New Philly tonight! Woo!
Today's album: Flying Lotus - L.A. Ep 3x3
Genre(s): Instrumental Hip-hop, Indie electronicReleased: due in a couple months or so?
Running time: 7 tracks, 28:42
Today's album is actually an EP; the third in a set of three being released by Flying Lotus. The EPs contain a couple new tracks, but are mainly remixes and re-imaginings of the tracks from his 2008 album titled Los Angeles.
I don't usually spend a lot of time listening to EPs. I feel like they usually exist either as an afterthought or a preview to their companion LPs. As a preview, they can be exciting if they represent a new direction the artist is taking, but as an afterthought EPs only really work if the prior album has been picked clean by a listener who is still hungry for more.
I've never listened to Los Angeles, but I think I'm going to have to now. Upon first listen, I couldn't help but feel a little let down. There were good beats on about 3 of the 7 tracks. The rest of the EP was slow-burning ambiance, like the aptly titled track Endless White. Where beats were actually present, they were glitchy and dissonant. It was obvious to me that these were meticulously crafted songs, but I suppose that the reason I felt let down was that they lacked the swagger and confidence one expects to hear in a hip-hop track.
Doing a bit of research on the EPs didn't make them any more enjoyable to listen to, but they did spark my interest in Los Angeles and Flying Lotus as an artist. First off, he is related somehow to the Coltranes (I think Alice Coltrane was his aunt?), and there's probably enough talent in that family tree to last generations. Second, apparently his tracks are featured on Adult Swim wipes. Listen to the track Grapsicles, you might recognize it. Third, I have yet to find a bad review of Los Angeles. I'm gonna have to check this out.
It'll probably be a while before I find time to post again. Until then...get yo shit!
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