Jun Seba, better known by his stage name Nujabes, was a Japanese record producer, audio engineer, DJ, composer and arranger best known for his atmospheric instrumental mixes sampling from hip hop, soul, and jazz, as well as incorporating elements of trip hop, breakbeat, downtempo, and ambient music.
Seba adopted the stage name Nujabes (his name spelled backwards) and became notable for his approach to producing hip hop beats, often blending jazz influences into his songs creating a mellow, nostalgic and atmospheric sound.
In 2010, Seba died in a traffic collision at the age of 36. Although relatively niche during his lifetime, Seba has since achieved posthumous acclaim and often referred to as the "godfather" of lo-fi hip hop. Seba's production techniques and career have also been compared with J Dilla.
Context:
I wanted to put up; something I love, something Japanese, something accessible, something perhaps unknown, but yet, familiar, and it would help if the producer is massively on the top of their game.
I think this one fits the brief.
The fact that he died at such a young age driving back from a gig adds fuel to the legend. As does the fact that some of his tracks have 50m listens to them on Spotify. He has another 4 or 5 albums after this, where he matures somewhat, but as a first LP, this one is a very good introduction.
Stand out track for me: High 2 Lows
Nice touch: All that artwork is by him as well..