Staff Members :: Chris

Biography

I founded Square Enix Music Online at the end of June 2006 with the community of the former SquareSound. It was initially intended to be a successor to what I built at SquareSound, a site I left when the owner made it more store-based. However, over the course of its redesign, it soon became more ambitious and diverse. While the 'Square Enix' in its name reflects that music from Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, etc. will continue to be its focus, the site aims to be a general game music resource. It covers so many long-running series with its extensive album and book information, review database, concert coverage, and song lyrics. Uniquely, the site provides coverage of game music's most significant composers with authoratitive biographies and discographies. To appease fan's needs, we also provide many downloads for sheet music, album MIDIs, fan arrangements, and fan-arranged albums, as well as a Weekly MP3s feature. It is also the only English site that provides regularly updated music news from Square Enix and beyond about concerts, new releases, and whatnot.

A little about me. I'm one of the few students out there that seems to work hard if Hollyoaks is indicative of anything. I study Biochemistry at Oxford University... always a challenge for a non-genius such as myself, but fortunately always a revelation too. There are a large number of assignments set each week that consume more hours than many full-time jobs, though most of my learning is independent. Fortunately, I'm highly self-motivated and don't get stressed easily so I tend to enjoy the academic side of university life. Beyond the site and academia, I've led a fairly interesting life. I've travelled, developed a good social life, gained independence, and gone through numerous testing events. I basically work and play hard, sometimes at the sacrifice of sleep, and all because I want to. I don't know what I want to do after graduating, but postgrad is certainly an option and I still have three years to decide.

Music of all kinds is one of my principle sources of my enjoyment of life. A lot of the music I love appeals naturally. Some pieces appeal straightaway for being memorable, evocative, or, as in the case of most of Bonnie Tyler's wonderful works, simply downright fun. However, there's also a part of me that interprets music on a slightly intellectual level having been classically-trained in music theory and piano / woodwind performance. This is reflected in many reviews, whether they be savage critiques or a well-deserved album pimping, so I apologise if this (together with their notorious length) makes them inaccessible. Game music often satisfies my desire for diversity in music. Though works can be incredibly variable in terms of quality and depth, the area of music as a whole appeals to me because of the way it reflects such freedom of expression. While my roots for this appreciation come from Nobuo Uematsu and my area of speciality is Square Enix soundtracks, my all-rounding tendencies allows me to appreciate electronic, rock, old-school, and Western music in addition to what most would expect from traditional RPG soundtracks.

As a bit of a wanderer, Square Enix Music Online will remain a significant self-imposed responsibility in my life, but while it requires a huge amount of time, effort, and money to maintain it, I will happily contribute towards doing so. Why? This site means an incredibly large amount to me and I enjoy contributing to it, driven by my passion for music and writing. If I have anything to ask of the visitors here, it is to appreciate the hard work of the wonderful supporting staff here. Without their enthusiasm, dedication, and selflessness, I know that this site would be nothing now. If you ever want to make us happier and ensure we continue, be sure to visit regularly and consider contributing or supporting us. Thank you for reading, enjoy the site, and never hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Site Role

As the site's webmaster, founder, and owner, I oversee all content additions, pay the bills, administer the forum, and lead the staff and contributor team. I update the site on a regular basis to deal with all review submissions, maintain the composer section of the site, and add album information, lyrics, et al when needed. I am, however, not principally responsible for arrangements submissions, music news, and anything graphic design related, which is a relief!

Review-wise, often unintentionally, I seem to be the site's leading reviewer of Final Fantasy, Zelda, Gradius, Disgaea, Parasite Eve, Mario Sports, and Sakuraba arranged music. I also try to expose some early rare albums whenever I get the chance. I'm about to embark on a quest to become the most prolific Capcom music reviewer in the galaxy so expect the results of that in the next few months. Don't expect to see any Koichi Sugiyama or Noriyuki Iwadare reviews from me any time soon. Having to create their endless album pages made me a tad resentful...

Contributed Reviews