Flying Lotus
Los Angeles
Release Date: Jun 10, 2008
Genre(s): Electronic, Experimental
Record label: Warp
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Album Review: Los Angeles by Flying Lotus
Great, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
Before he started experimenting with left-field hip-hop beats and electronic samples, Steven Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, experienced a moment of enlightenment. While filming a documentary about his great aunt/spiritual advisor Alice Coltrane and his cousin Ravi Coltrane, their cab driver asked if they were musicians. Alice responded that, in fact, the three of them were, except Steven didn't know it yet.
Based on rating 6.5/10
Flying Lotus has been consistently gaining momentum among music enthusiasts, from thoroughly schooled sound technicians to gloss-focused dance-floor regulars. Since an early bootleg, some Adult Swim bumps, and a couple of EPs, bloggers are quickly learning his oft-swapped remixes, which span from Mr. Oizo to Madlib, are good--really good--and perhaps the reason Warp is pushing Los Angeles as a thrilling next step in the budding career of a genius.
Opinion: Excellent
Okay, we might as well get this out of the way, because every review of Los Angeles mentions one key reference point: Flying Lotus––née Steven Ellison––is the grandnephew of Alice Coltrane. It's a convenient and eye-catching association that will follow Ellison's career each step of the way. In fact, it was the extraordinary jazz musician's gentle nudging that pushed Ellison's career ambitions from filmmaking into music.
Opinion: Excellent
11 Pacific Ocean Blue, Dennis Wilson (Sony Legacy)5 stars It's not hard to see why Dennis Wilson's only album has such mythical status. Alongside the Beach Boys drummer's colourful back story - the hedonistic hard living, his dubious association with Charlie Manson, his Californian surfer good looks and his all too predictable early demise in his beloved Pacific Ocean - is the album's scarcity value. Out of print for aeons, tracking down a copy of Pacific Ocean Blue has long been the Holy Grail for many a rock fan.