Los Angeles producer and rapper Steven Ellison, better known as Flying Lotus (or FlyLo) was in town, and he came prepared with one of the most breathtaking audiovisual performances seen in recent years.
Touring version 3.0 of his show Layer 3, which had its Australian debut at last year’s Let Them Eat Cake festival, Ellison hypnotised Melbourne’s Forum Theatre as he prepared for appearances at Golden Plains and the Sydney Opera House.
Presented by Melbourne-based collective The Operatives, FlyLo appeared alongside a treasure-trove of local and international production talent, including The Operatives own Nam Viet, who opened the night’s entertainment with his impeccable mixing style, infectious beats, and contagious energy.
Hollywood’s Kutmah took control of the decks while the crowd slowly began emptying the stalls. A set filled with tasteful beats, elegant production, and highly danceable r n’ b inspired grooves saw the anticipation among punters gradually rise.
Om Unit’s set lay in contrast to Nam and Kutmah’s by way of drum and bass, scratching, dub, and jungle styles. As it progressed, the drums got dirtier, the tempos got hastier, and the bass got ‘womp’-ier, veering dangerously close to over the top but always simmering down at the right moment. A dancehall reworking of Lorde’s ‘Royals’ provided the highlight of the set.
Unfortunately, the upcoming and talented Melbourne-based producer Silent Jay was somewhat outshone by the high energy levels from the acts before him.
An eruption of cheers burst from the audience when the projection screen with the giant words ‘FLYING LOTUS’ flashed in and out of view. Ellison swaggered on stage in front of the giant, semi-transparent screen to introduce himself as a swathe of people pushed and shoved their way to the front of the crowd, eager to get as close to the action as possible.
Strips of strobe lights along the side of the screen immediately blinded anyone unprepared for the visual orgy that was to follow. Stars, spaceships, lasers, and planets flew, fired, and exploded as the seemingly Windows 95 and Tron-inspired projection show took viewers through a galactic scene, perfectly matched with the glitchy, intelligent dance music that Flying Lotus has become known for.
The stunned crowd fought hard just to take in the sensory experience encasing the entire theatre. Pushing through beats, songs, and arrangements with schizophrenic intensity, Flying Lotus’ performance was like nothing you’ve seen before. One minute he’s soaring you through an airy, dream-like soundscape, and the next he’s disrupting the depths of your mind with penetrating double-time beats.
Throughout the set, the artist demonstrated his constantly forward-thinking mindset, forever making reference to his desire to show off his new material, however not without a warning for budding videographers in the crowd. Cheekily starting a new track only to stop it after five seconds to deter “fuckin’ YouTubers”, his sense of humour shone through before giving attendees the full track in all its glory.
Hinting towards a collaboration with Nas as he introduced the crowd to another new track featuring Thundercat, it was clear that he would not be slow down any time soon.
His magical, dystopian lullabies are his and his alone, unchallenged by anyone else in the business.
While constantly looking forward, Ellison provided a musical retrospective by paying homage to collaborators and influencers toward the end of his set, with tracks from Schoolboy Q, Pusha T, and Drake.
“I play music that I love” – a simple and perfect closing statement from the future of intelligent, electronic music personified. Golden Plains, you’ve been warned.
