ELOS: Flying Sky Fortress (Alpha Pup)

Another weirdo leftfield record from the LA beat scene? Sign me up. ELOS falls in line with the LA Low End Theory camp and fringe acts like Matthewdavid and Flying Lotus, and those familiar with the sound will not be entirely surprised by the tracks on this EP. The sounds of FSF rattle and plod away, often combining dizzy pads and bent synth leads against pumped up, chunky downtempo grooves. This combo is interesting in that it’s simultaneously aggressive (the low end is undeniable) but also pulled away from the floor into something more esoteric at times. It’s a bit of a paradox that ELOS pursues, but it works. The release gets better as it moves on; even though “DunDeals” is a strong opener, “DunDeals, Pt. 2” that kicks off the latter half of the EP is my personal favorite with its crushing low end and infectious lead. “Airliner’s Patio” is led off by square chords but the secondary dub pulse that kicks in behind it is quite nice. And the drowsy closer “Trillwave” is probably my second favorite cut, with the most pronounced low end of all, a big fat honkin’ bassline that dominates the track. Woozy and bruisy, just the way I like it!

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