Album review: Cosmogramma - Flying Lotus (Warp)

Every so often a record comes out that completely changes the rules, confounding expectations of what is possible. Think about the first time you heard 3 Feet High and Rising or Odelay or Entroducing. Albums so fundamentally fresh that they actually redefine what modern music is and create genres in their wake. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we might just have another…Cosmogramma is Los Angeles producer Steve Ellison’s third album as Flying Lotus following his debut 1983(which actually came out in 2006)and the excellent Los Angeles which came out two years later. It’s fair to say that it is his most realised record to date, bringing together a dizzying array of styles into a sound which, at first listen, is off kilter and confusing, but with time creates a rewarding tapestry which takes the listener on a drug induced trip into dubstep, free jazz, baroque soul techno and J-Dilla style hip hop.

The sound that Ellison and others bring to the party has, in fact, been emerging for a while now. Influenced by the UK dubstep movement the slow bassy dynamic has been taken into a new realm by producers such as Glasgow’s Hudson Mohawke, the excentric Gaslamp Killer and Lotus himself. These protagonists have moved on from the smooth electronic sounds of dubstep to create something more off-kilter or ‘wonky’ as the genre has become known in some circles. His other key influence is undoubtedly jazz, perhaps unsurprising when you consider that he is the nephew of Alice Coltrane(his cousin Ravi Coltrane plays tenor sax on the album).

The start of the record is suitably erratic - harp riffs give way to double bass all underpinned with heavy, jagged beats. Its five tracks in on Zodiac Shit that the hard beats give way to a mellow soundtracky vibe and the album shifts into a druggy dreamstate which is maintained throughout. If you are the sort of person who likes a good tune, this album is not for you. This is all about pushing boundaries, taking music onto the next level to create something truly new. That isn't to say it is necessarily difficult. There are a number of moments of beauty and even, in some sort of concession to commerciality, a number of guest vocalists including Thom Yorke and Thundercat. Its fair to say though that their vocals are used to drift in and out of the tapestry rather than to lead the charge. The Yorke track And the world laughs starts off as electro funk before giving way to the Radiohead man's claustrophobic vocal then heading off in a joyful direction at its close. This is sypmtomatic of the album as a whole - a range of emotions conveyed in quick succession - the sheer ambition of what Flying Lotus attempts here is astounding with just snatches of influences identified here and there (The Stepney-esque intro to Mmmmmm for example or the odd snippet of free jazz). The resulting take out is of one elongated piece of music which takes the listener on an otherworldly journey rather than individual songs .

Time will tell if this record is as significant as it sounds. We're only 5 months into a new decade but like Aphex Twin before him you can't help think that Ellison will spawn a host of imitaters who will spend the rest of the decade playing catch up while he leaps forward again to a new sound. If you want to know where music's future lies I suggest you buy this record. Patience will be required for it to reveal its depths but once identified this is a sonic adventure which will reward time and time again.

Album review: A sufi and a killer - Gonja Sufi (Warp)

I was originally going to review this album upon its release about a month ago – I didn’t simply because I couldn’t get my head around it. It’s taken that time to fathom out exactly what is going on here. San Diego born Gonjasufi’s influences, to my ears, include the Stooges, Issac Hayes, the Beta band, the Muslim call to prayer, Frank Zappa and middle eastern funk and yet it doesn’t really sound like any of them. Snaps of beats and guitars are sung over in a voice that is at best earthy and to some ears at least, shambolic. Easy listening this ain’t.

Despite being on Warp records, Gonjasufi is a close associate of Flying Lotus and his Brainfeeder collective. Both Lotus himself and labelmate Gaslamp Killer have provided production on the album. If you’ve heard work by either of the two A Sufi and a killer is closer in sound to Gaslamp’s earthy beats than the cleaner digital sound of Flying Lotus. This isn’t really comparable to say Lotus’ LA LP or Hudsun Mohawke and other exponents of the ‘wonky’ sound as it’s become known instead drawing on the history of rock n roll to create something new.

The album starts with a real middle eastern vibe reminding this listener of the many Turkish psych reissues of recent years. The early highlight is the sitar driven Ancestors which, of all the tracks on the album, is the one that sounds most like Flying Lotus. Directly following it is Sheep which sees Gonja singing rather bafflingly about being a sheep rather than a lion, one of a number of tracks touching on religious themes lyrically. Somehow it still manages to be a quite lovely foray into folk music of a sort. He then moves onto a number of pieces (many tracks are less than two minutes long which makes the term song somewhat redundant) which evoke the spirit of garage rock n roll and acid rock – my personal favourite is Cowboys and Indians which starts off as a Sabbath stoner riff before being overlaid with African harmonies. Following track Suzie Q meanwhile summons the spirit of Iggy Pop. The third quarter is my favourite part of the album, drawing on orchestral soul and even disco. The beat on Change sounds like it could have been lifted directly from Hot Buttered Soul while Dust and Candylane provide different variations on p funk style grooves. This isn't simply a retro trip however as the cut up beats and Gonja's unique singing style create a frazzled but innovative approach which recalls both the strung out blues of the Mojave desert (where he resides) and the sounds of the current LA abstract hip hop scene. The final part of the album again has a real acid rock vibe at its heart (although both the Chemical Brothers and hip hop are in there somewhere) with Gonja’s melancholy vocals providing an emotional pull. ‘This rogue path I’m on I know is the only way’ he mumbles on Holidays and one can’t help but feel this is his approach to not only his music making but also his life.

Final song Made is a lovely coda which gives way to a bizarre reinterpretation of Status Quo’s Pictures of Matchstick Men. Somehow this feels entirely appropriate – as if the spirit of psychedelic music of 60's London has been passed to the crazed fuzzy beatmakers of the West coast.

Despite the range of sources and the crazy vocals it never quite falls apart. Admitedly on occassion it feels like a little too many ideas are crammed in - a greater sense of space would be nice, but Gonja’s magpie like tendencies bring to mind some wildly eclectic mixtape made by your cooler younger brother. This is indeed a wonderful mess. Gonja Sufi’s achievement is that he’s managed to create something clearly influenced by what has come before and yet something completely new. What that something is I’m not exactly sure – this is a form of music which is truly unclassifiable and for that reason alone this could be an important album. I suspect it will appeal to music critics and musicians in particular – people who take their music really seriously (I note that this week Jim Goodwin of the Doves was raving about it) and as such its influence may take some time to be felt or perhaps it is destined to be merely a cult classic. Either way, if you are serious about hearing where music is heading (as well as where it has been) you should seek this out.