Flying Lotus – Backpack Caviar

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Various Artists
Porter Records
(2009)
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In 2007, the dublab set off on a European tour of its DJs and producers that showcased the medley of world beats, found sounds and soul samples that make up what is tenuously referred to as “Future Roots” music. Eight songs by dublab members (notably Daedelus, Flying Lotus and DNTEL) comprised the original vinyl release of the Echo Expansion compilation. In this latest Porter Records release, dublab supplements the original tracklist with six previously unreleased tracks, culled from the works of active members of the DUBLAB Soundsystem.

The opening track is a live recording of The Life Force Trio‘s “Alice!” at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, a spaced-out composition full of ambient and cosmic effects that bring to mind a desert caravan trip and Moroccan hash. “Set Out Satellites” is a hazy, acousmatic piece from the collaborative duo Adventure Time (comprised of Daedelus and Frosty of dublab). It begins with a Boards of Canada-ish synth part, all disquieting and claustrophobic, that leads into Daedelus’ signature steampunk instrumentals, the reverbrations of machines and found sounds. A haunting saxophone plays in the periphery, as if the listener is witness to the aural recollections of someone’s subconscious. Beatmaker Flying Lotus makes a competent, if not exactly exceptional, appearance on the compilation with “Backpack Caviar.” It features the producer’s characteristic fuzz and off-tune rhythms but lacks the noirish brooding of his strongest work in 2008′s Los Angeles. Ras G‘s  ”Stealth Mode” takes a heavy-hitting beat and splices it with sounds and effects that are difficult to trace, creating rhythms out of unlikely sources.

In turn, Daedelus mashes up quite a few musical samples in “Dnt Fk Sgr,” a boisterous time machine that jumps from bossa nova to jazz to big band. The tongue clicks and soul samples of Kutmah‘s “Song Song,” if not for its frequent progressions and inverted rhythms, would make for an excellent beat across the raps of formidable lyricists (Clipse comes to mind). While their experimentations and references may not always sound coherent, the songs in this compilation take part in a shared appreciation for breakbeats, jazz/soul samples, psychedelic flourishes and dramatic gestures. These songs, in their eclecticism and familiarity, bridge what is widely (and erroneously) considered to be “world” music to an ever-expanding mainstream palette. Future Roots music then is an optimistic attempt at drawing not from a singular or national heritage, but one that examines the entire world’s music as inspiration.

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