Making a general post about these companion albums!
The albums were conceptualized as a Kickstarter project by Wayô Records, and ended up being super successful, hitting every single stretch goal!
The Jazz in Kosmos mini-album (Disc 2 on the physical CD and vinyl) was actually a stretch goal itself!
Xenosaga Piano Collection is 17 tracks long. Every track was performed by Benyamin Nuss!
The Piano Collection tracks were arranged by:
- Mariam Abounnasr - you may recognize her name from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, or the Xenogears Revival Disc!
- Hiroyuki Nakayama - known for working on various soundtracks for Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts
- Akio Noguchi - mostly a woodwind player on the Xenoblade 2 and 3 soundtracks, and played the piano for The Bereaved and Those Left Behind
- Benyamin Nuss - known for his performances at official concerts for music from Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts
Jazz in Kosmos is only 7 tracks long, referred to as a “mini-album” on the Kickstarter page. It was a stretch goal for €80,000! It was entirely arranged and performed by the Endgegner Jazz Band!
The Kickstarter goals themselves were all reached, which is impressive considering that the last goal was for €100,000! The goals were:
- €30,000 - Main Goal: the creation of Across the Kosmos ~ Xenosaga Piano Collection with 16 tracks
- €50,000 - Stretch Goal 1: extra shikishis and a copy of Wayô Records’ previous album, Across the Worlds ~ Chrono Cross Wayô Piano Collection
- €65,000 - Stretch Goal 2: an extra 17th track, Battle & Sentô Suru KOS-MOS & Sentô Shûryô (Battle & Battlling KOS-MOS & Battle’s End)
- €80,000 - Stretch Goal 3: the creation of Jazz in Kosmos
- €100,000 - Stretch Goal 4: Dolby Atmos-quality mastering for the official release and a live concert in Paris, France on November 29, 2025
I know some people in this forum attended the concert, and I’m very jealous… I hope it was an amazing time! I also know some people here pledged and contributed to the Kickstarter, and that’s so cool! Especially since I know someone here was one of the ten people to pledge €900 for THE ZOHAR’S SECRET tier! Which is just… incredible.
Xenosaga Piano Collection is available on streaming on Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music!
Jazz in Kosmos is available on streaming on Spotify and YouTube Music! (Left out on Apple Music, for some reason)
The two are bundled together on CD and Vinyl physical releases!
I think it’s super unique to have a project like this with so many big names involved be fueled by Kickstarter funding, and it gives me such a warm feeling to see that it was such a success.
Listening to these tracks have really heightened my experience of enjoying Xenosaga Episode I as a whole, so I’m really happy that they exist ☆