Galaxy-tripping alien robot scientist. That is the only description when listening to Cosmogramma that I can say comes close to accurately describing what I hear. Steven Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, has always managed to stand slightly apart from his peers and always in the shadows of his influences. Now whether this is intentional or not, the critical praise heaped upon Cosmogramma should help place him firmly in the spotlight. And those pesky comparisons, although apt enough but limiting, to Dilla can finally be shaken and he can step forward on his own terms. And much has been made of his lineage to jazz royalty and for a digital beatmaker like Ellison, these esoteric appeals can place even more strain on him to live up to what he may or may not feel, or what his fans may or may not feel, he is capable of or that he should be producing. So it's a welcome relief that Cosmogramma is indeed the follow up to Los Angeles that his fans have been wanting, and that they knew he was capable of making. And even more so than Los Angeles, Cosmogramma feels like a single piece of music, or to be precise, it could pass for a suite of connected themes. The wide-ranging genres that are melded and shaped on this album would be unmanagable and indistinct in any other artists hands. Flying Lotus has created a masterpiece of inter-connectivity, which brings the reverence of his familial musical ties in line with his own ideals of musical expression and fosters an understanding between the two. Galaxy-tripping alien robot scientist indeed.
Tracklisting:
01. Clock Catcher
02. Pickled!
03. Nose Art
04. Intro/A Cosmic Drama
05. Zodiac Shit
06. Computer Face/Pure Being
07. ...And the World Laughs with You (listen to the mp3 below)
08. Arkestry
09. Mmmhmm
10. Do the Astral Plane
11. Satelllliiiiiteee
12. German Haircut
13. Recoiled
14. Dance of the Pseudo Nymph
15. Drips/Auntie’s Harp
16. Table Tennis
17. Galaxy in Janaki
No comments:
Post a Comment