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Showing posts with label flying lotus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flying lotus. Show all posts
buffaBLOG Road Trip: Flying Lotus and Thundercat
Listener's Digest: Thundercat - "Heartbreaks + Setbacks"
Lately, Brainfeeder, Flying Lotus's record label, seems to have hit its stride. Today, Thundercat, the project of LA based bassist Stephen Bruner, released the first single of off his forthcoming LP, Apocalypse, which will be released by Brainfeeder on July 9. With a smooth beat, a great hook and Bruner's yearning vocals, "Heartbreaks + Setbacks," co-produced by Flying Lotus, is an excellent first impression.
Album Review: Captain Murphy - Duality
Captain Murphy surfaced on the Internet as a completely
anonymous entity, and there was much speculation as to the rappers
identity. We now know that Steven
Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, is the man behind the mic. It makes perfect sense that Ellison would choose
to make a hip hop record, after all his work as FlyLo has always been somewhat
indebted to artists like Wu-Tang and J Dilla.
On Duality, his debut mixtape as Captain Murphy, he
totally indulges in those influences and in the process makes one of the better
hip hop records of 2012.
While Ellison’s M.O. is all over the production he also
enlists help from Brainfeeder producers like Teebs and Samiyam to make Duality happen. After learning the true identity of Captain
Murphy it is easy to hear the FlyLo influence in the woozy beats, but for the
most part he does a good job of disguising his identity. An eclectic assortment of samples including
everything from Flying Lotus’s own tracks, to Homer Simpson, to Godzilla to
cult leaders, helps to amp up the mystery.
Once you get past the guessing game of who Captain Murphy
actually is you’ll find that Duality is
a very easy listen. It’s not an attempt
to change hip-hop, in fact it’s rather low brow, but that only adds to the
enjoyment. Tracks like ‘Mighty Morphin’
Foreskin’, ‘Between Friends’ which features OFWGKTA member Earl Sweatshirt and
samples the FlyLo track of the same name, and ‘Immaculation’ are them most
straightforward tunes on the mixtape, while ‘Hovercrafts and Cows’, ‘The
Ritual’ and ‘Drive Thru’ offer a more eccentric take on hip-hop.
A rap album is something that Ellison has always talked
about, and now he’s actually done it.
While his work as FlyLo shoots for the stars his work as Captain Murphy
is much more down to Earth. This is an
endlessly accessible album that is simply fun to listen to.
Grade: B+
buffaBLOG Road Trip: Flying Lotus
Following the release of his gorgeous new album, Until the Quiet Comes, Los Angeles electronic producer Flying Lotus makes a stop in Toronto tonight at the Danforth Music Hall. Given the short two hour drive north of the border, we decided that this chance to see one of the most progressive and interesting artists in electronic music could not be passed up. If his recent festival sets at events like Bonnaroo, Coachella, or Pitchfork Music Festival are any indication, this show is sure to be heavy on hard hitting tracks and those in attendance will leave with a good sense of how the west coast likes to party. Opening the show are Jeremiah Jae and Teebs, two signees to Flying Lotus' label, Brainfeeder. Tickets are $25 with a limited number still available at the door. Show starts at 9pm
Album Review: Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
Following up a release of incredibly dense sonic texture in 2010’s Cosmogramma, Steven Ellison better known as the electronic producer Flying Lotus returns with a focused effort on the highly anticipated Until the Quiet Comes that shows off the Los Angeles native’s strengths. Ellison once again makes great use guest performers as Thom Yorke of Radiohead, contributes hazy, nearly unrecognizable vocals on the track “Electric Candyman.” Jazz bassist Thundercat also returns for this album and lays down his usual smooth bass lines and contributes vocals on “DMT Song.”
The record’s opener “All In” highlights the jazz flavored beat production that defines much of Flying Lotus’ sound. Using space and leaving room for imagination was seldom found on Cosmogramma, however, here a new type of atmosphere is created where the listener can appreciate the careful arrangement without having to make sense of a collage of overlapping sounds like on the previous record.
