Born Stephen Ellison in 1983, Flying Lotus’ first mark on the world was his debut album, fittingly titled ‘1983’. It introduced his experimental, J Dilla influenced sound to the world and went on to inspire a whole movement.
In 2007 Flylo found himself becoming part of the Warp Records family, a label renowned for its work with pioneering electronic musicians such as Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada among others. His popularity really began to take off as he released 2008’s ‘Los Angeles’ and after impressing Radiohead’s Thom Yorke he remixed a track off their ‘In Rainbows’ album, introducing himself to a whole new audience.
On his third album ‘Cosmogramma’ he began to embrace his Jazz heritage with amazing results. The album was a critical smash and found itself on many best of 2010 lists including the ever hard to please Pitchfork’s. It also marked the start of a relationship with key collaborator Thundercat whose dynamic bass playing has become a staple of Flying Lotus’ sound.
Whilst continuing to release albums to critical acclaim, Flying Lotus also developed a rapping alter ego ‘Captain Murphy’ who has collaborated with the likes of DOOM and Earl Sweatshirt.
2014’s ‘You’re Dead’ saw Flying Lotus reach heights of popularity never before experienced. Collaborations with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg helped to bring his ground-breaking style to a totally new audience. One of the finest musicians active today, Flying Lotus is sure to keep winning over critics and fans for years to come.
Experimental electronic music doesn’t normally translate from record to a live setting, but having seen California’s Flying Lotus live multiple times I can safely say that this particular artist thrives when performing onstage. Flying Lotus is arguably the most important figure in contemporary instrumental hip hop, taking the genre beyond the foundations laid by the likes of DJ Shadow, Dilla, Madlib, etc. As head honcho of LA’s Brainfeeder records and an affiliate of LA’s infamous Low End Theory club and collective, FlyLo (aka Steven Ellison) has been at least partly responsible for all the best progressive hip hop beats of the past few years; certainly all of my personal favourite beats. I have recently discovered contemporary jazz music and I fully attribute that to Flying Lotus’ incorporation of jazz instrumentation and samples.
I have witnessed his live evolution from first seeing him at the Warehouse Project, Manchester, in 2010, where his simple show involved a small AV screen and little equipment beyond a laptop, to his storming headline show at The Troxy in 2012, which featured an incredible 3D visual show with layered screens. Musically, he has recognised the need to bring the party to his live shows, so his subtly erratic original compositions – such as ‘Until The Quiet Comes’, ‘Putty Boy Strut’ and ‘Computer Face//Pure Being’ – are expertly mixed with rap, trap, trip-hop and dubstep, everything from Jay Z and TNGHT to Portishead. Arguably the most inventive IDM producer working today and the best live electronic artist I’ve ever seen.
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