Flying Lotus

Long a member of Los Angeles' fertile experimental hip-hop scene, Flying Lotus came up alongside the Dublab collective and the Plug Research label before assuming a kind of leadership role, in 2008, with the launch of his Brainfeeder label and the release of his second album, Los Angeles, on the U.K.'s esteemed Warp label. A great nephew of Alice Coltrane, Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison) isn't as jazzy as you might expect, but he definitely inherited his aunt's cosmic leanings. Running warm analog sounds through crackling digital treatments, Flying Lotus plays with psychoacoustic confusion as assuredly as he turns his boom-bap knock-kneed. By 2009, Ellison's Brainfeeder imprint was picking up speed with truly next-level releases from Ras G, the Gaslamp Killer, Dr. Strangeloop, Samiyam and Lorn. As central as he is to the L.A. scene, FlyLo proved an international pivot as he reached out to swap remixes with dubsteppers Martyn and King Midas Sound.