Immediately a classic when it was dropped in 2008. Rarely there is an album that says here is a fresh producer to open your ears to. And yet Flying Lotus is all that and then some, as he builds sonic textures woven with a nerdish commitment to excellence. All his tracks deliver a part of his soul rarely offered by other musicians. A sincerity we love.

Originally from California, Steven Ellison or FlyLo first graced us back in 2006 with his debut 1983, followed closely by the extremely nefarious Reset EP, containing possibly one of his best tracks ‘Tea Leaf Dancer’ featuring the wonderful Andeya Triana. But it’s this, his second album, Los Angeles that deserves the biggest acclaim.

A dedication to one of his favourite cities – in its experimentalism the album hints at the changing face of a population that calls the metropolis their home. As complex as the track names, production is served with a complexity and confusion reminiscent of back in the day physic classes. But where those lessons baffled Los Angeles intrigues.

Hard-hitting baselines resemble hypnotic African drums perfected with electronic static and distortion – stimulating a variety of emotions.
Sometimes Dark like ‘Testiment’ or sometimes uplifting ‘Auntie’s Lock’ this is simply great music for those with open minds. Favourites have to be the banana’s ‘Parisian Fish and sunrise instigator ‘Breathe Something Steller Starr’.

Bow your head to the master of analogue seduction.

Words Ali Raymond
Flying Lotus website
Buy Los Angeles