Flight patterns

>> L.A. producer/DJ Flying Lotus
makes the most of his influences

ANGEL WINGS: Flying Lotus

by SCOTT C

After signing to Warp Records in 2007, Steven Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, hasn’t looked back. With a production style that walks the line between cosmic stomp and extraterrestrial delicacy, this laptop producer/performer and DJ has taken his unique sound to all corners of the globe, attracting hip hop heads, electronic knob-twiddlers and alien onlookers alike—he should fit right in at the outdoor Mutek/Piknic Électronik event this weekend. As the great-nephew of Alice Coltrane, he carries a legacy of music on his shoulders that he seems to be right at home with, as seen on his most recent Warp release, Los Angeles. The Mirror spoke to Flying Lotus over the phone from California.

Mirror: About a year ago, I had the pleasure of having Carlos Nino in Montreal as my guest, and he was gushing about the vibrant music scene in Los Angeles, exploding with jazz, funk, soul, hip hop and experimental beats right now. How does being a part of that influence you creatively?

Flying Lotus: I feel very blessed to be a part of everything that’s going on in L.A. I just have to cruise around and check out what’s going on with my peers to get inspired. There’s so much to take in. Carlos is really the guy that discovered me and was good enough to include me in on his compilation, The Sound of L.A. When I heard he was doing a comp of just beats from Los Angeles, I sent him a bunch of stuff and hoped for the best.

M: Was this scene always like this?

FL: Naw. I was initially introduced to the music scene when I was in film school, but then I got into photography and about the same time, things started to really come alive. Carlos had a big part in jumpstarting all of it. There’s just an abundance of great artists making everything from jazz to experimental shit.

M: No disrespect, but I used to think of you as a J Dilla stepchild after hearing your early work. You’ve since grown far beyond that comparison, but how much of an influence did he have on your sound?

FL: Well, I think one of the reasons Dilla eventually moved to L.A. was because his productions shared some of the same swagger that could be heard in a lot of L.A. stuff. You have to remember that even Dilla originally tried to sound like Pete Rock. I don’t see how I couldn’t have been influenced by his sound, with how his style really infiltrated everything. We’re all a product of our influences, but the challenge is to find yourself inside of that. Dilla is James Brown, and Madlib is George Clinton.

M: Tell me about your relationship with Samiyam and the music you make together as FlyamSam.

FL: Hate that guy! I’ma kick him in the teeth when I see him! Naw, he’s an insanely talented kid, man, kinda like my little brother. We’re roommates, and we actually haven’t been making that much music lately since all we really do is get high and play video games. I think we have about 12 or 13 tracks and hopefully we’ll find a home for them soon. We made more music when he didn’t live with me!

With Komodo, Martyn and Kode 9 &
Space Ape at Parc Jean-Drapeau on
Saturday, May 1, 2 p.m., $10