Today’s catch comes from the musical genius Steven Ellison…aka Flying Lotus. The Grammy winning artist has been one of the most influential musicians, producers, writers, directors, and all around artist. He has made a name for himself with his music, 3-D live shows, and his self-directed short films and videos. Believe me…the man is the sh&t! As a big fan of anime, he wanted to create a new series which for the first time would include Black characters. He teamed up with filmmaker LaSean Thomas and became both executive producer and composer for the Netflix anime series, Yasuke. The soundtrack has 26 tracks including some collaborations with Niki Randa, Denzel Curry, and Grammy award winner Thundercat who is featured on today’s catch. I actually cheated and picked the first 2 songs on the LP since they blend in together…those tracks are “War at the Door/Black Gold (ft. Thundercat)“. The complete album is absolutely unreal with so many musical styles including ambient electronics, infectious drum beats, traditional Japanese instrument arrangements, and African percussions to go along with the Afro-Japanese world of the series. Per his Twitter:
“I used the cs-60 synth on most of the show. The track “Blade Runner Blues”was a huge inspiration, I don’t think I’ve listened to any song more than that one.”
The synopsis of Yasuke is this…It’s based on the historical warrior of African descent who served under Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga during the samurai conflict in 16th century Japan. You can watch both the video for today’s catch “War at the Door/Black Gold (ft. Thundercat)” by Flying Lotus along with the Netflix trailer for the anime series Yasuke in the YouTube players below. Good things!
