Cosmogramma [CD]

Having recently reviewed the outstanding "Triangulation" by Paul Rose a.k.a Scuba which has taken dubstep into new directions not least of all a more mainstream audience it is a pleasure to move onto an equally challenging but rewarding listen in respect of Flying Lotus a.k.a. Steven Ellison the Californian jazz/hip hop fusionist whose new album "Cosmogramma" presents us with musical experimentation of the highest order. Think Ornette Coleman crossed with DJ Shadow and throw a bit of Sun Ra plus "Kid A" era Radiohead for good measure and that is just about in the descriptive ball park. It comes hot on the heals of Ellison's 2008 wonderful "Los Angeles" described by one Amazon reviewer as a mélange of samples, broken rhythms and analog loveliness. The critics lapped up this album of instrumental hip-hop, fiercely whacked drums and icy blues not least of all since Ellison's dear old auntie the multi jazz instrumentalist Alice Coltrane (the wife of John Coltrane) appeared on the album. While anyone with that surname deserves RESPECT she was an outstanding musician in her own right and graced us with her presence.

As for "Cosmogramma" let us start with a warning. If you like verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus avoid this like the plague. You will curse your purchase and write one star irate Amazon reviews questioning your wonderful reviewer's sanity which will undoubtedly feature the words "kings' new clothes" somewhere in the text. Alternatively if you do enjoy a challenging listen from ground-shaking bass loops to sampled ping pong balls (I kid you not) then this is the album for you. It is avant garde in parts but never unapproachable, while in other areas it is joyous and uplifting. Listen to probably the best song on the album "Do the Astral plane" a truly wonderful composition full of scat singing, synths which sound like a slightly inebriated honey bee and chunky disco beats while trying not to marvel at the inventiveness. Then there is the jazz and the very brief "German Haircut" with a sax which punctuates and faintly echoes the great era of "Blue train" but all the time is pulled back by a shuffling beat and admirably done.

Another sure sign that Flying Lotus is tapping into the Zeitgeist is the presence of one Thom Yorke from the popular beat combo "Radiohead" whose "And The World Laughs With You," starts off sounding like Yeasayer taking a course on free form jazz and at 2.39 ends up with a song that could have happily sat on "Kid A" with bubbling noises and quirky beats. "Arkestry" alternatively is all frantic live drumming combined with enough wonderful restrained blowing saxophone from Ravi Coltrane to make his dearly departed dad proud of this "chip off the old block". The sublime "Massage situation" is alternatively electronic soul with a repeating loop of vocals and a very funky underpinning beat. One of the other major highlights is "Dance of the Pseudo Nymph" which uses a Ellison speciality namely the sampling of video games and aligns them to a fast moving series of chords and claps which produces a song which has "Headphones" written all over it. Likewise the ambient and chilled "Mmmhmm" with vocals by Thundercat gently rolls over you like the proverbial waves on the beach and we are not talking Barry Island here. Finally if we were indeed at one time a Cool Britannia then "Computer Face, Pure Being" with its four-note hook circling around higher and higher, would have been our national anthem and perhaps we might have properly understood the term.

The "Hendrix of hip hop" phrase was the label coined by Radio 1 to Ellison and could weigh in down him down with such expectation in the same way that Springsteen was once dubbed the future of Rock n roll. Yet there is something about the way "Cosmogramma" by Flying Lotus stands as a unified whole despite its sheer diversity and experimentation that makes it very special and when you listen to it you can only but marvel at Ellison's brilliant originality and panache.

I'm compelled to write this review in response not only to the damning review from C. Allen, but also to other people I know who say this album is difficult. This album from Flying Lotus does indeed traverse a wide variety of sounds and musical ideas and as such some may reasonably comprehend this as being 'messy'. He eschews standard song forms with refrains/repeats and instead tends towards a continuous evolution of diverse musical ideas. Los Angeles also had this sort of through-composed approach but what makes this album an altogether more challenging listening experience is primarily due to the broader palette of sounds in Cosmogramma. Examples are ping pong balls, scat singing, video game sounds, the harp, trademark Flying Lotus synth sounds and so on. My words can't really do it justice - listen to the first 30 seconds of the album ('Clock Catcher') and you''ll get the jist of what this album's about.

This album is a strong example of the new areas being chartered in music in the 21st century. You've got strongly varied, experimental drum beats and rhythmic sounds which could be compared with Aphex Twin, but strike me as more soulful/jazzy. But beyond that you have this sonic exploration which I strongly believe is one of the most exciting realms of musical innovation still open in music (classical, jazz, dance, all music). Flying Lotus is one of many documenting these explorations in his work, but what sets him apart is that he is wrapping it up within the dance/electronic music and jazz genres. There are many artists also working with sound and producing more experimental sounds but what Flying Lotus is doing in an album like this is cementing these experimentations into a more appetizing and exciting output.

To label it 'amateurish' demonstrates extreme musical naivety - I can only assume that this is the comment of a non-musician who therefore shouldn't be passing judgement on the artist's technique. This is an album that exemplifies exceptional composition skill. Let me give as an example his reuse of themes. To establish unity in the album as a whole, there is a focus on harp glissandi (e.g. linking a high and low note by running through all the notes in between) and the reincarnations of it within the electronic sound spectrum. Littered through the album you will hear these: the first three tracks have electronic glissandi, the harp features prominently in the middle tracks , in the background of 'Mmmhmm', and on 'Recoiled' too. It is one means of linking the disparate sounds in the album together. Another aspect of compositional skill I would point to is the broad ranges that are covered within the music, and the texturing of the different parts is generally very good. This is not the work of an amateur.

If you're [still] reading this review and don't own the album I would strongly recommend it. As other reviewers have pointed out, it may not be for everyone - we all have our different tastes in music. It can also be challenging to listen to, but that's a good quality in this instance. Listen to it again and again and learn something new about it every time. Beats listening to Britney. You can put this on in the background and go about your business without paying too much attention, or you can engage with the music and follow it's every progression. Either way, I think it's great. 5 stars!

there is no one to help you through this album. It is demanding and in the end rewarding. dubstep like beats with sounds which sound like board of canada, a bit of autechre but most of all Flying Lotus unique sound, impressive stuff. Recoiled is defenitly one of the "hits" on the album, this track is dark and frighting and beautifull. Don't expect a beginning or an end, it's an experience within....