Sarah Àlainn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

InstrumentsViolin, Vocals, Piano, Kalimba, Looper, Synthesizer, Guitar,
Years active2010–present
LabelUniversal Music
Member ofLa Diva[1]
Sarah Àlainn
サラ・オレイン
Àlainn in 2015
Àlainn in 2015
Background information
InstrumentsViolin, Vocals, Piano, Kalimba, Looper, Synthesizer, Guitar,
Years active2010–present
LabelUniversal Music
Member ofLa Diva[1]

Sarah Àlainn is an Australian singer-songwriter. She is mostly active in Japan.[2]

In 2010, her vocals were featured on the closing theme song "Beyond the Sky" (composed by Yasunori Mitsuda) for the Xenoblade video game on Wii.[3] While studying at the University of Tokyo, she learned that composer Yasunori Mitsuda was looking for a singer with native-language English for a video game song, and she was hired by Mitsuda for the role. After returning to Australia, she learned that the song was very well received, and decided to become a singer. Àlainn returned to Japan with her family's permission (for only a year) only to begin her musical career. Near the end of the one-year period before she had to return to Australia, her demo CD went to Universal Music and they extended her a recording contract. Her father had recently died and she thinks the contract was his gift to her from beyond the grave.[4]

Àlainn's second classical music album Sarah had originally charted at no. 13 in the Billboard Japan Top Classical Albums. In December 2014 it moved up to no. 1, after Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu had performed to the song "The Final Time Traveler" at the exhibition gala of the 2014–15 Grand Prix Final. Àlainn also presented the song with Hanyu as a live music collaboration at the 2014 edition of the touring ice show Fantasy on Ice.[5]

In 2015, David Foster offers Sarah Àlainn to sing Colors of the Wind for the Japanese version of the album We Love Disney (2015 album).[6]

In 2017, she plays the violin for Ludovico Einaudi's concert at the Sumida Triphony Hall.[7]

Since 2018, she has been the co-host of Kabuki Kool (alongside Kataoka Ainosuke VI), a Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) TV program used to introduce kabuki to foreign audiences.[8][9]

Àlainn is known for playing various instruments in concert. While her main instruments are her voice and the violin (acoustic and electric), she also plays the piano and keyboards, the kalimba (using a custom instrument made from Japanese larch),[10] and occasionally the guitar,[11] the harpsichord or the pipe organ.[12] She can also be seen performing with loopers (Roland RC-300), synthesizers such as the Expressive E Osmose,[13] the Arturia MicroFreak's vocoder, or effect pedals like the Microcosm by Hologram Electronics.

Radio Personality

Sarah Àlainn hosts a morning radio show on Tokyo FM and Osaka FM, "Peace of Mind〜Saturday mornings with Sarah Àlainn", where she talks about music in a relaxed atmosphere. The first episode aired on the 4th of April 2015[14] and is still ongoing. As of March 2026, "Peace of Mind" has 569 episodes[15].

Across the years Àlainn has interviewed composers and musicians such as Yasunori Mitsuda[16], Katsuhisa Hattori[17], Ludovico Einaudi[18], Youn Sun Nah,[19] Nobuo Uematsu[20] and Kenji Ito.[21]

Album

NumberRelease dateTitleCatalog Number
Limited EditionRegular Edition
1st 2012-6-20CelesteUCCY-9014UCCY-1025
2nd 2014-9-24SARAHUCCY-9021 (Blu-ray)
UCCY-9020 (DVD)
UCCY-1040
2015-4-8SARAH – Deluxe EditionUCCY-1054/5
3rd 2015-11-25fUCCY-9025UCCY-1059
4th 2017-2-22ANIMAUCCY-1074
5th 2017-10-25Cinema MusicUCCY-1084
6th 2018-10-17 Timeless SARAH ALAINN BEST UCCY-1090/1 (2CD)
7th 2022-5-20 One UWCD-90001 UWCD-10001
8th 2025-6-11 ISEKAI - ISEKAI - Anime & Video Game Muse IVYR-10104/5 IVYR-10106

Video game songs

Release year Game Song title Composer
2010Xenoblade Chronicles Beyond The SkyYasunori Mitsuda
2012Time Travelers The Final Time TravelerHideki Sakamoto
2017Valkyria Revolution Azure Revolution Yasunori Mitsuda
Lacrimosa ~ Tears to Dust
Feel My Wrath
Requiem in the Dark Night ~Presage and Death~
VALKYRIA ~The Power of Destruction~
Eternal Rest
2022Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak SunbreakSatoshi Hori
2024 Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes Flags of Brave Michiko Naruke, Motoi Sakuraba[22]
2024 SaGa: Emerald Beyond
  1. Crazy For Who?[23]
  2. Beyond the Doors[24]
Kenji Ito
2026 OPUS: Prism Peak I Am Farewell Itself, I Am Life Kevin Penkin

Anime and TV music

TV and radio shows

References

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