On “Tiny Tortures,” a glitchy, hollow sounding percussion track allows the grooving bass of Thundercat to shred and make for a welcoming instrumental that feels like a fusion of R&B, jazz, all backed by the complex rhythms that provides much of the excitement of FlyLo tracks.
“me Yesterday/Corded” serves as the albums penultimate track and the one moment on this record that would have had a place on Ellison’s previous album with its cosmic beat heavy sound and crowded arrangement. Until the Quiet Comes feels like a more mature release from an artist who knew that going bigger and adding more sounds was clearly not a possibility for a next step in his progression. While Cosmogramma acts as a manic trip where the listener is nearly overwhelmed with sounds and ideas, UTCQ is a highly enjoyable resolution and come down that is inwardly focused and reflective.
Rating: A
Top Ten October Album Releases
It's weird how quickly fall creeps up on you. One minute it's 90 degrees out and you can't avoid getting sunburnt and the next minute you're waking up for work and it's a crisp 45 degrees out. Even the leaves seem to change more rapidly every year; such is life, I guess. There's ways we cope with it. Watch a little football. Jump into a pile of freshly raked leaves. Consume anything and everything that tastes like a goddamn pumpkin. And of course, we check the latest music selections. Here are at least ten new releases coming out this month that you should get on board with.
It seems that Matt Oriente and Kim Schifino are endlessly creating music in the strand of DIY, upbeat, sing-a-longs which has more or less given them a reputation of being one-dimensional, and subsequently 'meh'. Today, as Matt and Kim release their fourth studio album Lightening, it's hard to see how the duo have changed much at all. The first single off the record, “Let’s Go” proves this at first, but as you listen it's hard not to admit that Matt and Kim may be maturing in regards to their songwriting technique. Their songs are catchy dammit, and they’re staying that way. For many fans, this is great news.
Few punk groups sound as awesomely lo-fi as the Columbus three-piece Times New Viking do. Actually...most probably do. That's not to say they don't do it well. October is a month that teeters on the necessity of noisy, garage-rock, which is all the more reason to look for their latest release, Over & Over, a 6 track EP due out October 16.
If you liked Andrew Bird’s record that came out earlier this year, Break It Yourself, then you’ll definitely want to check out his 8-track companion record, Hands of Glory due out October 30 via Mom + Pop. Recorded with a full band around a single microphone in a barn and church, Bird’s idea on this collection is to capture the essence of “old time” live sets. The first single off the record, which is immediately downloadable when you pre-order the album, is called “Three White Horses”, a grogeous track that sounds nothing like a typical b-side. Watch the preview for the album below:
7. The Tins - Life's a Gas
While local indie-pop trio The Tins made their debut album Life's a Gas obtainable at some point earlier this year, it still feels better suited that this be considered an October release. First off, I mistakenly missed it on previous lists. Secondly, it was named our Album of the Week yesterday. And third-most, their album release party is this Saturday at Nietzsche's! You can listen to and buy their new album right now over at their Bandcamp page, or wait and buy it at the show this weekend. Either way you're supporting one of the best bands to come out of Buffalo in some time.
I never really got into Freelance Whales’ debut album Weathervanes. A friend played it for me at his apartment, another sent me a link to one of their songs telling me how great they were; I consistently decided they were boring. Hearing about them more and more, I recently checked out the New York trio’s website and watched the preview video for their new album Deluvia set to come out October 9. In the video, band members talk about the ideas behind the project talking about grandiose things like the "end of the world" and the "velocity of time", which sounded sophomoric at first, yet still, somehow I’m interested.
Mr. Segall is on this countdown for the 3rd time this year. First, for his split LP with White Fence, then for the Slaughterhouse LP with his band, and now for his first solo record since last year’s awesome LP, Goodbye Bread. There's not much else to say, the guy is one of the most consistent and industrious musicians around. For those who were at Town Ballroom last Tuesday especially know this. The album is called Twins and it's out October 9 via Drag City.
