The NZA Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 back in early '05, id found myself with some time on my hands and got to catching up on anime series id been sitting on - first of which was Samurai Champloo, which is still amongst my favorites. One thing that particularly stood out, though, was the jazzed-up soundtrack of mostly hip-hop instrumentals (brass + drums = love). Took me a while to figure out that this magic was the result of the Nujabes & Fat Jon ( & Forces of Nature, on some tracks). Once i did, though, i had to share it - the burned copies of the OST(s) were my first gifts to Senshik. Anyway, wiki sells it better: Jun Seba (せば じゅん, Seba Jun?) is a Japanese hip-hop producer and DJ who records under the name Nujabes. The alias is an anagram of his first and last name spelled backwards and combined. Alongside making music, Nujabes is also owner of the Shibuya record stores, T Records and Guinness Records and founder of the independent label Hyde-Out Productions. Nujabes's genre-blending music style is known for a distinct cool jazz and soul influence. He most typically uses samples from artists such as Miles Davis, Pat Metheny, and Yusef Lateef and adds live instrumentation, such as flutes, acoustic guitar, piano, and saxophone to create warm, mellow tracks. Despite his role as DJ, Nujabes rarely plays live and does not make many media appearances, which adds to his enigmatic charisma. This trait extends into his album covers, all of which express a particular distinct, abstract imagery. Nujabes has released two albums in Japan, Metaphorical Music in 2003 and Modal Soul in 2005. Specifically, Metaphorical Music sold over 20,000 copies by 2004, an unheard-of amount for an independent release. but yeah, dude's eclectic - here's some choice tracks to check out: Aruarian Dance Mystline (this has gotta be about one of the most serene songs ive ever heard) Flowers Reflection Eternal Kumomi Beat laments the world more to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maldron Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Only thing of his I have is Metaphorical Music, and it's fucking fantastic to listen to. I could get more into the genre if more of it was like his stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 ...O RLY? yeah, i hear that album referenced a lot - i looked up the retail imports, they're mad expensive. any favorite tracks to post? you heard the Champloo OSTs? also, check out that link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maldron Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) Ignore the stupid picture. -.- Edited June 10, 2009 by Maldron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend Jax Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Samurai Champloo, which is still amongst my favorites. With years to reflect on this question, do you like Samurai Champloo more the Cowboy Bebop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 not relevant to this thread, jax nice, i gotta go find that album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 (edited) Like alot of people in the US, I first heard his music on the [adult swim] bumpers. Now I have all 4 Samurai Champloo OSTs on my iPod and my chill playlist is Nujabes heavy. When it comes to setting the mood Nujabes hasn't let me down yet. I've also got his album Metaphorical Music, but that's it. This thread got me curious about Nujabes again and I did some searching. Apparently he has 4 albums out now (not including the Champloo stuff) and 2 compilations. I'm seeing a few torrents for him on demonoid & piratebaydotarrgh I'll have to check out. Edited June 11, 2009 by Mr. Hakujin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 enjoy, sir! i did. id support them more directly if the import discs weren't so freakin' expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 enjoy, sir! i did. id support them more directly if the import discs weren't so freakin' expensive. gracias, bro. but i'm dl'ing an epic giga torrent from demonoid w/ all the samurai champloo artists' albums. check it: http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/1427300/368947/ Import prices are an effin bitch. The best way to buy any Japanese music is to try and get the Korean import version, which usually run about $14-$20 US. That's how I originally got the Champloo OSTs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 but whats the point if im not directly supporting the artist? haha, i got that same torrent a while back, forgot you were on demonoid. still havent finished going through it, it is indeed epic - i thought i had all the champloo OSTs, there's 1 id not even heard of there. I hope "Thanks for listening" turns out well too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HypnotizinChikns Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 fuckers ain't on zune that's for sure. double thanks for you NZA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 but whats the point if im not directly supporting the artist? haha, i got that same torrent a while back, forgot you were on demonoid. still havent finished going through it, it is indeed epic - i thought i had all the champloo OSTs, there's 1 id not even heard of there. I hope "Thanks for listening" turns out well too. I'm just saying, if you're itching to spend money and want the actual CD that's the best way to go. The Japanese editions of new CDs from Japanese artists are usually YEN2800-3400 (which is about $28-$34 US and as you know increase even more so when they're "imported" over here) but the same CD (sans the insert w/ Japanese lyrics or some other superfluous packaging gimmick like a sticker that the J-record companies occasionally use to justify the inflated price) the Korean versions are much cheaper and are an identical CD to the Japanese version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 so yeah, forgot to post this, i was so upset about it going down. after MJ, this is my saddest musical death in years, as id only