S.S.T. Band
# S.S.T. Band

The S.S.T. Band (エスエスティーバンド) (Sega Sound Team) was Sega's official in-house band from 1988 to 1993, specializing in rock versions of Sega arcade game themes for Japan-only compilation albums and festival appearances. Consisting of six musicians who worked in Sega's sound department at the time, the band included keyboardists Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Katsuhiro Hayashi, and Kimitaka Matsumae; guitarists Koichi Namiki and Jouji Iijima; bassists Sachio Ogawa and Shingo Komori; and drummer Takehiko Tanabe. Kawaguchi and Komori left the band in 1990 and were replaced by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi on keyboards and Masato Saito on bass, respectively.

Usually, some of these albums that were released would consists of two especially recorded versions of the game soundtrack and the rest would consist of the game's original soundtrack. After the group split, the members resumed work on Sega projects. Mitsuyoshi composed the soundtrack to Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA and the two installments of Shenmue, while Matsumae would be involved in Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 3.

Although the original group disbanded in 1993, in 2011, former members of the band reunited under the name "Blind Spot", still regularly releasing albums and performing concerts as of 2021.

## Discography

All titles are released through Pony Canyon unless stated.

### Studio albums

| Year | Title | Featured soundtracks |
| - | - | - |
| 1988 | Galaxy Force —G.S.M. Sega 1— | Galaxy Force, Altered Beast, Out Run, Space Harrier, After Burner |
| 1988 | Power Drift & Mega Drive —G.S.M. Sega 2— | Power Drift, Phantasy Star II, Space Harrier II, Altered Beast, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Super Thunder Blade, Scramble Spirits, Dynamite Düx |
| 1989 | Super Sonic Team —G.S.M. Sega 3— | After Burner, Out Run, Turbo Outrun, Super Monaco GP, Tetris, Golden Axe |
| 1990 | Hyper Drive —G.S.M. Sega 4— | G-LOC: Air Battle, Golden Axe, Sword of Vermilion, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, Super Hang-On, Bonanza Bros, Line of Fire, Alien Storm |
| 1991 | Formula —G.S.M. Sega 5— | G-LOC: Air Battle, Rad Mobile, GP Rider, Cyber Dome Super Shooting System, Laser Ghost, Shining and the Darkness |
| 1992 | Blind Spot | Original music |

### Compilations

| Year | Title | Featured soundtracks | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1989 | Mega Selection -G.S.M. Sega- | After Burner, Power Drift, Galaxy Force, Space Harrier, Space Harrier II, Fantasy Zone, Out Run | |
| 1991 | Mega Selection II -G.S.M. Sega- | Super Hang-On, G-LOC: Air Battle, Turbo Outrun, GP Rider, Golden Axe, Power Drift, Sword of Vermilion, Bonanza Brothers | |
| 2003 | Back in the S.S.T. Band!! ~The Very Best~ | Out Run, Space Harrier, Galaxy Force, Power Drift, Super Monaco GP, Turbo Outrun, G-LOC: Air Battle, Super Hang-On, Rad Mobile, Fantasy Zone, After Burner, Strike Fighter | Released under the Scitron label |
| 2018 | S.S.T. Band -30th Anniversary Box- | Various | Box set |

### Standalone game soundtracks (GSM 1500 series)

| Year | Title | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| 1990 | After Burner | Contains two arrangements and the original game soundtrack. |
| 1991 | Strike Fighter | Contains two arrangements and the original game soundtrack. |
| 1992 | Out Run | Contains three arrangements and the original game soundtrack. |

### Live album

| Year | Title | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| 1990 | S.S.T.BAND LIVE! —G.S.M. Sega— | |

## Videography

| Year | Title | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| 1990 | S.S.T.BAND LIVE! —G.S.M. Sega— | |
| 1992 | GAME MUSIC FESTIVAL ~Super Live '92~ | |
| 1993 | Game Music Live '93 Natsu ~Kounin Kaizokuban Cassette~ | |
| 2006 | S.S.T.BAND LIVE HISTORY | Released under the Happinet label |

## Band lineups

| Name | Stagename | Native spelling | Instrument | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Hiroshi Kawaguchi | Hiro | 川口博史 | Keyboards | 1988–1990 |
| Katsuhiro Hayashi | Funky K.H | 林克洋 | Keyboards | 1988 |
| Koichi Namiki | Mickey/Pretty K.N | 並木晃一 | Guitar | 1988–1993 |
| Sachio Ogawa | S.O | 小河幸男 | Bass | 1988 |
| Kimitaka Matsumae | HARRIER | 松前公高 | Keyboards | 1989–1993 |
| Takehiko Tanabe | THUNDER | 田辺健彦 | Drums | 1989–1990 |
| Shingo Komori | BURNER | 小森伸吾 | Bass | 1989 |
| Jouji Iijima | GALAXY | 飯島丈治 | Guitar | 1989–1993 |
| Masato Saito | TURBO君 | 斉藤昌人 | Bass | 1990–1993 |
| Hisanori Kumamaru | SPLASHくま | 熊丸久徳 | Drums | 1991–1993 |
| Takenobu Mitsuyoshi | R三郎丸 | 光吉猛修 | Keyboards | 1991–1993 |
| David Leytze | Mandalazu | デヴィッド・ライツィー | Keyboards & Lead Vocals | 1994 |
