The Record Blog

This is the soundtrack to the Studio Trigger anime by the same name, which was an accompanying series to the video game Cyberpunk: 2077, which released in 2020. That itself is an adaptation of the Cyberpunk tabletop RPG game, which originally rolled out in 1988. The series tells of a bleak, grim future ruled by bloodthirsty megacorporations, where everyone has cybernetic implants that may or may not drive you to psychosis, and where your morals and humanity are always for sale. Think Blade Runner brought to its logical conclusion. Dirty, neon-drenched streets, shady backroom deals, and so. many. guns.

The music reflects this atmosphere perfectly, captured by a number of artists. Acclaimed video game composer Akira Yamaoka (of Silent Hill soundtrack fame) wrote several of pieces for this series, as well as Polish composers Marcin Przybyłowicz and P.T. Adamczyk, who wrote much of the music for Cyberpunk: 2077. Those familiar with the game will recognize a few of the tracks on this album, especially "Cloudy Day", the theme music for the villainous Arasaka Corporation.

Dark, looming synth soundscapes are peppered with intense bursts of techno and metal, creating an atmosphere that matches the action of the anime. There are some more mellow tracks too, like the melancholy "Lucky You" and "Let You Down", the end credits music performed by Polish artist Dawid Podsiadło.

My favorite track on this album has to be "Run to the Edge". Without giving any spoilers, it plays during a very climactic moment in the series, and this music turns the hype up to 11. The sped up, slightly distorted orchestra hook, the heavy drums and bass... that's the preem stuff, choomba! It almost has this machismo to it, like an old spaghetti western.

Gah, listening to this makes me want to watch the series again. Luckily, season 2 is coming this fall!!

Okay, first of all, how cool is this album packaging? A triple gatefold with holes cut out in a twisting pattern. With all the inserts taken out, you can see all the way through it! I do love when bands and labels get creative with their packaging.

The Ocean, or The Ocean Collective, is a German metal group formed in 2001. The reason for the differing names is the group's music often features a rotating cast of guest musicians, hence the "collective". In addition to your typical metal guitars, bass, and drums, this album also features instruments like cello, piano, and trombone.

The music fluctuates between intense, harsh metal sounds and more laid back sections which feature jazzier chords and splashes of symphonic color. Progressive music has always interested me, I find it very commendable when groups try to break away from the mold of standard, predictable songwriting forms and cliches. As a metal convert later in life, there's still enough in this music for my ear to latch onto. There are some welcome breaks from the thrashing onslaught.

Each track on this album is inspired by different geological epochs, which I must admit is a very creative place to pull inspiration for a metal album. Quite the ambitious project. With songs titled things like "Ordovicium - The Glaciation of Gondwana", you've gotta swing for the fences. Thankfully, the Collective was able to pull off, to my ear, a very satisfying and engaging album.

The included lyric sheet is a welcome addition, and on a more detailed listen while following along, I'm getting a lot more out of it than on a casual listen with it on in the background. The lyrics range between poetic and startlingly literal, often in the same verse. Take a look at this lyric from "Siluran - Age of Sea Scorpions":

You and me, we took great pains to not get down too deep. Down into the raging stream of our subconsciousness. Shadows are passing by. Sometimes they're close to catching up. Sea scorpions prowl these waters. They are the apex predators. This time we won't surrender facing the unknown.

I'd actually like to use this song to share some more thoughts, so take a listen.

I think this song sums up what the band is all about quite nicely. You've got your good proggy mixed meter in there, more pared-down parts with cello and piano, and ramping up in intensity until you get to the fierce, guttural vocals of the metal sections. All in all, a good showcase of what metal music can achieve, from both a creative and performing standpoint.

Right off the bat, I have to say the way this album is presented in a very nice way. The embossed letters on the front cover, the clean lines, and this very nice plastic inner sleeve all add up to an enjoyable tactile experience. That's one of the nice things about vinyl, you know? You get this object to hold and take out of the sleeve, put on the platter... The ritual of it makes it more fun than just tapping a playlist on your phone.

