Free Downloads and New Music From Warp Records

Massive UK-based electronic and indie music label Warp Records is hooking everybody up with free tunes today.

Affiliated online music retailer Bleep partnered up with the Barcelona music festival Sonar to launch a series of free MP3 downloads, which feature fellow UK-based artists that will be playing the music festival and their exclusive tunes. Among the list is Hudson Mohawke, Broadcast, The Blessings, Roska, and Fuck Buttons, the latter two of which are available now, here. Also premiering today is a new track from IDM pioneers Autechre’s forthcoming ten-song release, Move of Ten. Stream the song “y7” over here.

On a related note, keyCMND favorite Flying Lotus also hooked the world up with an unreleased piece of music, called “Heave (n),” which is only available to hear streaming in that player up top.

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Watch: Flying Lotus and ∞ Live @ The Echoplex

If you’re at all like us, you spent last weekend wishing you lived just a bit closer to Southern California (if only for two days). On May 14 and 15 at The Echoplex in Los Angeles, Steven Ellison celebrated the released of his (inter)stellar new album as Flying Lotus, keyCMND favorite Cosmogramma. We would’ve given up just about anything to catch the premiere of his new audio/visual show, and we probably shouldn’t tell you what we were willing to do see him play with a live band, dubbed ∞.

Thankfully, no drastic measures were taken, because the great people at Glenjamn captured the magic for us and threw it up on Youtube. Now we can watch Ellison and his band of merry music makers flesh out jazzy renditions of his tunes without promising to hand over our first born. Check out some live footage above, with more FlyLo video goodness here.

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Flying LotusCosmogrammaWarp Records (2010) Genre: ElectronicRating: A+ Flying Lotus mastermind Steven Ellison is a total weirdo. He drops massive discombobulated beats, he obsessively divides up his albums into a number of sundry tracks, completely eliminating any hope for potential singles, and he’s unthinkably—almost irresponsibly—brilliant. 2008’s Los Angeles—completely diverse and bludgeoning in its uniqueness—proved a hard act to follow, but the 17-track, near hour-long Cosmogramma is all that and more. FlyLo’s productions are more complex, more surprising, and, of course, much weirder. Here, Flying Lotus incorporates more influences into his music than ever before: jazz instrumentation, symphonic orchestration, and even a little downtempo elevator music. It’s all kept within the realms of the beat-heavy styles apparent on Los Angeles, but there are times when you ask yourself what exactly you’re dancing to. The franticly elastic bass solo on “Pickled!” or the chugging, hollow drum fill and film noir-esque brass perks on “Arkestry” don’t necessarily scream “club music,” just as a guest spot from Thom Yorke isn’t a “futuristic hip-hop” trademark, and yet there they are. Even Cosmogramma’s more acoustic pieces—like the groovy, AM radio interlude “German Haircut” or the lush orchestral movements in “Intro: A Cosmic Drama”—all sound surprisingly natural next to woofer cookers like “Zodiac Shit” and “Computer Face // Pure Being,” which employ some of Flying Lotus’ patented psychedelic, brain-driven hip-hop. Everything is in its right place. Throughout his album, Ellison manages to piece together each of his influences in a way that somehow lacks any stitch. It takes an honest effort to find apparent sonic turns in theme, even with the erratic starts and stops, and that’s something very few artists can achieve. It seems Ellison has gone about his career constantly asking himself how far he could go with his productions while still making danceable music. He’s tampered plenty with sample-based hip-hop. He’s boiled down electronic music to its core, and reassembled the elements holding only his own blueprints. His latest experiment is a wildly creative array of diverse elements far from the recipes of anything resembling today’s club music; Cosmogramma is proof that Flying Lotus’ musical hypotheses are cutting edge sonic science—weird science. -Luke Winkie Listen:“Computer Face // Pure Being” Flying Lotus on Last.fm

Flying Lotus
Cosmogramma
Warp Records (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: A+

Flying Lotus mastermind Steven Ellison is a total weirdo. He drops massive discombobulated beats, he obsessively divides up his albums into a number of sundry tracks, completely eliminating any hope for potential singles, and he’s unthinkably—almost irresponsibly—brilliant. 2008’s Los Angeles—completely diverse and bludgeoning in its uniqueness—proved a hard act to follow, but the 17-track, near hour-long Cosmogramma is all that and more. FlyLo’s productions are more complex, more surprising, and, of course, much weirder.

