when you try to impress a legend with a blues chord

[@GeorgeCollier]

james may x minoru mukaiya is like two worlds colliding

[@chiefeugene]

This video is shocking

[@SmallBlogV8]

James May and _this channel_ is like two worlds colliding

[@ChristianSandviknes]

Odd to see James May not being called Captain Slow. Anyhow, I miss your "proper" videos, such as the 1-minute theory lessons! Would be cool to see more of it!

[@arcynic5404]

This video was my recommendation on discord. Thank you so much for making it happen. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

[@cornifer5261]

For real man

[@trym1nator]

i like how he just laughs and says no

[@LuanMazi]

I'm obsessed with "sore wa 'too bluesy' daze"

[@quinnw4398]

da ne*

[@DeelyStanimals]

Brushes off that nice blues chord like my 5 year old playing a toy xylophone

[@bajer111]

too bruce

[@wesleyhgaines]

I never expected a James May, Casiopea, George collier crossover but I’m here for it

[@FishMonger849]

It’s the only good thing about this timeline

[@weakw1ll]

Me either!! (Idk these people)

[@alexanderkruszewski7306]

And with our powers combined, we are…Bill Wurtz!

[@RobinsMusic]

@@weakw1ll go listen to casiopea NOW

[@weakw1ll]

@@RobinsMusic watch ur tone who u talm to 🤣🖐🏾🗿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿😾😾

[@LukeFaulkner]

1:04 Love how Minoru low key roasts James by saying his riff is "more sophisticated" but then immediately turns it around by adding "like you" ❤

[@Charlitoboy]

The video is just over a minute long.

[@thescatologistcopromancer3936]

@@Charlitoboy thank you for the observation

[@josiah566]

"Okay we did it" "YOU did it" Minoru's face - fuck yeah I did

[@Charlitoboy]

@@thescatologistcopromancer3936 yw, i was trying to point out that if you have to time stamp a video that’s a minute long its just an expression of how our attention span is just dying.

[@djd829]

@@Charlitoboy I get what you're saying, but KZbin makes it a hyperlink, and there's nothing wrong with pointing out a specific thing. That's like having your menu on the table, arms behind your back and telling the waitstaff you want "that one".

[@Kapsek1]

"Ok, we did it YOU did it" Beautiful

[@shriram5494]

"Sore wa too blues" is one hell of a compliment if ya ask me.

[@エヴァンゲリオン弐号機]

SORE WA 2 BURUZUU

[@p0llenp0ny]

@エヴァンゲリオン弐号機 Das a waycist

[@vargsvansify]

Those train station jingles have a way of making me nostalgic for a past I never even had.

[@peynir33]

Reminds one of the PS1 era.

[@Yakushii]

These "nostalgic for a past I never experienced" comments make me nostalgic for when people didn't say the same shit over and over on every video.

[@oyc7946]

@@Yakushii based. Sick and tired of seeing "mUh dRiViNg iN latE niGhT tOkyo" everywhere

[@dededededededewedq]

@@Yakushii I guess you prefer it when people don't react to art and remain completely stoical whenever seeing anything beautiful... Would you call a sunrise trite because it's happened a million times?

[@OliverSchlecter]

@@dededededededewedq Well said dude. Maybe it’s true that these comments have been said before, but that doesn’t invalidate their opinion.

[@dan-shimon]

I'm a huge Caseopia fan, so it's really cool to see some of his jazz fusion influences on the train jingles. Minoru Mukaiya is a huge inspiration for me!

[@Uniongamers]

My favourite Japanese fusion jazz group too alongside Naniwa Express! Eyes of Mind is one of my favourite albums of all time alongside Mint Jams and Super Flight. (Just a slight correction, the band is Casiopea not Caseopia. The band's name coming from a misspelling of the constellation Cassiopeia)

[@Channel10334]

What’s the best Caseopia album? I like Sand by Allan Holdsworth

[@Uniongamers]

@@Channel10334 that's a difficult one. Casiopea have quite a few great albums, with multiple different versions of the same songs. Personally I think Make Up City is their best album, though others might say Mint Jams. Tbh I would start with with their first album Casiopea (1979) and make up your own mind on which album is their best.

[@Nathan_7978]

@@Channel10334 i actually like their first album the most tbh, mint jams and make up city are def up there tho

[@jankington216]

I like their first album, I need those horns

[@yourmaker8786]

What I find incredibly endearing is his little knowing chuckle at 0:35, because he can see James' creativity in action and he instantly has an idea for it, like any real musician, he loves to hear something from someone, take it and build on it. For me it's a moment of universal language.

