Serial Experiment Lain Soundtrack: Cyberia Mix

SERIAL EXPERIEMENT LAIN SOUNDTRACK:
CYBERIA MIX
Copyright © triangle staff / Pioneer LDC
PICA 1179
¥2,835
Available now in Japan
Where to buy

—by John Yung

1. "s"peEd 5:23

2. duvet cyberia reMIX 5:19

3. professed intention and real intention 4:36

4. antidepressant o44 6:17

5. psychedelic farm 4:24

6. invisible file 4:53

7. prayer 5:58

8. Island in Video Casset 5:38

9. K.I.D.s 6:59

10. Cloudy, with occasional rain 5:08

11. INFANITy world 5:23

12. duvet TV sized 1:40

One of the curious ommission from the SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN Soundtrack is the opening song "duvet" by BOA that attracted many fans to the TV series. But since the first soundtrack album features music by Nakaido "Chabo" Reichi, who wrote most of the music for the series, the ommission now doesn't seem like an oversight. Nakaido's work is moody and has a definite identity. Including "duvet" in the first collection would have detracted from that identity.
The Cyberia Mix soundtrack is more like an image album, containing tracks that could belong to the playlist at Club Cyberia, one of the locations featured in the TV series. Most of the pieces are dance/techno ones that demand to be played out loud, so don't turn down the volume when you pop this CD into the player.
"'s'peEd" starts off the album with an unrelenting tempo appropriate to the title. There isn't much of a melody, which seems typical of techno tunes, but there are aural embellishments that sound like garbled PA announcements. The Cyberia remix of "duvet" re-arranges the song with different instruments and sets the already danceable song to a house beat that plays at about the same tempo as the original song. It's a nice remix, but some listeners may wonder, "Why bother?" "professed intention and real intention" is something that people will either love or hate. It's kind of a minimalist piece with a shrill voice repeating a lyric over a drum track trying out different beats. "antidepressant o44" is upbeat techno track, with a light percussion running throughout the piece. "psychodelic farm" isn't as psychodelic as the tunes from the 60's, but it's a fun track. "invisible file" starts off as a sedate dance track, but it turns into a bland tune after a couple of minutes. "prayer" is a favorite track because it features rapidfire rap lyrics done over an ethereal melody and a very danceable beat. "Island in Video Casset" is a trance track with a low-key embellishments. "K.I.D.s" works best as trance music, with its unvarying beat and nondescript melody. "Cloudy with occasional rain" does more interesting things with its percussion, weaving cymbals in and out of the drum track. "INFANITy world" sounds like a beatnik poetry reading with house music accompaniment.
Strangely enough, the "duvet TV sized" track is the most disappointing on the CD because it's too short and ends very abruptly compared to the actual TV version. For those of us who are curious about the full version of "duvet," it is available on 2 different CDs from Polystar Co. Ltd.: BOA's "Race of a Thousand Camels" album (PSCR-5688) and BOA's "duvet" CD single (PSCR-5748).
As for extras, the liner notes come in form of a double-sided mini-poster that's folded up in a cardboard sleeve. One side of the poster features a larger version of the cover image of Lain at the Club Cyberia DJ table and the lyrics to "INFANITy world." The other side has a picture of Lain and Myu-Myu, along with a track listing, album credits, and a tiny ad for BOA's "Race of a Thousand Camels" album. Also included are self-adhesive stickers for decoration.
On the whole, the Cyberia Mix is worthwhile addition to any LAIN fan's music collection. The dance/techno tracks compliment the atmosphere ebstablished in the series. The two versions of "duvet" are nice to have, although a full length original version would have been better. For those of you holding anime raves/dance parties, this soundtrack is perfect.