guild,” the inspirational “Battle Cry,” the spectacular organ piece “Beginning Abyss,” the melancholy “Endless Rain,” and the folksy and somber “A Day in a Castle Town.” The two sides come together closely in “A Life for a Life,” an intense hybrid with synth arpeggios and explosive brass, “Great Calamity,” a chaotic and epic final battle theme, and “Final Destination,” a sci-fi theme with glistening synths and fantastic strings. Moods range from desolate, desperate, reflective, and downright terrifying to triumphant and adventurous. It’s really a fun listening experience.

Those who are interested can import the Wizardry Variants Daphne soundtrack from CD Japan or stream it on Apple Music.

Interview: Electronic Duo mojera

We have been longtime fans of composer Mitsuto Suzuki. His solo electronic albums are some of our favorites. It was therefore exciting to see Suzuki-san launch mojera, an electronic duo featuring himself and vocalist non. Their debut album, overkill, was released in 2020, and the duo recently followed this up with arika EP. In the interim, the duo has contributed to several Scarlet Moon Christmas albums, including this year’s volume, always with unconventional picks for holiday arrangements. We are thrilled to get in a word with Suzuki-san and non about their albums, contributions to Scarlet Moon Christmas, and how mojera differs from the work they do for their day jobs.

Read the interview below:


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Artist Interview: Goomin “Nauts” Nam

Goomin “Nauts” Nam is a renowned composer in his native South Korea, and as a game music enthusiast, I’ve been a longtime fan. When I started Scarlet Moon, it was important to create awareness around the amazing game music coming out of South Korea, including that of Goomin with his work Monarch: Heroes of a New Age, which was one of the first releases on our label. He’s worked on popular titles such as Ragnarok Online, DJMAX, Bar Oasis, Langrisser, and so many more, bringing his incredible melodic sensibilities and production to fans around the globe.

Read his full biography, credits list, and hear some sample music on his Scarlet Moon Artists page. Check below for an interview with Goomin Nam about his style, inspirations, and collaboration with Scarlet Moon.


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Artist Interview: Yuko Komiyama

Yuko Komiyama is a composer with style! Fans know her work across the Monster Hunter series, but she’s also contributed to the Mega Man X, FINAL FANTASY, and Contra series, and to brands ranging from Disney to Pokémon.

Read her full biography, credits list, and hear some sample music on her Scarlet Moon Artists page. Check below for an interview with Yuko Komiyama about her style, inspirations, and collaboration with Scarlet Moon.


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Artist Interview: Nami Nakagawa

Nami Nakagawa is most famous for her vocal work on the original NieR and the Demon Slayer anime series, but we find her versatility, being able to sing in Japanese folk, pop, and even “children” vocal styles and her relentless public service as a volunteer for various causes throughout to Japan to be even bigger reasons why we love to work with her so much.

Read her full biography, credits list, and hear some sample music on her Scarlet Moon Artists page. Check below for an interview with Nami Nakagawa about her style, inspirations, and collaboration with Scarlet Moon.


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Scarlet Moon Holiday Gift Guide 2024

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! While you’re listening to our annual Christmas album featuring Scarlet Moon Artists and friends, we’ve compiled some physical game music goodies perfect for you or the game music enthusiast on your shopping list. Some of the larger items, like vinyl, can fit nicely under a tree, while the CDs make for excellent stocking stuffers. See the full list below!


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