gotten into this guy in recent years, still exploring his works. fucking heartbreaking. this. http://skeletonfumes...log/archives/36 beat laments the world. the world. Jun Seba, otherwise known as the Japanese hip-hop producer "Nujabes" passed away on Febuary 26th without much of world realizing or caring. In fact, outside of close family and friends, everyone didn't know untill well into this month. Yet I'm sure he had a profound affect on many through his music and he did on me. It's 2010 and I'd consider myself a fairly big hip-hop and appreciator but if It hadn't been for my introduction into Nujabes via "Samurai Champloo" back in 2005 I wouldn't be. Nujabes layed the ground work for my dive back into the genre in the summer of 06. It took awhile but I finally got "Modal Soul" sometime after and it was months before I even listened to the entire thing. The first track, "Feather", had such a tight hold of me and refused to let go. Even now, I have it on repeat as I write this. I own most of this other works, I've explored his affilliates, I've become a fan of other similar producer but I always come back to "Modal Soul" and specifically "Feather." Nujabes changed my outlook on hip-hop. He brought two seemingly unsimilar things together and made them whole. As someone of a multi-cultural background this was special to me and still is. His music was emotional without being cheap. It was metaphorical, brilliant and a light in an often bleak and dreary world. Jun Seba, you will be greatly missed but I'm grateful for the music you shared with us. "So, driftin away like a feather in air, lettin' my words take me away from the hurt and despair / So I'm keepin it vertical, forever elevator, riding the escalator to the something that is greater" Feather (featuring Cise Starr&Akin from CYNE) <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></object> <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></object> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Damn. I was just listening to my Nujabes playlist while grading papers on Thursday. Damn. Seeing that pic of his studio (I assume) and with the recent Cash & Hendrix albums, I can't help letting my mind go to posthumous Nujabes releases. I know, let the man at least get in the grave before you start wanting them to dig up more music. But the man left us far too soon with so many sonic landscapes left unexplored. There has to be at least an album's worth of righteous tracks hidden on a hard drive or two somewhere. I just hope b/c he wasn't a huge name like Johnny Cash or Jimi Hendrix that they don't ignore this fact and never release those sounds. You see where I'm coming from on this one, NZA? No word in that piece on how he died either. I need to do some research on this... OK, he died Feb. 26, 2010 from a car crash. He was only 36. Here's the official release from is label, Hydeout. It's in Japanese and Google Translate made it come out as something just short of gibberish for me, but the link is there for anyone who wants to check it out. Here's a blog post from MC Shing02. He did the rap on the Champloo theme song "Battlecry" w/ Nujabes as well as rapped on some other great Nujabes trax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 damn good post, chris. thanks for that. for me, him dying is a lot like J Dilla dying a few years back - the mainstream community doesn't really know who he was, or that he's gone, but they'll feel his absence. Dilla was known as "your favorite producer's favorite producer" (did all kinds of classic beats for Tribe Called Quest, Common, Pharcyde etc), and in that i felt they had a lot in common, personally. there's already rumblings ive read on other forums about a posthumus release of what he was working on & b-sides, i personally dont think anything too morbid of looking forward to its release, as i think it'd celebrate his life quite well. my only regret here is that i quietly have to add his name to my list of B.I.G., Cash, MJ and a few others i never got the chance to see perform live, which is a shame. hell, scarcity/import prices of his releases left me not even directly supporting him in life, just trying to spread his works. "sad to see you go, damn sure glad you came." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Yeah, Shing02 also made mention in his post that he was trying to get Nujabes on the phone to finish a trilogy of new tracks for two weeks and didn't even know he was dead! Apparently his family was very quiet about the death. It makes me wonder if the car wreck might have been his fault or something. Or they could just be extremely private people--according to Shing02, Nujabes was very private in his life. Still seems odd to me they waited so long to make an official announcement... Anyway, damn. It seems likely there's more "new" Nujabes music we can look forward to. Listening to "Battlecry" now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 word. some of these tracks make me feel connected to something in a way certain philosophy does. i don't really know how to phrase it; i feel indebted to this man for putting this stuff out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Excellent selections, Nick! There is a definite meditative, calming quality his music has on me as well. I posted the following in the Music Roulette thread, but thought I'd put it in here as well: Click here for 15 of my favorite Nujabes tracks. Enjoy! Album: Hydeout Productions - First Collection Tracks: Luv(sic) Part1, Luv(sic) Part2, Moonstrut(intro) Album: Metaphorical Music Tracks: Letters From Yokosuka, Beat Laments The world [this was later re-worked into a more pop sounding song for J-Pop artist MINMI, entitled "Shiki No Uta (Song For Four Seasons),"and used as one of the end credit songs for the anime series Samurai Champloo. Album: Modal Soul Tracks: Feather, Flowers, Horizon, Luv(sic) Part3, Music Is Mine Album: Samurai Champloo - Departure Tracks: Aruarian Dance, Mystline, The Space Between Two Worlds Album: Samurai