Iwas delighted to discover that I hadn't already posted this soundtrack. This is easily one of the most unique soundtracks of all time, and it happens to be my personal favorite. Don't make the mistake of judging this album by it's cover, thinking that it's just the soundtrack to some silly cartoon, as that would be a serious lapse of judgement on your behalf. Those of you who haven't had the pleasure of listening to it are going to be in for a real treat. I'm not a fan of anime or manga, but there are two exceptions, those being "Ninja Scroll" and "Akira". Fortunately for you all I happen to have the soundtracks to both, with the latter being presented to you now.
For those unfamiliar with Akira, it is a 1988 anime film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, based on the manga comic bearing the same name. It has since become a massive cult classic, influencing a great deal of the anime/manga art and animation that would follow in the years to come. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo in the year 2019. Rebuilt from the ashes of World War 3, it's a technological dream of computers and soaring science, mated to the social nightmare of corrupt politicians, a rampant military and an oppressed working class. Add to this the rise of a powerful breed of psychics (or 'psionics') capable of various degrees of telepathy and telekinesis, and somehow linked to a top secret military project known as Akira. The film tells the story of Tetsuo, who begins developing psychic powers but doesn't understand what is happening to him or the responsibilities that come with such godlike power.
The soundtrack was recorded by Geinō Yamashirogumi (芸能山城組), and composed and conducted by Shoji Yamashiro. Geinō Yamashirogumi is a Japanese musical collective founded on January 19, 1974 by Tsutomu Ōhashi, consisting of hundreds of people from all walks of life. They are known for their faithful re-creations of folk music from around the world, as well as their fusion of various traditional musical styles with modern instrumentation and synthesizers. In the early 1980's the group saught to incorporate computer-generated sounds into their music. The MIDI digital synthesizers of that time were incapable of handling the tuning systems of traditional gamelan music, so the group taught themselves to program these synthesizers in order to modify their equipment. Their fusion of traditional gamelan and electronic music captured the attention of Katsuhiro Ōtomo, who commissioned them to create the soundtrack of Akira. The soundtrack is built on the concept of recurrent themes or "modules". Texturally, the soundtrack is a mix of digital synthesizers (Roland D-50, etc), Indonesian chromatic percussion (jegog, etc.), traditional Japanese theatrical and spiritual music (Noh), European classical, and progressive rock.
The soundtrack was recorded in 1988, and released in 1990 by Demon Records. You can no longer find it to purchase on the Demon Records website. A few versions of the soundtrack have been released over the years. "AKIRA: The Original Japanese Soundtrack", consists of only four tracks. I haven't had the chance to listen to it, therefore I'm unable to describe to you what extent it differs, aside from the number of tracks and length. "AKIRA: Original Soundtrack" consists of 10 tracks, and contains voices and sound effects from the film, as well as music which was additionally re-recorded for the soundtrack release. "Kaneda", "Battle Against Clown" and "Exodus From the Underground Fortress" are actually part of the same song cycle. "Symphonic Suite AKIRA" is the same as "AKIRA: Original Soundtrack", only the voices and sound effects are absent.
I have no doubt that those of you who have been following this blog will enjoy this, as well as anyone who happens to stumble across it. As I mentioned before, my knowledge of anime is virtually nonexistent, but if any of you could recommend some soundtracks in a similar vein I would be very grateful.
Year of Release: 1990
Label: Demon Records
Genre: Soundtrack, Experimental, World Fusion
Bitrate: 256kbps
Track List:
1. Kaneda
2. Battle Against Clown
3. Winds Over The Neo-Tokyo
4. Tetsuo
5. Dolls Polyphony
6. Shohmyoh
7. Mutation
8. Exodus From The Underground Fortress
9. Illusion
10. Requiem
For those unfamiliar with Akira, it is a 1988 anime film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, based on the manga comic bearing the same name. It has since become a massive cult classic, influencing a great deal of the anime/manga art and animation that would follow in the years to come. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo in the year 2019. Rebuilt from the ashes of World War 3, it's a technological dream of computers and soaring science, mated to the social nightmare of corrupt politicians, a rampant military and an oppressed working class. Add to this the rise of a powerful breed of psychics (or 'psionics') capable of various degrees of telepathy and telekinesis, and somehow linked to a top secret military project known as Akira. The film tells the story of Tetsuo, who begins developing psychic powers but doesn't understand what is happening to him or the responsibilities that come with such godlike power.
