Samurai Champloo Music Record: Impression Review

Two producers with adjacent tastes is not the same as one producer with a vision, and that shows across these tracks. Fat Jon's contributions are drier and more clipped, built on tighter loops and a colder low end, and they sit slightly apart from the harp and upright bass that define Seba's side. Both are good at what they do. Counting Stars is a lovely, gentle piece. Silver Morning has real drift.

Shiki no Uta, the closing theme with Minmi, is the standout and one of the prettiest things attached to the series. But the running order alternates between two sensibilities without ever fusing them, and a handful of cues are functional background that never develop. The vocal moments are sparse enough that a lyrics grade is almost beside the point, and where there is rapping it is pleasant rather than pointed. A worthwhile companion piece and clearly the lesser of the two volumes.