Flying Lotus Q&A – as it happened
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http://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2014/sep/02/flying-lotus-qa-post-your-questions-now Version 0 of 1. 2.09pm BST14:09 yo flylo love your work and place in the universe, saw your most recent brisbane show and the layer 3 experience was an experience... any chance of a 404 beat tape sometime? oooo.i duno 2.08pm BST14:08 Just got my tickets to see you in Michigan October 23rd, super hyped! But I'd like to know how you got so great with Ableton, are you self taught or did you have some tutorials you watched? mostly self taught but i had a lot of friends who were using it to get me started. I still watch youtube tutorials still to this day. theres so much to learn with that program and i want to learn it all 2.08pm BST14:08 Whats your favorite food? japanese 2.06pm BST14:06 Do you ever see your self working with Jay Electronica or the Weeknd? sure! im down 2.06pm BST14:06 Hi, A lot of people have asked about your music (which is amazing) so I just wondered where are your favourite places in the world, to play, to chill, to eat ect, LA being one of them I'm sure. Saw Badbadnotgood play putty boy strut a few months back, was killa. Safe. LA, London, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Paris .. so many places 2.05pm BST14:05 Hey FlyLo, will you accept my blunt after your Boston show? probably not.. i gotta stop gettin high w yall last time i did .. it wasnt weed 2.03pm BST14:03 Tasty bit of 'illmatti one eye symbolism. Well why not everyone else is doing it. i dont believe in that crap. honestly its so silly 2.02pm BST14:02 Waht are you doing in your lucid dreams? Are you making music there?Do you want to invent your own DAW or maybe to work with ableton (or %another company%)? usually flying. really really fast.. or throwing cars..u know.. superhero shit 2.01pm BST14:01 How'd ya manage to pry Mr. Oizo from Ed Banger? Do you think you guys will ever collaborate? Your Stunt and Rubber remixes are rad. i love oizohave for so long!!he just wanted to try something different, new audience. we definitely collaborated.. have u seen his films? ive been in the last two making silly cameosha 2.01pm BST14:01 Will July Heat ever get a proper release? helll naw 2.00pm BST14:00 Hey FlyLo, I love your work and I'm really interested in what way(s) you think that music - such as yours and that of your talented peers - can be used to achieve significant social and cultural progress, and to tackle urgent social issues such as inequality, injustice and violence? And are you open to suggestions and potentially participating, through your music, in collaborative projects that are able to effect such positive changes in society? honestly i know music has the power to change the worldand inspire people. im no activist or politician though and im not trying to pretend i am one. I do hope my music can inspire someone though 2.00pm BST14:00 Hi, mr Lotus! First, there's a bunch of people saying hi to you from Belgium. Second: How do you start of making music? Do you have some kind of idea/concept in mind before you start making beats? Or do you just play something random and see where it gets you eventually? tell everyone i say whats up!/!??!\wiehnwevin-wiehv!!!!!! umtheres no real processsometimes theres an initial idea, most times im just sitting in the chair listening to music eventually start experimenting 2.00pm BST14:00 Hey man, why is there no Laura Darlington this time round? Stoked to hear Angel Deradoorian though, how did you guys meet? Also, do you find it interesting that Panda Bear is dealing with a pretty similar theme for his upcoming album too? shes definitely on the album just not as a feature. 2.00pm BST14:00 How do you keep your inspiration up? I feel like you've always been a real driving force in refreshing aesthetics in music, and you've really managed always to do your own thing - how do you manage content creation; do ideas just come to you? Do you set yourself goals? Do you make effort to shed off old ideas?Please continue doing what you do. thanks. . honestly i just dont really listen to much stuff that sounds like what i do. i try to get inspired by things i dont makeand things i CANT make. i duno if that makes sense but i think it does 1.56pm BST13:56 How come Thom Yorke didn't feature in this album, have you got any plans to collaborate with him again? i dont know.. didnt know i HAD to work with himhahwe got ideas for something soon.we will see 1.55pm BST13:55 Hey FlyLo, massive fan since day, thanks for your music. With your famous hat quantization (or lack thereof) was this ever a conscious decision to have them 'way out' or did you stumble on the effect accidentally? its just a feel thing 1.55pm BST13:55 Hey FlyLo My brother and I are aspiring electronic musicians. I really want to take our music further but he's hesitant to release anything because he's not confident in it. I know our stuff is good, do you have any words of wisdom for him? Thanks for the music he might be right.i totally respect both sides to this..might be time for u to do YOUR thing though. 