By now, most of you should be familiar with the work of composer Nobuo Uematsu, even if you don't know him by name. He's created the music for a mountain of video games and anime, perhaps most notable the Final Fantasy series. His day job, amazing though it may be, hasn't left him with much time to make his own, more personal music. His first and only solo album, titled Phantasmagoria, was released way back in 1994. When I interviewed him during the recent Distant Worlds tour, he mentioned that he was working on a brand new solo album of music and lyrics written entirely by himself, and featuring several different singers.

Today we finally get a taste of some 100% Nobuo music in the form of a new single. Called "Here Comes Conga Boy," and released under the name NOBIYO Uematsu and the Dog Ears, the song is a story about an actual boy who played the conga at the riverside near Uematsu's house. The tremendously upbeat song is full of characters like Bongo Boy (I know!), Tonga Boy, Tango Boy and Tango Girl (check out the rack on Tango Girl!), Ringo Boy (my favorite) and of course Conga Boy. The song is indeed full of congas and percussion set over a simple piano and bass line. A woman sings some pretty silly stuff along with the congas. Make sure to check for the sound of Ringo Boy taking a bite. Incredible! It feels like something out of the most happy Miyazaki film ever.

You can, and must, get the song from iTunes right now. Dog Ear Records will be releasing more songs from his forthcoming 10 Stories album every couple of months until the full album hits in Spring 2010.