by Tanya Gazdik
Source: www.mediapost.com, August 2024
Nissan is releasing a limited edition record called “Driven by Electric Beats.”
Created in recognition of National Vinyl Record Day, which is Aug. 12, the record also supports the National Museum of African American Music, which Nissan has partnered with for various culture-uplifting efforts.
Inspired by driving in the morning and evening, the album is a collaboration between Dope Candi and Harold “HB” Burns — two artists from Nissan’s Electric Beats program, an initiative that works with Black musicians to promote diversity in music production.
Limited to just 1,000 copies and priced at $23, the album is available online and in-store at The Groove Nashville and museum’s Amplify Store.
The album riffs off the success of the “Lofi Girl” animated film, a four-hour, single-shot ride-along of a woman driving an Ariya through a Japan-inspired landscape.
Earlier this year, MediaPost awarded Nissan for “Best Electric Vehicle Campaign” for the effort from TBWA\Chiat\Day NY. The brand tapped into the popularity of Lofi videos on YouTube by creating a four-hour-long ad, replacing EV “range anxiety” with calm serenity. The result at that point was 395 million impressions and growing, 2 million + hours of listening time on the Nissan Lofi content and +7.6% lift in awareness and a 1082% search lift for “Nissan Ariya.”
Despite its length, viewers keep coming back to watch the video – over 18 million times to date, says Marisstella Marinkovic, vice president and chief marketing officer, Nissan U.S.
“There were so many comments about how the music and animation had a calming effect.” Marinkovic says in a release. “With the ‘Driven by Electric Beats’ LP project, we wanted to support some fantastic initiatives but also provide vinyl fans with tracks they can turn to for a boost of concentration, motivation or relaxation. That’s the amazing quality of music — the ability to bring us together and create positivity all around.”
Nissan returned to the lofi genre for the album for the potential wellbeing it can help provide listeners. Studies indicate lofi music helps with concentration, lowers stress and anxiety, and may even improve mental performance.
Printed on the vinyl is a zoetrope pattern that animates while the record spins. Artwork on either side of the picture disc features a man and woman behind the wheel of the Ariya, nodding heads and tapping fingers to the beats.
The two tracks of the album are inspired by morning and evening driving and the dual personality of the Nissan Ariya. “Electric Dawn” motivates and energizes while “Nightscape” is calming for the listener to decompress at the end of the day.
At the end of each side, a locked groove contains an audio sample featuring the driving sound of Nissan’s all-electric Ariya. This loop plays peacefully until the listener stops the record – an “Easter egg” made possible by the vinyl format.