[@taylordeaton214]

It is little too ❤

[@brainmaxxing1]

I think the chuckle is from the "sumimasen"

[@miladragon]

He's laughing because sumimasen makes no sense in context -- it's not "James May Train Station", bro just said "James May Excuse Me" because that's probably one of like five Japanese words he knows. Which is fine, but it is funny

[@Isegawa2001]

"sore wa too blues" had me wheezing

[@emmbeesea]

Well, it certainly impressed. The lifting of that F# in the final chord is just the perfect cherry on top.

[@tomepsilon]

no WAY IS THAT the SIIVACOMMMENTER???!?

[@LemonLimeSqueeze]

Melee players stay winning

[@KieraQ0323]

hello emmbeesea

[@SlyHikari03]

Ayyy, I've seen you on a lot of Jules Conroy's vids. 'ello

[@PostApocolyptica]

0:54 " *No.* それは 'too blues'..."

[@paletreker]

Yea it cracked me up XD

[@benmartin6644]

What does he say

[@skaff7807]

​@@benmartin6644 He is saying that the final chord is too bluesy

[@benmartin6644]

@@skaff7807 The word/phrase he said in Japanese I meant (i forgot google translate exists)

[@ser4ph]

@benmartin6644 it means “that is”

[@samuelcaskie]

James May is literally one of the coolest men alive

[@oxwof]

The manliest man of the three Grand Tour guys

[@samuelcaskie]

@@oxwof 💯

[@deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee6925]

James is definitely one of the alive

[@gumerk.7721]

@@oxwof Hammond for me

[@DJArschlochficker]

When he said YOU did it at the end like a proper English gentleman

[@ryanford5387]

Didnt think id see James May here, but he does have a music degree

[@peaner083]

Oh really?.... well damn,James got even cooler!!

[@peaner083]

@@scrapp08 That's awesome!

[@pihermoso11]

The 3 top gear hosts were all engineers, James May also has a music degree, Hammond has license to fly helicopters, and Jeremy had like 2 engineering degrees

[@aguruattapiano]

Hammond plays bass and Clarkson a bit of drums.

[@drinkingguy3168]

Andrian Newey copied his homework from Clarkson too lol

[@MattHawkenMusic]

So May clearly hears his melody in F pentatonic, based on his own harmonisation. Then Mukaiya reharmonises it so the first and second notes are the 7 of Bbmaj7 and Gm7, and the last note is the 11 of Em11. Additionally, while the harmony block chords move downwards to give a sense of arrival at our station, they also contain within them a rising whole tone series of major triads: Bb, C, D (the last one is subverted with an E in the bass to create the Em11) which create a sense of joy, wonder and excitement to explore our new location. Sophisticated indeed.

[@nirajmehta6424]

I noticed the bass line moving down in minor thirds, but I did not notice the bVI - bVII - I cadence "hidden" in between the melody and the bass. That's a very great observation!

[@end.olives]

Youre not wrong in fact, youre not right

[@Jon14141]

Nice lul

[@LRM12o8]

You thought of all this while listening to it, meanwhile my mind just went: "Ah, Windows XP in reverse" 😅

[@heartbreaktimemachine]

I can see Matthew now.... cracking his knuckles and sipping the strongest tea... "This... this is my moment to shine." Great comment, however , re: this: "...the Em11 which creates a sense of joy, wonder..." WHO HURT YOU MATTHEW!?

[@zachyarrow296]

That Em11 hits you like a train 😨 always loved this clip

[@R4MUSICxVx]

Favourite chord ever

[@andrewclark3390]

I'm not sure you really want the feeling of a train hitting you at a station 😂

[@ImSquiggs]

@@andrewclark3390this chord hit me like a sudden violent dismemberment just doesn’t have the same ring to it

[@JnN-ql6tk]

@zachyarrow296 And Minoru knows it too. In fact, here's an old clip at a live performance where he talks about reharmonizing an old Japanese traditional tune "Yutteyaro." kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHipemVno9SMptE 3:01 - he definitely knows what he's doing here lol. It's the same exact chord from decades before

[@zachyarrow296]

Really enjoying this, does an English translation of what he's saying exist anywhere?@@JnN-ql6tk

[@rosslmccallum]

James May Sumimasen Station haha :D

[@uruckhai6133]

George even used the "Nintendo"-font for the transcript heading lmao what a champ!

