FLYING LOTUS  RESET//warp records

Reset is Flying Lotus’ first Warp Records release; an EP that showcases the Cali producer’s experimental style of beatmaking.  If you’re sleeping on Mr. Lotus, you might be interested to know that his lineage runs through jazz great Alice Coltrane and although musical genius might not be hereditary (that Wallflowers guy might disagree) Flying Lotus proves that good genes sure can’t hurt.  Genes aside, FlyLo already established his prowess for experimenting with sonics on his debut 1983.  The lo-fi samples, 80s-keyboard video game style melodies, ambient atmospherics and sheer versatility of 1983 instantly made whatever Flying Lotus cooked up in the future automatically coppable.  Couple that with the experimental and creative music Warp is known for manufacturing and anticipation for Reset grew; would it be that next shit? 

Reset awakens on the other side of the moon with the spacey pulsating ‘Tea Leaf Dancers.’  Although the beat is minimalist, the synthesizer and sparse drums leave enough space to seduce you into the hazy atmosphere as the singer’s voice floats ‘easily’ with the melancholy vibe.  On the subsequent track ‘Vegas Collie,’ sounds whir and bubble up like lava over the drum break until they coalesce into funky synthetic bass noodling.  ‘Massage Situation’ conjures the spacey vibe from the first track, but now with a more relaxed feel.  This time the voices just serve as another component of the beat, content to glide and hum over the percussion.  That is until FlyLo completely morphs the bassline and slowly transforms the beat from relaxed rhythm to psychedelic chaos.  ‘Spicy Sammich’ mounts the tension by interspersing bass, vocal samples, shakers and distorted keyboard sounds until the horror movie sounds surrender to a repeating “Ha.”  On this track the fuzzy bass never drops out, but the horror vibe relents enough to let tribal percussion and hip hop drums join in to complement the sinister bassline.  The ‘Bonus Beat’ is less than a minute, but long enough to reveal that Flying Lotus knows he is doing something different. 

The complexity and deviation between sounds and melodies in Flying Lotus’ compositions hint at his ability to construct complex songs that defy genre and provide a peek into the potential of his fresh style.   The finale ‘Dance Floor Stalker’ literally sounds like the soundtrack to a dude fishing around the disco at the end of the night looking for his ticket home.  The vibrating bass and synthesizers of the final cut create a dark sound that transforms from upbeat to meddling tension that fizzles out like the end of the night, and simultaneously, the listener’s journey into Mr. Lotus’ world. 

The world of Flying Lotus is distinguishable from typical instrumental hip hop because of the musicality within the beats along with melodies that constantly shift and are so meticulously orchestrated that they evoke emotions beyond the requisite head-nodding.  Reset is that next music, and definitely not the loop ‘d loop style of today’s hip hop beats, but if you’re willing, jump in the passenger’s seat; who knows what world Flying Lotus will take us to next…

-dRes, contributing writer and beatmaker for deadlymelody.com