3 Abbey Road Studios, St Johns Wood, City of Westminster, London is where Pink Floyd recorded one of their finest songs; "Wish You Were Here". The studio has seen the likes of Paul McCartney experiment with the piano when The Beatles gave the world Hey Jude. Many musical prodigies have taken wing at Abbey Road Studios in the last 80 years and it is now a global music landmark.
Final Fantasy XV is one of the most awaited RPG games of 2016 and it has turned to Abbey Road Studios where the London Philharmonic Orchestra will perform renditions of the game’s songs in concert. The event will stream on Wednesday, September 7 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on the Square Enix Twitch channel and the Final Fantasy XV YouTube channel.
Yoko Shimomura, a renowned composer and the mind behind the music of Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and many other great games will be at Abbey Road Studios and will share her thoughts about the performance and the procession of music for this franchise and its relationship with Yoko which has matured over the last decade.
“Seeing this franchise becoming so popular, and even after 10 years to be able to continue writing songs for this title... I think I'm fortunate. I'm truly surprised in many different ways.”
- Yoko Shimomura at E3 2014.
London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) has been around since 1932. They have achieved unparalleled success, a formidable group of musicians with a keen ear for games. LPO put together The Greatest Video Game Music which features orchestrations of titles including Legend of Zelda, Call of Duty, Metal Gear Solid, Halo and World of Warcraft. The album was proclaimed to be the “weirdest hit album” of 2011 and ranked at #23 on the Billboard 200. In doing so, LPO had beaten their own record for the soundtrack of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005, becoming the highest debut for an orchestral release!
To be exposed to the world of Final Fantasy at an early age has built massive importance for classical music. If you take heed towards quality music or are a fan of Final Fantasy XV; the happenings at Abbey Road Studio on Wednesday is a coalition of musical phenomena, conveying parts of Final Fantasy XV’s awe-inspiring tale.
It’s an experience that is not to be missed and would prove to be an hour spent wisely.