Direct quote 2016-12-19
“In Death Stranding, 'strand' stands for strings and connections, and I felt a mysterious connection to that song that I found in that CD shop in Reykjavík two years ago.”
What it documents
Before Death Stranding took shape, Kojima, while on vacation in Iceland, took a taxi whose driver belonged to the kimono band; the driver recommended a record shop in Reykjavík, where Kojima asked about the music that was playing, discovered and bought a Low Roar album. The music remained in the back of his mind until, while trying pieces by trial and error for the first trailer, he remembered I'll Keep Coming and felt a preexisting, mysterious connection to the song.
Sources
Rolling Stone (picks up the Glixel interview), 2016-12-19. View source ↗
"In Death Stranding, 'strand' stands for strings and connections, and I felt a mysterious connection to that song that I found in that CD shop in Reykjavík two years ago," Kojima tells Glixel.
VIZ Media — The Creative Gene; official English translation, 2019-07 (Epilogue “From Memes to Strands”). View source ↗
HIDEO KOJIMA presents Brain Structure, ep. 11 «Messages from our listeners!» (Spotify Studios × Kojima Productions); official English dub, own transcription, 2022-11 (00:41:3x–00:42:3x (within 00:41:19–00:43:09)). View source ↗