Flying Lotus: Los Angeles

Label: Warp

The masterful indie electronica of 2007’s EP Reset would have been a tough act to follow for anyone but Steven Ellison, a.k.a. Flying Lotus, a Los Angeles-based DJ, producer and electronic musician. The laptop maestro’s second long player departs from the lounge-y vibe of his earlier works and establishes a more mature, ambient sound which requires several listen before revealing the beauty of its multi-layered, almost cinematic in nature, tracks. Flying Lotus’ trademark bass-laden compositions and mysterious samples find inspiration in abstract random noises as demonstrated by the cosmic-sounding samples on “Auntie’s Harp”, Ellison’s homage to his great-aunt, jazz legend Alice Coltrane. Los Angeles’ mostly instrumental short tracks almost feel like the soundtracks to a futuristic avant-garde movie and together, those musical pieces create a complex and flawless electronic hip-hop masterpiece. (Morgane)