To think that this is still the young producer from Los Angeles that got his start by crafting juicy, booming dubstep cuts for Cartoon Network to use in whichever way they deemed best (those commercials continue to impress and affect with every new idea), seems like such a wonderful pay off on what life has to offer. As Flying Lotus – or FlyLo as Steven Ellison has soon to come to be affectionately referred as by devoted fans – he’s methodically and extremely well-fashioned, winning many dashing impressions. His Warp debut, Los Angeles, was the best electronic album of 2008, his sought after skills as a producer have found him winning situations like being a part of the tree-headed producing team on Gonjasufi’s melting pot of styles, A Sufi and A Killer, and he has now, completely and utterly, broken down all those impressions to render an album that is overflowing with exceptional music.
For his part, our interstellar conductor deals out weightless reveries, whirling dissonance, head-nodding groove, and four-on-the-floor thump all while adhering to jazz’s singular energy and spirit. But Cosmogramma is not simply beat music for the Sun Ra set. Flying Lotus reaches into the past in order to create something clearly of the future – a hybridized work that challenges others to follow its dazzling blueprint.
That’s the magic of what an album like Cosmogramma is all about. Initial copies of his album were sent to the media with one single track of forty-five minutes of music. At first I was a bit confused and ensured I had downloaded everything correctly but in such anticipation, I turned it on right away. The concept of an album that is one, extended, theme of ideas that all come together in an impeccable flow of perfectness is arduous, to say the least. However, Ellison has created an album that is definitely positioned and performed in such a manner that his music is not something we should take for granted. Flying Lotus has made the strongest album to date with his amazing collection of sounds, beats and instruments; as good as you felt after hearing the sheer brilliance of Los Angeles – as good as that impression was – by the time “rips//Auntie’s Harp” comes around and amazes you, Cosmogramma has latched on and will never let go.
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