[Categories: Music]
Gasaraki OST
Yep, it’s that CD review that I was promising y’all for weeks.
Gasaraki was a series of great maturity, seriousness and sophistication; the accompanying soundtrack recreates these features accordingly, helped in no small part by the fact that the songwriting talent behind it was Kuniaki Haishima, who also worked on Monster and Spriggan. The album is bookended by the op and end themes, which is perhaps strangely not a pattern always observed in OST track listings. The op theme, Message #9, is a superb tune; arguably the reason why I became interested in the show in the first place. The vocal performance is reminiscent of Alison Goldfrapp or Portishead with samples of Noh performances and military-style snare drums that drift in along with the synthesised beats to give one of my all-time opening themes. The album version is even a longer edit than that used in the TV’s opening sequence too, which is a nice touch when watching successive episodes makes the shorter version somewhat overly-familiar. Love Song is an appropriately relaxing ending which is a good thing too considering some of the content on offer here. The snaking fretless bass blends well with the primeval-sounding percussion and Akino Arai (the voice behind Macross Plus’ Sharon Apple, no less!) on hand to provide the vocals that offer a really pleasant contrast.
The rest of the record is quite a mixture but offers no lyrical content to any of the vocal performances, favouring background harmonies instead. My highlights of the middle portion of the disc are atmospheric ambient numbers that have their roots in Japanese folk music, with the synthesised electronic elements carefully woven in; the Noh vocal performances and instrumentation are a recurring element which on one hand capture the spirit of the show but on the other are a little off-putting for listeners who aren’t fans of a musical style that is very unusual and not particularly ‘tuneful’ in the conventional sense of Western music. Songs such as Tie don’t make extensive use of this but it’s the main driving force of the likes of Oroshi. I personally find the flutes and taiko to be a refreshing change actually, and offer that exotic and mysterious vibe that makes the series so enjoyable when it’s not being a sci-fi piece.
The other significant element, the mecha/science fiction aspect, is well represented by the strident ‘military’ style orchestral material that probably also has something of a limited appeal since it’s not particularly light or relaxing listening either. It is quite evocative though, such as the menacing Kugai (a piece that’s the closest to being ‘frightening’ music that I’ve heard in a long time) but Beginaction, Scramble and B.A.D.G.E. are better suited as background music to the on-screen combat scenes rather than stand-alone listening.
This aspect of the record highlights a potential problem with soundtrack albums: while it is fantastic as accompaniment to events of the show it doesn’t fare as well taken out of context as a separate work. Gasaraki features one of the best quality scores I’ve seen in a show of this type, placing its composer alongside the heavyweights such as Shiro Sagisu, Yuki Kajiura and Yoko Kanno in being able to bring together traditional-sounding tunes of cinematic calibre and those more concerned with the show’s own particular themes. Nevertheless, the one thing that makes it such an outstanding OST, that of mirroring and complimenting the series, doesn’t necessarily make it as enjoyable on its own.
More melodic harmonies include the sublime Miharu and Unknown, which sound otherworldly and haunting – excellent examples of their type that along with the op/end tunes made this a worthwhile purchase from my own point of view. They convey the mystery and occasional serene moments of the show, and stand up better than most offerings on the disc as self-contained pieces. They also break up the portions of ‘heavier’ (in a classical, rather than a rock music sense) material, which prevents things becoming too serious and inaccessible; a criticism I levelled at the series at times, which just goes to show that the music is really faithful to the feel of the visuals and themes.
In summary
The Gasaraki soundtrack is highly recommended to those who enjoyed the series because it effectively captures the atmosphere that’s borne from the unusual combination of high-tech science fiction and Noh-inspired folklore. On its own though, it might not be as appealing to those who don’t appreciate the Noh music or who prefer their orchestral melodies to be on the lighter and brighter side. I’d say the most significant factor that counts against the record is that it’s hard to find these days at a reasonable price; a shame really, because it’s a reminder of how talented Haishima is in writing evocative soundtrack scores.
Track listing
- Message #9
- Tie
- Oroshi
- Unknown
- Beginaction
- Schrreal
- Scramble
- B.A.D.G.E.
- Kryptic
- Kugai
- Heat
- Armaments
- Miharu
- Shikimi
- F
- Guerrilla
- Battlefield
- Densho
- Tuki
- Love Song
Posted on October 21st, 2007 @ 6:17 am
Wow, here we have a really great review of a really great soundtrack. While I found that Gasaraki was lacking in many ways (particularly the way that the relatively sloppy fantasy-mecha story encroached on the otherwise engrossing political intruige), I completely agree with you on its soundtrack. Message #9 has been amonmg my favourite anime OPs since I first heard it, and, like you, I think it was a factor that contributed largely to me watching the show. In fact, because I have somewhat of a fetish for innovative sounds and musical styles, it’s probably my absoloute favourite OP.
I’ll be looking out for your thoughts on other anime soundtracks.
Posted on October 21st, 2007 @ 8:56 pm
@Washi: cheers. ^_^ I agree that the series was not without its flaws but the soundtrack captures the feel and atmosphere of the show so well - Message #9 is the perfect opener and I still enjoy it after all this time. It’s a shame that Gasaraki is becoming something of a forgotten series really.
I’ll be doing some more OST reviews in the coming weeks since I have a nice healthy ‘to buy’ list and plenty of newish albums to choose from. Most of my CDs are in removal boxes right now though, worse luck.