BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition June 2019

RICHARD AUCOUN
Releasee
Haven Sounds
FLYING LOTUS
Flamagra
WARP RECORDS
If you’re not smiling by the end of
Nova Scotia beat-blender Rich
Aucoin’s new album, Release, your
face is on too tight.
At times expansive, at others,
exhilarating, Aucoin has crafted an
engaging electro-exploration that
could serve as a soundtrack to
the next Timothée Chalamet film.
You’ll go places that are sometimes
unsettling but ultimately, there’s a
happy, at least, hopeful ending.
Aucoin repurposes 80s synthpop
influences and wraps them
in lush layers of surging sound.
Fellow Haligonian Jenn Grant
helps on vocals and Broken Social
Scene’s Justin Perfoff lends a hand
on drums. Aucoin continues to
deliver on his early promise with
this, his third album. Solid recordings
along with a transcendent live
shows means Aucoin’s glittering
star continues to rise.
In addition to almost ambient,
moody tracks filled with robust
swells and dreamy expanses,
there’s a dance party going on.
There are enough slapping synth
dance beats to satisfy the most
hardcore 80s hair head. By blending
a Niles Rogers’ 70s Chic-disco
groove with synth sounds on The
Other, Aucoin comes closest to
creating a hit track with this danceable
delight. He says, “The Other is
definitely my love letter to Chic”.
Best Track: The Other
Michael Hollett
Interview
FLYING LOTUS
BURNS IT UP
ON FLAMAGRA
Flying Lotus is all about what he
calls the “nerdy details.”
His latest album, Flamagra, and
the upcoming 3D tour that will
accompany it are based around a
tightly-woven series of concepts.
Touching on some of the specific
connections causes him to explode
in excited laughter, as if he’s surprised
anyone else can decipher
his inner workings.
Flying Lotus speaks slowly, as if
distracted by other deep thoughts.
When a subject that excites him
comes up, though, he snaps to
attention, talking a mile a minute
and cracking jokes.
Flamagra is based around the
concept of an eternal flame suddenly
springing up on a hill in Los
Angeles, the project opening and
closing with its crackling, creating
a perfect loop. Lotus says each
track on the album is meant to be
someone’s different experience or
reaction to that fire.
“I always thought that I’d be conflicted,”
he says. “I would love it and
hate it depending on the day.”
Most tracks on the album come
with their own specific and twisted
backstory, despite the often surreal,
playful vocals and humorous
track titles. “Debbie Is Depressed”
seems upbeat on the surface, but
comes from a much deeper place.
“I think of it from the perspective
of the other person who’s not depressed,”
he says. “It’s that person
who, when you’re feeling shitty,
is kind of annoying. They’re like,
‘Sorry your cousin died, everything’s
going to be okay, they’re in a better
place,’ Like, fuck you. You might be
right, but don’t nobody wanna hear
that shit right now. That’s what that
track is.”
“Heroes in a Half Shell,” though,
is about “fuckin’ Ninja Turtles.”
“It’s stupid,” says Flying Lotus in
hysterics. “So stupid.”
The blend of serious topics with
the absurdly humorous brings to
mind the work of Flying Lotus’
close friend and frequent collaborator
Thundercat, a bassist who
assisted on most of Flamagra.
Flying Lotus says the best parts
of the album were born out of the
spontaneity of making music while
“hanging out with your best friend.”
“When we work together, it feels
special,” he says. “Sometimes you
want to play video games, and
sometimes he’s like, ‘Let’s make
some shit,’ and you don’t really have
to say nothing. It’s a beautiful thing.
I don’t have that kind of relationship
with anybody else.”
Lotus and Thundercat had
another frequent collaborator in
common – the late Mac Miller, who
played a big role in shaping the
project long after he was gone. Lotus
dedicated two tracks, including
“Thank U Malcolm,” to Miller.
“His humanity influenced me,” he
says. “Me and Thundercat didn’t
even plan on having time to work
together, and we were like, ‘What
would Mac want us to do? He’d
want us to go super hard on this
music right now.’ So that’s what we
did. We spent days at my house
just locked in.”
The many nights spent together
trying to talk through their pain
gave Lotus the inspiration that he
needed to keep pushing forward.
“In all the sadness, all these
good things started happening,
too. Life started turning around a
bit and I found myself being more
inspired than I had been, and I
owed a lot of that, unfortunately, to
his passing.”
Flying Lotus recorded every feature
but one in his own home studio,
which he says throws people
off at first before the “relaxed
atmosphere” of a home calms
them down and gets them in
a mindset to be their most
creative selves. Sometimes,
they even teach him something
in return.
“You get weird lessons from
people. Like Solange, I’ll never
forget her. She changed my
process in a weird way.”
Lotus explains that Solange
prefers to record with the worst
microphone she can find, in
order to feel more absorbed in
the surrounding instrumentals
while recording her vocals.
As he prepares to embark
on his upcoming 3D tour, Lotus
hopes to immerse his audience
in the complexities of his music
in a similar way.
“This show is a bit more
evolved than the previous ones,”
he says. “I wanted to make
my music a cinematic journey
for people. I’ve always been
interested in connecting my
music to visuals and finding the
best world where they meet
together.”
Best Track: Takashi
Ben Boddez
JUNE 2019 BEATROUTE 33