Via Saw You On The Flipside (Laurent’s blog)

Airhorn. It’s sometime around midnight on a warm June Saturday night in a carpark near Liverpool St in London’s east end. This carpark has been taken over for the night by the Brainfeeder label/collective (headed by Flying Lotus) and Warp records for the second edition of Brainfeeder in London. Kode 9 is on the stage, located at the back of the carpark’s main ‘area,’ which acts as the dancefloor for the night, honking a yellow plastic airhorn while setting up for his live show as Gaslamp Killer finishes his set.

Rewind a couple of hours. I reached the venue, Hearn St carpark, around 10pm thinking that pacing may well be key to surviving Brainfeeder’s second London party, following their debut in the capital in June 2008. With an impressive lineup of modern beat/hip hop/electronica/dubstep/good music luminaries and an advertised ending time of 5am, I thought pacing might well come in handy later on in the night. And it did.

One of L.A’s long-standing pioneers of the beat scene and one of its best kept secrets, Take (who is in the process of renaming himself Sweatson Klank – you try and google any info about an artist named Take and see how long it takes you to sift through the irrelevant results), was getting into the full swing of his live set as I stepped in. Having seen his live show a week before at the Gramaphone, where it didn’t quite get the reaction or have the setting many of us felt it deserved, it was a pleasure being able to see it once more this time in a setting much more conducive to its full impact – the crowd was amassing in the carpark and the walls of speakers were pumping out Take’s beats, as he twisted and turned them from his laptop.

Brainfeeder is a label and collective set up by Flying Lotus sometime in early 08, though the name was already floating around before that and the first time I heard it was in the summer of 2007 when Flying Lotus and other L.A beatsmiths did a 4h Brainfeeder Radio broadcast via the excellent Dublab radio station. Brainfeeder’s, the label, artists include Flying Lotus alongside many of his L.A and U.S peers and newcomers, such as Samiyam, The Gaslamp Killer, Ras G, Lorn, Mono/Poly and Teebs. Brainfeeder, the party, which if I’m not wrong was first held in London in June 08, has gained a reputation as one of the best around in the last year, using Flying Lotus’ increasing popularity to put together the kind of forward thinking line ups most fanboys and discerning music fans crave for and which also serve as the perfect introductory point for lesser aware fans and passer-bys to discover a new world of modern musical possibilities. In the last year Brainfeeder has hosted parties in London, San Fran, L.A, New York and Barcelona.

The second edition of Brainfeeder London brought back a selection of the label’s own artists and friends, Flying Lotus, Samiyam, The Gaslamp Killer and Take, alongside some of their European friends, namely Bibio, Kode 9 and Spaceape, Dorian Concept, Joker and Benji B. As I said the kind of line up that ticks all the right boxes of any knowledgeable fan and is sure to open the eyes and tickle the minds of those who may not be too familiar with the music.

Following from Take’s set, another two Brainfeeder artists stepped up. First was Samiyam, who dropped what I’m assuming is what has been referred to as his ‘West Coast hip hop set’ online. 45 or so minutes of his own beats, old and new, with their deliriously loose and fun drum patterns and at times squelchy synth lines, combined with hip hop club bangers and older gems from the West Coast’s rich hip hop history. The result was a carpark full of people happily dancing and swerving, and getting fuller by the minute too.

Following him was The Gaslamp Killer, a man known for his eclectic tastes and equally eclectic DJ sets. He lived up to his fame, punctuating short bursts of some of the most ‘what the fuck’ indulging dubstep drops currently doing the rounds with funk and psych rock gems. Watching the crowd’s reaction as he switched from one to the other was nearly as entertaining as the set itself. Two things I remarked during and after his set: the first one is that in many ways GLK is like a wilder, longer-haired Z-Trip. He talks to the crowd (something European DJs pretty much never do) and he generally quickly switches between genres and styles, creating mixes that are like giant collections of peak moments, of all those ‘whoa’ moments in songs we all know, two things Z-Trip used to do (I haven’t seen/heard him in ages, so maybe the comparison isn’t valid anymore, regardless it’s tongue in cheek, so don’t get on your high horses in the comments please). The second thing his set made me realise is that while I don’t really have much time/preference for the more in your face, lowest common denominator dubstep that’s around these days, the way he plays it, going from drop to drop, focusing on those peak, ‘what the fuck’ moments this strain of dubstep excels at, is perfect and makes it a lot more bearable and enjoyable.

