Style: Instrumental hip hop, drum 'n bass, ambient, trap, traces of synthwave and vaporwave
Primary Emotions/Themes: Yakuza human trafficking, saving a life, Neo Tokyo
Thoughts: I was exploring this album again recently and happened upon some unfortunate news. Elijah Nang, one of the best producers (if not the best) within the lofi and instrumental hip hop genre passed away. I don't know what form but I read several eulogy's confirming the news. What a sad day for music.
Gaijin 3000 is a bit of a departure from Elijah's typical feudal Japan inspired beats. The music has a decidedly futuristic bent and spans more than a few genres. Throughout the hour or so runtime we have lofi (of course), drum n bass, vaporwave, ambient, spoken word, and even some synthwave.
Even though this is a bit of a departure for the Samurai Beatsmith, Nang still feels very much in his element. The kokyu and shamisen have been replaced by synths, but the overall feel of the music is very similar to that of the Edo period inspired works.
I was worried about the futuristic feel of the album when I first heard about it, and it took me quite a bit of time to come around to the album. The change was just too much at first. Over time though I began to recognize Nang's fingerprints in the music. It retains that quiet sombreness that permeates all of Nang's music. Even the upbeat tracks have a quiet reserve to them.
With some time and repeated listens the album began to grow on me. The threads of what makes Nang's music so special interwoven in the songs (outside of the spoken word tracks). Every now and then you get a hint of a pan flute or the aforementioned instruments, tying the music back to Nang's roots. A small hint every few tracks.
Gaijin 3000 is a bit of an enigma to me still. I like the album more than I did when it first came out, but I still feel like I'm not quite there as I am with some of Nang's other releases. The thing is though, the more I listen to this album the more I enjoy it. It just goes to show how excellent of a musician Nang was... rest in power Samurai.
Written November 27th 2023
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