Empty Memories/Apprehension

Track 2-13: Empty Memories

As Castti traces her own “empty memories,” recollected fragments flit in and out of view, threatening to disappear forever, always just eluding her grasp when she reaches for them. That’s the kind of uneasy, unstable feeling this piece expresses.

This concept went into Castti’s theme as well, but the halting tempo and fragmented melody of “Empty Memories” seem even closer to vanishing. Tone-wise, I used an electric piano, striving for a dreamlike, ephemeral sound.

Track 2-14: Apprehension

A lot of listeners probably thought, “Hey, wasn’t there a very similar track on the original soundtrack?” when they heard this, haha!

As the title suggests, this piece is all about apprehension. It signals to the player that something is about to go down. Listen to that impassive piano with its unchanging rhythm, slowly drawing closer and closer—despite the stillness, there’s a certain indefinable terror there, right?

As with “Carefree Days,” I tried to make this piece as versatile as possible, suitable for all kinds of events, but I also wanted it to remind people that these were specifically OCTOPATH TRAVELER events, so I made a point of creating an atmosphere similar to OT1 but with a completely different melody.

I originally planned to give it more musical development as it progressed, ratcheting up the apprehension, but I remember I had to smooth all that out because director [Keisuke] Miyauchi asked me to tone it down so it would be more versatile, haha!

As I mentioned in the post about “Carefree Days,” making an all-purpose piece without musical ups and downs on purpose can be challenging. But when I see how they end up being used in the game, I always realize that removing the ups and downs was the right choice. It’s a daily struggle.

Translation: Matt Treyvaud