Hikaru Utada. Photo by Takay.
Hikaru Utada has shared a new track called “Gold -Mata Au Hi Made-,” created as the theme song for The Flame of Destiny, the third installment of the Japanese action movie series based on a manga of the same name. It’s her first official single since the January 2022 release of her eighth album, BAD MODE.
That record contained three tracks produced by Floating Points — including one of The FADER’s favorite songs of the year, “Somewhere Near Marseilles” — and two produced by A.G. Cook. “Gold -Mata Au Hi Made-” is also co-produced by Cook, marking her third collaboration with the PC Music founder.
The song starts as a lovely ballad but soon develops a clearly dance-floor-oriented pulse, even in the absence of drums. Cook’s influence manifests in the song’s latter half, when the beat undergoes a controlled combustion, blossoming into a glitchy future-funk affair. Under its pressure, Utada breaks from her dreamy vocal register into an almost rapped cadence as the track careens to a close. Listen below.
