Steven Ellison, the visionary producer known globally as Flying Lotus, embodies the ultimate dream for any dedicated fan of video games and anime. At 42, this Los Angeles native has carved out a remarkable career that transcends conventional musical boundaries. A true auteur, Ellison is not only a revered producer but also a filmmaker who crafts the scores for his own cinematic projects. Furthermore, as the driving force behind the influential Brainfeeder record label, he has been instrumental in propelling a unique Los Angeles music scene—a vibrant fusion of hip hop, jazz, and electronic music—into the mainstream consciousness.
For those eager to dive into the eclectic tapestry of his discography, his latest EP, Big Mama, offers a concentrated, hyperactive glimpse. Clocking in at a brisk 13 continuous minutes, this EP is a densely packed listening experience. It navigates a sonic landscape that shifts from frenetic rhythmic explorations and crackling chiptune to virtuosic keyboard passages and, fittingly, avant-garde improvisation—a nod to his lineage as the great-nephew of the legendary spiritual jazz icon Alice Coltrane.
“It was really created in that spirit of just wanting to feel free and make something that also just felt very, very me and very detailed,” Ellison shared in a conversation. He recorded Big Mama in New Zealand, a spontaneous solo project conceived after he had directed and scored the 2025 sci-fi thriller Ash. This pivot from a large-scale collaborative effort to a more intimate, individual undertaking allowed for a different creative approach. “When I made that soundtrack, I had all these images and emotions that I had to work to. But I finished that and just felt so free and I just wanted to do something that’s just straight up fun.”
The operative word here is indeed “fun.” The EP’s seven tracks are a playful and colourful journey, oscillating between moments of soothing ambience and bursts of exhilarating energy. Fingers can be heard galloping across synth keys, punctuated by what sounds like villainous laughter, creating a dynamic and unpredictable sonic adventure.
A New Creative Process Unveiled
Ellison, a prolific collaborator who has lent his talents to artists as diverse as Kendrick Lamar, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, and the late, great David Lynch, adopted a novel approach for Big Mama. Eschewing his usual reliance on loops or external input, he dedicated each day to opening his laptop and creating in short, unrestrained bursts.
“In the past, when I would open up Ableton, I would see things like a grid. ‘Okay, these are pieces that have to fit in time’,” he explained. “But when I re-approached it [this time] it was more like a blank canvas. You don’t look at it in sections and corners. You look at it like, whatever can happen here, should happen. Thinking less about the frameworks and more listening and hearing things and being like, ‘Okay, I think I know where this is gonna go. So let me destroy that!’ Subvert my own expectations.” This liberated methodology proved to be a powerful catalyst for his creativity. “Working in this new way also made it really inspiring to wake up and want to create.”
The resulting output is nothing short of explosive, echoing the most unpredictable elements of Flying Lotus’s past work but distilled into a rapid, chaotic succession. It serves as a testament to Ellison’s enduring trust in his instincts and his continuous exploration of new avenues within his craft, even deep into his career.
A Milestone Release for Brainfeeder
In another significant development, Big Mama marks Flying Lotus’s debut release under his own Brainfeeder imprint. This label has become a renowned platform for boundary-pushing artists, including the extraordinary saxophonist Kamasi Washington, Australia’s own genre-bending collective Hiatus Kaiyote, and Ellison’s close confidante and frequent collaborator, Thundercat. After years of “great work” with the esteemed UK label Warp Records, a series of “boring label stuff” prompted Ellison to explore the potential of operating independently. “Some ‘boring label stuff’ led Ellison to see ‘what it was like to do it on my own [and] with my team that I’ve built; see what we can achieve at home’.”
The “Big Booty Kaiju” and Visual Spectacle
The vivid artwork adorning Big Mama‘s release, created by Christopher Ian McFarlane, features a cartoonish aesthetic that one online commentator amusingly likened to “horny Jetsons.” Ellison embraced the description with a chuckle: “I’m down. I’ll take it.” While he initially sought McFarlane’s “gut instinct,” he also harboured a specific vision: “This big booty kaiju bomb that’s attacking the city. I really did want to go there.”
