http://www.squaresound.com/index.php en-us CuteNews http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1257537108&archive= our forum, and keep watching the thread for all the arrangements and judging reports. ]]> 1257537108 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:51:48 -0500 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1256499616&archive= official competition forum thread.  Good luck to all! ]]> 1256499616 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:40:16 -0400 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1249029069&archive= Yoko Shimomura is a veteran of the video game music world. She has composed such masterpieces as "Super Mario RPG," "Legend of Mana," "Mario & Luigi" and the legendary "Kingdom Hearts!" She is a master composer with a large resume of titles. This competition is completely in honor of Ms. Shimomura. So read all about it on our forums, whip out some staff paper and get to it! ]]> 1249029069 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 04:31:09 -0400 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1248158693&archive= OverClocked ReMix have just released their 14th project album -- a rearrangement of Nobuo Uematsu's legendary Final Fantasy IV Original Sound Version.  The album is entitled Final Fantasy IV : Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption and it can be obtained via free download from OCR's site.  Fans of Uematsu will not want to miss this album, which features contributions from over 40 artists and over three full hours of music.  Read the full story for the entire press release, video links, and more.]]> 1248158693 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:44:53 -0400 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1243336969&archive= Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections album is now available and in stock for purchase at our store.  It consists of 12 of the most popular tracks from Kingdom Hearts composed by Yoko Shimomura.  Shimomura describes the album as "consisting of easy listening piano solo arrangements."  No word on any accompanying sheet music books as of yet, but we'll definitely carry it when and if it is released.

We'll be adding more new CDs and sheet music books to our site and store in the next few days!
]]> 1243336969 Tue, 26 May 2009 07:22:49 -0400 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1239271598&archive=
Those of you who are still active at our forums know what I'm talking about.  For the rest of you, here's what's coming down the pipe in the very near future at SquareSound:

• Complete Site Redesign - A completely new look and feel for the site that will make it more attractive, easier to navigate, and more functional than ever.
  
  
• New Community-Based Focus - This is the big one.  Everything we do at SquareSound will be focused on getting the community involved.  What exactly does this mean?  Here's the general idea:
  
  
  1. The arrangement archive will be merged with our forums.  Members will be able to post their own arrangements, and other members will be able to rate and comment on them.
     
     
  2. New Video Directory - Users will be able to post their own videos right on the site.  These can be musical performances, interviews, snippets of concerts, or anything else music/game related.
     
     
  3. Reward Points - Members of the SquareSound Community will constantly be earning reward points for participating in the community.  Points are awarded for things like posting new threads, replying to posts, posting arrangements, helping new members, adding a video, adding a blog entry, and many more.  These reward points will be redeemable for cool forum upgrades like new icons, signatures, user titles, or even gift certificates or other items from our store.
     
     
  4. Blogs - Members will be able to create and maintain their own personal blogs/journals for others to read and comment on.  Posting in your blog also earns reward points.
     
     
  5. Much more!

All of these changes should be rolled out within the next several weeks.  The biggest transition will be the arrangement archive, which will take some time to get fully ported over.  For those of you that have contributed to the archive, I encourage you to please join our forum community now if you haven't already done so.  In order to get rewards for your arrangements, you'll need to post them yourselves.  I'll be opening up the forums to post arrangements very shortly, so the sooner you join, the better.

I also encourage everyone else interested in video game music to join our forums today and start becoming an active member of our community.  Reward Points are being earned right now! You don't have to wait for the redesign to start accruing points.  While we haven't yet finalized the items you can "buy" using your points, you will still earn them starting right away.

Thanks, and we hope to see you on the forums!

]]> 1239271598 Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:06:38 -0400 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1229339676&archive=
First up on the calendar is April 11, 2009 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  This will be quickly followed by a show on April 14, 2009 at the DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Nobuo Uematsu will be attending both of these concerts and will be available for special meet-and-greet sessions following the performances.  Tickets for both shows are available now.  In order to attend the meet-and-greet, you'll need to pick up the VIP tickets.

Next on the docket for the United States is in Baltimore, Maryland at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on May 16th.  This will be followed by two shows in Seattle, Washington at the Benaroya Hall on July 10th and 11th.  Finally, there are two shows scheduled in San Francisco, California for July 17th and 18th.  As of now, the venue is to be determined.

An Asian tour is also planned, and will kick off with two shows in Singapore on May 22nd and 23rd, 2009 at the Esplanade Theatres.  More concert dates will be announced soon.

For more details and to purchase tickets to all the upcoming concerts, please check out the Distant Worlds website.  If you have the opportunity to attend any of these concerts, I highly suggest you check it out!]]> 1229339676 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:14:36 -0500 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1229337901&archive=
On the competition front, we're planning another large competition coinciding with the upcoming Distant Worlds concert next April.  Stay tuned for more details on that!

Thank you for your support, and I hope that you and your family have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season!
]]> 1229337901 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:45:01 -0500 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1223555727&archive= Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy concert last night in my home town of Denver, Colorado.  It wasn't quite sold out, but it was still a solid turnout of very enthusiastic fans.  These concerts are really worth your money, and if you have the opportunity to see one, you shouldn't pass it up.  It lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours last night, with two great encores, some great video footage (including an FFVIII battle scene in-sync with the live music and a personal note from Nobuo Uematsu himself), and lots of good times had by all.  Oh, and seeing the Final Fantasy VI Opera "Maria & Draco" performed live is something that no FF fan should miss!

The next scheduled concert is in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 14, 2009.  Uematsu will be attending that concert and will be available for a meet-and-greet following the performance.  I'm not sure of the status of the meet-and-greet tickets at this point, but it's certainly worth checking out if you're interested in going.  We hope to run a competition again around this time to coincide with the concert, but nothing is set in stone yet.  In the meantime, get all the details on the concert on the FF: Distant Worlds official website.
]]> 1223555727 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:35:27 -0400 http://www.squaresound.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1221593351&archive= Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth at the Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy concert in Chicago, Illinois and one of the most interesting revelations was that Uematsu claimed if he hadn't been a musician, he wanted to be a professional wrestler. That would have definitely been rather interesting to say the least, but we're glad his musical career with Square took off all those years ago.

The interview was conducted by myself and Michael "Piano Squall" Gluck prior to the concert.  A professional translator was not available for the interview, but luckily, Michael's Japanese is pretty strong so we were able to get by.  I apologize for the delay in publishing this video.  Let's just say that I learned a lot about video editing in the process!  I hope you enjoy it!

Read the full article to see the movie!
]]> 1221593351 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:29:11 -0400