Daisaku Kume - Violent Cop (Original Soundtrack) (2023)

The first official reissue of Daisaku Kume’s original soundtrack for the highly acclaimed 1989 Japanese crime/drama movie Violent Cop, available for the first time outside of Japan.

Keyboardist and composer Daisaku Kume takes his cues from Erik Satie's Gnossiennes and smooth jazz/exotica on his soundtrack to Takeshi Kitano's 1989-released debut feature. Throughout the late '70s and the '80s, Kume was best known for playing keys in Japanese fusion bands like Prism and T-Square, and he later went on to play in Pizzicato Five and collaborate with Cornelius. 'Violent Cop' was his first score, and it's a quirky one; lead track 'Azuma's Theme', the one that fans of the movie will no-doubt remember most clearly, is a wonky, Balkan-esque interpolation of Satie's 'Gnosssienne No. 1', played on what sounds like bouzouki or oud, with an eerie synth accompaniment. The main theme 'Sono Otoko Kyōbō Ni Tsuki' meanwhile is completely different, all schmaltzy smoove jazz and library music string dives.

'Kiyohiro's Theme' is more interesting, a terse drone spiked with reverberant Japanese percussion, and its sequel 'Kiyohiro's Theme II' sounds closer to Ry Cooder, with slide guitar licks and weightless pads. Seemingly out of nowhere, a version of Italian baroque composer Antonio Cesti's choral piece 'Intorno all'idol mio' offers a moment of divine contemplation, and then there's a riff on the title track to conclude things. WRWTFWW Records has put this together on limited vinyl (cut to 45rpm for fidelity) for the first time outside Japan, so grab it while you can.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Daisaku Kume - Azuma's Theme (Gnossienne No. 1 - Erik Satie) (2:14)
1.02 - Daisaku Kume - Sono Otoko Kyōbō Ni Tsuki (Violent Cop) (End Title) (2:53)
1.03 - Daisaku Kume - Kiyohiro's Theme (1:16)
1.04 - Daisaku Kume - Kiyohiro's Theme II (1:12)
1.05 - Daisaku Kume - Sono Otoko Kyōbō Ni Tsuki (Violent Cop) (Main Title) (8:22)
1.06 - Daisaku Kume - Fear (Gnossienne No. 1 - Erik Satie) (0:57)
1.07 - Daisaku Kume - Intorno all'idol mio (Antonio Cesti) (2:48)
1.08 - Daisaku Kume - Sono Otoko Kyōbō Ni Tsuki (Violent Cop) (Main Title - Saxophone Version) (1:06)