this is a tribute post to share the legacy... of an artist whose work has changed my life and inspires me everyday, Jun Seba aka Nujabes. Born February 7, 1974, Nujabes was a music producer & DJ from Tokyo, Japan. He came from a family of music lovers and his father’s admiration for jazz served as an inspiration to Seba at a young age. He pursued his education at a Fine Arts school and the people in his life influenced him to explore the vast wonders of what music really is. In a 2003 interview with Sound & Recording Magazine, Seba said… “I started making tracks because I wanted to hear music that sampled the old soul and jazz I liked.” Nujabes in his early years discovered Hip-Hop and was enamored by the art of DJ-ing and breakdancing. Hip-Hop culture was being brought to life in the USA, but its influence seeped across the world and it started to gain popularity in Japan at the time as well. Seba went on to become a crucial figure in Japan’s underground Hip-Hop scene as a DJ, co-creating a label called ‘Hydeout Productions’. His love for music stemmed beyond just creating it. He had his own record store, which he spoke about in the aforementioned 2003 interview. “I recently started up a record store, Tribe, which I see as an extension of Hydeout Productions. Everything at the store is stuff I went and bought overseas myself, and my hope is for people to come in, listen to old records at their leisure, and hopefully feel inspired by those records to make good tracks themselves. That’s another thing I would like to cherish doing in the future—creating those sorts of encouraging environment” This was a genuine testament to the pure love Nujabes had for music and the community that is built as a result. This passion is what fueled the masterpieces we listen to today and it is the reason for him revolutionizing Hip-Hop production. One of his greatest achievements, in my opinion, was his contribution to the soundtrack of ‘Samurai Champloo’ alongside Fat Jon. This soundtrack set Nujabes on center stage. With a fusion of traditional Japanese musical influences, everything he learned as a student of Hip-Hop, and his early love for Jazz music, Nujabes created a new soundscape which set the tone for this acclaimed show, but also epitomized his brilliance as a musician. At a recent Nujabes tribute performance, longtime collaborator and a friend of Nujabes, Fat Jon, said a few words about him… “Our friendship went beyond music. And so yeah, we had fun making music, but we had more fun just doing regular shit in life… Nujabes as a person, separated from the music, he was a cool person.” You can tell everyone that has worked with or around Nujabes has a deep, unwavering admiration for him as a musician, but also as a person and a friend. Although his contributions to the soundtrack shot Nujabes to fame, his discography of solo music is what cemented his legacy as a pioneer of modern music. From his debut ‘Metaphorical Music’, to his most critically acclaimed work ‘Modal Soul’, Nujabes was able to create entire soundscapes by blending all the different things that made him love music in the first place. It would be a disservice to not mention his friends and frequent collaborators who had invaluable contributions to his work. Shing02, Uyama Hiroto, Cise Starr & Akin (CYNE), Substantial, Haruka Nakamura, and many more. (I’d love to give recommendations to people who want to dive into their work after seeing this!) Nujabes music heavily centered around jazz and soul samples intertwined with his intricate drum patterns and tranquil instrumentation. He fostered an atmosphere of serenity with his melodies than touched the hearts of millions around the world. From ethereal tracks like “Horizon” and “Counting Stars” to his Luv(Sic) series, Nujabes created art that transcended the preconceptions of what music’s impact is. if you made it this far, thank you for reading. i have no more characters left lolshow more