Airhorn. Enter Kode 9 and Spaceape with a rare London live show. As the show starts, with Kode 9 feeding what sounded like frequency tests through the system’s speaker stacks, it occurs to me that I’ve never seen the two of them ‘live’. It’s always been DJ sets and while I’d never seen them do a live show it felt like I already knew a lot about it, having spoken to Kode about it when he was over in Japan in the summer of 07 (when he showed me how he was using Ableton to play with loops of all the different elements that make up his tracks) and heard recordings of previous ones (including the excellent Mutek performance, which you can download here). Unfortunately their show ended up plagued by one major technical ‘fault’ – Spaceape’s mic was barely audible, essentially removing/muting half of the live show’s content. I thought it might have been because we were towards the back (I’d forgot my earplugs and there’s no way I was paying the price of standing at the front for the whole night) but speaking with them after it turns out it was like that for everyone pretty much. It’s one thing not having the mic properly leveled at the start of the show, but for a whole 45 minutes? Shame really.

Despite the technical itch, Kode and Spaceape (more dancing than singing) delivered one of the highlights of the night for me. As per their own admissions it’s a ‘risky show’, and despite the mic issues and unconventional venue I still feel that they pulled it off brilliantly. Layers upon layers of drums, bass, synths and melodies looped together, switched, changed, faded, brought back… Kode 9 controlled the music in a way I’ve rarely seen in a live electronic music show, sitting comfortably somewhere between the more traditional electronic live shows and the very basic, loop based fundations of hip hop shows. While there were a fair few high points in the set, most of which are slightly blurred in my memory at this point, the one for me is their use of a loop from GZA’s ‘4th Chamber’, the first bar of the synth line that comes in after the intro. A simple loop that in many ways serves to link the Wu’s ahead-of-its-time, gritty productions with the current beat scene and alternative movements in hip hop and dubstep perfectly. As their set ended, with Kode once more feeding those frequency tests through the system, the crowd erupted into cheer and applause, which I thought was strange considering the seemingly subdued reaction of people during the set, even at its most upbeat, funky moments.

Flying Lotus was next. The man of the moment as it were, the reception at the start of his set was as loud and impressive as when I saw him play the Ligthbox in London a couple of months earlier. What followed was an hour or so along the same lines of what I’d witnessed earlier in the year. I’m not going to lie, I spent most of his set at the bar next to the stage, and whenever I paid attention I heard elements from the recent set as well as some new bits, including a well-placed mix of Snoop’s ‘What’s My Name’ into his own remix of Mr. Oizo’s ‘Stunt’ (see this video for footage of that particular bit). The best bit of Fly Lo’s set this time for me was a seemingly impromptu freestyle jam with himself on the drums, Dorian Concept on the synths, Gaslamp Killer cutting and Alex Bonfanti on bass. Again see the video below, I did a double take when I first heard it from the bar as I wasn’t sure if Dorian’s set had started or not, and watching the video a few days later not only clarified what my tired/alcohol tainted brain was trying to make sense of but also made me realise just quite how good that segment was (it wasn’t just the alcohol speaking then).

Following Flying Lotus was Dorian Concept, a blond Austrian wunderkid that pretty much stole the show. Dorian likes synths (see this interview and exhaustive video list for proof), and he likes to think outside of the production box too, making the kind of hip hop that you could lazily tag wonky but which really is the perfect examplification of someone taking some of the influences that have shaped the beat scene over the last ten years (from Dilla’s drum programming to insane mid-range, at times ravey synth melodies) and making them his own, creating something out of them that is entirely its own thing. Over the space of 45 or so minutes, Dorian very nearly brought the roof down on Hearn St carpark, hyping the crowd into a frenzy and showing that not only does he have an ear for unusual yet attractive melodies and rhythms but that he can also take his music from the studio and onto the stage like few others can. This was no nerd, chin-stroking fest, despite the high proportion of males in attendance.

By the time Dorian had finished making everyone sweat and go slightly mental, Bristol’s young prodigy and purveyor of purple funk Joker took to the decks. It was about 3 am at this point, and considering what had come before him it was going to take a good DJ/producer to carry on the show as it were. And that’s where Joker showed that despite his young age he has the seeming ‘musical’ wisdom of someone much older, something even established names in certain dance music scenes can lack.

Over the next hour or so Joker played a devastating set composed mainly of his own productions (with a few choice exceptions from the likes of Mala and others) and ranging from dubstep to grime, and from hip hop to his own purple wow flavours. Not only did he show talent in how he controlled the crowd over the duration of his set, but also in his flawless mixing and selection, taking people on a little ride, increasing and dampening the energy levels and never losing them. Talking about DJ sets is always a bit strange for me, but if I had to pick out some highlights they’d definitely include a new hip hop track called ‘Tron’ or ‘Planet Tron,’ the kind of production that could easily become a new template for hip hop club bangers (or as Ninja Tune put it in the press release of his new remix ‘what Timberlake might sound like if he smoked skunk in St Pauls’), a track that by his own admission he’d finished ‘12 hours ago’ and a remix for a female vocalist that once more showed a potential for crowd pleasing and cross-over success while staying firmly grounded in the sounds and elements that have made him ‘famous’ so far.