Here, Flying Lotus incorporates more influences into his music than ever before: jazz instrumentation, symphonic orchestration, and even a little downtempo elevator music. It’s all kept within the realms of the beat-heavy styles apparent on Los Angeles, but there are times when you ask yourself what exactly you’re dancing to. The franticly elastic bass solo on “Pickled!” or the chugging, hollow drum fill and film noir-esque brass perks on “Arkestry” don’t necessarily scream “club music,” just as a guest spot from Thom Yorke isn’t a “futuristic hip-hop” trademark, and yet there they are.

Even Cosmogramma’s more acoustic pieces—like the groovy, AM radio interlude “German Haircut” or the lush orchestral movements in “Intro: A Cosmic Drama”—all sound surprisingly natural next to woofer cookers like “Zodiac Shit” and “Computer Face // Pure Being,” which employ some of Flying Lotus’ patented psychedelic, brain-driven hip-hop. Everything is in its right place. Throughout his album, Ellison manages to piece together each of his influences in a way that somehow lacks any stitch. It takes an honest effort to find apparent sonic turns in theme, even with the erratic starts and stops, and that’s something very few artists can achieve.

It seems Ellison has gone about his career constantly asking himself how far he could go with his productions while still making danceable music. He’s tampered plenty with sample-based hip-hop. He’s boiled down electronic music to its core, and reassembled the elements holding only his own blueprints. His latest experiment is a wildly creative array of diverse elements far from the recipes of anything resembling today’s club music; Cosmogramma is proof that Flying Lotus’ musical hypotheses are cutting edge sonic science—weird science.

-Luke Winkie

Listen:
“Computer Face // Pure Being”

Flying Lotus on Last.fm

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GonjasufiA Sufi and a KillerWarp Records (2010) Genre: ElectronicRating: B+ An understatement to be sure, Gonjasufi’s debut album, A Sufi and a Killer, is weird. Indubitably, it’s the rare record that incorporates desultory, outré, and occasionally straight-up unnatural elements into something that somehow resists even the most reductive attempts of categorizing. We’ve got fractured soul, goth-leaning post-punk, chintzy, primordial electro, and a dash of Gil Scott-Heron’s brand of half-sung proto-rap all surprisingly solidified into an album that not only bewilders, but sounds absolutely natural and impeccably structured, which—given it’s array of disparate influences and disjointed sonic elements—is totally weird. All that being said, what really elevates A Sufi and a Killer—from experimentation up to a fully-formed idea—is Gonjasufi’s own tattered, ghoulish voice. On practically every one of the 19 tracks (produced by such LA beat scene luminaries as Flying Lotus and The Gaslamp Killer), he delivers yearning and strained verses—periodically about the entirely uncool and heady topic of mortality. “My body finally starts to decay,” he unravels on “Love of Reign.” The singer seems almost obsessed with the ugly side of death—never letting any hopeful spirituality or friendly ghost-isms sneak through. A Sufi and a Killer is easily one of the most original albums that will be released this year; it literally sounds like nothing else on the market. That might sound naïve at first, but once the dusty, haunted world created on A Sufi gets a hold of your brain, it’s undeniable. Gonjasufi is nearing something great. His classic is already visible on the horizon, and this album designates himself as a true innovator. Now, all he must do is follow that innovation to its logical, and beautiful conclusion. -Luke Winkie Listen:“Ancestors” Gonjasufi on Last.fm

Gonjasufi
A Sufi and a Killer
Warp Records (2010)

Genre: Electronic
Rating: B+

An understatement to be sure, Gonjasufi’s debut album, A Sufi and a Killer, is weird. Indubitably, it’s the rare record that incorporates desultory, outré, and occasionally straight-up unnatural elements into something that somehow resists even the most reductive attempts of categorizing. We’ve got fractured soul, goth-leaning post-punk, chintzy, primordial electro, and a dash of Gil Scott-Heron’s brand of half-sung proto-rap all surprisingly solidified into an album that not only bewilders, but sounds absolutely natural and impeccably structured, which—given it’s array of disparate influences and disjointed sonic elements—is totally weird.