Complementing the EP is an accompanying stop-motion short film, a creation of the Swedish duo Rymdreglage, whose name loosely translates to ‘intergalactic space slider’. Ellison spoke highly of the pair, Daniel Gullberg and Tomas Redig, noting, “They’re also musicians. They’re awesome.” He elaborated on his collaborative approach, stating, “We had a couple of conversations and then they went and did their thing. Part of the reason why I reached out to them was because I just felt like I didn’t need to ask them a bunch of stuff. I could trust them.”
The film, painstakingly shot over 300 hours, exudes a raw, DIY energy, incorporating nostalgic elements such as unspooling tapes, vintage toys, old televisions, and liberal use of foil. Gullberg and Redig explained that much of their inspiration stemmed from “old practical effects, toy photography and the kind of surreal worlds you’d imagine as a kid when you were playing with small objects on the floor.” This visual aesthetic serves as a fittingly manic counterpart to the EP’s compositions, which bear wild, evocative titles like “Antelope Onigiri” and “Horse Nuke.” Tracks like the SFX-laden trap anthem “BROBOBASHER” and “In The Forest,” with its vintage synths, strongly evoke the soundtracks of 8-bit and 16-bit era video games.
“Good! That makes me happy! Video games are very much part of my DNA,” Ellison enthused. “I love the fact that game soundtracks are starting to get their recognition because people always would just discount video game artistry. It’s such an underrated thing.”
While Flying Lotus has curated an in-game radio station for the immensely popular Grand Theft Auto V, he has yet to score an entire video game—a situation he is keen to rectify. “I would love to be able to work on a new video game: some action game or a Metroidvania.” The latter term refers to a popular genre, inspired by the classic titles Metroid and Castlevania, which prioritises exploration, character progression, and immersive storytelling. He expressed a particular desire to collaborate with indie developers on such a project, citing Hollow Knight and its upcoming sequel Silk Song (developed by Australia’s own Team Cherry) as examples of the genre’s potential. “I would love for some indie developer to work on something like that with me. That’d be amazing.” Game developers, take note: Flying Lotus is ready to compose the soundtrack to your next adventure.
Expanding a Creative Horizon
A full video game score would represent another significant achievement on Ellison’s already extensive bucket list, which includes composing for anime, documentaries, and his own challenging body horror film anthology, Kuso.
So, what lies ahead for this multifaceted artist? “That’s a good question. Right now, I have another film I want to make while I’m working on new music. It doesn’t necessarily sound like Big Mama. I try not to get too ahead of my words because I can say a thing and do something totally different… I’m just over here cooking away.”
Ellison’s journey began with submitting beats to Cartoon Network and interning at Stones Throw Records, all while dedicating his evenings to crafting what would become his debut album, 1983. This year marks the 20th anniversary of that release, which is being reissued for Record Store Day. Reflecting on his current status as a cult auteur, he mused, “I think he would be so relieved to know that things kind of worked out instead of having to worry all the time.”
He offered a piece of advice to his younger self: “What I could tell my younger self was just to not worry so much and just enjoy things. Live life more. I had to grow into that headspace. That came with experience and just maturing as an adult. I felt there was definitely a lot of time spent just being in my head. I’d be like, ‘Hey bro, it’s cool, man. Chill out, have fun. Take it from your older self.'”
The EP’s sleeve art features two identical, dreadlocked figures gazing out at the destruction wrought by the “Big Booty Kaiju.” One might wonder if these figures represent Flying Lotus and his younger self. He responded with a knowing chuckle, neither confirming nor denying the interpretation: “There it is, right? Maybe…”
Big Mama is available now. Flying Lotus is also set to perform at Sydney’s Vivid Live festival on 27 May.
