About this item

Three years in the making, Netflix’s “Yasuke” is a six-episode anime series created by Bronx-bred and Japan-based television animation creator, producer, and director LeSean Thomas (Cannon Busters, Children of Ether, The Boondocks) and starring actor / executive producer LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Sorry To Bother You) as the voice of the title character. Yasuke tells the story of a samurai warrior of African descent in a fantastical alternate universe version of feudal Japan full of magic, mechs, and of course, swordplay.

A dream project for the producer, Flying Lotus consulted on the story, working alongside renowned anime creators Studio MAPPA as an executive producer on the project. The skillset of the GRAMMY AWARD winning producer is on complete display on the album, hybridizing synth melodies, bass lines and machine generated drum patterns while exploring new sonic territory -- traditional Japanese percussion instruments like the taiko and hyōshigi and west African percussion — a nod to the Afro-Japanese, feudal yet futuristic world Yasuke inhabits.

'You haven't really heard an anime score do a "Blade Runner" thing,’ he says, ‘I was like, let me try and get into the headspace of that, but also there were several things that were part of the recipe for me. I thought about when Dilla would sample [Isao] Tomita and people like Vangelis, and how he had a [signature] sound when he did that sort of thing.’. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's no way this isn't going to be massive. It sounds like quintessential Fly-Lo, with some of the more experimental elements tempered into a more evocative, hypnotic whole. Brilliantly effective as a soundtrack, and just as listenable on it's own. Wonderfully inventive and beautifully produced.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklisting
A1. War At The Door
A2. Black Gold (feat. Thundercat)
A3. Your Lord
A4. Shoreline Sus
A5. Hiding In The Shadows (feat. Niki Randa)
A6. Crust
A7. Fighting Without Honor
A8. Pain And Blood
A9. War Lords
A10. Sachi
A11. Your Screams
A12. Using What You Got
B1. African Samurai (feat. Denzel Curry)
B2. Where’s The Girl?
B3. Kurosaka Strikes!
B4. This Cursed Life
B5. RoBomb
B6. Taiko Time // Sacrifice
B7. Your Day Off
B8. Your Armour
B9. Enchanted
B10. Mind Flight
B11. Survivors
B12. Your Head // We Won
B13. The Eyes Of Vengeance
B14. Between Memories (feat. Niki Randa)

CD Tracklisting
1. War At The Door
2. Black Gold (feat. Thundercat)
3. Your Lord
4. Shoreline Sus
5. Hiding In The Shadows (feat. Niki Randa)
6. Crust
7. Fighting Without Honor
8. Pain And Blood
9. War Lords
10. Sachi
11. Your Screams
12. Using What You Got
13. African Samurai (feat. Denzel Curry)
14. Where’s The Girl?
15. Kurosaka Strikes!
16. This Cursed Life
17. RoBomb
18. Taiko Time // Sacrifice
19. Your Day Off
20. Your Armour
21. Enchanted
22. Mind Flight
23. Survivors
24. Your Head // We Won
25. The Eyes Of Vengeance
26. Between Memories (feat. Niki Randa)