Airhorn. By that point it’s past 4am, Benji B has taken over from Joker, playing a deep selection of hip hop, beats, dubstep, electro and more as the crowd continues to exit the carpark, now bathed in early morning light through the glass panes on its roof, while the rest get closer and closer to the speakers. Kode 9 keeps popping up on stage honking his plastic yellow airhorn as Benji drops classics. As confident as those before him, Benji shows his experience guiding the crowd to the end of a long and highly memorable night.

I can’t quite remember the last time I stayed out till 6am, but if there was ever a worthy combo-breaker than Brainfeeder London 09 was it. Not only did it show just how vibrant, and vital, the current adjacent movements in hip hop, dubstep and other electronic genres are right now, it also proved that you can pack a ‘venue’ and make people dance (even girls!) with music that too often results in sausagefest-like small events.

Without taking anything away from any of the artists on the night, one thing did occur to me – the Europeans (Kode, Spaceape, Dorian, Joker and Benji) stole the show that night. Having missed the first Brainfeeder showcase in 08, which featured another stellar line up of U.S and U.K producers, I don’t know if the Americans were the show stealers last year or not, but one thing was for sure this year: the Europeans showed that the music being made on these shores, whether it be beats or electronic/dance music, is as exiting as it’s American counterpart.

Despite the increase in popularity and attention surrounding Flying Lotus and the whole beats/electronic hip hop movement in the last year, Brainfeeder London 09 proved that there is a lot of substance to the hype. Brains were fed and bodies moved, and that’s ultimately what it boils down to.

Check this Flickr set for photos of the event. And also check the Brainfeeder site for videos and plenty of mixes from the artists and affiliates. Flying Lotus’ last Los Angeles EP, 3×3, is out now on Warp Records featuring remixes from Take, Dimlite, Matthew David and Breakage.

Having moved to Japan in January 07, I witnessed Flying Lotus’ rise to fame from a distance for the best part of nearly 2 years (since the release of his ‘1983′ debut or so). Following the release of his ‘Los Angeles’ album on Warp in spring/summer 08 I was increasingly keen to catch the man live, subsiding instead on a diet of releases, beat tapes, bootlegs and radio mixes. I ended up chasing him half way round the earth (unintentionally might I add before someone thinks I’m some sort of crazy stalker fan) after leaving Japan last June – he played Tokyo a few months after I left, I missed him on the U.S West Coast by about a week when I was there in July, and I then missed him in Europe in Autumn 08 after he had to cancel due to his mother’s passing. So when I found out he’d be playing a London date in early April this year it was a no brainer really. Add Kode 9 and Zomby to the bill and one of London’s most visually ‘interesting’ venues and, well, I’d have really beaten myself up for missing that one.

The venue in question was The Lightbox, a fairly small spot in Vauxhall, South London, located in the arches underneath the train lines and renowned for its interior decor: the walls and ceiling are covered in LEDs, hence the name. The first thing that came to mind upon walking in the venue during Kode 9’s first set of the night was Space Invaders as the LEDs flashed in various patterns and shapes not to dissimilar to how the little aliens crawled slowly across the screen as you tried to destroy them before it was too late. In many ways the venue, normally home to House/Techno nights as far as I can tell, was the perfect setting for what would be a very different kind of club night.

Kode 9 started things off with a short set before the man of the hour stepped up. As I queued to get my only drinks of the night, alcohol prices and lack of staff prohibiting any further attempts at getting anything from there, I noticed how Kode’s Funky-infused selection seemed to leave most of the audience ‘cool’. Instead of dancing, which to me is the most logical reaction to Kode’s recent sets with their irresistibly infectious riddims that invite your body to move, people seemed to be standing around, talking, milling and even looking a little ‘confused’. Maybe it was the view from the bar, towards the back of the venue, but considering the later reaction of the crowd during Flying Lotus’ set this striked me as strange, probably even proof that certain audiences are unable to realise that someone like Kode 9, known as a dubstep DJ and producer due to his close affiliation to the scene, would play something other than dubstep. This is a discussion I had with Kode and Spaceape when I was with them in Amsterdam in March and which I think speaks volume about the need for DJs like Kode, and Flying Lotus, who are actually willing to do something different in their sets/live shows as opposed to catering to the lowest common denominator.

