Fantasy TOP - land of best fantasies

This summer has been full of new experiences for me, and I owe my long absence to a few things. Back in June, I went to Germany to visit family and spent a week sightseeing around Rome and Florence in Italy. Last week, I took a spontaneous road trip up to Portland, Oregon with Ryan for fun. (And it was fun. During our final night there, we went to Jimmy Mak’s jazz club and kicked back with some drinks. I need to get out to jazz clubs more often...)

During the 10-hour car ride between San Francisco and Portland, I kept hitting repeat on a song by Air that I’ve never paid much attention to and now find myself head-over-heels for: “Alone in Kyoto” from Talkie Walkie. The song is calm and contemplative with a steady, pulsing rhythm and has a lovely detached texture, mixing the short sounds of guitar/piano/pitched percussion with longer, sustained electronic ones. It was also written for one of my favorite films, Lost in Translation.

Maybe it’s my piano bias, but I love sharp attack/quick decay and “sparkly” sounds like piano and guitar. Also, “Alone in Kyoto” strikes me as something that more modern RPG music should resemble, and I mean that as a compliment.

“Alone in Kyoto” by Air, set to a scenic video.