New orchestral fan album Time & Space celebrates the music of Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum through 16 epic arrangements of some of the series’ most iconic songs.
Arranger Braxton Burks is no stranger to the world of Pokémon with Billboard-charting albums dedicated to other regions, including Johto Legends, Kanto Symphony, and the Double Team! tribute albums. Time & Space features 16 tracks with several live performances throughout, including woodwinds player Kristin Naigus, vocalist Reven, pianist Augustine Mayuga Gonzales, and the Videri String Quartet, all of whom bring the most memorable moments from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl to life. Key arrangements include a new take on the sleepy hometown with vocals by Reven in “Twinleaf Town,” a grand orchestral re-imagining of the ethereal theme “Eterna Forest” featuring Kristin Naigus, and the unforgettable themes of the legendary Pokémon in “Battle at Spear Pillar! Dialga and Palkia.”
“The soundtrack to the games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl marked a large departure from GAME FREAK’s typical music production style, which up to that point had mostly been constrained by the low fidelity instruments of the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance era,” says Burks. “With the Nintendo DS hardware came room for the composers to write music with higher quality synths, electronics, and drums, expanding their palette to encompass a broad range of genres. This inspired me to experiment with my own palette and break orchestration conventions for Time & Space. Instead of writing pure orchestral versions of themes, I opted for a more hybrid approach: using percussion, synths, and other non-orchestral instruments to complement the acoustic elements of my pieces and adding further depth to the base arrangements. Overall, I’m very happy with the result! I feel like the battle tracks from this album in particular have the most impact of any Pokémon tracks I’ve had the pleasure of arranging.”
Time & Space track listing:
Braxton Burks: Producer
Jett Galindo: Mastering Engineer
bluekomadori: Album Art
Track 1: Arceus and the Creation
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Track 2: The World of Pokémon (Introduction)
Kristin Naigus: Oboe
Videri String Quartet: Strings
Wayne Strange: Orchestrator
Track 3: Twinleaf Town
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Reven: Vocals
Track 4: First Steps (Route 201)
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Kristin Naigus: Oboe, Flute
Track 5: Stars Over Lake Verity (Sinnoh Lake Theme)
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Augustine Mayuga Gonzales: Piano
David Peacock: Piano Transcription
Kristin Naigus: Flute, Piccolo
Track 6: Lake Guardians (Battle! Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf)
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Track 7: Eterna Forest
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Kristin Naigus: Woodwinds
Videri String Quartet: Strings
Wayne Strange: Orchestrator
Track 8: The Road to Celestic (Route 210)
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Track 9: Team Galactic’s Plot (Battle! Team Galactic)
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Track 10: The Courage of Trainers (Route 209)
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Track 11: The Red Chain
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Wayne Strange: Strings, Orchestrator
Track 12: A New World Order (Battle! Galactic Boss Cyrus)
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Track 13: Battle at Spear Pillar! Dialga and Palkia
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Videri String Quartet: Strings
Wayne Strange: Orchestrator
Track 14: Giratina and the Distortion World
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Track 15: Balance Restored
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Kristin Naigus: Oboe
Videri String Quartet: Strings
Wayne Strange: Orchestrator
Track 16: Battle! Champion Cynthia
Braxton Burks: Producer, Arranger, Orchestrator
Augustine Mayuga Gonzales: Piano
David Peacock: Piano Transcription, Arranger
Time & Space is available for pre-order in digital and CD formats and will release on Nov. 22, 2019, wherever digital music is sold.