All that being said, what really elevates A Sufi and a Killer—from experimentation up to a fully-formed idea—is Gonjasufi’s own tattered, ghoulish voice. On practically every one of the 19 tracks (produced by such LA beat scene luminaries as Flying Lotus and The Gaslamp Killer), he delivers yearning and strained verses—periodically about the entirely uncool and heady topic of mortality. “My body finally starts to decay,” he unravels on “Love of Reign.” The singer seems almost obsessed with the ugly side of death—never letting any hopeful spirituality or friendly ghost-isms sneak through.

A Sufi and a Killer is easily one of the most original albums that will be released this year; it literally sounds like nothing else on the market. That might sound naïve at first, but once the dusty, haunted world created on A Sufi gets a hold of your brain, it’s undeniable. Gonjasufi is nearing something great. His classic is already visible on the horizon, and this album designates himself as a true innovator. Now, all he must do is follow that innovation to its logical, and beautiful conclusion.

-Luke Winkie

Listen:
“Ancestors”

Gonjasufi on Last.fm

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Flying Lotus’ 4/20 Broadcast is Now!

When the new album from Flying Lotus was announced, it was given the wholly appropriate release date of April 20, 2010. It’s no secret producer Steven Ellison is an avid smoker, and one could safely assume that at least over half of his contingent share in the particular pastime. So a little bit of wind was taken out of our sails when we discovered Cosmogramma had been pushed back for release on Warp Records in early May, but fear not: FlyLo is celebrating the unofficial holiday in other ways.

Over on flying-lotus.com, among a few other associated websites, a special online 4/20 broadcast is playing live now. Fans are encouraged to come check out the tunes, converse in the wacky chat room, pre-order their copy Cosmogramma with a special print drawn by Ellison himself, enter in a contest to win the original art piece, and listen for exclusive previews off the forthcoming Flying Lotus album. It has to be one of the more awesome ways you could spend 4/20. It’s certainly better than watching The Big Lebowski for the twentieth time with a bag of Kettle Chips and your cat. And who knows what kind of insanity will transpire when the magic hour strikes?! Tune in and find out…

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Gucci ManeDiplo Presents: Free Gucci (The Best of the Cold War Mixtapes)Mad Decent (2010) Genre: Hip-Hop / ElectronicRating: B- Following an insane output of mixtapes throughout 2008 and 2009, Gucci Mane is back again in the first few weeks of 2010 with a hybrid mixtape—highlighting and remixing tracks from the Cold War mixtape series. Similar to other Atlanta rap stars, Gucci’s canter is slow and fluid. While his choice of words and subject matter doesn’t vary too much from other average drug/money/murder/clothes/hoes MCs, his voice is dominant, and his simple but effective metaphors are really the essence of his rap skill. Some blogs run ablaze claiming that Gucci Mane is a no-talent clown, but if you are able to accept that “bad” can be good, that most MCs don’t tend to sarcastically quote Yates and incorporate string theory into their rhymes, and that he makes club tracks which are actually amusing, then Gucci holds his own in the rap world. Now, when a mixtape is curated by Diplo (specifically for his Mad Decent label), it’s pretty easy to assume that Baltimore, Atlanta, DC, and Philly club rhythms are going to be rampant throughout. With additional remix work from Zomby, Flying Lotus, and Mumdance, grimey, wonky dubstep elements are also integrated with Gucci’s simple southern flows. The final element, which came completely out of leftfield, is the Dance Dance Revolution/mega-club/ringtone inspired remixes. Songs like “Dope Boys (Bird Peterson Remix)” and “Break Yourself (Diplo Remix)” marry thug raps with UK top-40 inspired dance anthems and take the “Sandstorm”-esque synthesizer riffs out to the street corner. Luckily, Mane’s vocals are not auto-tuned on these tracks as they would instantly be transformed into mash-up material for the obvious ‘stadium’ DJs around the globe. Tracks like “Frowny Face feat. Playboy Tre (Emynd Remix)” fail completely by infusing generic southern bass-beats with equally generic rhymes, but the mixtape’s highlights are the minimal Baltimore dub-kick rhythms of “I’m Expecting (DJ Teenwolf Remix)” and the hypnotic head-nod-ability of “Excuse Me (Diplo Remix).” Although Diplo should be praised for assembling a varied assortment of club-worthy beats, it becomes very apparent that Gucci’s flow only works as well as the beats running behind them. When the beats don’t roll well the passages sound excruciatingly basic and boring. -Randy Ellis Listen:“Danger’s Not A Stranger (Diplo Remix)” Free Mixtape Download

