“Avan Pop Goddess” Caroline Polachek Kojima Hideo’s newest game “Death Stranding 2: On The Beach” and music video will be released with the latest release of “Avan Pop Goddess” Kojima Hideo

Caroline Polachek, an American singer-songwriter who captivates her beautiful voice and unique worldview, has released the title song “On The Beach” from Kojima Hideo’s sequel to a 2019 video game that transcends genres. She infuses her unique avant pop feel into the gaming franchise, the most artistic and ambitious franchise. The song was her first time participating in the game soundtrack, and it marked a unique collaboration between the pop world’s most experimental singing voice and the gaming world’s boldest author. Director Kojima, who blurs the lines between film, music, games and philosophical storytelling and creates a fascinating video game experience, meets Polacheck’s music and meets himself in Paris. Director Kojima’s own invitation made her part-time work on the soundtrack for “Death Stranding 2: On The Beach,” and it became a rare partnership between creative artists and creators.

“On The Beach,” co-written and co-produced by Polacheck and her longtime collaborator Danny L. Haal (Duar Lipa, Charlie XCX), is Polacheck’s first comeback song for the first time in a while. Distorted metallic synths and brave drums, and layered vocals spread across them, reaching the pinnacle of elation and bliss, and quickly disappearing. It further deepens the moving story of the game, expressing with an immersive sense of how music forms deeper, reflective, and connections in the world of Kojima’s works. She also released this stunning string arrangement as a B-side entitled “On The Beach (‘Timefall Mix).”

Additionally, Polacheck has released an original video that gives even more depth to the artistry of the kinematic songs. The dystopian Death Stranding 2: On The Beach game video and monochrome palette incorporate prism glyphs, accompanied by a bidirectional translation of English, Japanese, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Portuguese and French.

Caroline Polacek “On The Beach (from DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH)”

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, developed by Kojima Productions and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment, is sure to become a global cultural event at the same time as its release. The music is at the heart of the Death Stranding series experience, and the previous collaborations with the Churches, Bring Me The Horizon and Low Roar were iconic for fans. Now, Polacheck joins a lineup of global artists including Woodkid, Magnolian and Hania Rani, and will continue the series’ bold, boundary-pushing legacy of the series. With “On The Beach,” she brings her to the world of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, providing music that is essential to resonating with the story.

Polacheck says:

“Actually, this song, “On The Beach,” was one of the first songs I wrote with Danny L. Haal. But it was so extraordinary that it was industrial or creepy, so it didn’t fit into Pang (her first solo album in 2019). So I let him sleep until the right time came. When I was told about DS2 from director Kojima, he explained the outline of the song and he agreed that it was perfect. Eight years after the song began writing, the song was opened again and expanded, and this song was completed for a suitable stage.”

“On The Beach” is Polacheck’s first solo release in 2025, following the masterpiece album Desire, I Want To Turn Into You, which was released in 2023 and swept the world. He has previously been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Engineer Album (Non Classic) and the Britt Award for Solo International Artist, and has appeared in NPR’s Tiny Desk Series, The Tonight Show Sterling Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It also achieved over 175 million streaming records worldwide, ranked on the best list of 2023 by Vogue, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Fader, Consequence, iD, Stereogum, The New York Times, Elle, Variety, and others, and was one of the best albums of the year by publications such as Pitchfork, DIY, Exclaim, and DORK.

■What is Caroline Polacek?

After the disbanding his predecessor band Chair Lift, he switched to solo and quickly expanded his career. He attracted attention as a talent leading the contemporary music scene with his 2019 experimental pop album, Pang, and his 2023 second album, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You, was praised by critics around the world as the “best album of the year.” He collaborated with Charlie XCX and Christine and the Queens, who were the first to recognize his talent, and provided songs to Beyoncé, Travis Scott and Pentatonix.

In addition to his own world tour, the Spiraling Tour, he also opened the Dua Lipa’s 2022 North American tour, appearing at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Primavera, All Point East, Governor’s Ball, Pitchfork Music Festival, and the Outside Lands. In 2023, he appeared at Fuji Rock Festival ’23, causing a lot of talk, and in November of the same year he returned to Japan and held a solo performance. He captivated many fans with his sublime vocals and his stage full of ideas, which seemed to be experiencing an art installation.

■Release information

Caroline Polachek

“On The Beach (from DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH)” now available

Streaming link:https://ffm.to/onthebeachds2

Label: Perpetual Novice

■Music Video

“On The Beach (from DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH)”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pilme9tCBJw

■For more on Caroline Polacek:

Websitehttps://linktr.ee/carolinepolachek

Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/carolineplz/

Twitterhttps://twitter.com/carolineplz

YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/CarolinePolachek

–The Orchard Japan is a technology-driven distributor in music distribution and artist and label services. Headquartered in New York, the company offers multifaceted support for artists to work globally in more than 45 markets around the world, providing maximum power.