[@arcynic5404]

I have a feeling we watch the same KZbin videos 😂

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

But is it New Rodin or Shin Go?

[@uruckhai6133]

@@HappyBeezerStudios The legend says that only true masters of jazz can see the difference

[@noahjames9457]

​@@HappyBeezerStudiosShin Go Pro, right?

[@anji6524]

the way he says 'no'

[@heron2]

I'm melting that synthesizer is so goooood

[@Uniongamers]

Casiopea are hands down my favourite Japanese fusion jazz band. I'm so glad to see so much enthusiasm for them! Tetsuo, Issei and Minoru are music gods in my eyes. I recommend Eyes of Mind as a good starting place for exploring the world of Casiopea. Twinkle Wing and Eyes of Mind are fantastic songs from that album.

[@acetylen42]

No love for Akira Jimbo? He's got some great tunes as well, like Ameagari or Unforgettable Summer!

[@Uniongamers]

@@acetylen42 forgive me! Was rattling some names off in my head when I wrote the original post. Jimbo is a legend both in Casiopea and solo. Cotton, his first solo album is pretty great. Shame its not on Spotify, although at least I have my CD to fall back on.

[@MostafaElSakari]

Thanks, I’ll check them out

[@-dash]

Yeah Casiopea rules. I love their first album the most- espcially the tracks featuring the Brecker Brothers

[@marcelltoth1996]

Please correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t Masayoshi Takanaka with Casiopea at some point?

[@tom_something]

I had no idea that every station has its own tune. I've been to Japan twice and never noticed. I love that.

[@Pillowpetlover]

Yes, it's true! In Japan, many train stations have their own unique melodies or jingles that play when trains arrive or depart from the station. These musical tunes are called "ekiben" or "eki-melo" in Japanese, which means "station melody" or "station chime." The use of station melodies is a distinct feature of the Japanese railway system and is designed to serve various purposes. One of the main reasons for having these melodies is to assist visually impaired passengers by providing an audible cue for identifying the station. Each station has its own specific tune, making it easier for passengers to recognize their intended stop. Additionally, station melodies add an element of uniqueness and character to each station. They often reflect the local culture, history, or natural surroundings of the area. Some stations even have famous or popular melodies associated with them, which have become iconic and widely recognized by people across Japan. The melodies can range from traditional tunes to modern compositions, and they are typically played over the station's public address system or through speakers located on the train platforms. Some station melodies have gained popularity and become quite catchy, and you may find yourself humming along without even realizing it! Next time you visit Japan, pay close attention to the sounds around you as you travel by train, and you may discover the delightful melodies that accompany your journeys through the country's vibrant railway system.

[@arcynic5404]

OH MY GOD THIS WAS MY SUGGESTION ON THE DISCORD THIS IS AMAZING MY DAY IS MADE!!!! Honestly, it's insane to see George Collier + James May (sumimasen) + Casiopea in the same video... wildest crossover episode of my life.

[@WhoThisMonkey]

You have a god? Where is it? Can we see it? Don't keep it all to yourself!

[@arcynic5404]

@@WhoThisMonkey it’s a figure of speech, I’m an atheist, presumably like you. I swear people like you are why nobody likes us.

[@gantmj]

Your day was may'd.

[@arcynic5404]

@@gantmj day may’d sumimasen

[@arcynic5404]

@@WhoThisMonkey as a fellow atheist, it truly annoys me when our kind is this pedantic. What’s wrong with you monkey, who hurt you?

[@txikitofandango]

Mr. Mukaiya is one of those rare and beautiful instances where the right man has the right job

[@RetroPlus]

Indeed, it makes it even cooler when you discover that Minoru Mukaiya is a huge train enthusiast. He's a lucky guy!

[@teegeevee42]

If JR ever builds a James May すみません station, I'm going to go there myself to listen to the tune.

[@tszabon]

What a nice guy JM is. He came up with the melody at 0:34 but and the end said "You did it" .

[@brainmaxxing1]

I mean he did make the entire harmony with the melody, which is the more important part

[@DRK0114]

@@brainmaxxing1 dumb comment ^

[@wonderfalls2]

Wow! You continue to surprise with these videos. I remember hearing that James may was a music major and that he wrote some of the music for top Gear

[@aaroncourier6452]

leaving in the last frame of minoru mukaiya was an amazing artistic decision

[@jan_kest]

I read about this interview just yesterday, glad you covered it!

