Flying Lotus – Los Angeles

I wrote this originaly for DiS so go and check it out over there, this is the DVD extra version before the edit. Here you go!

This year has been dominated by beats and bass for me, it’s come in many different shapes and forms from dubstep to hip-hop through a bit of minimal and back again. Warp’s Flying Lotus kind of fits somewhere between the dubstep and hip-hop, he has been firmly embraced by the two anyway.

Flying Lotus AKA Steven Ellison comes from a musical dynasty that has spawned the likes of Jazz legends Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane. He continues this legacy in fine style but in his own way of course. By melting together J Dilla style off kilter hip-hop instrumentals, some deep bass and the sampling skills of one top class crate digger, some people like to call it ‘Wonky’ others ‘Aquacrunk’ I kind of like the latter.

He is not alone in making this ‘Aquacrunk’ either there is a young and talent scene emerging with the likes of Glasgow’s Rustie, London’s Bullion and LA’s Samiyam who is singed to FlyLo’s Brainfeeder label. Hell this strange music is even breaking out of it’s BPM shackles and infecting dubstep, people like Joker, Peverelist and Kode 9 are showing signs of this sound in their own work. Kode is even working with FlyLo on some tracks on his own album, but I digress…

On with the album! Los Angeles is a delight to listen to as a whole the pieces surge into one another in a crackly soup of liquid beats and soulful vibes. Off-kilter synths play off the wonky beats to make an organic and warm sounding piece of work.

Some people may find it all quite ambient and relaxing but if your lucky enough to have caught him live on a big soundsystem then it’s very likely you have felt the full sonic force of his work and then been compelled to dance in strange new shapes that you didn’t quite know you could do.

You can’t really contain his sound in mere youtube form though to be fair, but you get the idea.

Highlights from Los Angeles include the little opener Brainfeeder which comes at you like a warm crackle drenched Burial remix of something from Kid A. Beginners Falafel is a dreamy bass ridden larva lamp of a track with a subtle and gloopy groove. Others are more beat driven like the eastern jangle of Melt! Or Camel, which also layers strings and vocal snippets to great effect. His use of drum samples really are inspired, you get electro booms offset with organic djembe or other percussion that creates a world of it’s own. GNG BNG sounds like a old school gangster film soundtrack mixed with a more subtle version of Public Enemy’s wall of noise approach. Parisian Goldfish continues in this vain too. If I had to choose one track though and only one it would be the beautiful Robertaflak, which features the vocal talents of Dolly in a moving slice of laidback jazz reminiscent of his family’s past and his hip-hop present.

There is no Post J Dilla Filla here.

Check out that very wrong video of Parisian Goldfish by Tim & Eric of Adult Swim Fame, who coincidently FlyLo makes a lot of the music for can be found here (WARNING NOT SAFE FOR EYES LET ALONE WORK! May contain nuts):

http://www.dancefloordale.com/

If you have been enjoying Flying Lotus and need another fix you could do worse than check out his LA EP’s one to three. The first is a collection of the odd album track and new material and the second is a killer set of remixes highlights of which include Mike Slott’s wonky monster and Martyn’s sublime version of Robbertaflak. EP three will be out next year I would imagine and I have no idea what will be on it.

Lost 8 of '08 - #3: Flying Lotus (AKA my first DiS feature)

I've been a long time reader of Drowned in Sound and hang out on the boards probibly far to often. But the other day Editor and DiS Headhoncho Sean asked me to write an article on Flying Lotus for his Lost 8 or '08 feature. So I jumped at the chance, see what I wrote by clicking on the link bellow.

My First DiS Feature!

http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136000

Johnny Foreigner – Demo

Today I have got a bit excited about the prospect of JoFo’s album Waited Up ‘Till It Was Light being released on the 2nd June, I’m pretty sure its released then anyway. The more I hear this band the more endeared I become by them and their music. This prompted me to track down their 15-track demo, to fuel my excitement. The recordings are lo-fi as expected from a demo, but the songs are all damn excellent and shine through by miles. As roomer has it many of the tunes on the demo made it to the album proper in a better mixed state obviously. They sound like an excited guitar power pop band here, I can’t actually pick a favourite demo track they are all really cool. JoFo are a wonderful live band and great fun to see, go and buy their t-shirts, EP, new album Waited Up ‘Till It Was Light (which is an adorable title), maybe even buy them a drink as in their tour diaries they always seem skint. Just love the JoFo, go on go and do it right now.

Johnny Foreigner - Demo

P.S. A track by track description of the album has just been stuck up on DiS if your wern't already excited enough as it is. Find it here.

The Most Indie Week Ever?

HEALTH where truly amazing last Sunday night. The Mae-Shi and JoFo where amazing on Wednesday, and I was part of a stage invasion where I ended up playing base with them. I even won tickets to go and will have a Promo of JoFo's album signed on its way soon, thank you DiS. No Age - Nouns came out this week and is one of the best albums this year so far, and may not be topped. Then if all that wasn't enough already a quote of mine appeared in the weekly mailout for Drowned in Sound the best indie website in the UK in my opinion. Well they can't be to bad if they print my quote:

"scientists seem unwilling to take pics of this monkeys balls. I am saddened by this fact.”

