| Keiichi Suzuki | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Native Name: | 鈴木 慶一 |
| Native Name Lang: | JP |
| Birth Date: | August 28, 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Tokyo, Japan |
| Years Active: | 1970–present |
is a Japanese musician, singer, and record producer who co-founded the Moonriders, a group that became one of Japan's most innovative rock bands. He is known to audiences outside Japan for his musical contributions to the video games EarthBound Beginnings/Mother (1989) and EarthBound/Mother 2 (1994), both of which have been released on several soundtracks. More recently, he has composed film scores including The Blind Swordsman: Zatōichi (2003), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), Uzumaki (2000), Chicken Heart (2009), as well as Takeshi Kitano's Outrage trilogy.[1]
Suzuki was born in Tokyo, Japan, the son of actor Akio Suzuki. He has a younger brother, Hirobumi Suzuki. In the early 1970s, Keiichi became involved with the Japanese band Hachimitsu Pie, who released one album in 1973. Later in the 1970s, Suzuki functioned as the occasional leader and regular singer of the Moonriders — the group's first album was in fact credited to "Keiichi Suzuki and the Moonriders". The band included his brother Hirobumi on bass. Afterward, he collaborated with Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder Yukihiro Takahashi as the duo The Beatniks. He was also a member of the trio Three Blind Moses.
As an actor, Suzuki appeared in the 1980s films; Body Drop Asphalt, Shunji Iwai's Swallowtail, and Love Letter, as well as other films from the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In 1989, Suzuki cowrote the soundtrack to the video game EarthBound Beginnings/Mother. In 1994, he would write more music for the game's sequel, EarthBound/Mother 2. A few years after EarthBound/Mother 2, Suzuki provided the music for the audio game .
His song "Satellite Serenade" was remixed by The Orb and was later featured on Sasha & Digweed's Northern Exposure and The Orb's Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty compilation.
In February 2008, Suzuki released a new solo album Captain Hate & First Mate Love in collaboration with Keiichi Sokabe, touring together in late spring 2008. The follow-up Pirate Radio Seasick appeared in 2009, and the third part In Retrospect in January 2011.
Suzuki cited John Lennon of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks, Andy Partridge of XTC, Godley & Creme, Miklos Rozsa, and Harry Nilsson as influences, particularly on the tracks he composed for the Mother series.[2]
See also: The Beatniks (band).
| Title | Notes |
|---|---|
| EarthBound Beginnings/Mother | with Hirokazu Tanaka |
| EarthBound/Mother 2 | with Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu, and Toshiyuki Ueno |
| Mother 1+2 | with Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu, and Toshiyuki Ueno |
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Original game supervisor |
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate |