Much like dubstep, the rapid rise of instrumental hip-hop beatmakers in the past few years can be traced to a single place or collective. Dubstep famously emerged from Croydon, more specifically the Big Apple record shop where the likes of Skream, Benga and Hatcha developed their trade and formed a tight coalition of like-minded, musically driven individuals.
Flying Lotus and his cohorts reside in far sunnier climbs in Los Angeles. His breakout LP, named after his hometown, enabled him to transcend his close-knit community, and it was clear that the city had a major influence on the woozy, discordant music that he championed.
‘Cosmogramma’ presents us with his third album in only 4 years, and displays a startling change in direction. Dense, multi-layered and with a sonic palette that belies his 26 years, Steven Ellison uses 45 minutes to take the listener on a wonderful trip through his racing mind.
A cursory listen to opening track ‘Clock Catcher’ gives a brief snatch of what to expect; electronic pulses, silky harps and a throbbing rhythm all combine to throttle the senses and plunge you unexpectedly inwards.
The pace doesn’t relent, with Ellison continuing what he does best by creating all enveloping futuristic beats. The album reaches its peak with the stunning one-two of ‘Computer Face // Pure Being’ and the Thom Yorke featuring ‘… And The World Laughs With You’. The former is dizzying clash between two-step and 4/4 beats, with triumphant synths vibrantly jolting to and fro, whilst the latter avoids a potentially superfluous “Hollywood” guest spot from Yorke by seamlessly weaving him into the spectral fabric of the track.
The album somewhat reaches a lull when “Satelllliiiiiiteee” arrives, with Ellison indulging in psych-jazz electronics to admittedly great effect. But the drawback lies within its unfortunate disruption in continuity, and as such ‘Cosmogramma’ as a whole suffers.
Time will tell if it turns out to be the masterpiece that some are hailing it as, but the fact remains that ‘Los Angeles’ is the more important of the two, Whilst ‘Cosmogramma’ heralds a producer that can safely rest in the upper echelons of electronic music, its predecessor gifted the world a sound that was new and exciting, and has spawned a plethora of equally unique producers who can flourish with their growing fanbase.
Despite this, ‘Cosmogramma’ will in all probability be considered as his crowning opus, and taken as a single entity is a mind-blowing journey through the thoughts and dreams of a genius.
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