James Balf

No Age – Nouns

I have had this for a while now, but just got my official copy, which is well worth the purchase as not only is the music pretty much perfect but the artwork and over fifty page booklet you get with it full of photos and lyrics from the band is beautiful. I wasn’t as convinced that Nouns was as good as Weirdo Rippers on first listen, but it turns out I was very wrong indeed. This album is most probably album of the year so far and I really don’t want to knock Atlas Sound from the top spot, as they touch me in ways I haven’t experienced for a while in music.

No Age bring short and snappy punk style shoegaze to the next level on Nouns. Every song is awesome and full to the brim with ideas. It’s a phat record full of fuzz, loops and sound. Eraser even manages to sound like the golden touch by Razorlight and still sound amazing, all be it a twisted version. Teen Creeps is another favourite of mine the little solo part on here makes me want to jump for joy. The song Things I Did When I Was Dead is a mellow looped delight and a really nice break from the guitar noise numbers. It’s also joyful and melancholy all at once. Keechie brings side one of the record home, well it sounds like it does even if I don’t have to flip my CD over to side B to hear it. No Age manage to sound really old and really new all at once it’s a great feet. Sleeper Hold has some killer riffs and is one of the many anthems on Nouns. I bet No Age live are pure gold and incredibly noisy and loud. This is yet another band hailing from LA’s The Smell that has blown me away this week. There are more groups to come from there yet too, but more on that at a later date. Sub Pop have got one hell of a band on their hands with No Age, they have a wicked sound that fits into the roster perfectly and even sits well against people like Nirvana of old. They are full of noise and melody just like the aforementioned grunge heroes. This is the new wave of amazing artists that is making music in 2008 so exciting. Buy their stuff, see their shows love one another.

Read No Age them selves talk you through the album track by track here on DiS.

Youthmovies - Good Nature

This album starts off as though you are being transported to a planet through space; there is a hum and drone that opens up into spacey melody. Then the guitar and vocals come in and the planet we arrive in is Earth. This is the opener Megdalen Bridge, with crisp drums, beautiful guitar melodies and really good use of horns. It’s a perfect opener for an album.

The Naughtiest Girl Is A Monitor is the first single to be taken from the album; it comes in with some sweet synth sounds and the drum rolls into beautiful lyrics about teenage landscapes. The main hook is infectious and is a real grower. The song chops and changes in song structure with the guitar, drums, bass and horns intertwining and gaining in intensity.

Soandso & Soandso starts with a horn hook that really gets in your head, I find my self humming it some days. Then a wall of heavy guitars comes in with a more complex take on heavy metal; This soon switches to more sweet, softer, melodies and then back again. Taking you with it on every turn. This music is defiantly from the heart. The lyrics ‘if you can’t please your self then don’t try please anyone’, followed by the chant of ‘It bubbles and blisters’, is really well executed. This song then seems to deconstruct its self as it comes to a close with epic segments of guitar and horn flourishes. It almost feels prog rock in some places yet stay the right side of ridicules at all times. It’s a mix of post rock with some math sensibilities.

The Last Night of The Proms comes on like a Metallica song with a tighter shifting rhythm section. It has chugging and duelling guitars. The vocals as always are really sweet and sweep over the soundscapes. It all breaks down into an epic spazed out guitar rhythm that builds back into the metal riffing. This album has many complex twist and terns.

Cannulae is possibly my favourite on the album it comes in with a sweet acoustic hook and lyrics and an irresistible percussion section that punches in at you like an old house record, that goes from 4x4 time to more complex and shifting rhythems and back again, into a full on house beat. Beautiful strings and horns also accompany this, it’s a beauty to behold. The whispered chant of ‘rattle snakes, snakes snakes’, that it finishes with really burrow into your brain too.

If You’d Seen A Battlefeild is another favourite of mine there are some beautiful tappy guitars. The lyrics really stand out in this song they really work well with the guitar and horns. The drums as always are very tight and really bring this record to life. This song burst into noise and then kicks of on a chugging grove with horns and guitar playing off each other to tremendous effect. Then back into the main lyrical hook again. This shifts into some funky guitar work and a nice bit of bass work in another section of the song, there are so many bits to each song that each one takes you on a journey.

Shh! You’ll Wake It again starts with a bright horn hook and intertwined guitars, its really energetic and joyful. Then comes the sweet melodies of the vocals and strings sweeping through which lock to the drums and propel forward. This all spaces itself out into group sung vocals.

Something For The Ghosts is another sweet sounding one with beautiful melodies, skitting drums and vocals all over it. This breaks into some rhythmic bass and spaced out guitars that marches along almost to prog rock territory. This stays away from that mind by having spaced out noise guitar solos and tappy rhythmic clean guitar lines. It is however, extremely epic. It’s a good album track, not my one of my favourites though.

Archive It Everywhere I really like the use of the word ‘Alveoli’ in this song it’s sung beautifully it’s achingly beautiful; the guitars work really well with the bass here. The mid section of this song brings out the epic sweeping melodies again and not the heavy guitars.

Surtsey is the final track and comes on like a jolting rubix cube, with jittering guitars and drums. Then drives off, taking you with it, with a joyful energy. The sweet vocals skip through and heavy guitars come and go as they switch with beautiful melody strewn pieces.

We don’t stand still often with Youthmovies, its all part of the joy of them. This album is a real grower and has so much to explore and much of it burrows deep in your brain. Its sweetness is beautifully offset with complexity and heavy sections that play off each other and dance together. Then it suddenly ends with a jalt. This is one of my albums of the year so far.