Flying Lotus

DECEMBER

Producers are the perpetually-forgotten backbone to all that is hip hop. Let's be honest, most of the music on the radio is not popular due to the lyrical prowess of the rapper. Instrumentals have become more complex than ever before, encompassing synth, bass, and live instruments, creating beats that range from electronic party music to thought provoking ballads. Aside from producer-turned-rappers, like Dr. Dre or Kanye West and those who shout their name out on every beat, like DJ Khaled, producers remain, in large part, anonymous. Hidden behind the scenes by the very nature of their profession, producers simply do not get the credit they deserve, as they are the driving force behind every track you've ever heard.

Steven Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, is more than just a hip hop producer. His complex soundscapes reach unheard of depths as they provoke strong emotion and deep thought. His music videos embody the inner workings of FlyLo's mind. A visionary for symbolism and metaphor, his underlying intelligence bleeds through on every note and frame. When a track ends, you snap back to the reality of the world around you, but while it plays, you find yourself lost in the hypnotic flow of high quality production mixed with truly unique and inspired melody. Luckily, with four studio albums, the most recent of which, entitled Until the Quiet Comes, released in September of 2012, there is a plethora of Flying Lotus tracks to dive into. The complexity of his music only further lends to the replay value of each album as time and time again, you find new reasons to love each song.

Recently, Steven Ellison began rapping under the stage name Captain Murphy. Before releasing his first mixtape, entitled Duality, Ellison kept the fact that he was the man behind the then-anonymous stage name a secret, gaining popularity in large part because of the mystery surrounding the project. This is in no way the reason for Captain Murphy's success, mind you. For Ellison, hip hop does not seem like some side project, but rather just the next chapter in the ever-evolving sound of FlyLo. His signature instrumentals help carry the songs, while his unique, almost sinister style adds a whole new element to the artist's repertoire. His background in production helps a great deal when adding a multitude of effects to his voice, as the pitch changes make each song sound more like a conversation than a regular one-man verse. Flying Lotus is music in its purest form, and he is only getting better.

Check out the two video's below, the first featuring Elijah Wood, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite people in Hollywood. After the success of Lord of the Rings, Wood has done indie project after indie project. His role in Wilfred has made him a cult favorite and after making an appearance in the impressively artistic video for "Tiny Tortures," he has solidified his place in indie fans' hearts around the world. The second video is  "Putty Boy Strut," another track off Until The Quiet Comes. In sharp contrast to "Tiny Tortures," this video is 100% animation. The beautifully spectacular storyline remains a constant, however. To steal from the top comment on the video by YouTube username XephyrPanda, "Notice everything 'sentient' moves to the rhythm but the haywire robot doesn't. The robot realizes that this order they're (in) is bad and starts enjoying chaos, but none of those in order know how good the chaos is. Once they're forced out of their order and into something they perceive as bad, beauty is born from their collaboration and unity. But there was one robot at the end still going to the beat, and he'll bring the order back, and then it will be torn down again. The cycle of life." I probably should have attempted to explain that in my own words, but it was so eloquently stated, that I don't think I could have said it better myself.

(Tiny Tortures - Flying Lotus)

(Putty Boy Strut - Flying Lotus)