Saori Kobayashi to release original album inspired by Panzer Dragoon
On September 29, Saori Kobayashi will release the original album Journey. Inspired by her work on the Panzer Dragoon and Crimson Dragon franchises, the rich music on the album blends inspirations from Japanese folklore with new modern sounds. The music was performed by the unit AKANE, comprising multi-instrumentalist Saori Kobayashi and vocalist Yumiko Takahashi.
After a hiatus of seven years, Kobayashi decided to reunited AKANE after composing the music for Microsoft’s Crimson Dragon and meeting Brave Wave’s president Mohammed Taher. She notes that “We have been making music as AKANE since 2003, when the band was formed. Even though our last album release was a while ago, we have slowly been working on new material alongside our day jobs. As the title of the album suggests, AKANE is a band on a constant journey. We hope you will enjoy this new, mysterious journey with us!”
A few tracks on this album have already been released in some form on the recent releases Crimson Dragon, Crimson Dragon: Side Story, and, in collaboration with Nobuo Uematsu, Sakura Note. However, Kobayashi notes these are “new, reworked, more powerful renditions, which are more characteristic of what we call the ‘AKANE Sound.’ The album also features special remixes from Metal Gear Solid’s Takahiro Izutani and Finnish artist KOZILEK.
Four tracks from the album are available to preview from the release ahead of the September 29 release. Digital and physical versions of the album are available to pre-order on Bandcamp now. Having already heard the album in full, I can promise you it will be worth it.
Posted on September 8, 2014 by Chris Greening. Last modified on September 8, 2014.
About the Author
Chris Greening I've contributed to websites related to game audio since 2002. In this time, I've reviewed over a thousand albums and interviewed hundreds of musicians across the world. As the founder and webmaster of VGMO -Video Game Music Online-, I hope to create a cutting-edge, journalistic resource for all those soundtrack enthusiasts out there. In the process, I would love to further cultivate my passion for music, writing, and generally building things. Please enjoy the site and don't hesitate to say hello!
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Sounds great. Now if we could just get a new Panzer Dragoon to go along with it!