AKIRA: Original Soundtrack (Symphonic Suite AKIRA) was recorded by Geinoh Yamashirogumi (芸能山城組).[100] The music was composed and conducted by musical director Shōji Yamashiro (pseudonym of Tsutomu Ōhashi), and performed by the collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi.[100] The soundtrack draws heavily from traditional Indonesian gamelan music, in addition to elements of Japanese noh music.[101]
It features music which was additionally re-recorded for release. "Kaneda", "Battle Against Clown" and "Exodus From the Underground Fortress" are really part of the same song cycle – elements of "Battle Against Clown" can be heard during the opening bike sequence, for example. The score is generally sequenced in the same order that the music occurs in the film. The North American version featured extensive production notes by David Keith Riddick and Robert Napton.
AKIRA: The Original Japanese Soundtrack; an alternate soundtrack was also released. This version included music as it appeared in the film with dialogue and sound-effects albeit ordered out of sequence.
The soundtrack spawned an album of electronica remixes from Bwana, called Capsules Pride.[3] Samples from the Akira soundtrack have also been featured in numerous other hip hop and electronic music tracks.[102]
