Flying Lotus performs at The Festival of Disruption, curated by David Lynch, at Brooklyn Steel on May 19 and 20.
A few years back, The Checkout had the rare opportunity to speak with Flying Lotus, aka Steven Ellison, about his acclaimed album You’re Dead! In this podcast, the electronic music composer, filmmaker and all-around rabble-rouser delves deep into his jazz roots — and talks about how being the grand nephew of Alice Coltrane and first cousin of Ravi Coltrane has influenced his brilliant, beyond-category sound.
Ellison spoke candidly from his home in Los Angeles in 2015, around the same time that Kamasi Washington released his debut album, The Epic. During our conversation, he revealed that some of the ideas on You’re Dead! — such as the incorporation of a choir — came as a result of Kamasi Washington’s breakout recording. Ellison also shared the most technical composition he's ever made, and declared that he was done (at least for now) making jazz records.