Gucci Mane
Diplo Presents: Free Gucci (The Best of the Cold War Mixtapes)
Mad Decent (2010)

Genre: Hip-Hop / Electronic
Rating: B-

Following an insane output of mixtapes throughout 2008 and 2009, Gucci Mane is back again in the first few weeks of 2010 with a hybrid mixtape—highlighting and remixing tracks from the Cold War mixtape series. Similar to other Atlanta rap stars, Gucci’s canter is slow and fluid. While his choice of words and subject matter doesn’t vary too much from other average drug/money/murder/clothes/hoes MCs, his voice is dominant, and his simple but effective metaphors are really the essence of his rap skill. Some blogs run ablaze claiming that Gucci Mane is a no-talent clown, but if you are able to accept that “bad” can be good, that most MCs don’t tend to sarcastically quote Yates and incorporate string theory into their rhymes, and that he makes club tracks which are actually amusing, then Gucci holds his own in the rap world.

Now, when a mixtape is curated by Diplo (specifically for his Mad Decent label), it’s pretty easy to assume that Baltimore, Atlanta, DC, and Philly club rhythms are going to be rampant throughout. With additional remix work from Zomby, Flying Lotus, and Mumdance, grimey, wonky dubstep elements are also integrated with Gucci’s simple southern flows. The final element, which came completely out of leftfield, is the Dance Dance Revolution/mega-club/ringtone inspired remixes. Songs like “Dope Boys (Bird Peterson Remix)” and “Break Yourself (Diplo Remix)” marry thug raps with UK top-40 inspired dance anthems and take the “Sandstorm”-esque synthesizer riffs out to the street corner. Luckily, Mane’s vocals are not auto-tuned on these tracks as they would instantly be transformed into mash-up material for the obvious ‘stadium’ DJs around the globe.

Tracks like “Frowny Face feat. Playboy Tre (Emynd Remix)” fail completely by infusing generic southern bass-beats with equally generic rhymes, but the mixtape’s highlights are the minimal Baltimore dub-kick rhythms of “I’m Expecting (DJ Teenwolf Remix)” and the hypnotic head-nod-ability of “Excuse Me (Diplo Remix).” Although Diplo should be praised for assembling a varied assortment of club-worthy beats, it becomes very apparent that Gucci’s flow only works as well as the beats running behind them. When the beats don’t roll well the passages sound excruciatingly basic and boring.

-Randy Ellis

Listen:
“Danger’s Not A Stranger (Diplo Remix)”

