Flying Lotus

Flying Lotus is FlyLo (aka Steven Ellison), a hip-hop producer (among other things) from California. Regardless of what you call him, he’s the latest laptop DJ on the scene to try his hand at producing organic sounds via electronic means. FlyLo is also the man behind the music of the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. Signed to Warp Records in 2007, he dropped the six-track EP Reset the same year. For follow-up full-length Los Angeles, FlyLo takes elements of hip-hop, electronic and world music and puts his own spin on them. Nearly all the tracks have a smoky, ambient nature, which casually introduces a relationship between all existing genres. The beats on Los Angeles are also slightly off time, giving the disc a grittier, more natural feel without it seeming forced. Besides the tracks having amusing names like "Beginners Falafel,” "Golden Diva,” "Sleepy Dinosaur” and "SexSlaveShip,” there are fun, unexpected gems hidden throughout, like the beat-backed sitar on "GNG BNG” that slyly rolls into an inflated, dirty bass explosion, or the sultry vocals on "RobertaFlack” that give way to eclectic, experimental percussion.