Music of Samurai Champloo
The music of the Samurai Champloo anime series was created by a group of producers: Japanese hip-hop producer Tsutchie of the rap group Shakkazombie, American hip-hop producer & emcee Fat Jon of the rap group Five Deez, Japanese hip-hop producer Nujabes, and Japanese DJ & production duo FORCE OF NATURE. The music genre is primarily instrumental hip-hop.
History
The director Shinichiro Watanabe explains the influence of hip-hop on Samurai Champloo: "This art form turns past music into new and edgy. So I decided to sample the exciting part of an old genre called 'Jidaigeki,' Japanese historical drama and make it into new edgy animation."[1] Starting from this idea, Watanabe got into contact with his old acquaintance Tsutchie from Shakkazombie as well as Nujabes, Fat Jon, and FORCE OF NATURE for a more diverse array of music.[2][3][4] He says of the relationship between music and visuals in the show: "I wanted the music to be more prominent, so that the music and the visuals would compete in a 50:50 ratio."[2]
Theme songs
"Battlecry", produced by Nujabes and featuring Japanese emcee Shing02, is the opening theme for all twenty six episodes.[5] "四季ノ唄 (Shiki no Uta, Song of Four Seasons)", performed by Japanese singer Minmi and produced by Nujabes, is the ending theme for twenty two of the twenty six episodes. Alternate ending themes include "Who's Theme" by Minmi as the ending for Episode 12, "You" by Tsutchie featuring Japanese singer Kazami for Episode 17, "Fly" by Tsutchie featuring Riki Azuma of the multi-genre artist and production duo Small Circle of Friends for Episode 23, and "San Francisco" performed by the rap group Midicronica as the ending for Episode 26.
Soundtracks
Samurai Champloo Music Record: masta
| Samurai Champloo Music Record: Masta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | June 23, 2004 |
| Genre | |
| Label | Victor |
Samurai Champloo Music Record: masta is a soundtrack album created by FORCE OF NATURE and Tsutchie released on June 23, 2004. It is the first of four soundtrack albums released for the show.[6]
| No. | Title | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "vagrancy" | FORCE OF NATURE | 3:08 |
| 2. | "mist" | Force of Nature | 3:44 |
| 3. | "judgement on" | Force of Nature | 3:03 |
| 4. | "loading zone" | Force of Nature | 4:29 |
| 5. | "paranoid" | Force of Nature | 3:21 |
| 6. | "silver children" | Force of Nature | 3:56 |
| 7. | "the long way of drums" | Force of Nature | 2:24 |
| 8. | "sneak chamber" | Force of Nature | 3:15 |
| 9. | "new dimension" | Force of Nature | 3:15 |
| 10. | "raw material" | Tsutchie | 4:52 |
| 11. | "dry" | Tsutchie | 4:20 |
| 12. | "breezin'" | Tsutchie | 4:20 |
| 13. | "tubed (drum please!!!)" | Tsutchie | 4:31 |
| 14. | "pretending to..." | Tsutchie | 4:32 |
| 15. | "seventythree (i ask)" | Tsutchie | 4:48 |
| 16. | "I sighed" | Tsutchie | 3:44 |
| 17. | "sincerely" | Tsutchie | 4:48 |
| 18. | "numbernine (back in TYO)" | Tsutchie | 3:27 |
| 19. | "YOU" | Tsutchie feat. kazami | 4:57 |
Samurai Champloo Music Record: departure
| Samurai Champloo Music Record: Departure | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | June 23, 2004 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 68:12 |
| Label | Victor |
| Producer | Yoshimoto Ishikawa[7] |
Samurai Champloo Music Record: Departure is a soundtrack album, released on June 23, 2004. It is the second of four soundtrack albums released for the show. The album was produced by Japanese DJ/producer Nujabes, and American MC/producer Fat Jon, and featured Japanese rapper Shing02 and Japanese singer-songwriter MINMI on the album's first and last tracks, respectively.
Departure was critically lauded and is the best known album from the series, with especially high praise being reserved for "Battlecry".