Free Mixtape Download

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Flying Lotus / House ShoesThe Do-Over Vol. 1The Do-Over (2010) Genre: Hip-HopRating: C It’s not that the new song by Flying Lotus, which debuted on the first installment of a limited edition 10” series put together by LA-based club night/record label The Do-Over, is bad, but it does sound completely tossed off. Bookended by samples of what must be a drunk John C. Riley impersonating Mark E. Smith, “Sangria Spin Cycles” is a classic, head-nod-worthy FlyLo beat that comes complete with shimmering electronics, warped atmospherics, and a slow-moving bassline. However, the song hardly breaks two-minutes and ends just as you get the feeling it’s about to go somewhere. “Sangria Spin Cycles” might have worked better were it a small piece of a larger work, but in this context it comes off as producer Steven Ellison sweeping out the corners of his hard drive without worry of where the dust may settle. On the record’s other side, new-comer House Shoes steals the spotlight with his song “The Makings.” You can immediately tell why the two were paired on either sides of a 10”, but Detroit-based Michael Buchanan’s production work exhibits him in search of a more standard kind of soulful hip-hop. His track is an instrumental that wouldn’t be out of place if matched with the vocal workouts of any number of top-40 MCs, but the guitar-struck hooks and impeccably produced beat manage to shine all on their own. Still, The Do-Over Vol. 1 seems more like an item for avid record collectors or FlyLo super-fans as the sticker-based, DIY artwork (designed by Steve Harrington) could be the most memorable part of the release. -Patric Fallon Listen:“Sangria Spin Cycles” (Clip) “The Makings” (Clip)

Flying Lotus / House Shoes
The Do-Over Vol. 1
The Do-Over (2010)

Genre: Hip-Hop
Rating: C

It’s not that the new song by Flying Lotus, which debuted on the first installment of a limited edition 10” series put together by LA-based club night/record label The Do-Over, is bad, but it does sound completely tossed off. Bookended by samples of what must be a drunk John C. Riley impersonating Mark E. Smith, “Sangria Spin Cycles” is a classic, head-nod-worthy FlyLo beat that comes complete with shimmering electronics, warped atmospherics, and a slow-moving bassline. However, the song hardly breaks two-minutes and ends just as you get the feeling it’s about to go somewhere. “Sangria Spin Cycles” might have worked better were it a small piece of a larger work, but in this context it comes off as producer Steven Ellison sweeping out the corners of his hard drive without worry of where the dust may settle.

On the record’s other side, new-comer House Shoes steals the spotlight with his song “The Makings.” You can immediately tell why the two were paired on either sides of a 10”, but Detroit-based Michael Buchanan’s production work exhibits him in search of a more standard kind of soulful hip-hop. His track is an instrumental that wouldn’t be out of place if matched with the vocal workouts of any number of top-40 MCs, but the guitar-struck hooks and impeccably produced beat manage to shine all on their own. Still, The Do-Over Vol. 1 seems more like an item for avid record collectors or FlyLo super-fans as the sticker-based, DIY artwork (designed by Steve Harrington) could be the most memorable part of the release.

-Patric Fallon

Listen:
“Sangria Spin Cycles” (Clip)


“The Makings” (Clip)

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Flying Lotus Coming With New Material

Everybody, hold on to your fitted caps! It seems our favorite LA-based, ganga-lovin’ beatsmith, Flying Lotus (duh!), is about to blow our minds once again with some new official releases. Over on the Stones Throw website we are told of a new series of 10” releases available now called The Do-Over. Producer Steven Ellison, along with new-comer House Shoes, are compiling one track each for the first installment. Each edition of the vinyl series is limited to 1,000 copies that come complete with crazy cool artwork and extra-special packaging (as seen above) by a different designer every go-around.

A quick trip over to the Brainfeeder website also reveals a new mix coming out called A Decade of Flying Lotus, which is mixed by fellow LA party-starter Gaslamp Killer, and purported to include some previously unheard material by FlyLo. Though, we must say, what excites us the most is the brief mention of Ellison’s new album for Warp, entitled Cosmogramma. Not much else is available on the forthcoming Lotus record other than it will be released on 4/20 (duh!). Now we all have even more reason to celebrate the nationally unrecognized holiday. Below you can check out a new tune by Flying Lotus lifted off the 2010 compilation from Warp.

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Free Downloads and New Music From Warp Records
Watch: Flying Lotus and ∞ Live @ The Echoplex
Flying Lotus’ 4/20 Broadcast is Now!
Flying Lotus Coming With New Material

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