Transcendental Youth
I had the oportunity to see The Mountain Goats live last year and I have to say, my respect has quadrupled for John Darnielle and company since, as I saw how committed they were to performing consistently well-written music. Releasing their 14th album in the last 18 years, Transcendental Youth, it’s difficult to gauge what more to expect from Darnielle, but all the while he is still pumping out well-crafted, literary songs that we’ve come to expect, such as the latest single “Cry For Judas”. The record is out today via Merge and features cover artwork that’ll get you in the Halloween spirit.
Philadelphia musician Sun Airway, aka Jon Barthmus, has spent the past 3 years working on the follow-up to his debut album Nocturne of Exploded Chandelier, a work that hinged on sweeping melodies and bass-laden pop vocals. Think popier, more chilled-out Animal Collective. The sophomore album from Barthmus is called Soft Fall, and the latest single “Close” displays all the hints of lush dream-pop that make Sun Airway intriguing in the first place. Soft Fall is out today via Dead Oceans.
Following-up 2010‘s Cosmogramma, Flying Lotus released his 4th studio album Until The Quiet Comes today via Warp. The record is already soaring critically, and on the track “See Thru to U” it’s not hard to see why. Erykah Badu is featured on the track with her angelic voice weaved smoothly against a jazz-like mix of percussion and bass. There’s no doubt we’ll see this record on the end of year lists come December.
Coming off their excellent 2010 debut Innerspeaker, Tame Impala will release their follow-up Lonerism on October 9 via Modular. Known for their psychadelic tendencies and lead singer Kevin Parker’s eerie vocal resemblance to John Lennon, the Perth quartet look to be following the same strand of awesomeness with warped songs like “Be Above It” and “Enders Toi” that play to the group’s strengths, i.e. sporadic percussion, spiralling organ, and Instagram-filtered guitar and vocals. Stream the album in it’s entirety over at The Guardian now.
Listener's Digest: September 7 - September 14
We are coming up on the end of a really packed series of new releases. In the last two weeks, we have seen new albums from Cat Power, Animal Collective, Jens Lekman, Wild Nothing, The xx, Thee Oh Sees, etc. Quite frankly I am getting kind of anxious looking at this and have to stop now as I am now realizing I still have to listen to half of what I just listed (except The xx, am I the only one not that into them? Is there something I am missing?). Anyway, it can be easy to get fatigued with all these new releases on top of the bevy of new individual songs put out each week. Being flooded with this can be a challenge, but isn't it also invigorating? There is never an end to new music to explore and with that said, let us look at some of the best new songs released in the last 7 days. Today's column is unique in that I brought Mac in to write up another new song. So, you get 6 instead of 5. What a bargain!
Levek - "Girl in the Fog:" A gentle song reminiscent of Bon Iver but without all the baggage that we have all now associated with Bon Iver. "Girl in the Fog" is a simple piece of bedroom folk with quiet vocals winding around a very simple series of guitar chords. This is the third single off of Levek's upcoming LP, which will be released on September 25. One of the other singles, "French Lessons" is an equally interesting, albeit for different reasons, track that substitutes guitar with a catchy sampled melody straight out of one of those educational films you sometimes had to watch in elementary school. That might have seriously dated me as a reference so I apologize to any youthful types if that made no sense.
Captain Murphy - "The Killing Joke:" Another mysterious and well done track from the anonymous rapper that might be Tyler the Creator or might not be, but either way they are collaborating with Flying Lotus and that is really cool. Captain Murphy raps briefly between samples from Christopher's Nolan's Batman movies to creepy effect. The mysterious nature of these tracks has made this project, whatever it turns out to be in the end, especially interesting. Honestly, I think it would be great if this is all it turned out to be, a set of quietly released tracks with little fanfare and which don't amount to a full length album. We will see.