1.55pm BST13:55 Do you use any hardware, or do you prefer to work 'in the box'? Any gear you're particularly attached to? im just now getting some hardware but its mostly all 'ITB' 1.54pm BST13:54 Hey flylo, Your tracks are by far the most complex and detailed that I know of. How do you get it all so neat and perfect and to bounce off each other? Do you revisit the detailing at the end after rough arrangements or is it a mixture of other combinations? by the way, I revisited your Captain Murphy mixtape yesterday for the first time since it came out, and by god your talented! All the best, so excited for your album just tedious nerdy work.been working on these tracks for 2 years. they better have detail 1.52pm BST13:52 Do you care about being famous? Sincerelly. Everyone in the underground scene says that fame is not important. What do YOU think?MUCH RESPECT. BIG FAN. i think being truly famous would scare the shit out of me.i do think its important to serve the music as best as i can though. take the music where it needs to go. doesnt mean i need to be a whore about it though. yanno? 1.52pm BST13:52 Have you ever thought about doing a soundtrack for a movie or video game? workinonit 1.51pm BST13:51 Hey Flylo, can't wait for your new album!, did you ever give up on music while trying to find your sound as an artist? Also please get in touch with Joe Rogan and do his podcast to reveal your DMT experience! i never really gave upat times i take breaks but i have so much fun making thingsi could never really stop for good..finding the sound is part of the funexperimenting etc 1.51pm BST13:51 Hi Mr. Ellison. First of all, big fan. What was the most challenging aspect of making this album? the mixing process..so many sounds 1.50pm BST13:50 Would you consider supporting an entirely free jazz-type ensemble on your label? I think you would be the only one to promote this area of music effectively. YES 1.50pm BST13:50 Hello Flylo, I know that you're a big Radiohead fan and the fact that you collaborated with Thom is the most amazing thing to me. I always wanted to know: What's your favourite album of theirs? amnesiac 1.50pm BST13:50 Hey Flylo, very excited for "You're Dead!" It's cool to see you tap into your jazz influences, just wondering which artists you think are killing it right now in the jazz scene? not many 1.49pm BST13:49 first of all, you are truly a music genius of our times, your music is very important in my life, please keep doing it. question: how do you see yourself "artistically" in 20 years? still focused on music or maybe more involved in visual arts? i imagine myself very overweight and maybe a beardwith lots of young artists living in my house making albums n shitmaybe 1.48pm BST13:48 Hey FlyLo, I've been listening to your Captain Murphy "Duality" mixtape a lot recently. What inspired you to create the cult theme? and will Murphy make a come-back any time soon? :) ive had my fair share of cult experiences so i felt like it would be a fun way to approach a project. i have more ideas for the next murph thing, its evolving 1.47pm BST13:47 With all the experience you have, and your mastered craft. What you would say or what would recommend to a young music producer? oh im still a student..i think maybe that might be the advicealways stay a student. keep learning. move past your comfort zonechallenge yourself 1.47pm BST13:47 Hey FlyLo, first I want to thank you for signing my copy of UTQC at your Terminal 5 show 2 years ago. Question: Anyone who's followed you throughout your career knows that none of your albums sound the same, which is a rare thing to hear from any musician. In terms of changing your sound, what do you do or how do you prepare when you decide to work on another project? well its good to take some time away from working and just listen, hear whats out there and LIVE u know.. have experiences beyond the noise. eventually life happens and i get ideas 1.46pm BST13:46 1. I loved The Birth of Captain Murphy. Can we expect a full Adult Swim season? 2. How much day-to-day involvement do you have in Brainfeeder business? 1 hope so! maybe who knows..keep demanding it! 2. im involved with it as much as i can be. sometimes more than others but thankfully i got good people helping me run the label 1.34pm BST13:34 Hey FlyLo, big big fan! I'd love to get an understanding of how much inspiration you draw from personal psychedelic experiences with compounds like DMT or Ayahuasca. Does it help you to increase the levels of creativity you achieve while toying with sounds? Or would you say that through using psychedelics you can grasp potential concepts that you otherwise might not have seen? Please do a collab with Madlib, it would be too tasty man xoxo i think it affects the process but not in the way u think..it just effective at helping u see more hear morethink more i guessi duno hard to explainbut its beyond music with that 1.33pm BST13:33 How do you approach beat programming? Are your grooves mostly played in unquantised, sampled, or do you manually go in and edit midi to give them that 'almost-falling-apart' swing? play it all in.. 1.33pm BST13:33 How did you get a personal radio station on GTA V? Did rockstar reach out to you?? And also whats your favourite DAW and why? & and thanks for the music too x they hit me up a longggg time agoback when they were doing la noirsaying 'We will work together sometime soon'they kept to their word.. i love ableton, it seems like it moves in sync with how i want to make music. workflow is so fast 1.33pm BST13:33 Flylo, I've noticed your upcoming tour consists of many theater venues with seated admission. Can this be taken as a hint your new tour will be significantly more theatrical than previous tours and how would you respond to a fan who is concerned over being able to freely dance to the music while restricted by a seated arrangement? i didnt pick out the venues but dont worry im sure there will be plenty of room for u to dance.. they cant hold u back! 1.32pm BST13:32 Hi, FlyLo! What initially inspired Captain Murphy, beyond the delusions of loitering teenagers, of course? i was boredand i had a lot to saywanted to say things and be able to approach music from a more comedic and free placeto be real nobody was meant to hear it but eventually that changed and earl and a few other homies inspired me to put it out into the world 1.32pm BST13:32 What is a general setup of your studio? How/where do you get your ideas and how do you approach bringing those ideas to life? Loved Duality BTW thanks.. a lot of it is trial and error but this album is the first time i came at it with ideas and melodies from my head. experimenting and having great musicians around .. 