Stephen Akina - Petra Fi
Stephen Akina is a veteran music composer. With credits across dozens of films, over one hundred TV shows and acclaimed video games, Akina has masterfully shown his scoring skills across a variety of impressive mediums. Additionally, many of Akina’s scores are now available to stream as music intended to be enjoyed on its own. Today we are excited to share our thoughts on Stephen Akina’s latest album, Petra Fi!
Petra Fi begins with the four-minute and ten-second track, “Glass Pagoda”. This piece has a weighty yet quite peaceful atmosphere to it; it plays like a moment of reflection before an intense moment and it has a certain power to it as a result. “For Sure” follows and it drew me in from its opening moments. I really enjoyed the percussion in this song, its rhythm really powers the overall spirit of the song extremely well. “Wavedancer” is next and it is an especially textured piece. I enjoy how additional layers are added throughout its duration and I found the last third of the song to be one of my favorite moments on the album.
“Electro Peace” is the fourth song from Petra Fi and it is the longest song from the album with a playtime over six minutes. A very solid piece overall, the last minute of this song really kicks things up a degree and I absolutely love how it ends. “Moon over Kahala” is fifth and this scene-setter is one of my personal favorites from this album. You can easily imagine a magical moonlit evening while listening to this song and I love how the song’s title plays so well to that imagery and the overall vibe of the piece. “Beatitude” is up next, marking the halfway point on the album. I know I keep saying it about many of these songs but I absolutely love the way this piece ends as the piano trails off in the closing moments - it is just an incredibly beautiful moment.
The seventh song from Petra Fi is “Greek Holiday” and it reminds me of a closing/credits sequence at the end of a long journey; I was feeling notions of triumph and reflection, set to the backdrop of a relaxing and well-earned break from it all. “Simple Life” follows and while other pieces on the album had me thinking of it, this one really reminds me of some of Yuzo Koshiro’s worldbuilding work in the Etrian Odyssey and 7th Dragon series of video games. I enjoy how peaceful this piece is, really living up to its title in a perfect way. “Makani” is ninth and it is a powerhouse of a track. Featuring rich melodies across both the piano and percussion performances, this song is textured in a way that makes you want to come back and focus on each individual instrument just as much as you will want to take in the song as a whole - a notion that Akina plays into a bit later on the album, but more on that later.
“Mirage” is tenth from Petra Fi and I found myself lost in the soundscape that was perfectly set up from the outset. This really plays splendidly as the soundtrack to being lost in the desert while losing hope, destined to chase a mirage until the end. It really is powerful. “Nightfall” is the penultimate song from the album and its overarching motifs play extremely well as an accompanying piece to “Mirage”. Whenever I came back to listen to individual songs from this album, I always listened to these two as a pair because they play incredibly well together. Closing out the album is “Makani” again - this time the solo piano version of the piece. The full version is probably my favorite piece from the album and I love this choice to close the album out. You will appreciate “Makani” even more after listening to just how great the piano in the song is by itself and I love the masterful work on this beautiful song.
Petra Fi is a moving and even magical album. Each piece featured in this album is great from start to finish and captures a range of emotions that all feel grounded and real, providing a genuine and in-touch listening experience that is immensely enjoyable. I personally love how much spirit Stephen Akina is able to show within these beautiful instrumental compositions and how much life he is able to breathe into his music. Each piece is arranged and performed in a manner that absolutely delights the senses - Petra Fi truly is an impressive album. You can learn more about Stephen Akina through his website and we have the entirety of Petra Fi embedded below via Spotify!
