Anyone who’s played Persona 5 can tell you one of the game’s best features is its funk-inspired soundtrack by Shoji Meguro. It’s melodies are still winning over fans to this day, who use it for background music and inspiration for their own Persona 5 art and fanfic projects.
The latest to stumble upon the game’s soundtrack, however, is prolific music YouTuber and famed piano instructor Charles Cornell. Cornell posts regular videos on his channel exploring and explaining quirks of composition in popular music, and has been recently diving into the world of games music.
Cornell, by his own admission, has not played Persona 5 before but knows a banger when he hears one. As he moves through key tracks from the game’s soundtrack, the undeniable pleasure of it all creeps in and Cornell finds himself enjoying its flourishes and secret gems. Cornell listens to each song and, as they go, begins to break down their composition, what he feels makes them so special, and even lists potential inspirations off the top of his very knowlegable head.
The tracks Cornell focuses on in this video are ‘Last Surprise’, ‘Tokyo Daylight’, ‘Butterfly Kiss’, and ‘Phantom’. The real pleasure of the video, of course, is watching Cornell fall in love with the soundtrack in real time, his eyes closing as he disappears into the music. He is, by turns, amused, surprised and enthusiastic about what he hears, the occasional appreciative “Woo!” escaping his lips when he hears something he really likes.
As a music nerd, and a Persona 5 appreciator, myself, Cornell’s video is a very clear slice of For David content, and maybe it will be for you too.
If nothing else, it might make you want to play Persona 5 again (or for the first time, if you’ve not yet had the pleasure).
If you’d like to find out more about Cornell and his channel, you do so right over here.
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