Major Acid: Cosmogramma

Thursday 10 June 2010

Cosmogramma

Flying Lotus, (born Steven Ellison) is an experimental multi-genre (ranging from sounds like breakbeat, soul, hiphop) music producer, and laptop musician from Winnetka, California. His debut album, 1983, was released on Plug Research Records in 2006.[1] He is most famous (yet also uncredited) for much of the bumper music on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block,[2] and he has also contributed remixes for fellow Plug Research artists, including Mia Doi Todd. He is referred to as FlyLo by fans and critics.

Cosmogramma is Flying Lotus' third album, scoring wide positive reviews and a whopping 8.8 from pitchfork media. The album was release May 3 2010 in the UK, and a day later in the US.
Cosmogramma is an intricate, challenging record that fuses Ellison's loves-- jazz, hip-hop, videogame sounds, IDM - into something unique. It feels almost like an avant-garde jazz piece, and so it takes more than a few listens to sink in.

The song that will likely get the most attention here is "...And the World Laughs With You", a collaboration with Thom Yorke. Obviously an electronic-music fan, Yorke has done these guest spots before (for Modeselektor and others) and with such a high-profile contributor it's easy to make the song all about him. But FlyLo doesn't pay Yorke any undue deference, just treats his vocals like another element to manipulate and weave into the mix. It's so subtle, in fact, that if you're not paying close attention you might miss his appearance altogether. It's this level of confidence and commitment to his vision that ultimately makes Cosmogramma so fascinating.

Intro/A Cosmic Drama - Flying Lotus ♥♥♥