Tag: Flying Lotus

Flying Lotus – “Big Mama” review

Flying Lotus is a 42 year old producer, DJ, rapper, songwriter & filmmaker from Los Angeles, California who made his debut 2 decades earlier with the positively received 1983. He would later sign to Warp Records, dropping a string of acclaimed follow-ups from Los Angeles & Cosmogramma to Until the Quiet Comes & You’re Dead! throughout the course of my adolescence. Of course I’d be remised to forget the underrated DU∆LITY mixtape he dropped under the Captain Murphy alias. Flamagra in the spring of 2019 was the last time we heard FlyLo secularly, coming off the Yasuke & Ash soundtracks to drop his 7th extended play through his own label Brainfeeder Records in tandem with Ninja Tune.

The title track begins with this 36 second intro that will likely be used during an [adult swim] bumper at some point within the near future whereas “Captain Kernel” goes for a glitchier vibe instrumentally working in some additional synthesizers. “Antelope Onigri” throws it back to the IDM sound that defined Los Angeles & Cosmogramma over a decade earlier leading into “In the Forest: Day” hooking up some psychedelic synth melodies that feel like an acid trip.

“Brobobasher” continues the final leg of Big Mama blending elements of drum & bass as well as glitch and house music for almost a couple minutes while “Horse Nuke” starts off by heading for an ambient direction for the opening minute or so until combining both wonky & techno for the remaining 102 seconds. “Pink Dream” however sends off the EP by cooking up an animated beat that would remind some people of the 3rd generation of video games 4 decades earlier.

Considering that he’s signed a handful of artists I’ve liked in the past such as Kamasi Washington or Hiatus Kaiyote & Thundercat, it makes me happy to hear Flying Lotus making an independent return to his electronic roots over the course of Big Mama’s brief runtime & only a month away from Distracted. His production takes an experimentally maximalist approach to IDM, glitch hop, wonky, glitch, nu jazz, ambient, chiptune, drum & bass & techno almost like a machine malfunctioning right in front of our very eyes.

Score: 4/5

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Smoke DZA – “Flying Objects” review

This is the 20th EP from New York emcee & songwriter Smoke DZA. Starting out over 2 decades ago as 1/2 of Smoke & Numbers, he would eventually go on to achieve a cult following of his own by dropping 7 albums as well as 10 mixtapes & a plethora of EPs along the way. My personal favorites include the sophomore tape George Kush da Button, the Pete Rock-produced 4th album Don’t Smoke Rock & the whole 183rd-produced Ringside EP saga. But when it was announced that Flying Lotus was being brought in behind the boards throughout Flying Objects, I just knew it was destined to be the best thing DZA has done in a while.

“Spiritual” is a psychedelically futuristic opener to the EP talking about faith in the man upstairs whereas “Painted Houses” featuring Conway the Machine takes the eerie boom bap route with both of them coming together excellently cautioning to treat lightly since their respective teams the Smoker’s Club alongside Drumwork & Griselda stay strong. The latter 2 in particular. “Zelle Transfers” takes a calmer route instrumentally spitting a charismatic, 1-minute freestyle & “Drug Trade” featuring Black Thought & later Conway the Machine on the remix was a phenomenal choice for a lead single to the EP with the woodwinds, kicks, snares & mafioso lyricism.

The closer “Harlem World ‘97” featuring Estelle on the hook rounds it all out with elements of deep house & synth-funk trying to school the apple of his eye professing their love for one another. The first of 2 bonus tracks “Beyond Spiritual” featuring Big K.R.I.T. & Wiz Khalifa happens to be a sequel to the opener with the longest reigning AEW World Champion, former CZW Wired Champion, CZW World Heavyweight Champion,アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, MLW World Tag Team Champion, the inaugural MLW World Middleweight Championship & the current reigning ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF on the intro & the other finishes the deluxe run with a “Zelle Transfers” sequel.

I went into Flying Objects under the impression that it was gonna be a full LP, but I still came away from it looking at it as one of the best EPs I’ve heard this year. One of if not the strongest in his whole entire discography other than the Statue of Limitations collab EP with Benny the Butcher & Pete Rock obviously. FlyLo’s production is magnificently diverse in sound from boom bap to deep hip house & I really can’t remember the last time I heard DZA himself as focused as he is on here.

Score: 4.5/5

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