The Real Folk Blues Charity Single Supports COVID-19 Relief
It’s a tune you know well, though you kinda need to be fluent in Japanese to sing it accurately. “The Real Folk Blues” is the jazzy number that closes out every episode of one of the greatest anime productions of all time, Cowboy Bebop.
Now composer Mason Lieberman has united talent from the video game and anime industries to create a new rendition of the iconic closing theme. Yoko Kanno and her band, the Seatbelts, are back, along with original cast members and other top-drawer talent (just check out the credits list at the end of this article — it’s a wonder). All proceeds from sales of The Real Folk Blues will go to support Doctors Without Borders and the CDC Founation’s COVID-19 response.
“This project grew out of the goal of creating something fun and beautiful with the huge number of available musicians who have been sidelined as COVID-19 shuts down our entire industry,” explains project organizer Mason Lieberman. “As it snowballed and grew, I realized we needed to use this as a valuable opportunity to give back to others and support everyone else who has been impacted by this crisis. I am greatly honored to present this smorgasbord of musical talent; many of my personal heroes are present on this release, and it is a tremendous joy to see them all working so hard for the greater good in this exceptional time of need.”
The digital version of The Real Folk Blues is available now exclusively on Bandcamp, or you can pre-order a special vinyl pressing from Qrates. The single will expand to all digital storefronts a week from now, May 8.
CREDITS:
Featuring:
Band Arrangement and Direction for The Seatbelts – Yoko Kanno
Trumpet – Koji Nishimura
Trumpet – Eric Miyashiro
Trombone – Yoichi Murata
Vocals – A-sha Mai Yamane
Percussion – MATARO
Upright Bass – Hitoshi Watanabe
Drums – Yasuo Sano
Electric Guitar – Tsuneo Imahori
And Special Guest:
Vocals – A-sha Mai Yamane
Mix / Additional Guitar – Masahiro Aoki (Legendary former composer at Capcom with credits on Mega Man, Street Fighter V, Astral Chain, and more)
Keys – Ed Goldfarb (Series composer, Pokémon: The Animated Series)
Guitar – David McLean (Guitarist on Beyblade Burst, One Minute Melee, host of Animyze)
Synth/Additional Sound Design – Jason Walsh (Senior composer and sound designer at Hexany Audio with recent credits including Overwatch Contenders, PUBG Mobile, and League of Legends)
Bass – Matthew Hines (Touring bassist with recent gigs including the Jonas Brothers, Ledisi, Summer Walker, Kiana Lede, Bazzi, and more)
Drums – Kevin Brown (Touring drummer with recent gigs including Jason Hawk Harris, the Southern California Brass Consortium, and more)
Saxophone – Zac Zinger (Composer and woodwind player for Street Fighter V, Jump Force, Mobile Suit Gundam: Side Stories, and more)
Flute – Kevin Penkin (Series composer, Made in Abyss, Rising of the Shield Hero, more)
Lead Vocal – Shihori (J-pop singer and song-writer on shows like Fairy Tail, Macross Frontier, Irregular at Magic Highschool, and more.)
Lead Vocal 2 – Úyanga Bold (Lead vocals on things like Mulan (2020), League of Legends, and multiple projects with Hans Zimmer/Pinar Toprak etc.)
Lead Vocal 3 – Raj Ramayya (Lead vocals on Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Wolf’s Rain, Made in Abyss, and more)
Backing Vocal 1 – Dale North (Composer for Dreamscaper, Wizard of Legend, Sparklite, Nintendo Minute, and more)
Backing Vocal 2 – Dawn M. Bennett (Voice actress for anime and game series like Dragon Ball Super, Fairy Tail, RWBY, Borderlands 3, and more)
Backing Vocal 3 – Kaitlyn Fae (Filipino-American singer, actor, writer, director, co-host on the nerd video podcast, PanGeekery)
Rap 2 – Mega Ran (Critically-acclaimed nerdcore legend)
Rap 3 – Red Rapper AKA Zaid Tabani (Rapper with credits on Street Fighter, the EVO worldwide fighting tournament’s main theme, and Rooster Teeth’s Red VS. Blue)
Poem – D.B. Cooper (Voice sctress and director on Hearthstone, Bioshock 2, The Amazing Spiderman 2, Ghostbusters (2016), DC Universe Online, and more)
Spoken word – Beau Billingslea (Voice actor from Cowboy Bebop – Jet Black)
Ending Tag – Steve Blum (Voice actor from Cowboy Bebop – Spike Spiegel)
String Director/String Arranger/Orchestrator/Disco slide king – Lance Treviño (Film composer for titles like Beyblade Burst God, Hanazuki, Chef’s Table, and more!)
String Copyist/Orchestrator/String Mockup – Dallas Crane (Multimedia composer and personal assistant to Austin Wintory)
Strings: Our string section is composed of brilliant artists whose individual credits include grammy nominations, tours with artists like Eminem, Sting, and Hans Zimmer, and recordings for soundtracks like Steven Universe, God of War, The Lion King (2019), and many, many more.
Violas – Joe Chen, Molly Rogers Isaac Schutz, Jeff Ball
Cellos – Andrew Dunn, David Tangney
Upright Bass – Travis Kindred
Music Video – Zaid Tabani and Dallas Crane