Flying Lotus

Picking up the thread of Dosenation's recent blog entry Ketamine makes music wonKy describing it as a new genre of music, I thought I'd offer a counterpoint to the the rather unrepresentative "wonky Zomby" youtube video linked in the blog post.I recently happened upon the phenomenal album "Los Angeles" by artist "Flying Lotus" (now signed to Warp Records) who is named in the wikipedia entry for wonky music.

Flying Lotus and Starkey are two of the main proponents of the wonky sound in the USA. The American wonky sound has also been dubbed "street bass"

Flying Lotus' sound expresses squishy/hazy/spacy organicness -ironically- by using digital sounds in a very innovative way, creating a sort of psychedelic instrumental, um, hip-hop(?) that is unlike I've ever heard.

I keep getting a churning of the stomach/heart center whenever I hear Flying Lotus - Testament feat. Gonja Sufi -- which stands out on the album as odd with its deep bass jazz groove and one of the few tracks with vocals at all.

Those of you who are into electronic music may be familiar with the many must-have mixes of BBC's "essential mix" programme, which hosts many heavyweight DJ's from around the world every Saturday. Flying Lotus' set from November was voted the best BBC essential mix of 2008. You can download it here.

Another very good mix by Flying Lotus together with SamIyam is
available here, found via of popcultureshock.com. Or, check out the Youtube playlist "The Flying Lotus Experience". A cut from that playlist is included below.

And to come full circle to the drug theme of Dosenation: Flying Lotus recently described his first DMT experience on his blog.

Get the BBC mix. You will not regret it, I shit you not!

[Thanks Morrison!]

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Posted By jamesk at 2009-03-25 18:32:33 permalink | comments

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guest : 2010-06-29 19:30:50

fly lo is music for a dirty dark rainy city.

Anvil Hands. : 2009-10-27 23:12:39

The "wonky" buzz phrase came more from the UK house, grime, and dubstep scenes and became the term used to describe a lot of the US hip hop producers that venture into the electronic music world and elsewhere with their music.

Unquantized beats, filtered bass lines, 8-bit samples, odd compression rates, and heavy record burn are a few common characteristics of the US "wonky" sound.

Flying Lotus has a whole slew of great artists on his Brainfeeder label.

th3 Baroness. : 2009-03-29 14:48:47

Hail to the jewel in the Flying Lotus!

P.S. If you like FlyLo, you need to be scooping up Paul Pre's mixes with both hands: [link]

smegmoi. : 2009-03-27 11:07:46

always nice when the pendulum swings away from hipster bullshit (may i say FUCK DAN DEACON, worthless piece of shit) and into blatantly druggy wahoo. more selections like those, yes.

gavin. : 2009-03-26 19:50:35

what's up elad

Elad!. : 2009-03-26 06:50:25

Daedelus*

Elad!. : 2009-03-26 06:47:31

This one is for everyone, if you like Flying Lotus you'll probably dig these guys too. They are practically in the same collective in LA.

The Gaslamp Killer - It's a rocky road (vol. 1 & 2) <-- both unbelievable
Daedalus (any and all, Samba le Grand is a great song too)
Thavius Beck - Decomposition

great artists, and if you're in LA check them out at Low End Theory on Wed. nights. Unbelievable shows!

Your ears will thank you

-e.

monkee. : 2009-03-26 02:56:33

My favourite song of theirs: [link] - Tea Leaf Dancers. Be sure to have the bass on.

johnx. : 2009-03-26 01:09:12

Raw footage of DEA Raid on Medical Marijuana Dispensary in San Francisco, California on March 25, 2009

[link]

These police officers should spend their time going after violent criminals instead of cowardly cherry picking a known peaceful pot club. Easier to hassle stoners than it is to determine the origin of the AK-47 assault rifle that claimed the life of two police officers last week. Its just a goddamn waste of resources to shut down a tax paying business.

Fucking Awesome. : 2009-03-25 22:25:13

music

great. : 2009-03-25 20:10:47

Very good and very trippy. Strong words because this is a genre of music that I have absolutely no interest in.

Stashe Bocks. : 2009-03-25 19:44:46

Good tunes.

Though Wonky ain't exactly ground breaking. Just one of many terms for the explosion in post dub step down tempo.

And indicative of the current trend in brit slang to get all wobbly a la fidget.

You can pretty much invent a new genre by referencing jelly legs.

Morrison. : 2009-03-25 18:48:08

Here is another Flying Lotus BBC Mix from 2007:
[link]

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