Given the gems that have come out of Warp Records in recent years and years not long past, one shouldn’t have to be reminded to keep an eye on the latest stuff emerging with the Warp Records label on it. So too given the debut album of Flying Lotus, should people be paying attention to his releases. His six track
Reset Ep, his first release on Warp Records is filled with promise, songs like
Tea Leaf Dancers show fresh ideas and growing control over each of his creations. Though just a taster for the upcoming full-length
Los Angeles, his
Reset Ep proves interesting enough to deserve a listen before moving on to the main feature.
Tea Leaf Dancer’s chilled groove proves infectious. Soul singer Andreya Triana features, her elusive vocal lines moving without restraint to the downtempo café beat. The song has no hooks or jagged edges, the movements are smoothed out, and the listener is allowed to unwind. The production is clear and soft, with little haze from overlapping samples. Contrasting with his debut album
1983 the sound is much purer, thanks to this there is less distraction from the song’s focus.
Massage Situation features a wider beat, the groove this time being heavier and developing more from its starting point. There is once again a unperturbed nature to the song, with soft and light vocal samples coming in over the top of the beat.
Spicy Sammich is another step heavier, with fat and coarse bass lining the bottom of the song. The rhythm bounces along to its own beat, seemingly with no intended direction.
Dance Floor Stalker too starts off with an unusual bounce to it, several electronic layers soon coming in and playing short alternating parts. The song moves along carelessly, yet its construction is perhaps more intricate than the other songs on the Ep.
The execution of the album shows signs of development from his debut album
1983, yet the calm and easy-going nature of the songs does result in a lack of definition. The songs have interesting beats and rhythms to chill out to, but the lack of any songs with distinct characteristics may make the Ep pass too easily. It is a relaxed little ride with interesting ideas, and though good enough on its own; it is well suited as a prelude to his Warp Records debut full length album
Los Angeles.
