Poké Emo Reimagines Pokémon as Early-2000s Emo and Alternative Rock
GameChops is pleased to present Poké Emo, a new album from multi-instrumentalist and sound designer Tune In With Chewie that reimagines the music of Pokémon through the unmistakable sound of early-2000s emo and alternative rock. Some Pokémon songs have always worn their heart on their sleeve, and across 17 tracks, Chewie leans all the way into that feeling, from the nostalgia of Pallet Town to the loneliness of Lavender Town. The album is available now on all major streaming platforms:
“Pokémon has been a series I’ve wanted to do an album on for a long time, but I just never got around to it," comments Tune In With Chewie. "After the success of Zelda’s Midwest Emo Mixtape, I knew I wanted to do Pokémon in this style. I love this style of music and always have. I grew up listening to a lot of Midwest emo like Mineral, American Football, and Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as 2000s emo like My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eat World, and Thursday. I even sprinkled in some math rock, something I didn’t really get to do much of on the Zelda album.”
Built around heartfelt guitar performances recorded across a range of alternate tunings, Poké Emo gives familiar themes a sound that is equal parts nostalgic and cathartic. Chewie reharmonized many of the arrangements to fit the desired harmonic language, and the album is dotted with deep cuts for the genre faithful: the "Pokémon Theme" intro takes its chord progression from Sunny Day Real Estate’s “8,” the trumpet threaded through “Jubilife Village” is a direct nod to American Football, and a “Minerals” poster hidden in the album artwork references the band Mineral.
The full track listing for Poké Emo is as follows:
01. Pokémon Theme
02. Pallet Town
03. Littleroot Town
04. Route 201
05. Pokémon Center
06. Slumbering Weald
07. Emotion (An Unwavering Heart)
08. Surf Theme
09. Undella Town
10. Cianwood City Theme
11. Jubilife Village
12. Pewter City
13. Jubilife City
14. Lavender Town
15. Lavender Town Pt. II
16. Lacunosa Town
17. Outro
Credits
Produced by Tune In With Chewie
Artwork by Cristina Gomez
Mastered by Chris Davidson
"Jubilife Village" brass arrangement plus additional instrumentation by Emunator
Original compositions by Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Hitomi Sato, Shota Kageyama, and Morikazu Aoki
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