'Akira' Soundtrack Gets Vinyl Reissue

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Mar 21, 2014

Forget Neo-Tokyo, anime fans' minds are about to explode, with news that late '80s masterpiece Akira is about to have its soundtrack pressed back onto vinyl. Helmed by Japanese musical collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi and led by composer Shoji Yamashiro (a.k.a. Tsutomu Ōhashi), the conceptual soundscapes behind the dystopian sci-fi feature will be issued on a new wax platter early in April via Japanese imprint Binyl.

The soundtrack was originally issued in Japan on vinyl in 1988, around the time of the film's release, and has since received a handful of CD editions as well. Geinoh Yamashirogumi's score mixed modern classical elements, organs, rhythmic textures, chanting and even a dose of prog-rock, soundtracking a cast of psychics and motorcycle gangs surviving in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo circa 2019.

A tracklisting has yet to be offered up, making it unclear if the vinyl repress includes the four character soundscapes preserved on the original soundtrack release ("Kaneda," Tetsuo I," "Tetsuo II" and "Akira") or one of the later expanded editions.

You can pre-order the soundtrack here.

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