Sarah Àlainn is an Australian singer-songwriter. She is mostly active in Japan.
In 2010, her vocals were featured on the closing theme song "Beyond the Sky" (composed by Yasunori Mitsuda) for the Xenoblade video game on Wii. While studying at the University of Tokyo, she learned that composer Yasunori Mitsuda was looking for a singer with native-language English for a video game song, and she was hired by Mitsuda for the role. After returning to Australia, she learned that the song was very well received, and decided to become a singer. Àlainn returned to Japan with her family's permission (for only a year) only to begin her musical career. Near the end of the one-year period before she had to return to Australia, her demo CD went to Universal Music and they extended her a recording contract. Her father had recently died and she thinks the contract was his gift to her from beyond the grave.
Àlainn's second classical music album Sarah had originally charted at no. 13 in the Billboard Japan Top Classical Albums. In December 2014 it moved up to no. 1, after Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu had performed to the song "The Final Time Traveler" at the exhibition gala of the 2014–15 Grand Prix Final. Àlainn also presented the song with Hanyu as a live music collaboration at the 2014 edition of the touring ice show Fantasy on Ice.
In 2015, David Foster offers Sarah Àlainn to sing Colors of the Wind for the Japanese version of the album We Love Disney (2015 album).
In 2017, she plays the violin for Ludovico Einaudi's concert at the Sumida Triphony Hall.
Since 2018, she has been the co-host of Kabuki Kool (alongside Kataoka Ainosuke VI), a Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) TV program used to introduce kabuki to foreign audiences.
Multi-instrumentalist Àlainn is known for playing various instruments in concert. While her main instruments are her voice and the violin (acoustic and electric), she also plays the piano and keyboards, the kalimba (using a custom instrument made from Japanese larch), and occasionally the guitar, the harpsichord or the pipe organ. She can also be seen performing with loopers (Roland RC-300), synthesizers such as the Expressive E Osmose, the Arturia MicroFreak's vocoder, or effect pedals like the Microcosm by Hologram Electronics.
Radio Personality Sarah Àlainn hosts a morning radio show on Tokyo FM and Osaka FM, "Peace of Mind〜Saturday mornings with Sarah Àlainn", where she talks about music in a relaxed atmosphere. The first episode aired on the 4th of April 2015 and is still ongoing. As of March 2026, "Peace of Mind" has 569 episodes.
Across the years Àlainn has interviewed composers and musicians such as Yasunori Mitsuda, Katsuhisa Hattori, Ludovico Einaudi, Youn Sun Nah, Nobuo Uematsu and Kenji Ito.
Album Number Release date Title Catalog Number Limited Edition Regular Edition 1st 2012-6-20 Celeste UCCY-9014 UCCY-10252nd 2014-9-24 SARAH UCCY-9021 (Blu-ray)UCCY-9020 (DVD) UCCY-1040 2015-4-8 SARAH – Deluxe Edition UCCY-1054/5 3rd 2015-11-25 f UCCY-9025 UCCY-1059 4th 2017-2-22 ANIMA UCCY-1074 5th 2017-10-25 Cinema Music UCCY-10846th2018-10-17Timeless SARAH ALAINN BESTUCCY-1090/1 (2CD)7th2022-5-20OneUWCD-90001UWCD-100018th2025-6-11ISEKAI - ISEKAI - Anime & Video Game MuseIVYR-10104/5IVYR-10106
Video game songs Release yearGameSong titleComposer 2010 Xenoblade Chronicles Beyond The Sky Yasunori Mitsuda 2012 Time Travelers The Final Time Traveler Hideki Sakamoto 2017 Valkyria Revolution Azure RevolutionYasunori MitsudaLacrimosa ~ Tears to DustFeel My WrathRequiem in the Dark Night ~Presage and Death~VALKYRIA ~The Power of Destruction~Eternal Rest 2022 Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Sunbreak Satoshi Hori2024Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred HeroesFlags of BraveMichiko Naruke, Motoi Sakuraba2024SaGa: Emerald Beyond Crazy For Who? Beyond the DoorsKenji Ito2026OPUS: Prism PeakI Am Farewell Itself, I Am LifeKevin Penkin
Anime and TV music Release yearTitleSong titleComposer 2018 Segodon (TV historical drama) Wa ga kokyô, Segodon Kikô Satsuma-hen, Segodon Kikô Yoshinosuke-hen, Waga kokyô ～Umi no kanata～ Harumi Fuuki 2021 The Promised Neverland (Anime) Main Theme, Isabella's ThemeTakahiro Ōbata 2022 Irina (Anime) Simple Life ~ My BelovedYasunori Mitsuda2025Bâan (Anime short film)HomebirdKevin Penkin
TV and radio shows
Kabuki Kool (NHK World Japan, since April 2018). TV program explaining the art of kabuki to non-Japanese audiences. Hosted with Kataoka Ainosuke VI. Peace of Mind (Tokyo FM/FM Osaka, since April 2015) Radio show featuring famous and rare tracks from Japan and the world.
References