The soundtrack was recorded by Geinō Yamashirogumi (芸能山城組), and composed and conducted by Shoji Yamashiro. Geinō Yamashirogumi is a Japanese musical collective founded on January 19, 1974 by Tsutomu Ōhashi, consisting of hundreds of people from all walks of life. They are known for their faithful re-creations of folk music from around the world, as well as their fusion of various traditional musical styles with modern instrumentation and synthesizers. In the early 1980's the group saught to incorporate computer-generated sounds into their music. The MIDI digital synthesizers of that time were incapable of handling the tuning systems of traditional gamelan music, so the group taught themselves to program these synthesizers in order to modify their equipment. Their fusion of traditional gamelan and electronic music captured the attention of Katsuhiro Ōtomo, who commissioned them to create the soundtrack of Akira. The soundtrack is built on the concept of recurrent themes or "modules". Texturally, the soundtrack is a mix of digital synthesizers (Roland D-50, etc), Indonesian chromatic percussion (jegog, etc.), traditional Japanese theatrical and spiritual music (Noh), European classical, and progressive rock.
The soundtrack was recorded in 1988, and released in 1990 by Demon Records. You can no longer find it to purchase on the Demon Records website. A few versions of the soundtrack have been released over the years. "AKIRA: The Original Japanese Soundtrack", consists of only four tracks. I haven't had the chance to listen to it, therefore I'm unable to describe to you what extent it differs, aside from the number of tracks and length. "AKIRA: Original Soundtrack" consists of 10 tracks, and contains voices and sound effects from the film, as well as music which was additionally re-recorded for the soundtrack release. "Kaneda", "Battle Against Clown" and "Exodus From the Underground Fortress" are actually part of the same song cycle. "Symphonic Suite AKIRA" is the same as "AKIRA: Original Soundtrack", only the voices and sound effects are absent.
I have no doubt that those of you who have been following this blog will enjoy this, as well as anyone who happens to stumble across it. As I mentioned before, my knowledge of anime is virtually nonexistent, but if any of you could recommend some soundtracks in a similar vein I would be very grateful.
Year of Release: 1990
Label: Demon Records
Genre: Soundtrack, Experimental, World Fusion
Bitrate: 256kbps
Track List:
1. Kaneda
2. Battle Against Clown
3. Winds Over The Neo-Tokyo
4. Tetsuo
5. Dolls Polyphony
6. Shohmyoh
7. Mutation
8. Exodus From The Underground Fortress
9. Illusion
10. Requiem
Zero,
ReplyDeleteSent you a direct email, don't know if you got it.
Here are your links...
http://www.multiupload.com/ERCKY7J120
http://www.multiupload.com/GEAM0UITC7
http://www.multiupload.com/GSJO9H0RVV
Let me know when you get them so I can remove the links from my uploader. Contact me through my profile.
Willard
Thanks! Cant wait to give it a listen. You would probably love the 'Ghost in the Shell' soundtrack by Kenji Kawai. Very very cool soundtrack. One of my favorites. But for soundtrack music nothing is better than Peter Gabriels "Passion: The Last Temptation of Christ."
ReplyDeletePatrick
Wow! Being a fan of the movie from the very beginnings(the bike chase scene of the opening is probably one of the defining moments of my adult imagination), I've always been particularly fond of its off beat & contrasting music. However, I have to say that your explanation about the whole retuning of synths to work with gamelan music blew my mind. I knew nothing of that (I do know something about the Roland D-50 and it would indeed be somewhat difficult to use in those scales). And I do so love musicians who manage to turn material limitations around to create such fantastic soundscapes!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for that info and for sharing this soundtrack.
You got me reeling now old friend as I have a handful of excellent early japanimation (anime?) from an old tenant to rip when I can find it in the stacks filling my new small-and-tall pantry at the new 1920's rental home. Oooo I see you have some new Goblin.."been away Floyd, been away."
ReplyDelete@Willard: Thank you very much my friend. I appreciate the help more than you realize. I'll be contacting you shortly
ReplyDelete@Anonymous Patrick: I hope you enjoy the soundtrack. Should you happen to read this, please drop back by and let me know how you liked it.
I'll be sure to check out the soundtracks to Ghost in the Shell and Passion. I haven't had the chance to listen to either. Thanks for the recommendations.
@Audiozobe: You're welcome for both the info and the soundtrack. I'm glad I could provide some enlightening information for you. I think it makes the soundtrack that much more enjoyable to know what lengths the group went to in order to create this amazing work of art. It's great to know someone else feels the same.
@Viacomclosedmedown: Are you referring to ripping the soundtracks, or the movies? If you plan on ripping any soundtracks I would love to hear them if you wouldn't mind passing them my way, or even if you just feel like passing on some recommendations that would be great.
If you need it, I can provide you with Ghost In The Shell 1 & 2 soundtracks, both in 320. Use my gmail contact if that's of interest to you.
ReplyDelete@Audiozone: I would love to take you up on that offer, but I can't find a contact link to your gmail account. Could you help me out?
ReplyDeleteSorry about that - reach me at audiozobe(at)gmail(dot)com.
ReplyDeleteHey Zero,
ReplyDeleteLove the Akira soundtrack! I find myself listening to it quite frequently now while I am working!
Patrick