Gentle Love, the stage name of jazz saxophonist Norihiko Hibino (performer on the soundtracks for Metal Gear Solid 4 and the Bayonetta series) and pianist AYAKI (performer for Persona Q and Etrian Odyssey), are no strangers to adopting the music of pop culture for a more mellow musical ear. With their first attempt at adapting anime music, their forthcoming album aims to bring a sense of mellow tranquility to anime’s most traumatic dystopia.
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The album is titled “Prescription for Sleep: Attack on Titan”, and the endeavor marks the twelfth entry for the group’s Billboard-charting “Prescription for Sleep” album series. “Prescription for Sleep” originated from Gentle Love’s desire to reimagine some of the most iconic video game OSTs, and their previous albums have included adaptations of titles such as Stardew Valley and Undertale. ‘Attack on Titan’ marks the group’s first attempt at giving the easy-listening treatment to anime, and this territory is equally new for the record label Scarlet Moon Records, which otherwise specializes in all-things video game music. At fourteen tracks, the album is a robustly soothing adaptation of Sawano’s OST, in addition to other tracks originally taken from Kohta Yamamoto, Yuki Ando, and one original composition from Gentle Love itself.
In the album’s accompanying booklet, Gentle Love gives a unique perspective on their decision to adapt Attack on Titan’s soundtrack and its accompanying musical challenges: “The melodies in Attack on Titan are not quite straightforward and often went places I couldn’t predict…it seems to capture a certain world evoking unsettled feelings, so in that way, it has been the toughest project we’ve worked on yet. Our goal was to look at the music from a different angle and to bring peace to our soul.” The label producer at Scarlet Moon Records, Jayson Neapolitano, also remarks that the original source material “don’t particularly align with what Hibino-san is trying to do in therapeutic music, but our goal was to ‘bring peace’ to something so tragic and violent, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.”
Listening to the album’s tracks, there is a movingly fascinating contrast between the original score’s intense connotations and the simple, singular aim with which the artists render it in smooth jazz. The instrumentation fits with smooth jazz, whereas the relaxed tempo places it in the related ballpark of easy listening. This is a unique project that fully pays justice to the original compositions, while also self-assuredly projecting its own artistic direction. For fans of Attack on Titan looking to experience the OST’s emotional roller coaster in a more subdued way, this album is a must.
Prescription for Sleep: Attack on Titan releases on April 4, 2022. Tracklisting and pre-order information can be found on the Scarlet Moon Records Bandcamp page.
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