Following Kode’s set, which still seemed to go down well despite part of the crowd’s confused/unsure reaction, Flying Lotus stepped up to the decks, well actually not the decks but rather his laptop and controllers, to a raucous round of applause. What followed was nearly 1h30 of some of the most mind bending, strange and at the same time fascinating and pleasurable live music I’ve had the chance to witness. Contrasting with Kode’s upbeat selection, Flying Lotus delivered some seriously disjointed, loose and at times really downtempo riddims to which the crowd reacted as if they were at a rave ‘having it large’. A reaction that surprised me, and made me laugh, in a good way.

Having waited this long to see him live it’s fair to say Los Angeles’ wonderkid didn’t disappoint – he weaved together styles, tempos and genres fairly flawlessly, building the energy up, winding it down and then sending it soaring again. He played old stuff but never without ‘remixing’ it, changing known elements, whether a vocal sample or something else, in the process making you realise that what you were hearing was much more than a producer playing to what works but someone that was instead delivering a real ‘live’ show. Some of the highlights of the set (among many) include an unexpected tangent into some filthy electro, a strangely hypnotic baby crying through auto tune (which apparently could well be some sort of collective joke or someone’s production if you check this video of Major Lazer live at SXSW which features the exact same baby crying through auto tune) and an unknown (to me anyway) remix of ‘Throw Some Ds’.

Flying Lotus’ live set was masterful in many ways, not least when put within the context of the recent surge of attention surrounding the whole beat/electronic hip hop scene, a scene that people may rightfully think is not the most conducive to making people dance in a club. Thing is it does work, incredibly well too, when it’s done properly and with some serious work put behind it as Flying Lotus, and others, have demonstrated (see the LuckyMe parties for example). Looking back on the evening a few days later I couldn’t help but wonder if ultimately the crowd’s reaction was a direct result of the music and its strange inverted energy output – the slower it got the crazier people seemed to go – or more of a combination of the music but also the ‘cool’ factor associated with the recent rise of fame and interest surrounding Flying Lotus and others. This may well just be cynicism on my part, and by no means does it take anything away from what was definitely one of the best live shows I’ve seen in recent years. While it’s a little hard for me to shake the thought off my mind, Flying Lotus’ set is definitely one of the most challenging and rewarding live shows for any fan.

With a big smile seemingly fixated on his face at all times, it was also a pleasure to see an artist connect with his audience and be appreciative of their reaction and his own music, something you don’t see enough of these days and which reminds me a lot of Mala in many ways. Flying Lotus is obviously a fan of the music and the people who enjoy his work first and foremost and that shows not just through his physical reactions but through the power of his live show.

I had to leave shortly after Flying Lotus’ set ended, and so missed Kode’s second set and Zomby’s set. Somehow though I’ve got a feeling I’m going to catch them both again very soon. The last question at this point may well be how Flying Lotus, and his music, will weather the hype and interest surrouding him in 2009. With my own current cynicism towards the whole attention/hype thing and my interest in his music, I’m really curious to see the outcome of it.

You can view some very nice pictures of the night on this Flickr set, from which the picture at the top was taken, courtesy of Josh M-G.

Flying Lotus will be returning to Europe very shortly for additional dates, check the myspace for full details. Even better news for London people is that the Brainfeeder festival will be returning to the capital this year, something I am eagerly awaiting considering how gutted I was to have missed last year’s instalment. To finish this off I’ve included below the following: a link to download a shorter version of Flying Lotus’ live set as performed at Plastic People a few days after I saw him (courtesy of Tranquera and the Rinse FM stream) and a video of Flying Lotus live in Glasgow the night after his London show alongside Rustie and Hudson Mohawke.

The 3rd and last L.A EP should be dropping on Warp Records later this year, and in the meantime Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label has gotten off to a pretty good start with regular podcasts, the new Ras G album and forthcoming releases from Lorn, Mono/Poly and more. It goes without saying this is all highly recommended.

Many thanks to Martina at Warp, Kode and everyone else for a memorable night.

Flyint Lotus live at FWD>> at Plastic People
Download (right click and save as) – via Tranquera

Flying Lotus live at Pyramids of Boom with Rustie and Hud Mo

Forthcoming releases or from the end of last year and couldn’t quite squeeze into SHOOK 004.

