Nissan releases limited-edition vinyl LP to support National Museum of African American Music

Nissan has released a limited-edition vinyl LP titled Driven by Electric Beats to commemorate National Vinyl Record Day on August 12. This initiative supports the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) in Nashville, Tennessee. Priced at $23, the album is available online and at The Groove Nashville and NMAAM’s Amplify Store, with only 1,000 copies produced.

The album is inspired by both morning and evening driving experiences and features two tracks reflecting the dual nature of the Nissan Ariya, an all-electric vehicle. The LP is a collaboration between artists Dope Candi and Harold “HB” Burns, who are associated with Nissan’s Electric Beats program. This program aims to promote diversity in music by working with Black musicians.

A distinctive feature of the vinyl is a zoetrope pattern printed on the record, which creates an animation effect when played. The artwork on the picture disc depicts a man and a woman driving the Nissan Ariya, with their movements synchronized to the music. The LP includes two tracks: “Electric Dawn,” intended to energize listeners in the morning, and “Nightscape,” designed to help listeners unwind in the evening.

The Driven by Electric Beats project follows Nissan’s previous successful campaign featuring a four-hour animated film of a woman driving an Ariya through a Japan-inspired landscape. This film, part of the Lofi Girl series, achieved significant attention, accumulating over 18 million views.

Nissan has revisited the lofi genre due to its benefits for listeners, including aiding concentration, reducing stress and anxiety, and potentially enhancing mental performance. The album also features an “Easter egg” — a locked groove that contains a sample of the Nissan Ariya’s driving sound, which loops until manually stopped.

This project is part of Nissan’s ongoing partnership with NMAAM, which opened in Nashville in 2021. NMAAM is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the music genres created, influenced, and inspired by Black musicians.