Flying Lotus: "Coronus, the Terminator"

It doesn’t take long to find Flying Lotus’ heart. He puts it out there musically, through his otherworldly blend of psych-jazz, EDM and hip-hop. Surely, he creates here, but FlyLo’s light resonates somewhere far away—another planet, another time, another life. In 2010, Cosmogramma studied the planets and their relationship to heaven and hell. Until the Quiet Comes, from 2012, offered a scenic glance into the vast, nocturnal unknown. For You’re Dead!, FlyLo explores what happens to people when they pass away. “I have so much loss in my life that I might be an authority on the fucking subject,” he recently told Pitchfork. The new album isn’t overly bleak; instead, the experimental producer tackles the topic with bright jazz-fusion and West Coast funk.

And despite the recent album singles—“Never Catch Me” with Kendrick Lamar, “Moment of Hesitation” with Herbie Hancock—”Coronus, the Terminator” might be the best of them all, its infectious groove featuring singer Niki Randa. The music itself feels like an old Parliament Funkadelic tune: light drum taps precede a volcanic procession of rolling bass and exultant lyrics. If You’re Dead! explores the afterlife, the gospel-infused “Coronus, the Terminator” is its most glorious moment—the song that plays when the angels come for your soul.

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