It is no surprise that space jazz duo PAON have partnered with video game and VGM adjacent music label Scarlet Moon for their new project. PAON (French for peacock) features multi-genre singer-songwriter Pernelle and music producer Lemm. If you’ve played Stellar Blade or Outer Worlds 2, you’ll have heard Pernelle’s vocals before. Lemm is well known as a producer for the Hatsune Miku: Project Diva series. Between them, they’ve created a vibrant, highly produced explosion of jazz, electronics, and wild chant-like vocalisations. I’m reminded heavily of Zoe of the Enders’ soundtrack that encompassed a similar vibe.
PAON is a narrative-driven musical project. Their forthcoming debut EP ‘Philosphie du Soi‘ comes out on Sunday and will tell a story across five acts (tracks). The lead single ‘Métamorphose’ kicks off the EP with a sensory assault. When the vocals aren’t chanting at you with full intensity, dancefloor pianos stolen from Persona and Lemm’s trademark scrappy jazz approach are hurling towards you at pace. It is bombastic, highly produced music at its finest.
Speaking about their influences, Pernelle says:
“This project is a tribute to many musical artists we love such as Chick Corea, KNOWER, and Vangelis, but also notably to the work of Naoshi Mizuta and Masashi Hamauzu in the FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 soundtrack, that was the starting point of our collaboration. As our universe is deeply connected to audiovisual and narrative aspects, we believe that videogames are the most appropriate dimension to make our music evolve and find its purpose within the tangible world.”
I can hear all of those influences throughout, especially the Vangelis and Final Fantasy XIII-2 soundtrack. Aural boogie time incoming!
Enjoy the hyper-stylised music video to ‘Métamorphose’. The EP will be available on PAON’s Bandcamp. For me, this fills a niche of crazy future-chant electronic music that the likes of Rekka Katagiri hint at, but often takes down the rock route instead. This is a space jazz opera from a temple I’ve never visited before, and now want to embrace. Now I’m sated! Expect an EP review next week.
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