While the cause of Yoshitaka Murayama's passing on February 6, 2024 was not disclosed, given that his works, including the first three mainline Suikoden titles and the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, feature large casts of diverse characters, it's fitting to find a charity dedicated to promoting diversity in game development. As such, Scarlet Moon will donate profits from this release to NPower, a charity that "creates pathways to economic prosperity by launching digital careers for military veterans and young adults from underserved communities," with digital careers including game development. Prescription for Peace: A Tribute to the Departed Volume II is now available on all digital storefronts and streaming platforms:
Prescription for Peace: A Tribute to the Departed Volume II on All Storefronts
"Murayama-san's passing came as a shock to me and so many, especially given his young age," notes Scarlet Moon's Jayson Napolitano. "Suikoden has had such a profound influence on me, with Scarlet Moon's name coming from the first game in the series. Although AYAKI-san was unavailable, Hibino-san went into the studio and single-handedly recorded every note here, all while dealing with temporary deafness in his left ear. I'm moved by his dedication to this important work: creating music to help people with their daily struggles, including loss. And I'm also relieved to finally pay tribute to my own parents with this album."
"I was so shocked to hear about Murayama-san's death," comments GENTLE LOVE's Norihiko Hibino. "He was about my age and worked at KONAMI at the same time I did. I've unfortunately had several very close friends around this age recently pass away and I felt a big loss. Also, with all the news of war and loss around the world, I know families everywhere are suffering. I could not express my sorrow in words. Instead, this music came pouring out from me... in a single day, I composed and recorded these songs on guitar, piano, and saxophone. While dealing with partial hearing loss made it hard to mix the recordings, thanks to the efforts of Frank van 't Ende, the final masters sound great. This whole album is a part of my healing process, and hopefully this recording does the same for those who are dealing with the loss of loved ones."
Commentary as to the meaning of each track on the album and its purpose as a therapeutic vehicle is described on the album page on Bandcamp. The full track listing for Prescription for Peace: A Tribute to the Departed Volume II is as follows:
- Reminiscence (Suikoden II) [Tribute to Yoshitaka Murayama]
- Transcendence [Tribute to Karyn Napolitano]
- Leaving Here [Tribute to Mitsuhiro Furuya]
- Till I See You Again [Tribute to Takashi Furuya]
- Gentle Light Soft
- Logos
- Don't Understand
- Dedication [Tribute to Shinya Abe]
- Sparkling Gem
- Only Him
- Canon in D [Tribute to Pasquale Michael Napolitano]
The first Prescription for Peace album can be found here: https://scarletmoon.to/p4p/
About Scarlet Moon
Scarlet Moon is a music label supporting creators big and small. They are an artist roster of acclaimed musical talents available to handle all audio needs, a record label involved in music publishing, and a public relations partner to promoting game music. Scarlet Moon's sister brand, Violet Moon, promotes independent videogames.
Learn more: https://www.scarletmoon.com
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