Kumi Tanioka

Kumi Tanioka (谷岡 久美, Tanioka Kumi, born August 29, 1974) is a Japanese video game music composer and pianist. Born in Hiroshima, Japan, she graduated from Kobe University with a degree in musical performance, and began working as a video game composer in 1998. She joined video game developer and publisher Square that same year, and worked on over 15 games for them before leaving to work as an independent composer in 2010. She is most known for composing for the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series, which she composed for Square Enix. Tanioka has a style of "world music", whereby she combines instruments from different parts of the world into one cohesive sound. She also likes to incorporate piano music into her soundtracks, which she typically performs herself, as she has done as a part of The Star Onions, a musical group focusing on arrangements of Final Fantasy XI music made up of Square Enix composers, as well as on her own at various concerts, such as 2011's Final Fantasy XI-themed VanaCon.