I’m sharing one of my favorite pieces of music ever. Its beauty is unreal, especially at 2:17. I can close my eyes and lose myself wherever the music takes me.

Last summer, I had the privilege of attending a symphonic concert of Nobuo Uematu’s music in Houston, which included To Zanarkand. I was in complete bliss; I have loved Uematsu for years and years, since I was captivated by Terra’s Theme in Final Fantasy VI (mid 90’s). Nobuo Uematsu is the composer for the Final Fantasy game series, and, I’m convinced, has played a critical role in the series’ success. Where would Star Wars be without John Williams? At the concert, a fan asked Uematsu which of the games’ soundtracks was his favorite. I was quite pleased when he answered “Final Fantasy VI”, my long time favorite game, a steampunk world with character-driven music of great beauty and emotion. 

 

“Final Fantasy VI was a sort of ending point for me. Not just the music, but the whole game. I thought, if I do this work for the rest of my life, how many more games will I be able to do? With the satisfaction and excitement I felt after finishing that project, I thought I had reached my primary goal, and could quit doing game music with no regrets.”

—Nobuo Uematsu

Derren shares an anecdote on radio…the wit of this man never ceases to amaze me. The radio clip’s above, and I’ve transcribed most of it below:

“Last time I met [Uri Gellar] I was sat outside, do you know Roka, that Japanese restaurant in town on Charlotte Street? I was sat outside and he walked past with his wife and manager.

Sort of sat down… and I’m actually by a..there’s a big window behind me. We had this sort of conversation and he was chatting and stuff.. and I sort of listened to his conversation. And then he got up and left and I just turned round and there was a guy inside the window who was just cracking up at the sight of us two talking. Just found it hysterical. So I picked up my spoon and sort of bent it secretly in the process and showed it to him with an alarmed look on my face… it is funny, bumping into such people every now and then.”

An excerpt from Derren Brown’s appearance on the Geoff Lloyd show promoting his Portraits book, 11 June 2009.