There are few names in the world of music games that truly stand out as prolific enough to be considered an influential force in the medium. One such artist is producer & DJ Ryutaro Nakahara, better known to fans as Ryu☆, an artist who over the years has become a mainstay in Konami’s range of BEMANI titles, and has become one of the most popular artists to circle that scene. His career doesn’t stop with music games though, with multiple full-length albums, substantial remix work, and collaborative projects under his belt.
Iconic Origins
While his actual production origins aren’t really publicly known, Ryu☆ first came to prominence in the year 2000 with his contribution to beatmania IIDX 4th style, “Starmine”. The track is the result of him winning a musicianship trial competition and it immediately made him a hit amongst fan. After the inclusion of this first song it took several years before he had a follow-up contribution in 2003’s beatmania IIDX 9th style. Since that time he has become a regular contributor to all of Konami’s music games, averaging at least one new song in every edition of all of their core releases over the past several years. His musical style is varied but often very upbeat and bright. Similar to other artists featured in Konami’s titles, he produces tracks of different genres across a variety of different names, with many of these additional aliases also commanding their own dedicated fanbases.
Doujin Contributions
Along with contributing to Konami’s music games, Ryu☆ has made a name for himself in Japan’s doujin scene over the course of his career through participation with a number of significant labels and compilations. He has contributed multiple times to HARCORE TANO*C’s ongoing “HARDCORE SYNDROME” series with tracks that fit under different genres of hardcore electronic music. He has also participated on several projects with friend and EDP label-mate kors k, the most prominent of which being their collaborative project “The 4th”, which has now seen multiple releases.
EXIT TUNES DANCE PRODUCTION
In 2016 Ryu☆ established the dance music focused label EDP as a sub-label of Pony Canyon. The focus of EDP is to share Japanese electronic music talent with the world, which is accomplished via its series of live shows, regular album releases, and regular contributions to Konami’s music games. While the label itself has released albums from a range of talented artists, many of which whom he has worked with as well, Ryu☆ has released 6 full-length releases and multiple singles of his own. EDP has established a strong reputation and continues to see growth going into the new decade, and we’re sure there’s a lot more on the way from Ryu☆ with the project.
Five Essential Songs
Second Heaven
A popular track that debuted in beatmania IIDX which went on to become meme-worthy, although still a banger in its own right.
Be Quiet
A hard dance track which was one of the earliest examples of his range as a producer outside of the happy hardcore songs he was known for at the time.
Sakura Storm
An example of how his happy hardcore sound has evolved over the years, originally featured on the XBox 360 original “Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3”.
Waxing and Wanding (as Seiryu)
The debut song from his speed dance project, 青龍, originally featuring in beatmania IIDX.
Din Don Dan (feat. Mayumi Morinaga)
A bubblegum style pop-song featuring vocals from regular collaborator Mayumi Morinaga. Widely recognized from its inclusion in Dance Dance Revolution.
If you’re interested in checking out more of Ryu☆’s work you can play and listen to his music on ‘beatmaniaIIDX Ultimate Mobile’ for iOS and Android devices. You can get more information about it at the QR Code below!