| No. | Title | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Battlecry" (feat. Shing02) | Nujabes | 3:22 |
| 2. | "The Space Between Two World" | Nujabes | 4:42 |
| 3. | "Aruarian Dance" | Nujabes | 4:10 |
| 4. | "Kujaku" | Nujabes | 7:02 |
| 5. | "Mystline" | Nujabes | 4:50 |
| 6. | "1st. Samurai" | Nujabes | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Ole" | Fat Jon | 3:28 |
| 8. | "624 Part 2" | Fat Jon | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Genome" | Fat Jon | 3:37 |
| 10. | "No Way Back" | Fat Jon | 3:21 |
| 11. | "Funkin" | Fat Jon | 3:37 |
| 12. | "Stay" | Fat Jon | 3:44 |
| 13. | "Chambers" | Fat Jon | 3:45 |
| 14. | "Ask" | Fat Jon | 3:22 |
| 15. | "How You Feel" | Fat Jon | 4:29 |
| 16. | "624 Part 1" | Fat Jon | 2:44 |
| 17. | "Shiki no Uta" (a recording of "四季ノ唄" feat. MINMI) | Nujabes | 5:00 |
| Total length: | 68:12 | ||
Samurai Champloo Music Record: playlist
| Samurai Champloo Music Record: Playlist | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | September 22, 2004 |
| Genre | |
| Label | Victor |
Samurai Champloo Music Record: Playlist is a soundtrack album created by Tsutchie, released on September 22, 2004, for the anime series Samurai Champloo. It is the third of four soundtrack albums released for the show.[8]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thank You" | 4:15 |
| 2. | "Yet? Why Not?" | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Strike Back" | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Let Me Know What U Think" | 5:04 |
| 5. | "Mists" | 4:10 |
| 6. | "Flip" | 2:46 |
| 7. | "Absolute" | 5:20 |
| 8. | "Adapt Myself" | 4:58 |
| 9. | "Tuned" | 2:48 |
| 10. | "No Icon" | 3:09 |
| 11. | "Stretch Out" | 4:00 |
| 12. | "Process" | 4:41 |
| 13. | "Reflective" | 4:31 |
| 14. | "Deeper Than Words" | 4:58 |
| 15. | "2 Messages" | 5:23 |
| 16. | "The Updater" | 3:57 |
| 17. | "Offers" | 3:35 |
| 18. | "Fly" | 3:53 |
Samurai Champloo Music Record: impression
| Samurai Champloo Music Record: Impression | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | September 22, 2004 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 70:21 |
| Label | Victor Entertainment Japan |
| Producer | MINMI, Fat Jon, Nujabes, Force of Nature[9] |
Samurai Champloo Music Record: Impression is the fourth soundtrack album in the series of the anime show Samurai Champloo. It contains tracks by Nujabes, Force of Nature, Fat Jon and MINMI. The lyrics on "Hiji Zuru Style" are written and performed by S-Word and Suiken. The lyrics on "Who's Theme" are written and performed by MINMI; vibraphone is by Yoshihiko Katori.
Impression received broadly positive reviews from fans and critics.
| No. | Title | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Just Forget" | Force of Nature | 3:55 |
| 2. | "Nightshift" | Force of Nature | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Hiji Zuru Style" (feat. Suiken & S-Word) | Force of Nature | 3:43 |
| 4. | "The Stroll" | Force of Nature | 2:56 |
| 5. | "Death Wish" | Force of Nature | 2:54 |
| 6. | "Set It Off" | Force of Nature | 2:44 |
| 7. | "The Million Way of Drum" | Force of Nature | 2:48 |
| 8. | "A Space in Air in Space in Air (Interlude)" | Nujabes | 1:13 |
| 9. | "Sanctuary Ship" | Nujabes | 4:17 |
| 10. | "Haiku (Interlude)" | Nujabes | 1:15 |
| 11. | "Tsurugi No Mai" | Nujabes | 3:26 |
| 12. | "Dead Season" | Nujabes | 1:27 |
| 13. | "Decade (Interlude)" | Nujabes | 1:50 |
| 14. | "World Without Words" | Nujabes | 6:14 |
| 15. | "Kodama (Interlude)" | Nujabes | 1:07 |
| 16. | "Silver Morning" | Nujabes | 3:37 |
| 17. | "Bracelet" | Fat Jon | 3:43 |
| 18. | "In Position" | Fat Jon | 3:53 |
| 19. | "Night Out" | Fat Jon | 2:14 |
| 20. | "Not Quite Seleah" | Fat Jon | 2:02 |
| 21. | "Labyrinth Statistic" | Fat Jon | 2:05 |
| 22. | "Here and There" | Fat Jon | 3:17 |
| 23. | "Who's Theme" | MINMI | 4:57 |
| Total length: | 70:21 | ||
Other music
Episode 20 features "Obokuri-Eeumi" by Japanese folk singer Ikue Asazaki. Episodes 16 and 17 feature tracks by the traditional Ainu artist Oki.
Reception
The soundtrack of Samurai Champloo is very well-regarded as an anime soundtrack and work of music.[10] Pitchfork listed the soundtrack as one of 9 of "rap's most memorable animated moments."[11] The soundtrack is especially notable as an early example of Lo-fi hip hop, with songs such as "Aruarian Dance" (which samples The Lamp Is Low) becoming individually very popular.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Watanabe, Shinichiro (August 2019). "Shinichiro Watanabe, a Director of Samurai Champloo Explains Why He Combined Hip-Hop with Anime" (Interview). Interviewed by Ko Furukawa. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c Watanabe, Shinichiro (May 2020). "Samurai Champloo and Nujabes ─ Reasons for using "Unnamed Nujabes" directed by Shinichiro Watanabe [Think of Nujabes Vol.2]" (Interview). Interviewed by Itaru Omae. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
- ^ Tsuchida, Shinji (March 2019). "Interview - TSUTCHIE" (Interview). Interviewed by Magical Mystery Mix. Japan. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ Shinichiro Watanabe, Kazuto Nakazawa (March 13, 2007). Roman Album: Samurai Champloo. ISBN 978-1593076429.
- ^ Reeves, Mosi. "How Shing02 and Nujabes Linked West Coast and Japanese Hip-Hop". KQED Inc.
- ^ "Tsutchie / Force Of Nature – Samurai Champloo Music Record - Masta". Discogs.
- ^ "Samurai Champloo Music Record: Departure". VGMdb. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- ^ "Tsutchie – Samurai Champloo Music Record - Playlist". Discogs.
- ^ "Force Of Nature / Nujabes / Fat Jon - Samurai Champloo Music Record - Impression". Discogs. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "A Fresh Look at Groundbreaking Producer Nujabes' Soundtrack for Anime 'Samurai Champloo'". 34th Street.
- ^ "9 of Rap's Most Memorable Animated Moments". Pitchfork.