Really.
Not conventional symph-prog, of course, not anything like it. But it's definitely progressive. And the musical language often comes close, even if the underlying aesthetic tends to be quite different. For starters, this is primarily an album of short bits - some 19 tracks, some of them only a few seconds long - that all add up to one extended suite. Nothing lasts for very long, unlike traditional prog, yet the whole thing seems to make a single complete statement, quite a bit like traditional prog. More than a few guest stars make appearances, including both ones you'd expect, such as Snoop Dogg (who sounds stoned out of his gourd), and ones you wouldn't, such as Herbie Hancock and Jeff Lynne.
The overall sound of it often comes close to jazz fusion, but not exactly the type we're familiar with. It deals far more in textures and tight structures than extended soloing: Many tunes began as extracts from jams between Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison, on keys, production, and drum programming) and Thundercat (Stephen Bruner, on bass), then Ellison and guest players added short flurries of keyboards, guitar, sax, and strings like blowing leaves whirling in and out, and finally he pieced the whole thing together in the studio. In this kind of music, the production IS the composition, and you can't really separate one from the other.
All the jump-cuts give it a slight kinship with such early John Zorn work as Spillane or some of the Naked City albums. Once in a while, it also sounds a bit like the Hatfields with ADD, which may not be a surprise when you consider what Ellison was listening to:
He's also been quoted as saying that he wanted to make an album that would have impressed Miles. I can just imagine it: [Miles voice] "That Flyin' Lotus muthafucka, he's a muthafuckin' muthafucka!"Q: "What influences were at work behind the album?"
A: "The Soft Machine’s “Volume Two” inspired me heavily. That record just feels like it was all done in the same breath. It’s genius, and it’s silly at times. But I love the fact that every time I listen to it, I listen from the beginning and want to play it out. Another one was “The Aura Will Prevail,” by George Duke. Me and Thundercat would drive around and play that record like some people play Juicy J."
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Troopers For Sound
Bookmarks