The music label Scarlet Moon has just released a whopping 47-track tribute album celebrating Hiroki Kikuta's incredible score for the 1993 SNES role-playing classic Secret of Mana.
The tribute album, which is called EXCALIBUR: A Tribute to Secret of Mana, includes new takes on a bunch of fan favourites including a gorgeous string rearrangement of the introductory theme Fear of the Heavens, a jazzy reimagining of Mystic Invasion, and a bass-heavy rendition of the main boss theme.
The producer and arranger Peter Reid Jones has assembled a large group of talented video game composers and musicians to bring the project to life and issued the following PR statement to coincide with the release:
"Secret of Mana was actually my introduction to the JRPG classics during my final university year in 2014. Smooth McGroove’s take on the harmonious 'Into the Thick of It' thoroughly blew my mind, leading me to pick up a SNES cartridge. Excalibur presents an OST-orderly walk down memory lane, resulting in extra takes on recurring tracks through gameplay. This was deliberate, as well as to include more artists during the COVID lockdown. By the time Scarlet Moon brought me aboard its artist roster (which of course includes the game’s esteemed composer himself), there was no question for who should distribute this album. Please enjoy!"
If you want to grab a digital copy of the album, it currently costs $15 to buy on Bandcamp. You can also purchase/stream it other places too, like Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Pandora, Tidal, and Deezer.