It’s all thanks to Giant Claw.
Beginning with last year’s stunning Dark Web (see Best of 2014), I fell in love with Orange Milk. The record label hosts a roster of consistently mind-bending artists who have put out some of the most innovative, transgressive, and ultimately fun music of the past couple years. So when another artist I highly respect mentioned Gora Sou’s new Orange Milk release, Ramifications, I had to listen right then and there.
Here’s a random tune I felt like sharing. It’s one of the sparkling gems unearthed in Flying Lotus‘ completely free collection of odd tracks from 2013, Ideas + Drafts + Loops.
Over a minimalist drum beat sprinkled with glistening harp runs, Flylo (as his rapping alter ego Captain Murphy) trades verses with an up and coming Earl Sweatshirt and the inimitable, eternal MF Doom (as Viktor Vaughn, of course). All the while, Thundercat floats an atmosphere of wordless coos spiked with live wire bass scatting.
It’s a simple, tossed-off creation that feels no less gripping for being a free bonus cut. If you are a Flylo or hiphop fan in general, you owe it to yourself to download the massive and surprisingly cohesive collection of free tunes. Get it here (Mediafire and Sendspace links included). If you’re more into streaming, the whole thing is up on Soundcloud too. Tracks include Shabazz Palaces, The Underachievers, Baths, Niki Randa, and several pieces that will be familiar to players of Grand Theft Auto V.
There’s even a fantastic remix of Kanye West’s Black Skinhead, incorporating a buoyant Thundercat riff and delicate Radiohead sample. It’s definitely better than the original.
So it turns out that all the BFF-ing Flaming Lips leader Wayne Coyne did with Miley Cyrus over the past year was actually in service of art. It’s called Miley Cyrus and her Dead Petz.
I just woke up and have nothing more to say about this, other than: it sounds like Miley Cyrus backed by The Flaming Lips. Or rather, it sounds like a particularly fizzy Flaming Lips album with Cyrus on vocals. I’m only a few tracks in and it’s… not bad at all. Enjoy?
Dam-Funk has finally returned, and he’s taken funk right out of the atmosphere and into the deep reaches of space.
I know I just wrote about Stereolab, but I’m in the middle of a binge. Indulge me?
I just listened to my brand new vinyl edition of the band’s 1997 masterpiece, Dots and Loops. It reminded me that, through all the jazzy sprawl and monastic focus of the album, this dreamy pop song lingered in my mind the clearest.
This is hard to explain, but I promise that Elysia Crampton has recorded some of the most ecstatic and staggering music you’ll hear all year. There’s a deep spiritual undercurrent to her new album that elevates it far beyond mere conceptual music. This connects to my heart, my head, and my gut, rendering me speechless.
The album is only 30 minutes, but covers a galaxy of feeling that I’m feeling unprepared to describe this morning. Just listen if you want to hear something startling and beautiful.
Thundercat dons some samurai armor in this exquisitely weird clip for the instant classic funk tune Them Changes.
Enjoy!
This song is on the brief but brilliant The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam, a mini-album that manages to nearly render the man’s prior music obsolete. In a mere 16 minutes he manages to fuse his latent Isley Brothers and Parliament influences into the sharpest iteration of his unique space funk sound yet. The above song is the most pure pop moment of Thundercat’s career but the remainder of the set veers into more progressive, fluidly jazzy territory.
You can pick up the album Since I like making things convenient, I’ve got the full mini-album streaming below, courtesy of Spotify.
Optimistic Underground 