The full remastered soundtrack for Osamu Shoji‘s score to the 1987 horror anime Wicked City is available to stream below, courtesy of Noisey. The soundtrack is being released on vinyl via Tiger Lab Vinyl.
Tiger Lab Vinyl co-founder Jon Dobyns tells Noisey:
Anime scores have been just as important to my musical upbringing as any other genre or influential group. As a soundtrack fan and vinyl collector, I thought that I could re-introduce the fan base to film scores they have either forgotten about or never picked up on.” When asked why chose to focus his label on anime, he continued: “As more people become swept up by the revival, anime soundtracks haven’t really faded away. The market has always been strong, and that’s because the original scores have always played an integral part in anime. The anime fandom is already so strong — I think it’s the soundtrack revivalists that will be introduced to something new.
Osamu Shoji’s score is something we wanted to highlight on its own. Shoji’s work is unique with its 80s atmosphere, and, as someone recently mentioned to me, it’s “Twin Peaks”-esque gothic lounge. I don’t think people would have picked up on its greatness inside the mayhem that is Wicked City.
In addition to streaming the soundtrack, Noisey is also hosting an opportunity to win a subscription to Tiger Lab Vinyl, which includes Wicked City, three future releases, and a t-shirt. More information can be found at the above link.
You can pre-order Wicked City via the official Tiger Lab Vinyl webstore. The album will be released on July 14th.