1.26pm BST13:26 What's up with the Kago Shintaro artwork for the You're Dead promo video?Did you choose the artwork yourself? If so, how did you come across him? i been a fan of his for a long time. and when i was deciding on album art i kept referring to a piece of his that i have in my living room, and eventually i though to myself i should just ask the guy to do the art. he's incredible not just the drawings but the storytelling as well 1.25pm BST13:25 Hello Mr Lotus, How are you getting on with your Alice Coltrane documentary, are you still working on it? I read a while ago that you were listening to a lot of Queen & noticed that Freddie Mercury has made it onto your album cover, what are your favourite songs/albums of theirs? And lastly I remember you saying on twitter that you were going to build a studio to work in rather than continuing to record at home. If you did, what's your studio like and what were the differences in recording your new album there? Really looking forward to hearing your new record, your albums & interviews are always inspiring for me in making my own music. Thanks! i wanna say the documentary is still happening but its kinda NOT anymore. sadly i think its better in someone elses hands at this point. a lot of the footage is lost moved my studio back home.. feels better to work there. rather roll out of bed and get to work 1.25pm BST13:25 Will there be anymore FLYamSAM projects? or a better question please work on some more FLYamSAM projects.The different music styles with you and samiyam just worked. Truly timeless tracks probably not.. thanks though 1.25pm BST13:25 Yo man. First off, lol at the people asking for a madlib collab who clearly haven't heard Between Villains, but how do you expect most people to react to this album? I personally love the concept because of it's intensity and depth, but I have successfully scared a few of my friends with the teaser trailer. Do you think it will be overwhelming for some people? Like... they won't be ready? (And by they I mean non-diehard fans, the rest of us are ready if you wanna go ahead and drop the album, just throwing that out there) Stay in the light man. yeah. i duno, cant be concerned with how people will react.i just have to make what i feel is calling metrying to tell the stories that only i can tell 1.25pm BST13:25 How did you and Thundercat first meet? sxsw..after a lot of people had told me about the guy, we finally met at that festival and been working ever since 1.24pm BST13:24 Hey FlyLo greetings from Venezuela. My girlfriend has the biggest crush on you so I basically hope you disappear somehow. sorry man. she sounds like a keeper 1.24pm BST13:24 Hey Mr Ellison, hope to see you live in November! First question, When's the follow up to Ideas Drafts and Loops coming? And to do still use reason as a part of your production setup? I honestly dont know if ill do another drafts thing.. something came up. and yes reason is still part of the workflow.. cant get away from it. 1.23pm BST13:23 Mr Lotus. You were involved with GTA 5 and I know you to be a big video game head. What is you current favourite? do you have any other projects in the pan for working on games? just finished 'the last of us: remastered' So good! more stuff happening that i cant talk about 1.08pm BST13:08 oh heyyy 8.00am BST08:00 Post your questions now for Flying Lotus By threading jazz, soul, funk and a big vermillion dose of psychedelia into his work, Flying Lotus (AKA Steven Ellison) has become one of the most exciting producers working today. Early albums such as Los Angeles reimagined trip-hop as even trippier, with rap beats blurred into impressionistic squelches, while Cosmogramma and Until the Quiet Comes struck out into the galaxy (with Thom Yorke cropping up on vocals). The traces of his great-aunt Alice Coltrane could be heard in their heavenly cosmic funk. Coming up next is his new LP You’re Dead!, which started life as straight up hard bop, “the fastest, hardest, most intense jazz record”, as he describes it – but ended up spiralling into something much broader, featuring rappers Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg alongside Herbie Hancock and regular bassist Thundercat. Lamar has been so taken with his production that he’s taken “12 or 13” beats to use on forthcoming tracks. He’s also found time for the hip-hop side project Captain Murphy, and has curated a radio station on Grand Theft Auto V, directed a music video for Erykah Badu, and tour with a stunning live show that seamlessly blends his own work with rap bangers and 3D visuals. Ellison is answering your questions about his brilliant body of work and about anything else you want to ask him now. Post yours in the comment thread below. He’ll be here for an hour-long chat until 2pm BST Thursday 4 September Updated at 1.10pm BST |