In 2021, Netflix achieves the unthinkable, live-action adaptation of the cult anime Cowboy Bebop released in 1998. If the series has strongly divided, there is one point where it has not disappointed: the sound atmosphere. Indeed, taking up strong themes of the saga, adding new melodies, this (unique) season has recalled why the work of Watanabe Shin'ichiro has marked a whole generation of viewers. Rarely have sound and image been so harmonious. Yoko Kanno's themes perfectly accompany the action. While constituting a coherent work that can be listened to independently of the image. So let's come back to this O.S.T unforgettable, unsurpassable musical space trip.
Signed Yoko Kanno
For all spectators, Cowboy Bebop is first and foremost a unique musical experience in the world of animation. The O.S.T was composed by a great lady Yoko Kanno and her band the Seatbelts. The artist is at the same time composer, conductor, performer. She has also been credited for anime music (ghost in the shell S.Has.C), movies, video games and a solo album. And as she has been rocked by classical music, folk, soul and jazz, she builds an eclectic, creative, colorful universe that fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the series. From the first chords, the immersion is total and the melodies remain engraved for life. His work was immense: 6 hours of composition for 24 episodes, almost 10 hours of film. A colossal work to illustrate a series at the crossroads of space opera, manhunt, galactic western (Gogo Cactus Man) and jazzy film noir (Flying Teapot). Cowboy Bebop features a team of bounty hunters living on contracts that take them to the four corners of the galaxy. Humanity has left the cradle of the Earth that has become unlivable to colonize the galaxy: Jupiter, Ganymede (Autumn in Ganymede)… Since then, it has created very diverse universes made of mining planets, space casinos. And in these new theatres of existence there are space truckers, environmental terrorists, intelligence services or petty crooks. Small independent worlds where humans recreate snippets of their lost planet. 
Cowboy Bebop: a hymn to diversity
The originality of the musical themes remains the strength of the ensemble. Except for the opening and ending, no song is reused or almost. Each episode has its own soundtrack as if it were a unique film. This gives it a unique freshness. The diversity of universes, that of mafias, gold diggers, scientists, is embodied through a sound theme. Especially since this humanity that has spread throughout the universe has transcended ancient ethnic and religious boundaries. They are mixed diasporas, global villages that music makes you feel. Influence jazz, pop rock, soul, blues, oriental (Bindy), funk, samba (Mushroom Hunting), hard rock (Live in Baghdad). Everything happens in a sound, beyond reality. Yoko Kanno thus composes a score that is both cool in the image of the heroes (Blue) and extremely classy carried (Call me Call me) by musicians from Japan, New York, Paris (Fantaisie Sign), enriched by many guest singers. A dream-team combining percussion, vocalizations (Don't Bother None), piano…
When music and image are one
The O.S.T does more than illustrate a work abundant by its themes and universes. It exists for itself, it is a world in itself, that of Yoko Kanno. Indeed, if she had to deliver her work in one year, her compositions are the result of years of maturation, some pieces being in gestation since high school (she was 34 years old when Cowboy Bebop was released). There is therefore a real writing sometimes symphonic, dreamlike that carries the plot. But rare thing, film and O.S.They fed each other. Watanabe confided in 2013 that to write new scenes, he drew inspiration from Kanno's new songs. The result is a phenomenon quite unique in the world of anime: a B.O which becomes the center of attention, songs listened to in loop by people who have never seen anime. Yoko Kanno's work is ultimately comparable to that of John Williams for the Star Wars saga: she magnifies the image and becomes an independent musical object. 
Songs for all tastes
If this music has marked the spectators so much, it is because it succeeds in being heterogeneous, ambitious and terribly coherent. Imagine that we go from samba songs, to hard rock, to contemplative Elm passages, to blues with fluidity. There is almost everything in Yoko Kanno's composition. Poetry, tribute, country Waltz fo Zizi, J-pop Cats on Mars… A total soundtrack, out of the ordinary. Thus, you will find in the O.S.T from Cowboy Bebop a piece for every moment of your day. Nostalgic, you will listen to Green Bird carried by soft notes on the piano. In a cheerful mood, it is Want all in Black that will fill you. For a relaxing atmosphere, Space Lion is for you. For an elegant alarm clock, opt for the rounded brass and vocalizations of Flying Teapot. In full metaphysical reflection, Blue will accompany you. Or over a good coffee, Spokey Dokey will bring you all its blues sounds. Finally, to keep your spirits up in traffic, play the song Bad Dog No Biscuits. If Cowboy Bebop has become cult, it is partly thanks to its O.S.T who 20 years later has not lost his breath and dynamism. It is one of the most beautiful of Japanese animation and certainly one of the most fantastic of the 7th art. Find here the links of the 20 songs mentioned in the article. Good listening!!! Call me Call me; Don't Bother None; Live in Baghdad; Blue; Want all in Black; Too Good Too Bad Dog No Biscuits; Piano Black; Bindy; Autumn in Ganymede; Waltz fo Zizi; Gogo Cactus Man; Cats on Mars; Green Bird; Spokey Dokey; Space Lion; Elm; Fantasy Sign; Mushroom Hunting; Flying Teapod
