Yoko Kanno has been involved in providing the music for several well-known, well-loved anime series and movies. However, for all the great works that she's been a part of, there are some duds as well. One such dud, in my opinion, is the anime series Arjuna. The characters are annoying, the environmental message is delivered with the subtlety of a hammer, and the creators write themselves into a corner by the end of the series. The only major positive about this show (apart from the nice animation) is Yoko Kanno's music. The unusual, inventive music showcased on Into The Another World is way too good for the show it was written for.
Into The Another World strikes a delicate balance between the organic and the otherworldly. Non-electric instruments, tribal drums, and chants figure heavily into much of the music found here. However, these sounds are combined with traditional pop music sounds including piano, strings, electric guitar, and electronic synthesizers. Also, most of the vocals on this album are sung in an unrecognizable language. Only one song sung in this language, "Aqua," has a translation in the CD booklet. This makes listening to much of the album akin to listening to world music, but the knowledge that no one speaks the language that is being sung adds an alien element.
There is a lot of excellent and immensely creative music found throughout Into The Another World. "Awakening" sounds a lot like a remixed version of a ritual. As the same incoherent words are repeated in female voices, tribal-style drums are combined with heavy bass, "organic" sounds created with electronics, strings, piano, and other instruments. The song has a strong, almost epic feel to it. Chants also dominate "The Clone" but this short song is divided into two parts. The first has predominantly female voices and hand claps while the second features male voices and powerful, electronic-assisted drums.
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