Cosmogramma

Alice Coltrane, Ellison's great-aunt, who inspired the title of the album (pictured in 2006).

On October 31, 2008, Ellison's mother died of complications from diabetes,[1] 21 months after his great-aunt Alice Coltrane's death.[2] Ellison said, "I decided that if I was going to speak after that experience [the death of his mother], it better be something honest, and deeper than a record that was just made for the times. I wanted to do something that made her proud."[1]

The title is an obstruction of "cosmic drama". Ellison said:[1]

My aunt had an ashram in Agoura full of devotees... And I was listening to one of her recorded discourses talking about how once this earthly experience is over, we won't be wearing our costumes anymore, playing parts in this "cosmic drama", she called it. But I thought she said "cosmogramma". That word haunted me for a long time until I found out it actually exists. It refers to the study of the universe, and heaven and hell as well.

Thundercat, who played bass for various tracks and contributed with vocals (pictured in 2015).

The recording sessions began in October 2008, immediately following his sophomore album Los Angeles, and while grieving his mother's death.[3] Following a session for the track "Computer Face", he had found the energy and theme for Cosmogramma.[4] The album was fully recorded in Ellison's apartment in Los Angeles, California.[4] During the album's recording, Ellison developed a creative relationship with Thundercat,[5] a member of his Brainfeeder record label.[6]

While his mother was in the hospital, Ellison brought in a mobile recording rig and set microphones around her room to gather audio samples, such as a respirator and vital-sign monitors. The samples were also used in the closing track "Galaxy in Janaki",[7] a tribute to his mother.[4] On the process of recording his mother's respirator, Ellison said: "I know it was a weird thing to do. I'm not the type to go out recording things like that. But I didn't want to forget that space."[7] When asked where the title came from, he said: "that's the term my aunt gave my mother. It means mother as well."[4] (The 1972 Alice Coltrane album World Galaxy features tracks titled "Galaxy in Turiya" (referring to Coltrane's adopted Sanskrit name, Turiyasangitananda or Turiya[8]) and "Galaxy in Satchidananda" (referring to the guru Satchidananda Saraswati, from whom Coltrane sought spiritual guidance[9]).) He also used other samples, such as video game sounds.[10]

Ellison said the process of recording was "quite DIY". He also said the mixing was "the hard part", but a "cathartic" and "fun" process.[11] Daddy Kev, of Low End Theory and Alpha Pup Records, handled mastering, which was overseen by Ellison. Daddy Kev said that it lasted four months, when it usually takes a few days.[7]

Compared to earlier releases, which were primarily based on electronic and digital mediums, Cosmogramma marks a change for Flying Lotus. He started to use live performances, including harp, bass, strings, live drums, saxophone, keyboard and trumpet. However, he also used a laptop, a sampler and a drum machine to produce and to manipulate samples.[7][17]

Cosmogramma is described as electronica, experimental,[18] left-field hip hop,[18] nu jazz,[19] psychedelic hip hop[20] and IDM.[21][22] The album includes elements of ambient,[23] chiptune,[24] digital glitch,[22] dubstep,[22][25] drum and bass,[18] free jazz,[22][26] house,[18][26] P-Funk,[24][26] soul[27] and techno.[18]

Cosmogramma has a dense,[28] Afrofuturist[21][27] and maximalist[29][30] style. It is multi-layered and subtly orchestral,[31] with variations in depth and timbre,[25] and production techniques such as ducking,[32] pumping,[33] real inputting and tempo misalignment.[10][34] The album drew comparisons with DJ Shadow's Endtroducing.[20][25]

The artwork is an excerpt of Codex Tor, a series of books of compiled illustrations by Leigh McCloskey,[29][42] Ellison's art mentor.[16] It features "lots of circles and intricate lines, matching Flying Lotus' throbbing, more-is-more music".[29] Warp also released other versions of the cover art.[15]

Screenshot of the application Cosmogramma Fieldlines.

Cosmogramma was advertised through an application called Cosmogramma Fieldlines, an augmented reality app released free of charge.[43] This app was controlled using a webcam or a mouse, and was developed by Aaron Meyers and Warp.[44][45] The application was built on openFrameworks.[46]

In February 2010, Ellison started a tour through Canada,[47] Europe and the United States.[48] The album release party was held on May 14, 2010,[49] over two nights at The Echoplex, in Los Angeles. The show had opening performances from Infinity, Low End resident DJ The Gaslamp Killer, Gonjasufi, and sound artist Matthewdavid.[50][51]

The album was released on May 3, 2010, through Warp Records.[52] Limited pressings with a golden slipcase were also released.[15] On April 16, 2011, Ellison released the album's B-side EP, Cosmogramma Alt Takes.[53]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.3/10[54]
Metacritic	86/100[55]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[18]
The A.V. Club	A[37]
The Guardian	[26]
The Irish Times	[56]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)	A−[57]
NME	8/10[58]
Pitchfork	8.8/10[19]
Rolling Stone	[59]
Spin	8/10[39]
The Times	[60]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Cosmogramma received an average score of 86, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 26 reviews.[55] Chris Martins of The A.V. Club praised the album as "one of the most musical and inventive to fly the electronica banner in years," and a "hybridized work that challenges others to follow its dazzling blueprint".[37] Robert Christgau, writing for MSN Music, wrote that "part of its delight is how naturally the disparate parts fit together, but another part is how they add up to phantasmagoria if you let your attention wander (and don't be a tight-ass—you should)".[57] William Rauscher of Resident Advisor noted that the album's "sheer amount of diversity" makes it a "much more challenging affair" than its predecessor, Los Angeles.[22]

Simon Reynolds cited Cosmogramma as an example of what he describes as a "hyper-eclectic approach" to production that can be "rich and potent on some levels, but ultimately fatiguing and bewildering for most listeners", further characterizing the album as "hip-hop jazz for the ADHD generation".[61] In a mixed to positive review, Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone wrote: "There's some info overload, but Ellison is an ace with pacing, and a distracted soulfulness guides the frantic laptop science."[59]

Cosmogramma sold 12,000 copies in its first two weeks of release.[28] In January 2011, it had sold 33,574 copies.[62]

Credits adapted from digital booklet.[14]

• 2010 in music

• Hodgson, Jay (2010). Understanding Records: A Field Guide To Recording Practice. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-44116-566-4.

• Cosmogramma at Warp Records
• Cosmogramma at Metacritic
• Flying Lotus and the Los Angeles Electronica Scene at The New York Times