Nujabes, his own name Jun Seba written backwards, was a Tokyo producer, DJ and label owner. In 1995 he opened a record shop in Shibuya, Guinness Records, and he later ran Hydeout Productions, the label that released nearly all his music, starting with the 12-inch single Ain’t No Mystery in 1999. His albums Metaphorical Music (2003) and Modal Soul (2005) became cult records far beyond Japan.
His tracks typically rest on one or two carefully edited jazz samples, with piano, flute or soprano saxophone floating over steady drums rooted in early-1990s boom bap, a sound both melancholy and uplifting, often mixed to feel like an old record. Many listeners abroad discovered him through the soundtrack of Shinichirō Watanabe’s anime series Samurai Champloo (2004). He died after a traffic accident in Tokyo on 26 February 2010, aged 36. Lo-fi producers widely regard him, alongside J Dilla, as a founding influence.