The infectious jazz-fusion soundtrack to Cowboy Bebop is arguably the best anime soundtrack of all time, and honestly should be in the discussion for best soundtracks period.
But what is it about these songs that still endure after 20 years? Why does Bebop stand out from everything else in the genre? That’s because when it comes to music, nobody approaches it like the eccentric and brilliant composer Yoko Kanno. She revolutionized the sound of anime and made some absolute bangers in the process.
The Mind Behind the Music
Ok before we can talk about Bebop’s soundtrack, we gotta talk about its composer, Yoko Kanno. Kanno has been composing music basically her whole life. She is a classical music prodigy, who was raised strictly on that genre until her college years. At school she saw drums played live for the first time, and immediately developed an interest in discovering new sounds.
Kanno has pursued sound ever since, traveling the world to study different cultures’ music. During her college years she took a trip across the US, and while in New Orleans and the east coast she fell in love with jazz, funk, and soul.
Fast forward to the mid 90s, and Kanno, already an acclaimed composer for games and anime, forms a jazz fusion band called Seatbelts, specifically to write and perform the soundtrack to Cowboy Bebop.
Working very closely with Cowboy Bebop director Shinichirō Watanabe, Kanno composes music that is every much a part of the show as the writing and characters. Kanno and Watanabe inspire each other. Sometimes a song Kanno writes inspires the scene in which it’s eventually used. Other times the visual flourish of Watanabe’s direction pushes Kanno to find a new combination of sounds to match it.
The end result is that the soundtrack is never dictating the mood of the scene, or just playing in the background to add white noise. It’s an integral part of the moment, dancing in and out as necessary.
This symbiotic relationship between visuals and sound are a large part of the reason Cowboy Bebop has so many standout scenes. From frenetic and intense, to sombre and thoughtful, Kanno and Seatbelts nailed every emotional moment.
Bebop’s Ongoing Legacy
On top of that, every song Kanno composed with Seatbelts is an absolute banger. Seriously, this s–t slaps so hard. She jumps from genre to genre, blending and using them in interesting ways. It’s shocking that this eclectic of a soundtrack came from one band. Yanno intrinsically understands how music and emotion tie together, and she wields her sound so effectively that the music stays with you long after you’ve stopped watching.
Kanno’s career since Bebop has flourished, and she’s composed scores for multiple anime and films, including Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Her influence raised the bar for anime soundtracks, so if you’re jamming out to FLCL or Persona games, thank Kanno.
Her influence can even be heard in the broader music scene. Musicians like Grimes and Wavves frontman Nathan Williams list Kanno as inspiration, and the latter sampled multiple Cowboy Bebop songs in his music. If you head to SoundCloud you’ll find endless hip hop tracks that sample, reference, and remix Cowboy Bebop.
Kanno is still making music for anime. She even teamed up with Watanabe to work on Space Dandy, so if you’re looking for more of that space jazz sound, check it out.
The entire run of Cowboy Bebop is streaming on Hulu.