Kenichiro Fukui

is a Japanese video game composer and electronic rock musician. Before working at Square Enix, he was employed at Konami. He was also an arranger and a keyboardist in the band The Black Mages. Additionally, Fukui arranged Angela Aki's "Kiss Me Good-Bye" from Final Fantasy XII. In October 2007, he left Square Enix to become a lecturer, although he continued to work with The Black Mages until the band dissolved in 2010, and continued to do freelance work with video games. His Konami Kukeiha Club nickname was "Funiki Fukui". He lives in Yokohama, Japan.

Biography Fukui was born on March 4, 1970, in Hyōgo Prefecture. He joined the video game company Konami in 1991. While there, he contributed to the soundtracks of Lethal Enforcers, G.I. Joe and Violent Storm. He was also one of the keyboardists for the Kukeiha Club, and played in the live event at the Budokan in Tokyo.

In 2000, Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito formed an experimental partnership to compose music for the video game All Star Pro-Wrestling in a rock style. After the game's success, the two continued to compose in the same style. In 2002, Fukui and Sekito decided to arrange some of the compositions of Nobuo Uematsu, the primary composer for the music of the Final Fantasy series. Uematsu, a fan of rock music, enjoyed these arrangements, and Fukui and Sekito asked him to join them in making a rock band. Declining at first due to feeling too busy with his composing duties and attempts to become a music producer with his Smile Please label, Uematsu agreed to join them in a single live performance as a keyboardist, and afterwards decided to join the two in making The Black Mages; Fukui and Sekito had refused to start one if Uematsu was not involved as one of the musicians.

In 2007, Fukui was appointed at the HAL College of Tokyo (which opened in spring 2009), to teach classes relating to music composition and performance.

Discography

Video game soundtracks Sound Effects Sunset Riders (1991) Racin' Force (1994) - with Tsutomu Ogura Einhänder (1997) Galaxy Voyager (2018) - with various others Kingdom Hearts III (2019) – with various others G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra (2024) – with Tee Lopes, Andrew One and Anton Corazza

Arranger Hanjuku Hero 4 ~The 7 Heroes~ (2005) – with Michio Okamiya The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight (2008) Mushihimesama Double Arrange Album (2009) DeathSmiles Arrange Album (2010) Hoshi no Kashu (2011) SPARKING!!! (2011) Moeyo! Kung-Fu Lady Dragon Original Soundtrack & Remixes (2018) dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU Re:incarnation -SAISEIROKU- (2023)