Kenichi Maeyamada

Kenichi Maeyamada (前山田 健一, Maeyamada Ken'ichi, born July 4, 1980), also known as Hyadain (ヒャダイン), is a Japanese composer, lyricist, and musician.[1] His primary work is composing anime theme songs and for J-pop musicians.[1][2] He contracts through Supalove, a Japanese record label.[3] He has released a number of anime and video game music remixes, as well as original songs.[4][5][6] These remixes have received over 20 million hits on YouTube and Nico Nico Douga.[7]

Kenichi Maeyamada
前山田 健一
Maeyamada at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards Japan
Born (1980-07-04) July 4, 1980
NationalityJapanese
Other namesHyadain
Occupation(s)composer, lyricist, musician
Years active2007—present

Musical style

Maeyamada began playing the piano at age four and first composed with a synthesizer in middle school.[7] After graduating from Kyoto University, he apprenticed under lyricist Gorō Matsui.[7] He got his first big break in 2007 for writing the lyrics to "Don't Go Baby", a song featured in Initial D Fourth Stage.[8] In December 2007, he posted his first work under the name "Hyadain" on Nico Nico Douga, a remix of Crash Man's theme from Mega Man 2 with added lyrics.[7] He initially struggled with criticism and accusations regarding these remixes' faithfulness to the source material.[7] However, his videos gradually gained in popularity, particularly "Battle With the Four Fiends" from Final Fantasy IV and "Western Show" from Super Mario World.[7][9][10] In May 2010, Maeyamada revealed that Hyadain was his pseudonym.[5] In 2023, Maeyamada was invited to arrange a version of "Battle With the Four Fiends" for Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, with lyrics by Takashi Tokita. The track, "Forged in Crimson", plays during the boss fight with Rubicante, the Fiend of Flame.[11]

Maeyamada cites Yasuharu Konishi of the Pizzicato Five as a major musical influence, as well as Shoichiro Hirata and Yusuke Itagaki.[12] Influence on his video game music stems from Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy), Koichi Sugiyama (Dragon Quest), and Kenji Ito (Romancing SaGa).[12] Lyrically, both his original works and fanworks are reputed for utilizing strong elements of humor and nostalgia. For his own songs, he provides all the voices, male and female, with the help of a digital voice modifier.[7][9][13] These voices, Hyadain and Hyadaruko, appear as characters on his blog and in the music videos for "Hyadain no Kakakata Kataomoi-C" and "Hyadain no Joujou Yuujou",[7][13][14] with Hyadaruko being portrayed by various actresses including Natsuko Aso.

Discography
Main articles: Hyadain discography and Kenichi Maeyamada production discography

References
  1. North, Dale (2006-03-16). "Remixer Hyadain is actually a seasoned Japanese composer". Destructoid. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  2. "Mai Oshima goes solo". Tokyograph. 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  3. "Supalove Creators » About Us". Supa Creators. Archived from the original on 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  4. North, Dale (2006-03-16). "The Sound Card Remixer Profile: Hyadain". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  5. Maeyamada, Kenichi (2010-05-05). "ヒャダイン うさゅうのなぞ｜ヒャダイン オフィシャルブログ 「ヒャダインのチョベリグ★エブリディ」". Ameblo.jp. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  6. MacKenzie, Austin (2010-05-06). "Game Music Remixer Reveals Himself as Pro Composer". Escapist Magazine. Archived from the original on 2010-07-22. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  7. "AKB48、ももクロ ヒャダイン／前山田健一が語るニコ動＆アイドル曲方法論（前編） - 日刊サイゾー". Cyzo.com. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  8. "AKB48、ももクロ ヒャダイン／前山田健一が語るニコ動＆アイドル曲方法論（後編） - 日刊サイゾー". Cyzo.com. 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  9. Napolitano, Jayson (2009-12-31). "Meet Hyadain Part 1: Final Fantasy IV – The Dreadful Fight". Original Sound Version. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  10. Napolitano, Jayson (2010-06-01). "Meet Hyadain Part 3: Western Show on Super Mario World". Original Sound Version. Archived from the original on 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  11. 杉浦, 諒 (2023-01-26). "「FFXIV」，パッチ 6.3"天の祝祭，地の鳴動"特設サイトを更新。ルビカンテ討滅戦のアレンジBGMは前山田健一さん，時田貴司氏が担当" ["FFXIV" updated the special site for patch 6.3 "Festival of Heaven, Ringing of Earth". Kenichi Maeyamada and Takashi Tokita arranged the BGM for the battle against Rubicante.]. 4Gamer.net. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  12. King, Masa (2010-09-22). "Interview with Kenichi Maeyamada! « CAVE WORLD Official Blog". Caveworlden.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  13. "【PV】 ヒャダインのカカカタ☆カタオモイ-C 【ヒャダイン】". YouTube. 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  14. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "ヒャダインのじょーじょーゆーじょーで、PVを作ってみた". YouTube.
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