Today, you need to check out: Flying Lotus
This west-coast cat's got music in his blood. The nephew of Alice Coltrane, wife to the late jazz legend John Coltrane, Flying Lotus is a hip-hop/experimental producer that takes his music and art seriously. My friend Ian told me about him on New Years Eve, and he showed me Lotus' Myspace. At the time, while slightly inebriated, the shit just sounded like noise/nonsense to me. The next day I re-visited the page and I felt like the music was onto something; so on a whim I bought Flying Lotus' latest: "Los Angeles" on iTunes. After listening through the album a couple times, I got hooked. I also purchased his: "Reset: EP" which has the track "Tea Leaf Dancer" on it. (Dope. you can check it on his Myspace)
I've been getting more and more into experimental/industrial sounds lately. I think that incorporating these kinds of styles/sounds into hip-hop and pop genres is really the future of the music. You can already hear the spread/addition of it in some popular tunes. Just listen to Beyonce's new Single Ladies. Not to get too off topic, but honestly; the first half of this song is just clapping and electronic/industrial noises. And what I think personally makes this song is the "chainsaw-like" synth on the repeat of the chorus. The songs dope, and when you think about why its dope, you can see its all about the sounds, the vibe that the sounds create, and especially the production and mastering of the track.
Working off this, as far as underground hip-hop goes, this cat Flying Lotus uses crazy sounds and recording techniques to create a unique style. Building upon the funky sequencing pioneered by J Dilla (hip-hop's Jesus in many minds) and incorporating his own quirky sequencing, Flying Lotus is definitely laying down a nice foundation for future hip-hop producers. Utilizing sounds that recal Space Indavers, Super Mario World and flying nerf footballs on elementary playgrounds, Lotus definitely has a liberal mind wired for fresh kinds of sounds that can be effectively incorporated into music.
Definitely check out the video on Flying Lotus in his myspace. Its interesting and goes more in-depth on his approach, background and inspirations.
