SOUND
The series opens with "Duvet" by the English band Bôa, closes with "Tooi Sakebi" ("Distant Cry") by Reichi Nakaido, and fills the space between with an unsettling, mostly ambient score by Akira Takemoto.
Nakaido's album featuring the closing song and his own Lain-inspired material, made with keyboardist Tatsunosuke.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org archived · ja.wikipedia.org archived · vgmdb.net archived · lain.wiki archived
Club and electronica tracks themed on the show's Cyberia nightclub, including DJ Wasei's remix of 'Duvet'.
Sources: vgmdb.net archived · discogs.com archived · en.wikipedia.org archived
A fan-disc styled as a leaked bootleg, packed in plain cardboard with a hand-labeled look. The audio disc holds Takemoto's in-show score; the data disc adds MP3s, sound effects, a clock, a mini game and desktop extras. Its Windows installer was buggy and Pioneer posted a fix; a Sonmay counterfeit exists and is easy to confuse with it.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org archived · en.wikipedia.org archived · vgmdb.net archived · archive.org
Bôa's song used over the opening credits. It is on the album The Race of a Thousand Camels and the EP Tall Snake (with an acoustic take and the Cyberia remix), and found a new audience after going viral in 2021.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org archived · en.wikipedia.org archived · discogs.com archived
Billed as 'attachment software', it plays out as a database of audio and video files about Lain that the player unlocks out of order. It shares themes but not the plot of the anime and was never officially re-released; sealed copies now sell for thousands of dollars.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org archived · ja.wikipedia.org archived · automaton-media.com archived
Music; ending theme 'Tooi Sakebi' (遠い叫び)
A veteran rock guitarist best known from RC Succession, Nakaido was an unexpected choice for an anime score. He wrote and sang the closing song and made the soundtrack album with keyboardist Tatsunosuke of his own band. Born October 9, 1950.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org archived · ja.wikipedia.org archived · animenewsnetwork.com archived
Background score used in the series (released on BOOTLEG); Cyberia Mix contributor
Much of the ambient sound heard inside episodes comes from Takemoto rather than Nakaido. His score was finally issued in 1999 on the BOOTLEG set.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org archived · vgmdb.net archived
Opening theme 'Duvet'
A London alternative rock band formed in 1993, featuring Jasmine and Steve Rodgers (children of Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers). 'Duvet', with lyrics by Jasmine Rodgers, became a TikTok hit in 2021, prompting the band to reunite, and it was later certified platinum by the RIAA.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org archived · en.wikipedia.org archived