One For The Gamers - Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy

Calling any and all Final Fantasy fans!

There are things in our world that will always exist; death, taxes, bands cashing in on nostalgic fans by touring their oldest, best album, and Final Fantasy never coming to a fucking end.

Final Fantasy, originally and ironically was a last ditch effort for game development company Square (now Square Enix; one of the industries larger publishers), and has since continued on as one of the longest running video game franchises of all time. Funnily enough, Square's last grasp with Final Fantasy in 1987 was an attempt to help them survive in the digital media industry, a series which has done just that and more, helping to turn the company into the equally loved and despised anticonsumer giant it is now today.

Publisher bullshit aside, the Final Fantasy series has shifted over 100+ million copies cumulative since 2011, a figure which is now reportedly closer to 115 million. That's a big fuckin' number that will only keep growing as the series continues, with the latest instalment being 2016's surprisingly good Final Fantasy XV. Now, obviously, that's a lot of money, a lot of game time all up, and also, a plethora of music to be composed and performed for a series that spans 15 key entries and countless spin-off titles and media released.

This is where Distant Worlds comes into the picture.

Since the series began 30 years ago in '87 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (the NES), and since the 20th anniversary back in 2007, AWR Music Productions has been touring Final Fantasy themed symphonies around the world. These events are called Distant Words: Music From Final Fantasy; a musical tribute to 30 years of one of gaming's biggest and most successful RPGs and the music produced for it.

Come July 1st at Sydney’s ICC Sydney Theatre, the Distant Worlds Philharmonic orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Arnie Roth, will be performing music from the recent FFXV right down to the classic scores from FFX, FFXIII, and much earlier. Oh, and yes, Final Fantasy VII's 'One Winged Angel' is in there because of course it is! For performing various pieces from the ever popular FFVII and not playing Sephiroth's seminal fight theme would be like Refused not playing 'New Noise' or The Getaway Plan not playing 'Where The City Meets The Sea'.

Japanese composer, Nobuo Uematsu, often regarded as "Beethoven of video games music", is one of gaming's most celebrated composers, recognised internationally for his work on the Final Fantasy games and many other RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Blue Dragon. While he will not be partaking in the actual performance on July 1st, he will be there in attendance to witness his life's works come to full life on Australian shores.

I also think it's safe to say that Uematsu has been a major player in increasing the public's appreciation and awareness of video games and their music, and he's being repeatedly recognised for his work. Uematsu was named as one of the “Innovators” in Time Magazine’s Time 100: The Next Wave music feature and was also inducted into Classic FM's illustrious “Hall of Fame”.

Now, as for the aforementioned American music director Arnie Roth, he is a Grammy-winning artist and classically trained violinist, who has previously commanded the London Symphony Orchestra, Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, Play! A Video Game Symphony, and several other Final Fantasy-focused performances. And that's just to name a few! Roth is also well known in the world of video game music for his collaborative work with Nobuo Uematsu and Square Enix as both the music director and conductor of Distant Words: Music From Final Fantasy, among many other achievements.

This will be a massive symphonic event - complete with HD images and visuals to contextualise the emotional scores -and one that both new and old fans of the long-running series as well as classical music lovers can all enjoy in perfect harmony.

Get your tickets for this one-of-a-kind event here. For a taste of what you'll get this July, see a 2013 version of this epic concert below.