Steven Ellison of Flying
Lotus makes the type of music that confuses and divides many people, having
redefined and subverted mainstream perceptions of what music really is with his
experimental catalogue. Steven Ellison’s music cannot simply be defined by any
one genre or any basic song structure. Although he might not have vocals, a
chorus or any structure at all to many of his songs, Ellison’s music
encapsulates specific moments of interior life with seemingly basic sounds that
resonate at just the right moment. The Flying Lotus live show is even more
spectacular; not only do Ellison’s sounds strike your ears at just the right
time to capture a perfect moment, but the visual 3D spectacle dubbed ‘Layer 3’ is
designed to attack all senses. The result is a magnificent synergistic force to
be reckoned with. It begs the question as to what Flying Lotus really is; is it
Steven Ellison, is it the visual designers, or is it both? Flying Lotus is
neither just music nor a visual tour de force. Layer 3 is all about
representing the experience of music, which is really, what Flying Lotus is
about.
What makes Flying Lotus an
important figure in popular music today is that he is one of few popular
artists subverting song structures and styles, whilst also dismantling modern
day emphasis on the persona of an artist. Even though Steven Ellison has
created a grand spectacle with his 3D show, the emphasis is still not on him as
an individual, but the experience of music. This is more than adequately
represented with Layer 3, which essentially transform Ellison into a cartoon
silhouette of himself. The 3D wall that separates Ellison from the audience
assumes considerable significance as both an essential element to the spectacle
of Flying Lotus, but also a marker of the figurative space that distances him
from the audience, a space Ellison necessarily needs to adopt as an artist. By
shadowing his real self with a 3D wall of kaleidoscope images Ellison
effectively places the emphasis back on the music, which is where it belongs.
Flying Lotus’ set begins
with the tribal opening drum beat of ‘See Thru To U’ from his latest album
‘Until The Quiet Comes’: a perfect means of building up anticipation for the
already giddy audience. He takes the stage and Layer 3 is brought to life with two
screens sandwiching Flying Lotus in the middle, as different visuals are
projected onto each screen: the result is a 3D phenomenon. These screens
feature geometric 3D shapes and patterns that paint a picture of the psychedelic
digital world featured in Flying Lotus’ music, particularly his breakthrough
album ‘Los Angeles’. His latest album ‘Until The Quiet Comes’ peels back the
layers of Flying Lotus’ original sound, whilst still preserving his vision of a
futuristic urban world, but from the perspective of simplistic childlike wonder
as opposed to the more layered style of prior releases. The 3D structure of Layer
3 is not simply an enthralling accompaniment to the music; its key significance
lies in the effectiveness of the 3D spectacle to submerge the audience into
this world.
The music of Flying Lotus tells
a story without any vocals or language, but instead with electronic beats and
noises assuming the role of the storyteller, a role that is enhanced with the
accompanying visuals. Flying Lotus’ albums have always struck a beautiful
balance between recalling the quiet moments of urban living, whilst also demonstrating
the chaos, a balance achieved with Ellison’s ultra modern electronic style
paired with a psychedelic minimalist aesthetic. This marriage of the electronic
and the psychedelic is becoming more popular by the day, although Flying Lotus
takes it to a very different place compared to more mainstream electronic
psychedelic acts.
Whilst the more minimalist
tunes from the Flying Lotus catalogue were featured, there was certainly an
emphasis on recently high-energy tunes such as ‘Sultan’s Request’ and ‘The Nightcaller’,
with little time to relax and enjoy the quiet songs. There was also little of
Flying Lotus’ earlier discography played, which was disappointing, but understandable
as most live shows emphasise recent releases and upbeat songs. However, Layer 3
might have been a good candidate to be an exception to this general set-list
structure, as surely the 3D composition of Layer 3 would have provided enough
arresting images to keep Flying Lotus’ more mellow material interesting in a
live setting. Although Layer 3 focused primarily on ‘Until The Quiet Comes’, audiences
were treated with ‘Brainfeeder’ from ‘Los Angeles’ and a couple of other fan
favourites from his earlier discography. Between new songs like ‘Putty Boy
Strut’, complimented by images of a futuristic toy robot world and classics
like ‘Zodiac Shit’, accompanied by mystical Buddhist imagery, there is not a
dull moment or a chance to breathe on the roller coaster ride that is Layer 3.
It was somewhat of a
surprise to see songs from Ellison’s hip hop side project Captain Murphy, as
the sound is distinctly different from Flying Lotus and the inclusion of tunes
like ‘Between Friends’ and ‘Mighty Morphin’ somewhat disrupted the flow of the
show, even if it did give the audience a light-hearted break from the Flying
Lotus material. The Captain Murphy interludes also gave Ellison the chance to
step out from behind the curtain and connect with his audience. Many of these
moments proved to be some of the most dynamic of the night, particularly when
Ellison treated audiences with some raw acapella rapping, even if the songs
were not as interesting as the Flying Lotus catalogue. It was impossible not to
surrender to the good vibes of Ellison’s Captain Murphy persona, with Ellison
proving that he could perfectly embody both the role of the distant beatsmith
and the charismatic rap star.
What really made the Layer 3
experience such an enthralling representation of Flying Lotus is the dedication
to detail exhibited by the visual designers. None of the images featured were
stock trippy visuals and all of them were uniquely choreographed on the night
to coincide with Flying Lotus’ performance, even if the hard work was done
beforehand. The diversity of the visual delights was also incredible, with
images ranging from retro seventies cartoons, to a background of black and
white piano keys that morphed into a ying and yang symbol to a labyrinth, and
then into a psychedelic spiral. It was immediately evident that each image was
carefully constructed to coincide with the music, with the 3D geometric shapes
and patterns bringing Flying Lotus to life.
Published by AAA Backstage.
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