DIIV - "How Long Have You Known(Moons美愛Version):” Taking a standout track from DIIV's standout album, Moons remixes it into a slow moving track with Japanese vocals sung over and around the original refrain. The result is a completely different song, one as strong if not more interesting than its source materials. Definitely a highlight of the last few weeks.
Taken By Trees - "Large:" As if in anticipation of the arrival of autumn, this week's tracks all seem to be much more quiet and introspective compared to some of the stuff from a few weeks ago. "Large" is a mellow, spacey track mixing synths and strings to great effect. Taken By Trees' newest album will be out October 6.
Death Grips - "@deathgripz:" Death Grips have to be one of the more interesting acts to have come out recently. There is something intrinsically difficult to grasp yet deeply entertaining about the whole project. At every point, their music leaves little to grasp onto and urges us to keep listening to figure out exactly what is happening. This track seems to throw together several songs and alternates between them quickly, allowing, as I said, no time to really get a handle on each section.
Today we are joined by Mac McGuire, who I have asked to do a guest write up of his favorite new track this week.
Atoms for Peace - "Default:" The newest single released from the upcoming project of Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist Flea, and long time Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, the seemingly simple "Default" carries over the eerie tension from Yorke's 2006 solo outing The Eraser. Soothing synths slowly join Yorke’s all too familiar falsetto while a constant beat and blips guide the tune. The yet to be titled full length album from Atoms for Peace should see the light of day sometime next year.
Listener's Digest: August 10-17, 2012
Now that August is here and college classes resume in a week, it appears that summer is starting to wind down. By now, you are all probably tiring of all of this global warming induced “fun in the sun,” (really, we are doomed at this point) the cookouts, and the copious amount of ironic bud light lime. Reader, I bet you are ready to mellow out, curl up with a
good book, and just watch the rain hit your window while gently nodding off to sleep…
Just kidding! Seriously, you would have to be a real weeny to be tired of all that bud light lime. It is America’s number one lime flavored beer; with subtle citric notes that just pop on your tongue. So, do not let summer go gently into that good night, fill it with new music and bud light lime*.
Just kidding! Seriously, you would have to be a real weeny to be tired of all that bud light lime. It is America’s number one lime flavored beer; with subtle citric notes that just pop on your tongue. So, do not let summer go gently into that good night, fill it with new music and bud light lime*.
King Krule - "Rock Bottom:" Listening to King Krule involves partially wrapping your head around the fact that he is under 20 years old. With a world weariness in his voice that belies his youth and the ability to write memorable songs, King Krule has quickly garnered well earned press. "Rock Bottom" is less reserved and tighter than earlier releases. Starting out softly, the song changes tempo abruptly with a burst of guitar. The energy remains through the rest of the track, only briefly dropping off to feature King Krule's baritone, which holds up even without any instrumental backing behind it. This kid makes me hate myself a little, for being so good so young.
Heems - "Killing Time:" Taking a sample from Echo and the Bunnymen's "Killing Moon," and maybe Street Fighter 2, Heems debuted a new single and announced a forthcoming mixtape this week. A busy year for the Das Rascist member, this mixtape will be his second released in only the last several months. Rapping ably over the twitchy beat, this new song is indicative that the year's prodigious output is not affected by the law of diminishing returns.
Dirty Beaches - "Elizabeth's Theme:" Dirty Beaches' single, released through Vancouver's Kingfisher Bluez newly announced singles club, is a simple and atmospheric instrumental track. With a meandering tempo, the song hauntingly winds along, finally drifting off without any real coda.
Ty Segall - "The Hill:" Opening with plaintive female vocals that make you pause and think that Ty Segall has really changed directions, the song quickly blasts back into familiar territory with the entrance of sludgey, feedback laden, guitars. From there, the song is raucous and unrelenting. Ty Segall continues to be one of today's most exciting musicians.
