TSUTCHIE <GANGSTA. Original Soundtrack "SIGNS">
Interview & text by: Yu Onoda
Creating beats that amplify the emo-ness in screen images
Although the hip hop group SHAKKAZOMBIE he belongs to has not released any music for a while, beatmaker TSUTCHIE has been actively engaged in numerous works of artists such as LEF!!! CREW!!! (hardcore DJ band), Kumiko Yanagida (female singer-songwriter), tha BOSS (MC of hip hop group THA BLUE HERB) or NATURE DANGER GANG (rave/bass music band) as producer and engineer. More than 10 years after the release of the soundtrack for the anime [Samurai Champloo] in 2004, which still is enthusiastically listened to both in and outside Japan, he has handled the music for the popular TV anime series [GANGSTA.], and now, a 2-disc set titled "GANGSTA. Original Soundtrack "SIGNS"" is about to be released.
"I had been continuing beatmaking while looking for the right time to release a solo work. It was late 2013 when I was asked to be in charge of the music production for the anime [GANGSTA.]. The director Shuko Murase and I have known each other for some time because Murase is also a member of the creators of the anime [Samurai Champloo]. And the original manga artist Kohske, who has a wide taste in music including club music, also has a clear image in his mind of the soundtrack. For these reasons, the offer was made to me. Being asked to create as truthful of an image of the anime as possible and having received detailed requests, such as 'We want this kind of music for this scene,' I read the original manga over and over to figure out ideas that would meet the requests."
In tune with the hard-boiled touch of the anime in which a thrilling story unfolds in a crime-ridden city, the beats widely vary, sometimes aggressive and other times mellow or jazzy, according to the scenes, but their consistent sense of tension and stoicism work in great concert with the film.
"As for the link between film and music, I created music as if putting a visual image on the beat, just as in the way of putting rap on the beat. I have an impression that [GANGSTA.] is basically an emo-type of work. Listening to my music added to it, there were many occasions the amplified emo-ness almost made me cry. I'm also basically an emo person and love emotional music. And to create such music, I have to make it as good as the film. Realizing I should not cut any corners, I worked hard to create songs that make listeners react to each and every moment."
This album, made by using 3 different music production softwares of Ableton Live, Pro Tools and Logic, depending on the kind of music he wanted to create or the mood he was in, is mostly made of live source materials he has stocked together with machine-programmed sounds, though a few of the songs feature real players. All of the 32 songs included in the 2-disc set are definitely enjoyable also as general beat music. However, the tracks, each tone of which is carefully selected, evoke universal emotions as music that transcends genres, showcasing the prowess of the well-trained musician, TSUTCHIE.
"For example, there's a limit to playing horn, such as the range of sounds produced or the set of musical phrases that can be played by human fingers. Step recordings have an advantage in that there are no such limits and constraints in the production of music. Meanwhile, I have been studying what players call musical knowledge, which is an unknown field for me. As a goal to achieve by age 50, I want to create a jazz album. There is an example of Yesterdays New Quintet, Madlib's solo unit in which the American beatmaker created his own jazz by playing and beating musical instruments by himself, but I can't play and beat that well. So, by utilizing my specialty, step recordings, I want to get my ideas on jazz into shape. Being able to put my foot-in-the-door ideas into concrete shapes in this piece of work this time was also truly beneficial for me."
