Eminence Online

Soundtrack Review

Paprika is, to put it simply, an experience that's best described as a deluge of sights and sounds that overwhelms the senses until one can no longer distinguish between the surreal dream-like sequences and the scenes that take place in reality.  The movie focuses on a psychotherapy treatment that allows psychologists to enter a person's dreams until the device used to dive into people's unconscious thoughts is stolen and the dream world and reality commingle.  To achieve this seamless fit between the events on screen and the music, Director Satoshi Kon calls upon composer Susumu Hirasawa's talents to write music that would depict this blending of two realities and Hirasawa succeeds composing music that defies convention as it combines the psychedelic and pure chaos to suit Kon's vision.  While Hirasawa's compositions may be disorienting and take some time getting used to, there's no question that it delivers an unforgettable listening experience.

If this album can be compared to a swimming pool, then "Parade" would be Hirasawa tossing us into the deep end of the movie's muddled reality.  The eponymous scene is something straight out of a surrealist work as a procession of dolls, frogs, and various inanimate objects and symbols march steadily onwards out in a desert-like environment, backed by a cacophonous track.  "Parade" works well in bringing out the outlandish aspect of this odd spectacle.  It starts off with some hideous-sounding chanting which conveys the strangeness of the scenery and sets the tone of the piece.  The singer makes his entrance 40 seconds in, and by this time, the piece is in full swing, complete with bombast as the drums, cymbals, and various voices create an effect akin to flooding one's auditory senses with stimuli.  What results is the feeling of being lost in this chaotic, alien scene.

"Parade's" bombast then makes way for "Mediational Field," which presents itself as an upbeat track with a psychedelic air about it and this piece effectively serves as the main theme for the movie.  The mood here is much softer than the preceding track, but it still possesses a good amount of energy which it uses to create a wondrous, if bizarre, futuristic atmosphere.  An electronic voice singing what sounds like gibberish combined with the electronic synthesizers is certainly as strange as "Parade," but despite this it leaves you more at ease.  Later on in the soundtrack, "A Drop Filled with Memories" adapts the theme from "Mediational Field" by bringing about an atmosphere that is even more subdued and relaxing.  The blips of sound and the background instruments enter gently and soothingly; the tempo isn't hurried and the piece seems bent on placing you in a calm environment with the goal of allowing for moments of quiet contemplation.

But that short moment of tranquility doesn't last as the album's quirks return in full force with "Chaser," which uses the same disorienting chanting as in "Parade," except this time, the tempo is increased considerably.  The result one gets from this is an upsurge in anxiety as a sense of urgency overwhelms you.  "Chaser's" strength comes through in engaging the listener through its sheer intensity.  It seems to be driving into the listener the fact that there's a task that needs to be done otherwise, the world will be completely out of balance and the track reflects this by becoming tenser with time, at least, until it reverts to the dominant melody that it started with.  While exciting, it's a piece that's best handled in small doses, and thankfully, Hirasawa ensures that this piece doesn't overstay its welcome.

So while it's easy to be overwhelmed by this album's unconventional tracks, there are a few tracks that actually sound normal.  For example, both "Welcome to the Circus" and "Lounge" do an excellent job of describing their respective scenes.  The former puts forth a bombastic melody that brings to mind a procession of clowns and elephants, set to a marching rhythm that doesn't spare the use of the brass instruments as it sets its sights on recreating the circus marching band experience.  "Lounge" uses the piano, bass, and a vibraphone played at a slower tempo to give off the feeling one gets from a jazz lounge where one might go to de-stress after a long day at the office.  Other tracks of note include "Escapee," which channels "Chaser's" tense atmosphere sans the strange sound effects, making it more in line with the sort of music one would hear in an action film and "The Shadow," which is dramatic as it seems to announce the arrival of a great calamity.

However, all's well that ends well in this movie and this soundtrack, likewise, closes it all with a massive finale in "The Girl in Byakkoya - White Tiger Field" which uses the same melody from "Mediational Field" to create an upbeat setting that definitely brings about a sense of closure.  The singer's tone, while difficult to describe, does have an air of finality as he tries to convey the fact that the psychotherapy device is no longer a threat to the world and so, the natural order may resume its course once more.

Speaking solely for me, this wasn't an album that caught my attention right off the bat since I was put off by the style, which didn't fit in with the types of pieces that I usually enjoyed.  Slowly, but surely, I warmed up to the album, partly because I had finally seen the film and gained an understanding of the context which was reflected through the music and partly because it was different, and wasn't boring.  So with that in mind, Paprika's soundtrack's role in my playlist is to provide that nice change of pace by channeling a different experience through its weird vocalizations and electronic melodies that nevertheless leave me enthralled as it succeeds in transporting me into an alternate reality.

Share Article: