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Bahraini bard Isa Najem is hard at work on the second season of the hit Netflix live action remake of popular anime One Piece, living out a childhood dream after his work on the iconic soundtrack of the first season.
The 30-year-old composer and multi-instrumentalist has seen his music appear in two TV series so far, infusing his Arab, Khaleeji and Bahraini heritage into globally loved moments on the small screen.
“Like many people, One Piece was a big part of my childhood and back in the early 2000’s, I grew up watching it with my painter brother, Salman Alnajem, on a weekly basis,” he told GulfWeekly.
“In our shared bedroom we hung up the ‘wanted posters’ of the main characters.
“The earliest documented recording of me on the cello is playing Bink’s Sake – Brook’s Theme from the anime.
“So it feels a bit unreal to be part of the universe mostly because of how influential this show was to us. The themes of camaraderie, perseverance and ethics, with a dash of whimsicality, played a major role in who I am today and what I stand for.”
Isa’s musical flourishes are scattered throughout the score of the One Piece first season, primarily featured in tracks like The World’s Greatest Swordsman or Women on the oud and cello; One Piece Tango, Training Montage and You All Must Stay for Dinner on the cello, and Buggy The Clown on the oud and Ondes Martenot (one of the first-ever electronic musical instruments invented in 1928, sounding similar to the theremin).
While he did not reveal which tracks will make it to the final cut of the second season, production is underway and the new season is expected to start streaming next year.
His involvement with the One Piece universe started when his colleague and friend Rodion Belousov, a member of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and recording soloist for The Witcher and The Romanoffs, mentioned that his sister is looking for a cellist to record some parts for a show she’s working on.
Rodion’s sister turned out to be Billboard chart-topping artist, film composer and music producer Sonya Belousova, who reached out to record a quick two-minute cello track that they needed last minute.
This led to his involvement with a 2022 show called The Thing About Pam starring two-time Oscar winner Renee Zellweger, working alongside Sonya and her partner Giona Ostinelli.
“In the summer of 2022, I was travelling and hiking around the US - from Louisiana to Alaska, and received a message from Sonya when I was in New Orleans about recording a few cello parts for a show they were working on that they needed urgently,” he reminisced.
Setting up a portable recording rig in his friend composer, arranger, and a spectacular cellist-guitarist Chris Beroes-Haigis’ bedroom, he recorded all the takes necessary on his cello for Sonya and Giona.
It was only when he reached California, that he realised that he was recording for the live-action adaptation of One Piece which follows the adventures of Monkey D Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, exploring the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the ‘One Piece’ in order to become the next King of the Pirates.
“Today from my studio in Barcelona, where I am based, we continue to work virtually on the next seasons with much more experimentation!” he added.
Born in Bahrain, Isa’s musical odyssey began at home under the tutelage of his father, renowned military musician Major General Dr Mubarak Najem.
After studying at the Bahrain Bayan School, Isa went on to receive his Master’s in string performance from Boston University in the US and a Bachelor’s in music from Emerson College, performing at the Boston Symphony Hall as principal cellist.
Feeling like a musical nomad, the self-professed ‘sonic hunter-gatherer’ seems to never settle on one school of practice as he explores everything from the rhythms of traditional Khaleeji music, the maqams (melodies) of classical Arabic, the polyphonic harmonies of Western classical, and the otherworldly soundscapes of electronics in film-scoring.
For more details, follow @isa.najem on Instagram.
