Sega has released a 100-track playlist celebrating Jun Senoue, the composer, arranger and guitarist behind much of Sonic the Hedgehog’s music. “Jun Senoue: Essential Works” is live now on Spotify and Apple Music, hosted on the Sega Sound Team artist page, and runs to roughly five and a half hours.
Sonic the Hedgehog and beyond
Most of the 100 tracks come from Sonic games, but the playlist also reaches into Senoue’s non-Sonic work for Sega: Daytona USA Circuit Edition, Sega Rally 2, Victory Goal and Puyo Puyo. Senoue joined Sega in 1993 and started on Sonic the Hedgehog 3, later scoring Sonic Adventure and its sequel, then Sonic Generations, with his most recent credit on Sonic X Shadow Generations. He is also founder and lead guitarist of Crush 40, the band behind many of the series’ vocal tracks — “Live & Learn”, “Open Your Heart” and the rest.
The playlist isn’t finished
“This playlist features songs from various titles, primarily from the Sonic series, ranging from 90s releases to more recent tracks,” Senoue said in a statement (via machine translation). “Listening back to them, I realized how many memories I have of working on each song… this playlist isn’t finished yet – I plan to add more songs from time to time, so please look forward to it.”
Another brick in the catalogue revival
The playlist is the second in Sega’s Essential Works series, following the Tomoya Ohtani edition — also 100 tracks — for the Sonic series’ sound director. The Sega Sound Team artist page now carries more than 200 full soundtrack albums. It all sits alongside Sega’s wider push to keep its catalogue alive: Sega Universe is reviving classic IP across film, music and fashion, and the Crazy Taxi revival heads into closed testing in September.
Both Essential Works playlists stream now on Spotify and Apple Music.
Who is Jun Senoue?
A Japanese composer, arranger and guitarist who joined Sega in 1993. He started on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and went on to score Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Generations, with his latest credit on Sonic X Shadow Generations. His catalogue includes the series’ best-known vocal rock tracks, from “Open Your Heart” and “Live & Learn” to “Escape from the City”.
What is Crush 40?
The hard rock band Senoue fronts with American vocalist Johnny Gioeli. It began with “Open Your Heart”, the theme Senoue wrote for Sonic Adventure in 1998, and its songs became the voice of the Sonic series for two decades. “Live & Learn”, from Sonic Adventure 2, was used in the third Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
Will more songs be added to the playlist?
Yes. Senoue said the playlist is not finished and he plans to add more songs from time to time, so it will grow beyond its current 100 tracks.
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