Anime has been a big influence on Steve Ellison aka Flying Lotus. In 2017 he made the bizarre animated film Kuso, which was received with mixed reactions. This time, however, Ellison is back behind the controls for this soundtrack to an anime series about a black samurai in medieval Japan. The visual is the main focus this time as well and Ellison keeps it compact, in contrast with his regular work.
No distorted rhythms, broken melodies and an excess of strange sounds. No, this soundtrack is mainly about atmosphere. The tone is dark and sluggish, with influences from Japanese music in the form of string instrumentation. But the influences of jazz are strongly present, more specifically spiritual jazz. Even without the images of the series, Yasuke can be listened to as a full album, in which Flying Lotus creates its own world. Guest appearances are by Niki Randa, Denzel Curry and Thundercat. (JvQ)more
