Hidekazu Tanaka
Biography. Tanaka was born in Osaka. He first became interested in music as a young child when he saw his older sisters playing piano. Soon after, he began taking piano lessons. He became dispassionate toward traditional lessons, however, and practiced with an electronic keyboard at home. While in junior high school, Tanaka learned to play acoustic guitar after being inspired by folk-rock duo Yuzu. As he learned how to play songs by Yuzu, he realized that he wanted to make his own music. Soon after, he began learning how to use MIDI software on his computer. His  first experience was using Yamaha's Easy Composition Master software to convert melodies he hummed into MIDI. Tanaka graduated from Kobe University in the Department of Human Development, where he studied musical composition under the guidance of Professor Yu Wakao. Shortly after graduating, Tanaka was recruited on Mixi by composer Satoru Kōsaki as an assistant at his production company MONACA. Tanaka officially joined the company in 2010. At first, he would often accompany Kōsaki to recording sessions and assist with music preparation and Pro Tools operation. Soon after, he would begin writing and producing his own music. As an employee  of MONACA, he wrote theme songs and background music for many anime series including "The Idolmaster", "", "Aikatsu!" and "Wake Up, Girls!". He has also written music for video games and for recording artists. On July 31, 2021, after 10 years with the company, he left MONACA and to work as a freelancer. Tanaka is noted for frequently using a specific augmented sixth chord in his works. This chord has been nicknamed the "Blackadder chord" by music theorist Joshua Taipale.