In six years, Flying Lotus has released four albums, starting with 1983 leading to his newest, Until the Quiet Comes. Beginning with a foundation of electronic music and hip-hop, he’s quickly evolved, digesting unique sounds and genres, blending samples, live music, and vocals to create something that you can’t prepare for.
For those who listened to Cosmogramma, this is both an extension as well as a diversion. It certainly sounds different, yet songs like “Table Tennis” and “…And the World Laughs with You” could be slotted in a playlist and feel right at home.
“All In” opens the album and almost acts as a blueprint of how he makes music. In an interview on his Captain Murphy project, he spoke about how after talking with Odd Future’s Hodgy Beats, he just went for it, as fear is not in his mind when he creates. Beginning with high hats, twinking bells, keyboards and a haunting background vocal, it’s upbeat and a welcoming start to the album.
“Getting There” brings out the hip-hop with a punching beat with floating bells and the vocals of Niki Randala. It’s not surprsing the way the album starts that later a song occurs called “Heave(n)”
One of the most interesting collaborations on this album is Erykah Badu, who contributes to “See Thru to U”. A jungle beat with slithering bass guitar underscores Badu’s vocals who sours above bouncing over them. The sensibilities of both Badu and Flying Lotus suggest that they were made for each other. On “Only if You Wanna”, Flying Lotus contributes focuses on his jazz side, with fluttering base opening up to a bass guitar and light drums, this could be the ghost of a blue note song come back to haunt the world.
Until the Quiet Comes turned out to be his most atmospheric LP to date, and something he must have intended, with closing songs like “Dream to Me” and “Phantasm”, the latter featuring the ethereal vocals of Laura Darlington. Once again, every Flying Lotus album so far has been exciting, watching his constant progression and evolution as an artist. His track record proves we’ll be in for something different with each release.