Terrorbird

Even before the Reset EP appeared late last year and his bootleg mixes of everyone from Kelis to Mr. Oizo and Madvillain had been circulating amongst the hardcore heads, Flying Lotus' name was on the lips of many as the leader of a new generation of artists emerging from California and around the world. Fueled by hip-hop and bleeding-edge dance music, Flying Lotus and a gang of affiliates are redefining the sounds of LA and this album's title can be read as a clear statement of intent-to represent for Los Angeles.

The first moments of Los Angeles come on as lush analog waves, just distorted enough to sound like a faded memory of something you once heard on a radio from across a room. Essentially, it's instant transportation. Whether it is forward or backward in time, you'll never know as the sounds of the record leap recklessly into the future while keeping a sly glance back towards the classics of every genre.

In this case, establishing a timeframe is not nearly as important as establishing the setting-which, as the album's title may have tipped you off, is none other than southern California. Like this record, Los Angeles and its surrounding areas are studies in deep contrast: haves and have-nots, glitter and grime, sunshine and shadow, whimsy and tension. 'Los Angeles is a special place to me for obvious reasons, but for the majority of my life, I hated living here. It's hard not to be inspired by your surroundings, I only realized that by leaving and being able to check out new places, new vibes, and to chill with different folks' says Lotus. As he matured into Los Angeles itself, so did he weave himself into the city's long-forming musical tapestry that includes breezy surf pop, the rambling desert psychedelia of the 1960s, the flashy city-dwelling soul music of the 1970s and the kinetic hip-hop energy flow of the 1980s and 90s, not to mention Phil Spectre's many epic productions. This is a musical history that extended into Flying Lotus' own family as well, his grandmother Marilyn Mcleod was a songwriter for Motown and penned and produced classics like 'Love Hangover' by Diana Ross as well as songs for Michael Jackson, The Four Tops and others while his aunt is none other than the legendary Alice Coltrane. Small surprise then that young Lotus would find himself adept at constructing tunes.

While the city itself took some time to grow on Flying Lotus, its rich cinematic heritage did not. His time spent as a film student is a clear testament to his sweeping visual mindset and his singularly linear approach to crafting tracks, as well as his aspirations to conquer that medium as well. 'With my projects, I try to have a visual narrative happening. I like the idea of my albums being movies, you're the character who goes on this adventure. I tried to present the album in a 'hero's journey' approach, in the same way you would with any film.'

There's no denying the distinct trajectory that the album follows. 'Brainfeeder' serves as the fade-in to 'Breathe . Something/Stellar STar' the opening sequence that will introduce any uninitiated to the chest-punching bass and maniacal drums, Flying Lotus trademarks each. Rather than easing the audience in, 'Beginners Falafel' and 'Camel' build tension with short-circuited electronics and disembodied vocal samples, respectively, finally giving way to the percussive freefall of 'Melt!'.

Hitting a mid-point stride of three undeniable tracks, Flying Lotus offers their unifying theme, 'With this record I wanted to try and bring folks LA. From the darkness of 'Riot' to the glitz and glam 'GNG BNG' and 'Parisian Goldfish', Los Angeles is a place with many faces, so I tried to represent all the LA vibes the best way I could'. After this dizzying barrage of styles and the abandoned-arcade-bump of 'Sleepy Dinosaur', the record serves up the perfect grounding element in the form of 'RobertaFlack' featuring a standout vocalist in Dolly. A soulful, introspective rumble that skimps neither on soaring vocals nor low-slung Jeep beats, it meets 'SexSlaveShip' to set the tone for the closing act.

Of course, it's no secret that Lotus is the product of a rich musical lineage and 'Auntie's Harp' serves not only as a collaboration with his majestic aunt, but also a more than fitting tribute. The two songs that close Los Angeles will leave you with the feeling of a film that has removed you far enough from familiar reality that regaining your bearings may be gradual.
Following a maze-like standup bass sample and lazily marching drum pattern, 'Testament' arrives as the introduction to Flying Lotus' friend and collaborator Gonja Sufi in all his mage-like splendor. Like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Timbaland and Missy or Beth Gibbons and Geoff Barrow of Portishead, the pairing of a pioneering producer and entirely distinct vocalist/songwriter is a force to be reckoned with. The feeling is only amplified with the closing opus 'Infintum'. Enveloping vocalist Laura Darlington of Long Lost in a track that bridges Gainsbourg/Bardot territory with Broadcast and shape-shifting post-modern R&B, it is a sublime bookend to 'Brainfeeder' and serves as the perfect FIN to Los Angeles' epic journey.

Lest all this talk of production prowess and beat-machine tweakery give you the impression that Lotus is some sort of castaway amongst a sea of blinking LED lights, look no further than your first live experience to convince you steadfastly otherwise. For all of the introspection and sonic enigmas of the album, the Flying Lotus live assault indulges in another form of experimentation-the science of moving bodies. Somewhere between the best house party DJ you've ever seen and the most crowd-smashing live electronic act you've raved to sits Lotus and his modest live set-up. Between madcap live versions of his own tracks you might catch a slice of an LA G-Funk classic here and a clip of the latest dubstep white label there, keeping you (not to mention the boys and girls around you) involuntarily on your toes.

'I never got in this because I wanted to work with so-and-so, I never wanted to hang out with such-and-such people. Just want to have a good time making music and keep a roof over my head. I'm more into creating my own legacy than being part of someone else's shine.' This focus has not only paid off in the form of Los Angeles' remarkable breadth, but also in some of the game's major players like Erykah Badu and Gorillaz eyeing the young producer as the logical sonic step forward as well as his placement at the forefront of a fast-materializing movement of forward-thinking hip-hop producers. All of this sounds great in a press release, but it's evident that Flying Lotus main concern is to continue pushing his own sounds forward, 'It's very exciting to hear all these lovely new sounds wherever I go. That being said, you can glitch and make your drums off-time all day, but if you can't do a basic chord progression, it's just a gimmick. I stay focused on what's really important, just making music.'