Flying Lotus (dancing, electronic, dance, hip-hop, jazz)

Neil Loots · 04-07-2009, 05:50 AM

As is well known, it is difficult these days to determine what exactly a genre of music "is" or "authentically consists in". I have been listening rather incessantly to the recent(ish) Flying Lotus album, and it struck me that I couldn't figure out exactly where this music fits into the grander scheme of all things musical. I suppose it may be considered to be "experimental hip hop", since it exploits "the hip hop beat". On the other hand, it does not inhabit "the hip hop idiom", which, although it can probably not be reduced to any one thing, traditionally seems to have dealt thematically, for lack of a better phrase, with "the social reality/milieu of (American) hip hop artists and MCs". Flying Lotus's album certainly evinces an "aural landscape", but not also, or not also explicitly, a particular "social landscape" since Flying Lotus does not to any large extent present himself as a "personality" within the music. Similarly, Massive Attack, and "trip hop" in general, exploited, amongst other things, the hip hop beat without being "hip hop" in the traditional or "strict" or "genealogical" sense of the term.

So what this rambling amounts to is the following question: Can there be such thing as "experimental hip hop", or would this "form" rather be subsumed under the more "catch all" term "electronica"?

sidewinder · 04-14-2009, 08:38 PM

I think Flying Lotus' latest album Los Angeles is more electronic than it is hip-hop, but it still definitely includes some elements of hip-hop beats. It's just more distorted than his first one, 1983. His style is definitely hard to classify, but what I'm saying is if I had to pick hip-hop or electronic, it would be electronic. Trip-hop is what I generally categorize things that fall between those 2 genres.

Great stuff, by the way. His recent EPs are worth checking out too, especially Shhh!.

Sneer · 05-01-2009, 11:32 AM

Los Angeles is all kinds of good, i would agree with it being more electro, though it does use hip hop beats as a central part of the album. Either way, pretty awesome stuff.

HiFi · 01-20-2011, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidewinder

I think Flying Lotus' latest album Los Angeles is more electronic than it is hip-hop.

Agreed, I really like it quite a bit but I still think Prefuse 73s Vocal Studies & Uprock Narratives is a more hip hop oriented bit of class in the broken beat genre.

sidewinder · 03-11-2011, 12:50 PM

New track "Caravan of Delight" featured on an Ed Banger compilation.

Pitchfork: The Playlist: Flying Lotus - "Caravan of Delight"

As posted by official FL profile on Facebook,

Quote:

this tune is a glimpse into the next album material

jackhammer · 05-01-2009, 12:19 PM

Los Angeles bored me senseless. No variation in the beats at all. He is usually labelled as a Laptop Musician I think.

Sneer · 05-05-2009, 09:23 AM

I thinks its exquisitely textured, atmospheric electronica, with boredom being the last word to spring to mind, but different dtrokes for different folks.

dispid · 07-25-2009, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

Los Angeles bored me senseless. No variation in the beats at all. He is usually labelled as a Laptop Musician I think.

i do agree that Los Angeles was a bit boring on the first listen. however, i like the way each song flows into the next, so the album has to be taken in AS A WHOLE. it's almost one really long song. i think that in and of itself separates it from the more traditional hip-hop/trip-hop aesthetics, while clearly borrowing from the two. it's very IDM-ish in it's approach and presentation. FL is more than a mere "Laptop Musician".

DJB1975 · 07-26-2009, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

Los Angeles bored me senseless. No variation in the beats at all. He is usually labelled as a Laptop Musician I think.

Agreed, i thought the last Prefuse 73 album was dull as well.
1983 is better.

SATCHMO · 09-06-2009, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJB1975

Agreed, i thought the last Prefuse 73 album was dull as well.
1983 is better.

Really? I listened to 1983 today for the first time after being virtually in love with Los Angeles for quite some time. My immediate reaction was that 1983 paled drastically in comparison to LA.

04-07-2009, 05:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
Neil Loots Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South Africa Posts: 51	Flying Lotus As is well known, it is difficult these days to determine what exactly a genre of music "is" or "authentically consists in". I have been listening rather incessantly to the recent(ish) Flying Lotus album, and it struck me that I couldn't figure out exactly where this music fits into the grander scheme of all things musical. I suppose it may be considered to be "experimental hip hop", since it exploits "the hip hop beat". On the other hand, it does not inhabit "the hip hop idiom", which, although it can probably not be reduced to any one thing, traditionally seems to have dealt thematically, for lack of a better phrase, with "the social reality/milieu of (American) hip hop artists and MCs". Flying Lotus's album certainly evinces an "aural landscape", but not also, or not also explicitly, a particular "social landscape" since Flying Lotus does not to any large extent present himself as a "personality" within the music. Similarly, Massive Attack, and "trip hop" in general, exploited, amongst other things, the hip hop beat without being "hip hop" in the traditional or "strict" or "genealogical" sense of the term. So what this rambling amounts to is the following question: Can there be such thing as "experimental hip hop", or would this "form" rather be subsumed under the more "catch all" term "electronica"? Last edited by Neil Loots; 04-07-2009 at 05:57 AM. Reason: correction

04-14-2009, 08:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
sidewinder Engorged Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,536	I think Flying Lotus' latest album Los Angeles is more electronic than it is hip-hop, but it still definitely includes some elements of hip-hop beats. It's just more distorted than his first one, 1983. His style is definitely hard to classify, but what I'm saying is if I had to pick hip-hop or electronic, it would be electronic. Trip-hop is what I generally categorize things that fall between those 2 genres. Great stuff, by the way. His recent EPs are worth checking out too, especially Shhh!. __________________ last.fm \| my collection on RYM \| vinyl instagram @allthatyouseeandhear I'd love to see your signature/links too, but the huge and obnoxious ones have caused me to block all signatures.

05-01-2009, 11:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
Sneer Let it drip Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 5,430	Los Angeles is all kinds of good, i would agree with it being more electro, though it does use hip hop beats as a central part of the album. Either way, pretty awesome stuff. __________________ LastFM Sneer's Emporium of Sound Fright Team radio show

05-01-2009, 12:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Los Angeles bored me senseless. No variation in the beats at all. He is usually labelled as a Laptop Musician I think. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

05-05-2009, 09:23 AM	#7 (permalink)
Sneer Let it drip Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 5,430	I thinks its exquisitely textured, atmospheric electronica, with boredom being the last word to spring to mind, but different dtrokes for different folks. __________________ LastFM Sneer's Emporium of Sound Fright Team radio show