Lawrence English will release a soundtrack to Yoshihisa Tagami’s long forgotten manga Grey, originally released in 1986, on Room40.
Grey, a type of Japanese graphic novel or comic, was one of the first mangas to be translated and distributed outside of Japan. It was also the first manga English bought for myself, at the age of 13, and it left a lasting impression on him. After rediscovering it in 2021, he was struck by how internalised some of the manga’s themes had become and was compelled to create a soundtrack as a form of “distorted mirror to its pages,” he says.
It’s a work steeped in nostalgia of memory that muses how experiences and encounters shape us in unexpected ways. “This album, Approach, is an echo that has travelled with me for 33 years,” English adds, “even if I wasn’t fully aware of it.”
English describes the album as a kind of “sonic postcard” that he has retrospectively drafted for the unsteady version of himself, though high-school. It also pays homage to the family and friends who helped to “cushion and guide that young body and mind.”
The record is mastered by Stephan Mathieu at Schwebung Mastering.
Tracklisting
01. Pre-Approach: Citizen
02. Approach I: Grey Death
03. Approach II: The Doll
04. Approach III: Losing Red
05. Approach IV: Shidara
06. Approach V: First Encounter
07. Approach VI: Ruins
08. Approach VII: Nagoshi
09. Approach VIII: Becoming Halfling
10. Approach IX: Lara’s Theme
11. Approach X: The City
12. Approach XI: Toy
Approach LP is scheduled for September 23 release. Meanwhile, you can stream an edit of “Approach V: First Encounter” below and pre-order here.
