0306 - Manabu Saito

This week, Square Wave delves into the highly influential music of Yellow Magic Orchestra. They're one of the most successful Japanese bands of all time, known for making music on the absolute cutting edge of tech in the late 70s and a huge influence on video game music for years afterward. Learn how Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamotho first joined forces, their impact on music worldwide, and stories about the equipment they used, including the Roland TR-808, Roland MC-8 and more! Original air date: November 9, 2023

Tsukasa Masuko might be the least appreciated, least documented video game composer relative to his body of work. His career stretches back four decades, beginning with arcade classics before expanding onto home consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, SNES, TurboGrafx-16 and more. Today, Masuko is best known for his music from the Shin Megami Tensei games and the Devil Summoner series. This episode features music from BlaZeon, Tehkan World Cup, Dungeon Explorer and Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei, and briefly detours for a look at the formative years of Tecmo/Tehkan Electronics Co. Original air date: January 11, 2024

This week on Square Wave, Dustin delves into the Famicom Disk System add-on for Nintendo's Family Computer. This episode touches on the Richo 2C33 chip it featured along with a simple description of the wavetable synthesis sound it produced. We'll also hear music from some of the world's most popular video game composers, as Koji Kondo and Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka make their Square Wave debuts.

Back for the first time, Risk of Rain returns to Winnipeg radios as Dustin celebrates the 10th anniversary of Chris Christodoulou's seminal soundtrack. Hear clips from the composer's commentary on how Christodoulou connected to Hoopoe Games, the tools he used to create and the musical themes woven throughout Risk of Rain. We'll also hear tracks from Christodoulou's Droidscape: Basilica and Risk of Rain 2 scores.

A heartfelt episode on the short life of Manabu Saito. Listen to The Dome, Euphory, Chatty and more of Saito's incredible music for the PC-88 and Sharp X68000, as we imagine what else this wunderkind of early video game music might have accomplished at System Sacom and beyond. Original air date: September 14, 2023

A pioneer of 90s EDM styles like D&B and techno, this episode explores the early soundtracks of Shinji Hosoe. His compositions for Namco's Dragon Spirit and Dragon Saber raised the bar in arcades, and his Ridge Racer score redefined what games could sound like for a new era. Original air date: August 31, 2023

Featuring a small portion of Naoki Kodaka's music and an in-depth look at the iconic Sunsoft Bass that made many of these soundtracks famous, this episode puts Journey to Silius in the spotlight, with additional music from Kodaka's scores for Batman: Return of the Joker, Super Spy Hunter, Gremlinz 2: The New Batch, Uforia: The Saga and Fester's Quest. Original air date: July 20, 2023

This week, Dustin sits down with Theology, a Minneapolis-based DJ and producer known for inspired video game music remixes and his equally inspirational message of self-love. Hear from the musician how he got started, what projects he's working on and what it means to activate mental health god-mode in his audience. We'll also hear a 30-minute set from Theology, recorded live at The Rec Room in Winnipeg on April 18, 2023, as part of Rectro: Live Video Game Music by Bonus Stage Productions. Original air date: June 8, 2023

An ambitious episode examining the history of Hiroshi Iuchi's Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga and the (hopefully) upcoming Ubusuna, a trio of loosely connected games sometimes called the Stone-Like Trilogy. Hitoshi Sakimoto, a Square Wave-darling, makes an appearance, and the origins of Treasure are touched upon as well. Original air date: May 25, 2023

Square Wave returns for its third season with an upbeat episode featuring the music of Gimmick! by Masashi Kageyama for Sunsoft Japan. We'll hear about Kageyama's early life, his influences and creative process, along with rarely heard arrangements, released years after the fact, from Kageyama himself. Original air date: May 4, 2023