#im a music major but i can remember none of the specific lingo

[kitsoa]

Chikai Detailed Review

I was expecting the full version of Chikai to drop sometime today or tomorrow considering her album’s on its way. Finally....finally, this haunting song is here and it’s making me weep. I’m gonna dig into observations with time stamps from the linked video. I am under the impression that the English version is gonna be vastly different, but I hope not, this is.... ethereal, it feels like destiny. 

If you have listened to this song enough that you’d be willing to follow me on this listening journey, then there is more under the cut:

0:00- Right at the beginning starts the divisive syncopated piano rhythm. I understand why people might be jarred by it because its not terribly common in modern pop but it is just so incredibly unique and  compelling for a number of reasons. 

It’s in three. Like that’s just a giggle inducing move. Threes are so important to the series as the various trios are the lifeblood of the themes. And of course, its the long awaited third game and third Utada song. Very cute.

The syncopation is a very obvious heart beat. ‘baa--- ba-dum baa-- ba-dum’ The song is a goddamn heart. (I’m SCREAMING) and the fact that its in the piano is interesting and potentially symbolic. I mean, the piano is being turned into a primary rhythm instrument is weird to us Yoko Shimomura lovers because she layers her work with flourishing piano melodies. But ultimately that instrument is the lifeblood of the music of KH and Utada could be making a nod to that by making it serve itself as the heartbeat of her song. 

0:13- To go along with this ‘Utada is clearly text painting Kingdom Hearts into the fabric of her song’ thing, the violin line here has a distinctly Royal feel to it. Like (Oh god, proper nouns are escaping me but im thinking of something specific) in those baroque marches where the continuo is keeping this steady, rhythmic pulse underneath a violin’s elongated phrase as someone of importance (a king?) makes way through a scene. The fact that it’s orchestrated at all makes this feel like a melancholy/nostalgic coronation.

0:30- I will abstain from judging the english version but this is like... one of my favorite aspects of the main verse line. The Japanese corresponding text to our ‘thieves’ here slides into a resolution from its suspension in a ridiculously awesome way. It’s almost weepy. I’m gonna say the word a lot but thats probably cause I’m crying. It’s also very chill and jazzy. Ultimately the resolution (which is the main theme of KH3--Utadaaaaaa) here feels heavy and incomplete. Bitter sweet?

0:40- I like this vocal line. It’s very Utada because it’s actually super hard to pull off. Switch registers like that and keeping the line intense... dayum. I like that it repeats cause that like the musical equivalent to the moral of ‘keep on trying till you get it right’. It’s distinctly ‘determined’

0:47-- That drum pattern kicks in and its very clear this song is just gonna gradually build. It’s working toward something. It’s also super groovy. 

1:07- Chorus kicks in. This melodic line is just the pure definition of the word ‘yearning’. It begins with a chromatic climb to top of the melody’s standard range and hangs there for a second as though it wants to go higher but can’t and then it repeats. (try and try again?) 

1:30- Dude this is it. The part our virgin ears have yet to consume. 

2nd verse! I love the syllabification here. It makes me wonder what the English is gonna try to convey. 

1:43-- Funny enough it is in this verse the underlying ‘ah’ accent from the English version is placed. I like it here because you can sense that this standard ballad is gradually growing into something more ethereal (like KH2′s Passion).

1:46-- oh OH BOY. Lots of things are happening. First of all, that syllabic rhythm is electric (it also foreshadows the next part). It’s mesmerizing and varies from the established verse in a way that tumbles us into the next onslaught of concepts. 

Namely. The violin’s tremor-like half step noodling that builds and builds (1:49) up to a striking imagining of the 0:40 line. The vocals turn into a tightly packed, chord that is entirely inhuman sounding-- but it’s also a staple of Utada’s that I’ve heard in some of her other works. Needless to say this was the part where I actually gasped while listening. It sounded like Passion for a split second. 

1:59-- The change in chords right at this moment gave me chills cause I didn’t expected it and it opened up the floodgates of surprise, tumbling into 2:00′s fast triplet ornamentation like a vortex. This created a magnetic little spiral to me, like I was being sucked down a rabbit hole. I can only imagine what imagery could be sparked from this micro-passage alone. 

2:04-- right here we get the main chorus with a mighty fine and ethereal ‘ah’ broken chord in the build up. This makes the chorus insanely beautiful and interesting and mesmerizing. I love following that counter melody gahh.

2:27-- The vocal line builds nicely with a very new theme, the words are starting to have a very pronounced rhythm that 1:46 was alluding to. The words alone are pulling the music into this entirely new idea with a dramatic decay in the orchestration.

2:38-- This part is crazy. It’s using that triplet figure and drives the vocal line with it. Meanwhile the underlying symphony is echoing that heartbeat like opening line. The vocals are frantic and pleading and grow more layered and ethereal yet again. It sounds inhuman-- or angelic. Ultimately it feels completely unfathomable.  I am utterly captivated by this moment. 

3:00-- Chorus comes back! And now its the part from the extended preview that I heard before. The beat underneath this packs a punch like no other as the backing vocals and strings just flourish in the chorus. 

3:22-- The famous ‘kiss me once’ moment. The vocal lines alone act like crashing waves with the set driving in the back ground. The the melody just cries out.

3:45-- then it repeats with that triplet figure driving underneath and you become distinctly overwhelmed with emotion.

4:08 Until this close out happens and it feels like a different song. The melodic line moves a lot and I get a sort of resigned impression. But it surprises in the last minute by building towards...

Nothing. It ends in a major key in the middle of a resolving phrase, an empty rhythm clap filling the following beat like Utada is speechless. It leaves you speechless as it returns to the opening heart beat. You could argue that the ending is incomplete... and that the return to the opening figure indicates that the song could just... start all over again on loop, never ending. I get the strange feeling that I’ll only be able to interpret the meaning of that very unresolved resolution when I finish the game.

Overall:

This song is a religious experience for me. Utada truly delivered and you can tell that she is weaving every message into the fabric of this work. I haven’t looked through lyric translations, and to be honest I don’t think I will because its the melody alone that I feel tells the greater story. 

I have a lot of questions after listening to this. A lot of it pertains to the English version, knowing that there will definitely be big changes to the text heavy sections. There’s worry in that, but I’m excited about it all the same. I also wonder about the opening cinematic. Listening to this here tells me that we are not getting a remixed version (imo). And I am pleased with this potential fate. This song builds perfectly, we don’t need a hype song, we need Chikai. 

I am curious if they are going to cut the song. It’s long. For an opening especially. This is a worry because good lord it builds perfect we can’t cut a thing-- plus all the more reasons to have a longer cinematic I live for those. Finally I have to wonder the direction of those visuals. I’m not sure many of the dream imagery from openings past will work but I could very well be proved wrong. 

I’m cry guys. Favorite KH song hands down.

#kingdom hearts #kh3 #chikai review #im a music major but i can remember none of the specific lingo #shame of me #now i can just sit back and listen to this song