Metal Gear Solid’s composer wants you to chill

Norihiko Hibino wants you to take a moment for yourself. Just relax. Let your worries fade. Get lost in his smooth saxophone sounds.

Hibino is a celebrity musician in Japan who has worked on many video game soundtracks. His most notable tracks come from the Metal Gear Solid series, Zone of the Enders, and Yu-Gi-Oh! With over 50 titles under his belt, we can call him a pro.

His sultry in-game music is known for adding emotion to gaming experiences (especially the James-Bond-meets-Spanish-guitar sounding title to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater), but his side project slows things down even further. It’s all super-chill, slow jazz songs that you’d expect to hear in an old Christmas movie.

Makes you want to curl up on the couch with a glass of red wine. Look out that dark window into the pouring rain. Maybe think about love. Fight off this loneliness…

Reminds me of some of the slower Cowboy Bebop tracks. Go check out his website, Hibino Sound Therapy Lab – the music player is at the bottom.

HSTL showcases Hibino’s lush sax sounds, but the site has a more noble goal. He believes in the soothing power of music, not just as a means to relax, but as a tool for those in need of some serious healing. The About page says:

“HSTL was formed with the goal of providing whole therapeutic music experiences.”

Pretty groovy, right? It goes on to explain that HSTL “has been conducting research into how sound waves can affect the human body at a cellular level independent of the brain’s perception of that sound.”

In other words, Hibino is looking into how sound waves change the frequency of an organism’s cells. Sounds like science fiction, but there’s actual research being done into the idea. If you’re a science nerd like me, check out this article from the Medical Science Monitor.

I’d also recommend reading more about HSTL on his About page; there’s an interesting story and some cool ideas. There are also articles about how he’s donated his sax-skills to help earthquake victims and patients in hospice care recover from trauma. What an awesome guy.

I’m off to stock up on Pinot Noir and chill with some HSTL music. You too can support his work by purchasing one of his albums, right from the site.

Featured image: Konami

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