Choices for the Tunes for Tuesdays segment sometimes materialize from the oddest sources. In the case of Yoko Kanno, it started with a personal interest to re-watch the stunning, ice cold anime, Cowboy Bebop. Set in 2071, the series follows the exploits of a group of hyperspace bounty hunters thrown together by circumstance, and tied together through shared debt. While its rich, explosive action coupled with its science fiction edge garnered massive critical acclaim for the series, Cowboy Bebop won the interest of ani-philes and -phobes alike for its searing, sexy soundtrack of blues-meet-jazz fusion.
Behind that towering, sleek sound is none other than our girl, Yoko Kanno.
Kanno dominates her field as a composer, arranger, and musician who is best known for her work on soundtracks for games, anime films, television, live-action movies, and advertisements. She has written the scores for explosive anime series including Macross Plus, The Vision of Escaflowne, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, and, of course, Cowboy Bebop. While she's not composing immersive soundtracks for the likes of prominent directors (e.g. Yoshiyuki Tomino, Shinichiro Watanabe and Shoji Kawamori), fans can find Kanno penning J-pop tunes for acts including Maaya Sakamoto and Kyōko Koizumi, or performing with her fiery band, The Seatbelts. Her sound shakes down the rafters with its intricate detail and its electric pulse -- and I hope to convert a few of you to her work this Tuesday.
Our starting point is an obvious one: jack up those speakers now, and prep yourselves for the addictive energy of Cowboy Bebop's intro track, "Tank!", as performed by Seatbelts.I recommend pumping that track in the morning hours to get yourself jazzed for the day ahead. Comes in rather useful when meeting with 5 AM work shifts, in this blogette's opinion.
Need another shot of the good stuff? Fasten those seat belts, and check out the space jazz tracks to follow:
"Rush"
"Piano Black"
"The Egg and I"
This soundtrack still kicks my ass, even twelve years after its 1998 release date.
So do yourself a favour and kick start the morning with Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts.
... And I'll see you, space cowboy.
