#kirite

Kirite is one of Yasunori Mitsuda’s most underrated works. It was a collaboration project with Masato Kato. The two are longtime friends and had worked together on numerous projects, Mitsuda the composer and Kato the scenario writer: Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Chrono Cross are among their accomplishments.

The album was conceived as a short story and follows very similar progressions to what you might encounter on a JRPG soundtrack, albeit shorter. The story is included in booklet form with the CD.

Vocalist Eri Kawai passed away in 2008.

I’ve never read a translation of the story myself, but I do have the scans. I’ve always been struck by the beauty of the album- it’s a damn shame it flew so low under the radar, considering its pedigree. I adore its celtic influences, perhaps not quite clear from this track. Apparently a recording exists in the form of a play, and it was mentioned that a DVD was going to be released, but I’ve never been able to track it down either.