Are you bored at work? Sitting in your cubicle in grim silence? Or are you bored at home? Sick of the same playlist all the time? If Pandora’s 40 hour per month limit has you down, you should head over to FinalFantasyRadio.net.

You may have noticed our recent affiliation with this site. In addition to being run by some cool people, you can make whatever you’re doing sound more epic from music primarily from Final Fantasy. There is also music having anything to do with FF or Uematsu, and even classic video game tunes completely unrelated. They have an intuitive automated request system if there’s a particular song you would like to hear. And if a DJ is on you can simply request a track from them in the chat box. You also may hear songs or versions of songs you never knew about as plenty of covers and OCRemixes are also frequently played.

It will play on most music players and they even offer a browser toolbar. Featuring concerts, live playthroughs of Final Fantasy games, and the chatbox provides great distraction. I know my workdays have improved dramatically. So do yourself a favor and check it out.

"Rude, why the hell did you request Eyes on Me? I was enjoying the flight."

Classical pianist Benyamin Nuss will release his debut album for the record label Universal Music (Deutsche Grammophon/DECCA) this summer.

Entitled Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu, the album will commemorate Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu’s music with a wide range of creative and evocative piano arrangements. The album promises to demonstrate Nuss’ virtuoso technique and will transfer his emotional connection with the music to the audience. To be released this summer, it will be the first time game music has ever been commemorated by a major classical label and promises to be the greatest game music piano album ever released.

While still at the start of a promising career, Nuss already has several eminent recordings behind him. Last year, he recorded Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with the WDR Radio Orchestra and performed Shimomura’s Kingdom Hearts fantasia at the game music concert Symphonic Fantasies – Music from Square Enix. Now 21, he is signed to the world’s biggest record label, Universal Music, and aims to appeal to game music fans and classical listeners alike with his most momentous production to date.

Classics from Nobuo Uematsu’s Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy IX will headline the album. The composer’s latest RPG scores will also feature, alongside a surprising tribute to one of his first composition works. While the majority of the arrangements are dedicated to specific pieces, listeners should also expect three expansive suites, dedicated to Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and, of course, Final Fantasy VII. Readers should check back in coming days for full details on the track listings for the album. Featuring wonderful melodies, pioneering arrangers, and a passionate pianist, Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu is the most ambitious game music piano production of all time and looks set to at last bridge the worlds of classical and game music. The album will be released by Universal Music on September 17, 2010.

A big thanks to Square Enix Music for bringing us this interesting bit of info. This album sounds like pure awesomesauce to me. Check out the link to their site for more info on Benyamin Nuss and his career.

So, given how long Voices of the Lifestream has been in existence, we’re not sure how many of you haven’t heard of it before, but since we here at Thelifestream.net are into all things Final Fantasy Seven and want to encourage fan projects of all sorts, we figured we’d tell everyone who wasn’t already aware know about this awesome fan orchestrated remix album to the great songs of Final Fantasy Seven, and let you listen to these awesome arrangements at the same time.

(more…)

In a Wired magazine article showcasing the works of Nobuo Uematsu, an interesting piece of information was revealed on the composer’s work and his relations with Square Enix as of today.

Uematsu left Square Enix in 2004, going freelance and establishing his own music production company and record label. He stepped back from Final Fantasy for a while, handing off composing duties to in-house composers while exploring a variety of other freelance game projects. A week ago, Square Enix announced that Uematsu would return to score Final Fantasy XIV.

Uematsu says he’s also composing the soundtracks to two more Square Enix games that will be announced later this year. He’s also working on a solo album of music for children. The album will be released in both Japanese and English, as a nod to his worldwide fans.

What could those two unnamed titles be? Check out the rest of the article for more info on the man behind the music of Final Fantasy.

SQUARE-ENIX released a mini-album to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete today.

Tracklist:

・「The Chase of Highway[FFVII ACC Version]」

・「Those Who Fight Further [FFVII ACC Version]」

・「Sign – ACC Long Version」

・「Aerith Theme[FFVII ACC Version]」

・「Advent: One-Winged Angel[FFVII ACC Version]」

・「On the Way to a Smile – EPISODE DENZEL -」

You can find the musics at the iTunes and Mora services.

Source: FF7AC reunion