[@jezzaroddy]

When my sister and I were hanging out in Tokyo, we were jamming on the Keikyu Line every time that melody played. Glad I finally know who was the mastermind behind that now.

[@trtl9106]

The C/E to Em11 sounds like something from Metroid

[@Repko87]

Sounds like the upgrade fanfare in Metroid Games

[@h0lly_blue]

didn't think I'd ever see James "Cheese" May on this channel but here we are

[@antoniq9000]

Mukaiya is legend

[@MatthewDown-q3h]

James May whips out a dominant 7 chord. Minoru Mukaiya: "No"

[@starzz9907]

I love how I instantly recognized Minoru by his piano skills and his smile

[@ktang001]

I really enjoyed watching this part of the program. I was glad to watch it again in this video.

[@mictlantecoatl17]

Ok, we did it. *Serious voice*: You did it.

[@JaggusBaro]

I liked May’s bluesy ending, but I understand that it’s for train stations

[@peaner083]

James May is such a cool cat! Hes like the uncle we all wish we had.

[@NandoCalrissiann]

The best part of the series. This was amazing is so many levels.

[@mrmusicguy1]

Be for real. I was literally just looking for a transcription of this yesterday and had to figure it out on my own lol.

[@alexfoxy]

If James May was a console this would be his start up sound

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Dreamcast 2 startup sound ❤️

[@alexdemoya2119]

what a nice console that would be. fine wood paneling.

[@zye.]

​@@alexdemoya2119just like a Cortina GXL

[@boahneelassmal]

I love how they click. from the initial idea, then may extending it, minoru adding on to it, james pitching another idea, minoru giving feedback and suggesting an improvement.... this is adorable

[@SpaceMissile]

what a lovely little video.

[@lavendergotgame]

"Genie! My first wish is to replace all sound with Gran Turismo menu sounds!"

[@dallas-cole]

Ok we did it Put the sound in the new playstation now

[@cttate]

This and "Bim" are my favorite James May moments of all time I believe.

[@tuursteeghs3310]

‘You did it’

[@percyvolnar8010]

If you lived in Japan for at least a decade, this HARMONIC way of thinking becomes ingrained into your being. Japanese jingles and soundbites are very Japanese and can alter a mood in mere seconds.

[@scoobydid4824]

Japanese harmony is just so cool

[@e.d.1642]

what are you talking about ? American jazz music doesn't use an harmonic way of thinking lol ?

[@zzym4107]

@@e.d.1642 sit down dude nobody said anything about america

[@Haka-f3k-u]

@@e.d.1642 You sound like you're 400 lbs and drink nothing but light beer.

[@Leverag]

lmao they're just well-done parts of everyday life, man. stop romanticizing japan. if they were mood-altering japanese society wouldn't have so many problems, especially mental health.

[@Aaron-zh4kj]

As a Tokyo-ite currently, I wished train station jingles actually sounded like this at the stations I stop at. hahahaha. Though, every once in a while, I go somewhere new downtown, hear a new jingle, and my ears perk up. They're little moments I treasure a lot, as a musician. So amazing when a composer/musician makes a small, quick detail for something like that super well done.

[@drummer_alex_martin]

Sing it: "James May - is very slow"

[@Jaack__]

One of the best James May's series. Sumimasen!

[@yourweirdplant]

I absolutely love James May. What a guy, probably the most normal dude on the Grand Tour

[@Ohms_vs_Draaggs]

Minoru has been my hero for so long never seen this before tho lol

[@gavinleepermusic]

Eyyy nice one! I covered the theory of that as the last example in a video I did reacting to Japanese train jingles.

[@danlee2191]

Man, I could keep listening to this and never get sick of it, good feels

[@thewinterprince1731]

This sounds like the boot music for a brand new PC. I miss the old days when that was a thing.

[@RetroPlus]

I never expected to see these two legends together, i am VERY pleasantly surprised

[@leroymsipa4011]

"you did it" I love it

[@NotoriousDaddle]

I'm a heavy metal/punk kid. I played the flute in middle school for like 3 years. Sang in a metal core group. I know ZILCH about theory and actual music aside from what my roommate teaches me, and he showed me your channel. I. Love. This content. I feel like I passively learn so much from this. Not about theory, but about how to appreciate ALL types of music.

