What You Need to Know:
- Samurai Champloo, which aired in 2004, stands as a groundbreaking anime directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. Seamlessly blending historical drama and hip-hop elements, it crafted a unique visual and musical experience that captivated anime enthusiasts and hip-hop fans alike, earning acclaim domestically and internationally.
- Director Watanabe, known for his deep appreciation of music, selected four well-known hip-hop artists for this project: Nujabes, a rare track maker who shook the scene with his lo-fi hip hop, later garnering numerous followers domestically and internationally; fat jon, who has been active since the 2000s as a central member of Five Deez, and has also released albums produced by Nujabes; Force of Nature, a unit consisting of KZA and DJ KENT, who handle remixes for numerous artists and showcase a strong presence as top runners in both domestic and international club scenes; and Tsutchie, who has been leading the scene since the dawn of Japanese hip hop as a track maker for SHAKKAZOMBIE.
- In 2004, they released four CDs for Samurai Champloo: “Departure,” which includes tracks by Nujabes and fat jon, along with the opening theme “battlecry/Nujabes feat. Shing02” and the ending theme “Shiki no Uta/MINMI”; “masta,” featuring tracks by FORCE OF NATURE and Tsutchie; “Impression,” featuring tracks by Nujabes, fat jon, and FORCE OF NATURE, along with the insert song “who’s Theme/MINMI”; and “Playlist,” featuring tracks by Tsutchie. These CDs were smash hits, but have since disappeared from the market, becoming sought-after collectibles.
- In 2022, these four titles were reissued as vinyl records and became a hit, recording sales of over 30,000 copies across the four titles combined.
- Now, in the 20th anniversary year of the TV broadcast, the CDs will finally be reissued in paper jacket format. Whether you bought the CD back then or discovered the series later through the TV broadcasts, wouldn’t it be exciting to reimmerse yourself in the music world of Samurai Champloo on CD, which was the original format when it aired?
- Additionally, to commemorate the 20th anniversary, a collaboration event with the culture shop YEN TOWN MARKET® is scheduled to be held as a popup store from June 15 at Shibuya PARCO 5 and YEN TOWN MARKET! Apparel items focusing on iconic scenes from the anime and special designs exclusive to this collaboration are also in the works! Please check it out!
Website: yentownmarket.com
Instagram: instagram.com/yentownmarket
Product information
Release Date: June 26, 2024
“departure” / Nujabes, fat jon
VTCL-60638 \ ¥3,190 (inc. tax)
Tracks
battlecry / Nujabes feat. Shing02
the space between two world / Nujabes
aruarian dance / Nujabes
transcendence / Nujabes
mystline / Nujabes
1st samurai / Nujabes
Shiki no Uta / MINMI
ole / fat jon
624 part2 / fat jon
genome / fat jon
no way back / fat jon
funkin’ / fat jon
stay / fat jon
chambers / fat jon
ask / fat jon
how you feel / fat jon
624 part1 / fat jon
“masta” / FORCE OF NATURE, Tsutchie
VTCL-60639 \ ¥3,190 (inc. tax)
Tracks
vagrancy / FORCE OF NATURE
mist / FORCE OF NATURE
judgment on / FORCE OF NATURE
loading zone / FORCE OF NATURE
paranoid / FORCE OF NATURE
silver children / FORCE OF NATURE
the long way of drums / FORCE OF NATURE
sneak chamber / FORCE OF NATURE
new dimension / FORCE OF NATURE
raw material / Tsutchie
dry / Tsutchie
breeezin’ / Tsutchie
tubed [drum please!!!] / Tsutchie
pretending to…/ Tsutchie
seventythree / Tsutchie
I sighed / Tsutchie
sincerely / Tsutchie
numbernine [back in TYO] / Tsutchie
YOU feat.kazami / Tsutchie
“impression” / Nujabes, FORCE OF NATURE, fat jon
VTCL-60640 \ ¥3,190 (inc. tax)
Tracks
sanctuary ship / Nujabes
haiku [interlude] / Nujabes
tsurugi no mai / Nujabes
dead season / Nujabes
decade [interlude] / Nujabes
world without words / Nujabes
kodama [interlude] / Nujabes
silver morning / Nujabes
who’s Theme / MINMI
just forget / FORCE OF NATURE
nightshift / FORCE OF NATURE
Hiizuru STYLE / FORCE OF NATURE
the stroll / FORCE OF NATURE
death wish / FORCE OF NATURE
set it off / FORCE OF NATURE
the million way of drum / FORCE OF NATURE
bracelet / fat jon
in position / fat jon
night out / fat jon
not quite seleah / fat jon
labyrinth statistic / fat jon
here and there / fat jon
“playlist” / Tsutchie
VTCL-60641 \ ¥3,190 (inc. tax)
Tracks
thank you / Tsutchie
yet？ why not？/ Tsutchie
strike back / Tsutchie
let me know what U think / Tsutchie
mists / Tsutchie
flip / Tsutchie
absolute / Tsutchie
adapt myself / Tsutchie
tuned / Tsutchie
no icon / Tsutchie
stretch out / Tsutchie
process / Tsutchie
reflective / Tsutchie
deeper than word / Tsutchie
2 messages / Tsutchie
the update / Tsutchie
Offers / Tsutchie
FLY feat.AZUMA RIKI[SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS] / Tsutchie feat.AZUMA RIKI
*Please note that the above contents may be subject to change without notice.
Distribution Information
Available on streaming services and major download sites such as the iTunes Store, RecoChoku, and mora.
“departure” / Nujabes, fat jon
jvcmusic.lnk.to/samurai_departure
“masta” / FORCE OF NATURE, Tsutchie
jvcmusic.lnk.to/samurai_masta
“impression” / Nujabes, FORCE OF NATURE, fat jon
jvcmusic.lnk.to/samurai_impression
“playlist” / Tsutchie
jvcmusic.lnk.to/samurai_playlist
Source: Official Press Release