Noriko Matsueda - Musical Style and Influences

Musical Style and Influences

Matsueda is noted for her jazzy style, which she often incorporated into the soundtracks she worked on; she also touched on genres like jazz fusion, lounge, and ambient. For the scores that she collaborated with Eguchi on, she was responsible for most of the jazzy tracks, while Eguchi provided the majority of the electronic music. Matsueda has said that the best qualities of a composer are their curiosity and sensitivity, and that watching many things, listening, touching, and feeling are important factors in composition. When asked why she creates music, Matsueda replied that she feels it is an appropriate way to express herself.

She cites George Gershwin, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Igor Stravinsky, and Gustav Mahler as musical influences. When composing music for games, Matsueda draws inspiration from all parts of the game, including the story, the world view, the personality of the characters, the graphics, and the tone of color. She has stated that she makes the music thinking about the goal of the sounds for the game and its total balance.