Flying Lotus is Steven Ellison, the Los Angeles producer (and great-nephew of Alice Coltrane) who founded Brainfeeder and reshaped experimental electronic music. Cosmogramma (2010) and You're Dead! (2014) on Warp are the ones to reach for first — jazz, hip hop, and IDM collapsed into something entirely his own. Shop Flying Lotus vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Steven Ellison, performing as Flying Lotus, was born in Los Angeles, California on October 7, 1983. His extensive musical family - his great-aunt Alice Coltrane, great-uncle John Coltrane, and cousin Ravi Coltrane - shaped his musical development. He launched his recording career in 2006 with the album 1983 on Plug Research and signed with Warp Records in 2008 for his subsequent catalog. He founded Brainfeeder Records in 2008, which has become a defining contemporary experimental electronic label home to Thundercat, Iglooghost, Hiatus Kaiyote, and many others. He has also pursued filmmaking work, directing Kuso (2017) and various music videos.
Flying Lotus's sound combines experimental electronic, electronica, jazz fusion, hip hop, IDM, and broken beat with extensive incorporation of jazz harmony, hip hop production approaches, and abstract electronic textures. His work is widely cited as a defining contemporary experimental electronic and instrumental hip hop aesthetic, with influence on the LA beat scene alongside the Brainfeeder roster.
Warp pressings of the Flying Lotus catalog have been issued in multiple color variant editions and limited deluxe pressings. Cosmogramma and You're Dead! have had multiple anniversary editions.
Listeners new to Flying Lotus typically start with Cosmogramma (2010) or You're Dead! (2014).
