The latest releases reviewed
FLYING LOTUS
Los Angeles
Warp
***
Steven Ellison specialises in shaping evocative space-age
soul music. Last year the producer with the family ties to the
Coltrane dynasty sent listeners into raptures with his Reset album;
here he wants listeners to take a voyage around his home town. Of
course, you could also use that "soundtrack for an imaginary film"
chestnut for
Los Angeles, but that doesn't quite capture the span,
reach or colour of Ellison's industry as he maps out some
magnificently blissed-out trips. Restlessly honing and blending
electronic, hip-hop, jazz and skittering bass sonics, Ellison
pitches several mini-dramas, teases your emotions at every turn and
then hightails away towards the horizon in a cloud of dust. In
terms of a narrative, the producer relies on textures and patterns
to illustrate the plot. While these sometimes don't always work as
well as the producer thinks, you're happy to share the ride
nonetheless.
www.myspace.com/flyinglotus
JIM CARROLL
Download tracks:
Parisian Goldfish, Brainfeeder