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Takahito Eguchi
BiographyThis biography was written by Chris exclusively for use at Square Enix Music Online. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission, as this is a violation of copyright. Takahito Eguchi, born in 1974 in Nagasaki, has a deep-rooted musical background. His interest in music started at 6 after hearing the sound of a neighbor's piano. Mesmerized, he would sit outside the owner's house, listening, practically every day. While his parents did not come from a musical environment, his dad pushing him into athletics, they eventually agreed to let him take piano lessons throughout his adolescence, much to his delight. He prospered in his learning and went on to study professionally at the Tokyo Conservatoire Shobi. Before joining Square, he produced some of his own compositions, joined a band, and even worked as a software designer. Everything was relatively 'small fry' until his golden opportunity arose... Eguchi has collaborated with Noriko Matsueda numerous times during his career. Having first met at the Tokyo Conservatoire Shobi, where they were said to be friends and rivals, Eguchi and Matsueda have been inseparable ever since. Although Matsueda joined Square first (in 1994), Eguchi guided her while she was composing for the Front Mission Original Sound Version. This not only initiated his own interest in video game music but bonded them together into a powerful musical team, as well. It is not surprising that Matsueda requested to work with him following their success, leading him to become a Square employee in 1995. Eguchi's first credited work came the same year when he was involved in producing Matsueda's score for the Super Nintendo's Bahamut Lagoon. Here, he was involved in arranging and orchestrating Matsueda's "Opening" theme for the game. His next work was in Matsueda's solo score for the PlayStation's Front Mission 2 in 1997, where he was made responsible for arrangements and sound programming. While neither project established Eguchi as a musician in his own right, both works strengthened his relationship with Matsueda and made them more familiar with each other's dissimilar styles. Eguchi was eventually assigned a composing role alongside Matsueda in 1999 for the electronic score to Racing Lagoon. Although his role in composition was minor in comparison to Matsueda's, he was heavily involved in arranging her work throughout the soundtrack. They collaborated once again in the production of the score for PlayStation 2's The Bouncer, in 2000. Eguchi was given a major composing role alongside Matsueda for the first time, however, and was allowed to stand more heavily in his own right. Due to their heavy collaboration during the production, their styles often fused into one another and that meant it was difficult to define each composer's work distinctly as separate entities. Indeed, this is why one does not see individual track credits following Racing Lagoon. After The Bouncer, Takahito Eguchi left Matsueda's side for the first time to aid the production of the Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack. Here, he was involved in arranging one track, "Hand in Hand," alongside the one and only Yôko Shimomura. Eguchi's next project reunited him with Matsueda once more and involved composing and arranging the score for Final Fantasy X-2 in 2003. As one of the few Final Fantasy scores not to feature Nobuo Uematsu, this score was to turn a few heads, not just for its choice of composers, but for its wild and often unsuccessful experimentation. While tracks like "Eternity ~Memory of the Lightwaves~," "real Emotion," and "1000 Words" won the heart of many fans, having featured heavily in singles from Final Fantasy X-2 since, the Final Fantasy X-2 Original Soundtrack still received a somewhat hostile response from Final Fantasy and video game music fans alike. Fortunately, Matsueda's and Eguchi's Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission Original Soundtrack was much more highly acclaimed. This featured English versions of the original's vocal tracks, sung by Jade from Sweetbox, and new tracks to commemorate the release of Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission in Japan. In addition, the Final Fantasy X-2 Piano Collection received a positive response from most fans. Eguchi left Matsueda's side for the second time in 2003 to conduct a project away from Square Enix and video game music altogether. This involved composing the score for the anime D-N-ANGEL with Tomoki Hasegawa. Its Original Soundtrack was released in two volumes, but received limited attention, just like its respective anime. It is thought that this project marked his departure from Square Enix to become a freelance composer. Recently, mixing Shimomura's tracks "Sun" and "Flower Garden" for the Dark Chronicle Premium Arrange in 2004. Clearly Shimomura was impressed by his efforts in Kingdom Hearts and decided to work with him again. Since D-N ANGEL, he has remained active elsewhere in the anime field, too, arranging the theme song for Fantastic Children in 2004 and composing and arranging the themes of Trinity Blood in 2005. Though the Eguchi and Matsueda pairing seems to have dissipated, Eguchi seems to have firmly established himself as an anime composer. List of Game ProjectsNote: This list only includes games that the composer has actively worked on, so those games that feature reprises of the composer's work from older titles are not included. Key: C = Composer, A = Arranger, P = Performer, S = Sound Programmer, E = Sound Effects, M = Synthesizer Operator
List of AlbumsOriginal Scores
Arranged Albums
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