Modal Soul Classics II: Dedicated to Nujabes

I listened to the Nujabes’ dedication album ‘Modal Soul Classics II’ for the first time today - it was released almost two years ago, but I only found out about it a couple of weeks ago. Kind of ironic considering how I used to hastily download any new Nujabes’ related albums back when he was alive, and was quick to get an early download when his posthumous album finally arrived. Anyway, even if I’m late to the party with this record, I’m glad to have eventually encountered it - this is a beautiful, fitting dedication to one of music’s modern geniuses.

It’s hard to know how to feel about the loss of someone such as a loved musician. You don’t mourn them in the same way you do when losing someone that you knew personally, and it’s hard to find the words to describe how you might feel about it. Considering this, it’s wonderful to have an album like this, where Jun Seba’s life, works and friendships can be celebrated by those who both worked with him and cared about him personally, through music.

Although he didn’t have anything to do with the production of the original tracks here, and the remixes and reworks have been done by other artists, there’s a feel of ‘Nujabesness’ that I would argue is just as prominent as it is in his posthumous album ‘Spiritual State’. That something that was there on the albums and compilations he worked on while he was still alive lingers here - most likely due to the great influence he will have had on these friends of his. Considering this, I’d say this dedication definitely deserves a place alongside these records, and would recommend it to any fan of the late musical mastermind that was Nujabes.