9/10 Eamonn 24th April 2014

Do you know that feeling when you discover something wonderful you had absolutely no conception of beforehand? It's one of those feelings that occurs once or twice a year, if you're lucky. Well that's exactly what happened to me with Geinoh Yamashirogumi. Initially I saw Bleep were reissuing it on green vinyl, but unwilling to pay the added cost for a 2nd pressing on a different coloured vinyl I sought out the original and ended up on this lovely site. There is something about this record, the way it came with a printed A4 sheet of paper detailing the history and discography of the Geinoh Yamashirogumi, and the names of the researchers, the sheer alien feel of the artwork, it's so different. And of course, not forgetting the music - which although I had heard many times whilst watching Akira had always somehow been overshadowed. On listening to this record one realises two things; first that the sound track is *so* perfect for the anime, and second that the soundtrack is a work of art in its own right. There're elements of everything, very choral in its nature it reminds me of perhaps Atom Heart Mother, and certainly matches it for avant garde vocal work - but there's also something more, an eastern percussion section that I hadn't heard anything similar to beforehand [I am now on a Geinoh Yamashirogumi collecting quest], and the resurgent theme is so emotionally powerful. Close your eyes and drift of into a post-apocalyptic wasteland and dream of Akira.