Hello Mr Sunshine!

A couple of days ago, I mentioned the frighteningly compelling "We Love Katamari" on the PS2. It's a game where, for no particular reason, you have to roll things up into a massive cluster which you release into the sky to make a star.

It is a creation of considerable genius, albeit the sort of genius that comes from eating one too many 'magic' rainbow pills, holding a quart of sherbet in your mouth and drinking four litres of fizzy pop. Every so often, you'll put down the controller and think "this is so weird" before going straight back to rolling up the Arc de Triomphe, or Mount Fuji, or a cow.

However, the best thing about Katamari isn't the game, but the sublime soundtrack. Ranging from Tom-Jones-alike swing bands to deranged a-capella techno, you'll find yourself humming the tunes long after the game has stopped causing violent primary-coloured spots in front of your eyes.

Japan tends to take it's in-game music a little bit more seriously than we do in the West, so (as far as I can gather) the tracks on We Love Katamari are by some relatively famous composers and musicians. To that end, a soundtrack is available - and I've just discovered a website which sells such japanese curios to the UK. It's called Game Melody, and it will keep me singing "Hello Mr Sunshine" long after We Love Katamari gets filed away in the cupboard with all my old console games.

To whet your apetite for this musical feast, I'm putting up a sample of the track "Katamari on the swing" - which should be available for the next 7 days or so. Enjoy!

Download 'Katamari On The Swing' (link fixed!)

Buy the soundtrack

Or the game itself, for that matter

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