Owen Pallett, Canadian violin virtuoso and string arranger for the likes of Arcade Fire, The Rumble Strips and Beirut, has been releasing his solo material under the name Final Fantasy since his excellent debut 'Has A Good Home' came out in 2005. Now with his move to Domino Records and the release of his third album 'Heartland', Pallett is to abandon the moniker in favour of using his own name.
'Heartland' is Pallett's first album to be released in Japan, so to avoid confusion and "trademark infringement" he has decided to abandon the name that was taken from the massively successful series of computer games.
The full message reads as follows:
Friends,
I began playing solo violin shows in 2004. Although it was essentially a solo project, I named the band Final Fantasy, as the experience-- and the tone of the material-- was reminiscent of the hours and hours I had spent as an adolescent playing those epic JRPGs.
But the laws of trademark infringement exist for good reason, and so I am voluntarily retiring my band name. In the new year, my record Heartland is coming out, and it is my first to be released in many territories, including Japan. With this in mind, I feel it is in my own best interests to definitively distinguish my music from Square/Enix's games.
So, I am no longer playing shows as Final Fantasy. Subsequent releases, including Heartland, will be issued under my own name, Owen Pallett. Prior releases will sometime soon be re-packaged and re-issued.
I thank Square/Enix their kindness and support, and I thank you all for your understanding.
Salud!
Owen
Pallett is currently offering a free download of the track 'Lewis Takes Action' at www.dominorecordco.com/freelewis. The track is taken from 'Heartland ', which is due for release on January 15th.