Reviews by Ryan Proctor, Charles Waring, Ben Verghese, Jez Smadja and Andy Thomas

M9 -  144,000 (Dark Matter)
Brilliantly gloomy, M9’s debut solo album is an intense, moody listening experience reminiscent of early material from the Wu-Tang camp. Equally inspired by the streets of inner-city London as he is by Egyptology and Illuminati conspiracy theories, M9’s multi-layered lyricism finds a perfect match in the gritty production supplied by Chemo, Beat Butcha and Jon Phonics. Prepare to open your third-eye.
(RP) 5 / 5

Aaron Parks – Invisible Cinema (Blue Note)
The title alludes to the widescreen cinematic ambience that 25-year-old jazz pianist Parks – a former member of Terence Blanchard’s group – creates on a deeply engaging collection of atmospheric moods and grooves. Like Robert Glasper, Parks’ music looks beyond jazz for its inspiration yet remains rooted in the jazz tradition.
(CW) 4 / 5

Finn Peters – Butterflies (Accidental)
Abundant with beauty, the second longplayer from London’s premiere leftfield jazzman exudes a calm, sensitivity similar to Yusef Lateef. Delectable melodies, otherworldly rhythms with influences from across the planet feed Finn’s compositional guile.
(BV) 4 / 5

Bobbi Humphrey – Fancy Dancer (Blue Note)
Out of print for years, the female flautist’s classic jazz-fusion album from 1975 makes a welcome return on CD. Humphrey’s mellifluous flute outpourings are framed by some sleek and breezy funk-infused grooves masterminded by ace production duo, the Mizell brothers. The killer cut is the Latin-tinged opener, ‘Uno Esta.’
(CW)  4 / 5

Esther Phillips – Alone Again, Naturally (Reel Music)
The feisty soul vixen’s second LP for Creed Taylor’s CTI subsidiary, Kudu, finally gets reissued. Although it garnered a Grammy nomination back in 1972, the album – which kicks off with a fabulous rendering of Bill Withers’ ‘Use Me’ – has been criminally overlooked in recent years. Phillips’ edgy rasp of a voice never sounded better.
(CW) 4 / 5

Brother Jack McDuff – Gin & Orange (Dusty Groove)
Hammond hero, McDuff, serves up thick, tasty, chunks of greasy funk and finger-clicking jazz swing on a rare outing for Cadet from 1969. A mixture of studio and live material, it features telling contributions from Chess’s in-house arranger Richard Evans, guitarist Phil Upchurch and saxophonist Gene Barge.
(CW) 4 / 5

Various – Jazz Bizniz 4 (Counterpoint)
This series has maintained a consistently original vision of jazz, combining modal and straight ahead cuts with more recent jazz-influenced tracks taking things into Afrikan, soul, house or hip-hop territory. Check The Roots’ collaborator Maimouna Yousef on ‘Schizophrenia’ or L.A. afrobeat outfit Najite Olokun Prophecy, or cool-out to the classic sounds of Jeff Resnick.
(JS) 4 / 5

Richard ‘Popcorn’ Wylie – Extrasensory Perception (Dusty Groove)
Amazingly, this lost soul gem was the late Detroit soul man’s only album, cut for ABC in 1974 with producer, McKinley Jackson, and featuring songs Wylie co-penned with Motown legend, Lamont Dozier. Gene Page’s symphonic string charts – especially on ‘How Did I Lose You’ – bring a lush Barry White-feel to the proceedings.
(CW) 4 / 5

Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins – Clutch Of The Tiger (Ubiquity)
Two men of mystery who share a thirst for breaks combine with aplomb. More bar and bedroom than dancefloor, the organ riffs in ‘Full Moon’, ‘Dollar Short’ plus flute in ‘Bill Blows It’ are the album’s strength, managing to stay fresh listen after listen.
(BV) 3 / 5

Jazmine Sullivan – Fearless (J Records)
Fearless is a largely original take on R&B but I think they’ve bitten Janelle Monae’s style (no bad thing) with the orchestral arrangements and the showtune styles of ‘Switch!’ and ‘Bust Your Windows’. Elsewhere, ‘Need U Bad’ is hot, ‘Dream Bag’ jumps on a Daft Punk track and ‘In Love With Another Man’ is the song Lauryn Hill never wrote.
(JS) 3 / 5

Introducing…The Perceptions (Freestyle Records)
The bomb drops from Adrian Gibson’s Freestyle Records. Formed to express their joint love of the heavier end of labels like Prestige and Blue Note, this London based group (formed by Neil Robinson on drums, Gary Crockett bass, John ‘Wilma’ Willmott sax/flute, and the mighty Snowboy on congas) enlist the services of the incredible Italian organist Sam Gambarini for an album of heavyweight Hammond jazz. The vintage recording process helps keep things deep. (AT)