Where his recent work has ventured deep into the previously unexplored avant-garde reaches of contemporary electronic music, hip hop and jazz, Flying Lotus’s score to renowned anime creators Studio MAPPA’s Netflix original series Yasuke – on which he also acts as an executive producer and story consultant – sees FlyLo eschew his digital maximalism with rumblings of traditional instrumentation and widescreen cinematic scope.
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.
With a soundtrack of Morricone style epic tones, traditional Japanese percussion instruments and West African percussion, the feudal yet futuristic world of Yasuke is summoned.
‘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.’
Another spellbinding FlyLo release even without the stylish animations of the show
In his score to LeSean Thomas’ anime series about a Black samurai in medieval Japan, the Los Angeles musician aligns his visual obsessions with his wide-ranging musical instincts.
Pitchfork
Flying Lotus's spacey, synth-heavy score for the LeSean Thomas anime stands tall on its own.…not only has Elisson crafted a soundtrack that's singular and spellbinding, he's made one that holds its own against any of his renowned studio albums.
Resident Advisor
TRACKLIST
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