Flying Lotus
Ideas+drafts+loops
Self-Released
Street: 10.10.13
Flying Lotus = Boards of Canada + Felix Laband
Ideas+drafts+loops has nods to Steven Ellison’s signature, off-beat styling, but is also full of experiments and collaborations that show how flexible Flying Lotus is as an artist. Featured on this album are the likes of Viktor Vaughn, another face of lyricist MF DOOM, and Satanic wordsmith Earl Sweatshirt on “Between Villains,” which features Ellison’s cult-leading cartoon caricature, Captain Murphy, all coming together to create a dark trip through slasher hip-hop. Appearances from Adult Swim’s Aqua Team Hunger Force find their way among undertakings from groups such as Shabazz Palaces, providing poetic chants for “Hide Me,” and The Underacheivers flowing over kick and snare on “Adventure Sound.” Samples from Blue Hawaii’s “Sierra Lift” and reworkings of Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead” also creep their way into this album. There is a lot going on with I+d+l, and with 24 tracks, it is a psychedelic delve into the mind of an electronically inspired madman. –Carl Acheson