Steven Ellison (born on 7 th October 1983) is an experimental music producer and DJ based in Los Angeles, director of the Brainfeeder label and operating under the moniker of Flying Lotus. His sound incorporates influences from abstract hip-hop, wonky, IDM, down-tempo and futurist jazz (something he inherited from his great aunt Alice Coltrane and cousin Ravi Coltrane).

His first steps on the musical path were influenced by both psychedelic jazz and video games, two references that, besides instrumental beats, shaped the sound of his first album, “1983”- released in 2006 on Plug Research. In 2008 he signed with Warp and became one of the new darlings of the British label with the release of his second album, “Los Angeles”. It featured an increase in the density of complex rhythmic constructions, to which he added an astonishing use of cut-and-paste techniques and dubstep-like bass-lines. Shortly thereafter his status as a re-mixer started to grow, reworking tracks by bands like Radiohead. In May 2010 he released his third album, “Cosmogramma”. The album won the Independent Music Award for Best Electronic Album of the Year. Recently, Ellison collaborated with the Ann Arbor Film Festival, playing live music for the avant-garde film “Heaven and Earth”. In 2011, he announced he was working with Erykah Badu on her next album. In August 2011 he stated he was working on a multimedia project with director Miwa Matreyek called The Mapping of Countries Yet to Come. His work also extends to television, composing most of the bumper music for the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Selected discography

“1983” (Plug Research, 2006)

“Los Angeles” (Warp, 2008)

“Cosmogramma” (Warp, 2010)

“Cosmogramma Alt Takes” (Warp, 2011)