James Mielke (Nobuo Uematsu: On the Record)

We interview author James Mielke about his new biography Nobuo Uematsu: On the Record available now from Viz Media. Uematsu-san is perhaps best known as the sole composer of Final Fantasy I-IX. He’s also contributed music tracks to several other games including Chrono Trigger and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Among other things, we discuss the tight-knit work culture at SquareSoft in the 1980s, what kind of beer gave James the liquid courage to pitch Uematsu-san on being his biographer, and what interviewing techniques work best. In the back half of the episode, we share a few of each other’s favorite Final Fantasy tracks (you can listen to the music we discuss on this custom playlist).Purchase James Mielke’s book Nobuo Uematsu: On the Record in hardcover and on Kindle. Follow Viz Media on Instagram. Follow James Mielke on Instagram. Learn more about James Mielke on his website. Get full access to The Film-Flam Man at matwbt.substack.com/subscribe