Review: 14 years have passed since Benji B and Judah established their monthly Deviation parties in London. This fine compilation celebrates the club's legacy and sound, which famously touched on all manner of soul-fired musical styles whilst keeping one eye (and both feet) on the dancefloor, with Benj B selecting cuts that never failed to rock the party. Expect a mixture of skewed, bass-heavy beats (Dorian Concept, James Blake, 00Genesis), heady instrumental hip-hop (Waajeed, Damn Funk remixing Baron Zen), Afro-funk (K Fimpong), peak-time UK bass mutations (Pearson Sound, Martyn, Mala), high-grade deep house (Gilb'r remixing Rick Wilhite, Theo Parrish) and a smattering of genuine scene anthems (Detroit Experiment, Maurice Fulton's remix of Alice Smith, DJ SPen presents DJ Technic).
Mount Kimbie - "You Look Certain (I'm Not So Sure)" (feat Andrea Balency - WXAXRXP Session) - (5:34) 71 BPM
Oneohtrix Point Never - "Toys 2" (KCRW Session) - (6:51) 110 BPM
Plaid - "Elide" (Peel Session) - (4:31) 67 BPM
Seefeel - "Vex" (Peel Session) - (4:27) 64 BPM
Review: For all you folks out there in radio land Warp Records is on the air with this WXAXRXP compilation pulling together an assortment of Warp artists playing Warp music on the radio. Whether it be earlier John Peel sessions or this June's WXAXRXP x NTS weekender, the tracks here provide a digital taster of what's inside a huge 10x12" boxset - designed by Michael Oswell with photography by Synchrodogs (maybe that means something to some of you). The essential who's who of Warp artists make their way to this digital compilation, with LFO signing in for a trippy piece of bleep funk alongside something mahogany and soulful from Flying Lotus, with classic strands of BOC melancholia not failing to miss out. Mount Kimbie's recent "You Look Certain (I'm Not So Sure)" feat Andrea Balency at this year's WXAXRXP Session is a highlight also next to Seelfeel's "Vex" recorded for a Peel Session back in the day.
Review: Warp Records present the sixth album by famed American producer Flying Lotus. For the Flamagra LP, the Los Angeles-based artist (real name Steven Ellison) said that he had gathered different material from over the past five years to present on this LP - and he had considered creating a thematic album with a fire concept during that time. A wide selection of moods and grooves are delivered in his idiosyncratic and multifaceted style, with a real 'who's who' in terms of guests. From the blunted urban flavour of "More" (ft. Anderson .Paak), the lo-slung P-funk attack of "Burning Down The House" (ft. George Clinton) through to more abstract soundscape/spoken word pieces like "Fire Is Coming" featuring the one and only David Lynch (this one was said to be a huge influence on the album's aesthetic, Ellison said) and also the good old fashioned soul power of "The Climb" (ft. Thundercat).
Review: It's been a hot minute, but we are absolutely thrilled to see the return of the living legend that is Flying Lotus. As one of the most forward thinking electronic musicians in the world, we are always going to expect the wonderful and we are most certainly not disappointed. He kicks off this two track slap of brilliance with 'Spontaneous', a moogy exploration through modern jazz and blues, accompanied by the wonderful Little Dragon's vocals. On the flip, we are gifted another dreamboat in 'Takashi', which combines a number of lively, bluesy harmonies across a range of electronic instrumentation, showcasing just how good he is!
Review: Brainfeeder as a project have been known to bring together the weird and wonderful, more often than not supplying the world with stunning original music. This latest compilation from them celebrates 10 years of the label, putting Flying Lotus's visions into reality. We explore previously undiscovered realms of futuristic hip hop production, with immediate stand outs being the the unpredictable neurotic drum crunches of 'Delusions' from Little Snake, along with the pulsating drum work and 4x4 flavours of 'Squaz' courtesy of Ross From Friends. Another shout out has to go to FlyLo himself as he teams up with Busdriver for a super skat heavy run out on 'Ain't No Coming Back'. This one is a fantastic listen from start to finish.
Review: It would be fair to say that Studio K7 has pulled off something of a coup in getting Kenny Dixon Jr. to agree to compile and mix the latest installment in the long-running DJ Kicks series. It is, somewhat remarkably, the legendary Detroiter's first commercially available mix set. This triple-vinyl edition features a whopping 19 cuts - all in unmixed form - from the 30 track mix. Musically, it's a blazed, jazzy, soulful and groovy as you'd expect, and contains a mixture of downtempo beats, nu-jazz and hazy house cuts from the likes of Flying Lotus, Dopehead, Peter Digital Orchestra, Nightmares On Wax, Soulful Session and Lady Alma.
Review: Arriving with some truly mind bending artwork from controversial guro manga artist Shintaro Kago, the new Flying Lotus album You're Dead! Is quite a lot to take in upon first listen. Some 19 tracks deep, Steven Ellison uses all the available space to draw you deep into the afterlife as he sees it, veering through heavily psychedelic jazz passages and next level beat explorations that demand you pay full attention. The iconic Herbie Hancock leads a high profile cast of contributing artists to Fly Lo's fifth studio LP and his most ambitious to date with Kendrick Lamar, Captain Murphy, Snoop Dogg, Angel Deradoorian, Thundercat and Niki Randa also adding to what is a transcendental listening experience.
Review: Pitched somewhere between the gritty, propulsive beats of Los Angeles, and the exploratory jazz of Cosmogramma, Flying Lotus's fourth album, Until The Quiet Comes is arguably the most delicate record he's ever produced. Described as a "collage of mystical states, dreams, sleep and lullabies", it steers away from bigger moments, choosing instead to present an understated patchwork of breezy jazz samples, dusty hip-hop beats smeared vocals seemingly inspired by DMT hallucinations. While previous efforts were wildly futuristic at times, Until The Quiet Comes is confidently classicist - and seals Flying Lotus's position as one of our generation's visionary producers.
Review: The forthcoming FlyLo album, Until The Quiet Comes, has something of an all-star cast, featuring contributions from Erykah Badu, Lauren Hill and Thom Yorke. This single-track taster single, though, features no extra frills - just the L.A beatmaker doing what he does best. Combining woozy, chopped-up electronic melodies with a glitchy beat that seems partly inspired by the Chicago Juke movement, "Putty Boy Strut" is an off-beat floorfiller - by his standards, at least. It certainly raises expectations ahead of the album, which we really can't wait to hear.