Champloo - Impression Tracks: Sanctuary Ship, Tsurugi No Mai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the division of joy Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Only got into this recently... Do like. A lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 see, that one's not bad, but amongst my favorite in the genre are usually the instrumental ones. help yourself to this thread DoJ, might just be me (apparently Hakus too), but this was like my favorite musical discovery of the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the division of joy Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 I've kinda sat on this thread with skepticism until I caved after seeing it on a friends FB wall. Glad I caved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 see, that one's not bad, but amongst my favorite in the genre are usually the instrumental ones. help yourself to this thread DoJ, might just be me (apparently Hakus too), but this was like my favorite musical discovery of the last few years. Yep, Nujabes is definitely right behind lady gaga up there with my favorite all-time artists. Glad you finally gave his work a try, DoJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNuNOfibeZE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNuNOfibeZE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNuNOfibeZE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> some fans on youtube have been trying to mix Nas & Nujabes for a while now, with mixed results, this one wasn't bad though...if i find any better ones, ill post them too. here we go, great one with Com: <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANGQMiMSGjE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANGQMiMSGjE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANGQMiMSGjE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> oh, and this track i always meant to post: Nujabes + one of my favorite 90's MCs, CL Smooth: <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2OLLYgocdA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2OLLYgocdA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2OLLYgocdA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Modal Soul II (tribute album) - this is from last november, sorry i'm catching it late... Hyde Out Productions releases "Modal Soul Classics II" dedicated to the late Nujabes Last Thursday(11/11/10), the late, great Seba Jun's production label, Hyde Out Productions, released a tribute album for the amazingly talented, deceased DJ and producer featuring many wonderful artists that collaborated with Nujabes on several occasions... artists like Uyama Hiroto, Emancipator, and Pase Rock, among many others! Nujabes(who probably needs no introduction to many here) was a very influential Japanese, underground musician who worked in the hip hop/instrumental/jazz genres and was a close friend and inspiration to many artists of similar style. Besides his albums and collections, he was most known for his work heard in the anime "Samurai Champloo". On the night of February 26, 2010, Seba Jun was involved in a major traffic accident on the Shuto Expressway. When he was admitted to a hospital in Shibuya, Nujabes died shortly after the medical staff failed to revive the artist. He died at age 36. One wonders what else Nujabes would have accomplished in the ultimately longer life he would have lived had he not been on the Expressway that fateful night. Either way, his music is a lasting legacy of his beautiful soul and will continue to touch and inspire those all over the world. The tribute album itself is an incredible dedication, featuring not only new renditions of classic Nujabes tunes but also entirely new tracks imagined just for this particular album. Being a longtime fan of Nujabes myself, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this cd and it is everything I had hoped for. What a wonderful way to pay respects to an amazing person and artist that left this world at way too young an age... Provided below are a couple sample tracks for your listening bliss, along with the entire track listing. Full track list: 1. Kamakura (Conversations with Jun) / Pase Rock 2. Music is Ours (Saxmental Version) / Calm 3. No One Like You / Zack Austin 4. Beach Of Life / Specifics 5. Another Reflection (Seaside Dusk in Kamakura Rework) / FK 6. modal soul (Kenmochi Hidefumi Remix) / Kenmochi Hidefumi 7. Latitude Tribute Mix / Five Deez 8. A Day by Atmosphere Supreme / Emancipator 9. faure / haruka nakamura feat. Uyama Hiroto 10. reflection eternal / clammbon with yamazaki, mino & yamane from toe 11. Homeward Journey / uyama hiroto ---------------------------------------------------------- from hydeout.net... Dedicated to Nujabes... "Music is not comes from somewhere, Music is what we create" He was keep saying that in his life. The music that he created with his uncompromising stance is something that he wanted to tell people from his heartstrings. The music he created his own is loved by many people and moved peoples hearts. We have been meeting to a lot of people through such music and I hope we can continue to spread our love to music that has been brought up together. I am so happy that many of his friends were able to participate for this album. I hope Nujabes can hear our message in the heaven and his music would never stop playing in people's mind forever. hydeout productions ---------------------------------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Damn, this has been out for months? You slippin', NZA. Spend less time trollin' for Swizz beat mashups. So, the youtube links for Modal II are nice, but no torrent url? I checked amazon and iTunes and unfortunately there's no legit digital DL. Holla if you find a link. And speaking of mashups, your post back from August slipped by me as well. I'll leave myself a note to come back in here and listen when I've more time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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