What to know | *Metaphor: ReFantazio* Composer Shoji Meguro: Recruiting a Jazz-Chanting Monk and Taking the Stage Himself

Shoji Meguro stumbled across a YouTube video called "Nam Jazz Experiment," featuring a group layering Buddhist sutra chanting over jazz performance. He later reached out to the monk featured in the video and invited him to record vocal chanting for the battle music of a fantasy RPG. It sounds like two completely mismatched worlds colliding, but for a composer who's been writing scores since the very first *Persona* in 1996, this is exactly the kind of thing he's been chasing.

Meguro is the key figure behind the music of the Persona series. Starting with "Aria Of The Soul" from the original *Revelations: Persona*, he's given each entry a completely distinct sonic identity: *Persona 3* blended sugary pop vocals with rock and hip-hop; the following year's sequel shifted toward calm J-pop; and *Persona 5* was built entirely around acid jazz inspired by Jamiroquai. He told NME that during the PlayStation and early PS2 era, hardware limitations left little room for musical freedom, "but after that, I never felt tied down again."

From Sutra Chanting to Battle Themes: An Unexpected Collaboration with a Monk

*Metaphor: ReFantazio* is Atlus's brand-new fantasy RPG. Players control an orphan from the magical Elda tribe who, alongside fairy companion Gallica, investigates the cause of the king's death in the United Kingdom of Euchronia and unravels why the prince has fallen into a cursed sleep. Early in development, game director Katsura Hashino asked Meguro not to write a purely orchestral epic, but to bring in that signature "Atlus edge." As a result, the soundtrack weaves bursts of dramatic electronic sound design throughout its traditional orchestral core.

The chanting vocals in the battle themes are a direct expression of that edge. Meguro brought in Keisuke Honryo, head priest of Nagoyama Temple, to perform the vocals—speeding up and intensifying the traditional Japanese Buddhist sutra chanting rhythm to make it sound more aggressive. "What I wanted was something that carried both religious weight and that distinctly Atlus sharpness," Meguro said. "Convincing Honryo wasn't particularly difficult, since he and his team had already been performing under the name 'Nam Jazz Experiment,' blending chanting with jazz—this wasn't new territory for him." Beyond that, the soundtrack's choral vocals use a specially invented language, making the music feel like it's playing directly inside the characters' minds rather than simply scoring the adventure.

The Orchestral Tour: The Composer Himself Takes the Stage

Meguro started learning electronic keyboard at age five, later got his own 8-bit computer, and began programming—which sparked his interest in game development. He joined Atlus in 1996 and went freelance in 2021, though he still works regularly with the studio. "Honestly, I feel like I don't have anything left to prove, and I think that's exactly why I can write new music without it feeling like a risk," he said, while also admitting that both his stamina and focus have declined with age. "The reason I'm still writing is because I haven't found something that truly satisfies me yet."

The *Metaphor: ReFantazio* World Orchestra Tour kicks off this week in Texas (Friday, October 9), followed by stops in Illinois (Sunday, October 11) and California (Tuesday, October 13), before heading to Asia and Europe. Meguro said letting fans hear the game's music live can bring back the emotional memories they felt while playing, "but beyond that, the reason I'm taking the stage myself as the composer is because I want to surprise fans—'Wait, the composer himself is actually performing this piece live!?' I've always wanted to catch everyone a little off guard."