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Cowboy Bebop’s “The Real Folk Blues” feat. Yoko Kanno, and other tunes

This stuff is golden! After a 2 year wait, we are finally at the ragged edge of having a Live Action version of Cowboy Bebop! And we didn’t have to do anything to get more, because Netflix already verified the second season was funded and green lit!

But for those who have forgotten what this means, a song or two to bring it front and center again! The songs in this set were done as part of Seatbelt’s 2020 Virtual Sessions, not one of the previous year’s postings. But they were all composed by Yoko Kanno, they were all part of the original movie and TV show, they were all performed by Seatbelt! And even scarier, watching how they did their musical collaborations while in Lock-down, you get a much better understanding of just how world class this collection of singers and musicians is! And for those who didn’t already know her, the one in the space suit helmet is Yoko Kanno herself!

To start us off, the Lock Down version of Space Lion:

Then two different versions of the Real Folk Blues, one with the original Seatbelts mix, and one where Yoko Kanno gets to run rampant all over the musical arrangement. Both versions are totally amazing!

Amy Lee and The Wagakki Band

I was not expecting the fusion of Evanescence and The Wagakki Band, but they have put together some really tasty music. The first track is the Evanescence hit Bring Me To Life posted on their YouTube Channel, with the two lead singers sharing the vocals and Wagakki Band bringing their unique sound to the party. The second track is Sakura Rising from Wagakki Band’s new album Tokyo Singing, which just came out a few weeks ago.

There has been some amazing music released during the pandemic, which has been one of the main things helping me get through the year. So far, the tracks from this session have been the best of them from my perspective.

For Yoko with Love: Platina Jazz

Yoko Kanno is one of the most amazing composers and band leaders ever, and it is always a treat to discover someone new singing her praises by playing her music (and yes, I do mean that literally). Back in 2009 a band called Platina Jazz got together to create covers of the best Jazz music in Anime, so I figure at least half of their music has to be created by her. Let me show off a few of their tunes so you can get an idea of who they are.

Starting off with the single most recognizable tune from Anime Jazz, Yoko Kanno’s TANK:

Then there is Inner Universe from Ghost In The Shell : Stand Alone Complex, another track composed and originally preformed by Yoko Kanno!

And another killer classic from Cowboy Bebop, Knock A Little Harder:

The Sweet Life Society: ElectoSwing

The Sweet Life Society is an ElectroSwing band out of Italy who have done a number of fun songs, I figured I would share a few of them. The first is 2012’s My Sound, which is an effervesant tune that keeps bubbling up into your head when you least expect it, and it may even be an original tune. That would be unusual, since most ElectroSwing songs start off being a classic Swing tune which then gets sampled and remixed. The second song is 2014’s Prima di ogni prima, probably also original and definately infectuous. To finish it off we have their 2017 song Hard On; that album took a sharp turn away from ElectroSwing and went face first into Ska. Enjoy!