Flying Lotus featuring Erykah Badu - "See Thru U:" The first single from Flying Lotus's October followup to 2010's brilliant Cosmogramma, "See Thru U" features the added bonus of Erykah Bade. Badu's vocals are a perfect fit for Flying Lotus' futuristic jazz electronic music hybrid. Honestly, the song is over too soon. Badu's gentle vocals wind through the intricate beat, her constant repeating of "I know, I know," taking on a sadder and sadder tone until the song quietly trails off.
*buffaBlog does not endorse Bud Light Lime...this is the work of an obviously deranged writer. I mean, have you ever had the stuff? It is awful. Well, ok, it is kind of fun to drink when it is really warm and the beer is really cold and you and some friends are having a goof, but beyond that...really?**
**Yes, the author is aware he wrote that footnote as well. The editor's of this blog have nothing to do with this bad joke.
Listener's Digest: July 19 - 26
There is just too much new music to digest and present to
you all. I am sorry, it has been a busy week, and I just don’t know if I can
handle all this new music. In fact, I am just going to give you 5 different
versions of Men Without Hats’ seminal song, “Safety Dance.” If you don’t like
it then you ain’t no friend of mine. I am sorry, that was a really bad joke
referencing “Safety Dance,” by Men Without Hats. Have you heard of them? Fine,
I will give you actual new music, if that is what you want. Are you sure I
cannot convince you to take the “Safety Dance?” It’s by Men Without Hats. Why
don’t they have any hats? Someone give those men some hats.
Tame Impala – “Elephant:”
When I covered Tame Impala last for their song, "Apocalypse Dreams," I had mentioned that the first single off of
their forthcoming album, Lonerism,
would be released soon (it wasn’t the earlier released track, which was still
pretty cool). Yesterday, the psychedelic Australians released their single, “Elephant.”
It is a driving rock song complete with quick tempo changes, and which opens up
in the middle with a spacey guitar solo.
Captain Murphy – “Mighty
Morphin Foreskin:” Who is this mysterious Captain Murphy? Whoever he is, he
appears on two tracks this week. Little is known about the enigmatic newcomer
(it’s probably Tyler the Creator),” but he has arrived with a great new song
reminiscent of Madvillan. “Mighty Morphin Foreskin” is a slow sample heavy
track featuring the Captain’s trippy and adept rhyming. Let’s hope we hear more
from the Captain (I mean, it’s got to be Tyler right?) soon.
Flying Lotus
featuring Earl Sweatshirt and Captain Murphy – “Between Friends:” The Odd
Future camp is quickly showing how great they can be when paired with
unexpected collaborators. Earlier this month, we had Tyler’s smooth work with
Toro Y Moi, and now, Earl Sweatshirt has teamed with Flying Lotus and my new
favorite man of mystery, Captain Murphy (who we all think is Tyler the Creator),
for this new single. Here, the two rappers trade lyrics over a tight future-past
beat in keeping with Flying Lotus’ other work. It would be awesome if Flying
Lotus did more with these artists as the resulting project could be fantastic.
Here is to wishful thinking.
Crystal Castles – “Plague:”
Finishing up their upcoming album, the duo has released a moody new song that
signals a continued move away from chiptunes and towards a fuller electronic palate.
Beginning eerily, with Alice Glass signing over white noise, the song comes
into cathartic focus with a midtempo beat over the same throbbing white noise,
and then oscillates between ambient openness and the dense nightmarish chorus.
Sean Kader – “Improve:”
This is the first time I have featured a local artist on Listener’s Digest and it is none other than Sean Kader. Sean is a
great songwriter who has been too quietly releasing EPs on bandcamp for about 2
years now. Off of his latest EP, Et cetera, “Improve” is boozey rocker
featuring Kader’s amiable voice and a catchy guitar line. Be sure to check out
the whole EP, it is great stuff.
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