Move down low – Flying Lotus, Kode 9 live at The Lightbox

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 stream of a track from the 2nd L.A EP, Paper Crane Gang, 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.

Flying Lotus – Paper Crane Gang

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

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