[@sit-insforsithis1568]

Your not a kid tho haha

[@giuseppeagresta1425]

Check out Casiopea if you feel like it Mint Jam, for starters, is an awesome album

[@NotoriousDaddle]

@@giuseppeagresta1425 aforementioned roomie is a huge Casipoea fan and by proxy I have become one as well. Actually, it reminds me of some of my favorite prog metal

[@kraanialepsy]

@@NotoriousDaddle As a metal head myself. In the early stage of it, you might become a metal elitist. But after a while, you going to know that every genre has its own beauty. In the end, if you can listen to metal, you can listen to nearly everything haha. From Slipknot to some slam brutal death for years and going back to k-pop, jazz, dubstep, even Taylor Swift or all those pop song haha😂

[@iceblade019]

@@NotoriousDaddle fusion jazz and prob metal have many things in common, I especially love Masahiro Andoh’s guitar work, such fluency and smoothness

[@SuperTheJake]

What algorithmic sorcery, created, and led this video to me? How does it hit every single thing I'm into at this very moment in time?

[@eddyafritz]

James May and the Keybordist of Casiopia.

[@BigPermGarage]

This is amazing thank you for notifying me that these two converse

[@Sympathomemetic]

Sounds like underwater mario theme

[@Wave2imaging]

James would have known and appreciated this meeting a lot, like we do!

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Now I can hear that. The nice riff followed by "next stop, James may station"

[@LukSter18998]

“attention passengers. we are now approaching James May station”😅

[@xToxicNinjax]

At the end of that last one James May's anime interlude flashed in my head for a brief second

[@kresobilan1899]

I'd build James May station, just so this song can play.

[@PaulColclough47]

ノ!それはトゥーブルーゼィ!

[@CVerse]

“Ok we did it! 😊” “You did it 😐”

[@Edrwad]

i didn't know i needed this but i'm glad i did

[@blogobre]

I came here for May, I left seeing Mukaiya's greatness.

[@silverstrings2760]

Bro I genuinely tweaked when I heard the ending bc it sounded exactly like the metroid intro w/samus coming down from the airship

[@jasonsgroovemachine]

"Hahahaha... no."

[@SiamskyBuk]

Transcription for this looks MAD

[@L1nk2002]

Oh so people in Tokyo can hear this when they are at the station, but all i get to hear is "the train is delayed by an hour, sorry for the inconvenience".

[@ihateunicorns867]

"Ha ha. No!"

[@MaskedMenace830]

This is the friendliest duel I've ever seen

[@dylanwilliams269]

Why is he playing the end of "Summer Nights"? 0:57

[@testohtoby]

This is the PERFECT crossover 😍😍😍

[@danielreed5199]

Back to your station James, let the experts do what they do best :P

[@HAZARDOUS88]

I love the sound used for this.

[@goatsoup]

if you're curious where it comes from/what he played it off of, he's playing a yamaha montage 8

[@HAZARDOUS88]

@@goatsoup Awesome, thanks!!

[@Jombo1]

Minoru is a legend.

[@benjaminkenobi21]

The keyword here, just like it is in all Japanese inspired fusion, game music, and jingles (and for that matter, all good music), is "sophistication"

[@ftodoric]

"sorewa too blues..." 😂💀

[@ado4224]

How he came up with that in a second is beyond me

[@ДаниилФорсберг]

Last chord was really pleasant

[@seniorfloyd]

I love that George used the font that is really popular in japan, Fontworks (Or Morisawa, can't tell)

[@AbeTheBabe6233]

JAMES MAY

[@javier7high]

Jesus, he took me to japan with that one and on the way there I saw the dream cast logo and the bandai visual emotion logo

[@fraffra97]

I loved this small part

[@ZanraiKid]

When Mukaiya hit that chord, I pogged.

[@Maysha6bona]

It has that kind of Allan Holdsworth - Endomorph sound isn’t it? This name would also fit well with Mr. May’s silhouette..

[@homborgor]

The "hah, no" killed me

[@daniloalves1139]

Minoru is incredible

[@humanbeing6933]

The first one with just 2 notes nailed it best

[@gitsurfer27]

"You did it" with the cut to his face afterwards made it seem like an accusation 😂

[@thefirstbushman]

ohhhhh its the casiopea dude

[@DeelyStanimals]

For some of the younger and even apparently older folk, this gentleman, Mr. Minoru Mukaiya was playing this style of "mario" music over half a decade before the Nintendo was even released. Jazz fusionists like himself were the literal inspiration for Koji Kondo and the music of the Nintendo world.