Flying Lotus has released a pair of new songs, “Black Gold” and “Between Memories,” which he wrote for the upcoming Netflix anime series, Yasuke, out April 29th.
“Black Gold,” which features Thundercat, serves as the show’s opening theme, and it captures a mystical mood with its thumping drums and winding synths. “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness,” Thundercat sings in his falsetto, “Because I’m strong, you see/Stronger than you’ll ever be/Loyal to the end/Someone to call my friend/Whenever you need me, I’ll be right there.”
“Between Memories,” meanwhile, will play over Yasuke’s closing credits. It features a much more subdued groove and a mesmerizing mix of interlocking vocal lines from Niki Randa.
Flying Lotus has released instrumental versions for “Black Gold” and “Between Memories” as well.
Yasuke is a six-episode anime series created by LeSean Thomas and starring LaKeith Stanfield. Stanfield voices the titular Yasuke, a samurai warrior of African descent who navigates an alternate universe feudal Japan.
Along with making the music for the series, Flying Lotus served as an executive producer and story consultant. “[LeSean] and I talked about being outsiders in anime,” he said in a statement. “I was like, ‘Why aren’t more Black kids trying to do this? Why is it so out of the ordinary?’ He was saying that it’s because they don’t have examples.”
Flying Lotus’ last studio album, Flamagra, was released in 2019.
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The tracks are called ‘Zahl am1 live track 1’ and ‘Zahl am1 live track 1c f760m1 unfinshd’. They seem to be two different takes on the same piece of music and were added to his page (username: user18081971) yesterday (November 27).
Both songs use cover photos that show the artist, real name Richard D. James, in the ocean with his partner. In the description for ‘Zahl am1 live track 1c f760m1 unfinshd’, he wrote, “Got many requests for this one from a few years back. Italy, pic with my love from Sicily recently. Need sun, relentlessly raining in the UK. Mixed down on the Zähl, think there are better mixes, will upload them if I find them.”
You can listen to the songs below:
The electronic musician’s most recent project was the 2024 compilation ‘From The Merch Desk (2016-2023)’, which also arrived without advance notice. It collects everything the celebrated producer and DJ had released through eight years of vinyl editions that fans could only get from the merch stand at his live performances.
The release followed a new expanded version of his 1994 album ‘Selected Ambient Works II’ in October for its 30th anniversary. His most recent full studio album is 2014’s Grammy Award winning ‘Syro’.
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