“Is AI music really what people want? »: meeting with Nobuo Uematsu, the star composer of the Final Fantasy saga

This is a rare event for fans of Japanese video games. Three years after his last visit to France, the Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu, made worldwide famous by his work on the Final Fantasy video game saga, is performing this Saturday evening at the Salle Pleyel in Paris as part of a short European tour.

But spectators should not expect to hear all evening the melodies that he composed for the publisher Square Enix from the 1980s to the beginning of the 2000s. His show is hybrid. We hear him, alone on stage, reinterpreting music from Final Fantasy with his synthesizer; but we also witness a musical tale narrated by actress Rie Tozuka, and songs from Final Fantasy as well as other much less known works by the composer, performed by singer Sarah Àlainn. The latter is known for having performed the closing song of the role-playing game Xenoblade Chronicles. “A little Final Fantasy, a little reading, a little weird original songs, all this avoids weariness for the viewer. All I want is for the audience to be happy.”explains Figaro Nobuo Uematsu.

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“There is no greater pleasure for an artist than to see the public react to his musicâ€

The latter stands out from many other video game music composers by multiplying the concerts where he performs on stage, alongside other musicians. “It’s simple, there is no greater pleasure for an artist than to see the public react to his musicâ€he smiles. After lending himself to rock with the groups The Black Mages then Earthbound Papas, Nobuo Uematsu created the group conTIKI at the beginning of the 2020s, which includes the cellist Nubia but also two former colleagues from Square: Chihiro Fujioka and Michio Okamiya. The first was director of the Super Mario RPG game and the second was co-producer of the game Final Fantasy Tactics, as well as a member of the advertising department of the Japanese publisher.

“We started by performing in bars to play a few songs. But it was in 2023 that we designed a real 90-minute show.”continues the musician. “We first played it in France and Belgium, before starting a tour in Japan.”remembers actress Rie Tozuka. “I joined the band 2 or 3 weeks before the first concert, to replace guitarist Yasushi Yokokawa at short notice, who had a problem with finger paralysis. Nobuo called me for a drink and to ask if I felt I could remember the songs in such a short time. I can’t refuse him anything because it’s an honor!”laughs Michio Okamiya, who was also part of the rock band The Black Mages. “With rock, and all loud music, you can make mistakes and no one will notice. With music from a group like conTiki, you can no longer hide your mistakes. It’s a challenge that I found interesting.”ajoute Nobuo Uematsu.

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Another challenge for the musician, that of having composed for the producer Thomas Böcker a symphonic tale for children (Merreugnon Heart of Ice), which will be played next month at the Philharmonie de Paris. “It was a job offer that I received, and which required a lot of work and energy. I wanted to compose music for children.” he explains.

“I don’t want to be influenced by recent musicâ€

Nobuo Uematsu claims to be self-taught. “I would have been incapable of competing with real musicians, so I understood very young that I had to stand out in a different way. That’s why I listened to other types of music than Japanese music, which I already considered acquired naturally.”he emphasizes. He cites among his youth references Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, Elton John, Michel Polnareff, Weather Report but also the rock groups Yes or Genesis.

The composer says he only listens to the music of his youth today. “I don’t listen to new music, especially not the radio, and not video game music. I don’t want to be influenced by recent music. And you know, I still have so much to learn from the music I listened to when I was young… I haven’t finished this quest. I’m not done with itMiles Davis for example.” Is he worried about the emergence of AI music? “That doesn’t interest meâ€he decides. “But I wonder, is this really what people want? If so, for someone who only listens to music in the background while jogging, maybe that might be enough, but what about listening to music that brings tears to your eyes? Or to be interested in musicians, who they are, how they met, in what context they lived… AI does not yet allow this, for lack of context or history.”

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Nobuo Uematsu’s early years as a musician were difficult. “From the age of 22 to 26, I sent my demo tapes but no one responded. I didn’t have a job, so I literally couldn’t eat enough. Only Square ended up wanting me. Hironobu Sakaguchi [cocréateur de l'entreprise et futur réalisateur et producteur des premiers Final Fantasy] had a very good ear!”he smiles. From these years of hardship, Nobuo Uematsu, now 67 years old, has retained the need to work constantly.

Tireless worker

The self-taught man was employed by Square Enix from 1986, where he composed some of the most famous music in video game history. He left in 2004 to create his own label. In particular, in the following years he composed the soundtracks for games by Hironobu Sakaguchi, who also left Square, such as Blue Dragon, The Last Story, Terra Battle, Fantasian or Lost Odyssey (which did not sell enough in Japan to give rise to new concerts, he confides), while continuing to work occasionally with his former employer. Over the last five years, he has written the songs for Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth.

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In 2024, Nobuo Uematsu decided to stop composing entire soundtracks without completely stopping video game music. Last year, he said he wanted to work with independent game studios. “Nothing has been done yet but things are under discussion”he confides, before adding with a laugh “give me a job!” Addressed to French game studios. “But I would like it to be conTIKI who performs the music that I composeâ€he insists.

The sixty-year-old confides leading “a very quiet life” rhythm every day of the mÃame manià ̈re, mÃame on the weekend. “I get up around 5 or 6 o’clock, I eat, I take my dog ​​out, I manage my emails, and I work all afternoon before taking my dog ​​out, taking a bath and drinking a beer. This is my routine!”he smiles. The latter, however, was broken by his tours around the world. The European part of conTIKI 2026 ends this Saturday with the Parisian concert. “I know perfectly well what I am going to do when I return to Japan. Everything is planned »concludes the tireless musician.