Insert Credit Gaiden #4 - Human Face On An Obi: An Interview with Masaya Matsuura

Brandon Sheffield interviews musician and game designer Masaya Matsuura of the band Psy・S, discussing the early days of computer graphics and sound, making music for anime, and why Vib Ribbon was so hard to get screenshots of. Intro by Alex Jaffe, edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

Segments:

Preface (00:29)

How did you get into music? (03:20)

How did you start making music yourself? (05:34)

How did you move from writing jingles to full music (and which synths do you use)? (09:52)

What was the experience of “getting big” like? (11:58)

What is it like playing in front of large crowds? (14:16)

How did you end up doing music for anime? (18:07)

How did you move from there to video games? (21:42)

What made you want to start a game company? (23:48)

How did the Psy-S Remix CD-ROM game come to be? (30:49)

What was the inspiration for Vib Ribbon’s mechanic allowing you to play your own music? (34:16)

When did you decide to focus more on games than music? (38:57)

What is your sound? (41:58)

What do you learn from doing your private DJ sessions? (46:22)

Preface for live performance (53:36)

Masaya Matsuura - Funny Luv (Live at GameCity 2009)

Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums

A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED:

PaRappa the Rapper

Vib-Ribbon

Rhyme Rider Kerorican

Mojib Ribbon

Psy・S

NHK Hall

City Hunter

Metamor Jupiter

Playtechs

Tower of the Sun

Osaka Castle

J-card

Moog IIIc

Fairlight CMI

Sussudio

3DO Interactive Multiplayer

PlayStation

CD-i

PC Engine

Bonus: PSY・S★4 SIZE レーザーディスク

Bonus: “Chasing the Rainbow” at SIGGRAPH (1986) (thanks fivedollardare!)

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