Bleep

Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away Image Album has its genesis in a note scribbled down by Hayao Miyazaki, the director of this beloved animated film. After talking with Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli’s soundtrack composer Joe Hisaishi then constructed a set of ten songs which draw inspiration from both the film as a whole and the poetic musings put down by Miyazaki on that note. The result is a gorgeous set of ballads which see a series of vocalists - U-MI, Sizzle Ohtaka and Tsunehiko Kamijo to name but three - enliven material that ranges from soaring chamber music to curious, vaguely art-rock-ish songcraft. All in all the Spirited Away Image Album is another delightful dispatch from Studio Ghibli’s universe.