Anyway, onto the music. Not much in the way of crazy or groundbreaking stuff here, it's a Christmas album. It's all solo piano, and I could see someone putting this on at maybe a party or while decorating to get in the holiday spirit. I guess this is called "contemporary classical", kind of new age-y, not really classical classical, but it obviously carries on the traditions of classical and jazz piano.

Winston includes a little blurb for each song, either its origin or his inspiration for writing it if was one of his originals. I also appreciate how he listed the five albums that were most influential to the making of this one, in case someone was looking for more of the same.

I was going to choose "The Holly and the Ivy" as my favorite from this album, as I do really love that carol, but the final track, "Peace", caught my ear.

Winston doesn't include any notes for this one, and it's one of his original compositions. The stark, sporadic piano at the beginning brings wintry scenes to mind, like a cold, moonlit winter night. There's just something very contemplative about this piece, I enjoy it a lot.

This is the Eagles (or is it just Eagles?) second album, released two years after the group's formation in 1971. They chose to style themselves after Wild West outlaws with the album art direction and many of the songs contained within, drawing parallels between the lifestyle of a desperado and the life of a modern rock star.

If you've listened to any of the Eagles greatest hits albums, there will be a few familiar ones from Desperado: of course the titular "Desperado", as well as "Tequila Sunrise" and "Doolin Dalton". The rest were unknown to be before listening through, but they're all solid.

The general vibe is a little more country than rock at this point in the band's career, and lacks the ultra-sleek, yacht rock stylings of their later mega hits ("Life in the Fast Lane", "One of These Nights", "Hotel California")

My favorite "new" tunes (well, new to me) were "Twenty-One", a lively bluegrass jam, and "Saturday Night", a melancholy waltz about a lost love.

I think "Outlaw Man" really sums up the direction they were trying to take this album. It's on theme, it has that 70s classic rock sound to it, and it opens with a nice bluegrass instrumental.

My favorite on the album, though, has to be the reprise of "Doolin Dalton" and "Desperado" at the end. I do love me a good reprise!

Taking the original melodies and doing something new with them is something that really appeals to me. With these two songs especially, since I've heard them so many times, hearing them in this new context is like bonus features or something. Also, that extra verse for "Desperado" is so good...

The queen of diamonds let you down, she was just an empty fable The queen of hearts you say you never met Your twisted fate has found you out, and it's finally turned the tables Stole your dreams and paid you with regret

Sounds like he's still searching for his happy ending.

There were a lot of questions right off the bat as I stood in the record store: Who is Hailu Mergia? "Classical instrument"? What language is this written in? I decided to just bite the bullet, buy it, and find out.

The language is easy enough with a few context clues. It's Amharic, one of the main languages spoken in Ethopia, where musician Hailu Mergia is from. This is a 2013 repress by a company called Awesome Tapes From Africa. If I happen to stumble across any more of their catalogue, I'll be sure to check them out!

Based on the blurb on the back cover, Mergia was a trailblazer in the Ethopian music scene. He hit the big time in Ethiopia in the 80s and began touring across America and Europe, playing as a house musician at various clubs and hotels. His band was the first Ethiopian band to tour in the United States, where he took up residence after a successful tour in 1983. He's still alive at 80 years old, now living in Washington, DC and makes his living as an airport taxi driver (???) while still performing and recording when possible.

The music itself is unlike anything I've heard. Jazzy, bluesy, synthy underpinnings set to a drum machine while an accordion improvises over the top in the traditional Ethiopian pentatonic scale.

This is the title track, Shemonmuanaye.

To my thoroughly American ear, I don't really have anything to directly compare this with. It's just such a cool sound, though! What is really reminds me of, honestly... You know in Animal Crossing, some of those instrumental tracks you can put on your stereo in your house? I feel like this would fit right in.

The other tracks aren't nearly as "spooky" sounding, but they all share the mellow synthesized groove as the baseline with accordion over the top. Just a fascinating combination of sounds and textures. This is one I like to put on for people if we're just hanging out in the basement. I inevitably get asked the, "whoa, what is this?"

The full album is up on YouTube, so please check it out if you're vibing with the sound! Expand your musical horizons today!