Flamagra

Flamagra
Studio album by Flying Lotus
Released	May 24, 2019 (2019-05-24)
Recorded	2015–2019
Genre	Jazz-funk[1] hip hop electronic
Length	66:57
Label	Warp
Producer	Flying Lotus
Flying Lotus chronology
You're Dead! (2014) Flamagra (2019) Yasuke (2021)
Singles from Flamagra
"Fire Is Coming" Released: April 17, 2019 (2019-04-17)[2] "Spontaneous / Takashi" Released: April 23, 2019 (2019-04-23)[3] "More" Released: May 8, 2019 (2019-05-08)[4] "Black Balloons Reprise" Released: May 21, 2019 (2019-05-21)[5]
Alternative cover
Deluxe Edition cover art.

Flamagra is the sixth studio album by American record producer Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison), released on May 24, 2019 by Warp Records.[6] It is his first album since 2014's You're Dead!.[7] The lead single, the spoken-word "Fire Is Coming" featuring David Lynch, was released along with its video on April 17, 2019.[8] The album also features contributions from Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, Shabazz Palaces, Thundercat, Toro y Moi and Solange.[9] A deluxe version of the album with the instrumentals was released on May 29, 2020.[10]

Background

Ellison said that he had gathered different material from the past five years in the process of making the record, and had a "thematic idea" about making an album with a fire concept during that time. He imagined an "eternal flame sitting on a hill", and upon hearing David Lynch talking at a party he was attending, asked him to record the same words for his album, at which point he said the idea for the album became fixed.[9]

The track "Post Requisite" was featured on the soundtrack of Ellison's 2017 feature film Kuso and was accompanied by a music video. Prior to the album's release, the tracks "Fire Is Coming", "Spontaneous", "Takashi", "More" and "Black Balloons Reprise" were released as singles. The latter is a reprise of the song of the same name from Denzel Curry's 2018 album Ta13oo. The opening track "Heroes" is a new version of the previously released song "Heroes Pt. 5".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.8/10[11]
Metacritic	80/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
The A.V. Club	B+[14]
The Guardian	[15]
The Independent	[16]
The Irish Times	[17]
Mojo	[18]
NME	[19]
Pitchfork	7.8/10[1]
Q	[20]
Rolling Stone	[21]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Flamagra received an average score of 80, based on 27 reviews.[12]

Year-end rankings

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Afisha Daily (Russia)	The Best Foreign Albums of 2019	20	[22]

Commercial performance

As of July 2019, the album has moved 10,000 units in United States.[23]

Track listing

Credits adapted from liner notes.[24]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Heroes"	Steven Ellison Stephen Bruner	2:44
2.	"Post Requisite"	Ellison Bruner	2:08
3.	"Heroes in a Half Shell"	Ellison Bruner Brandon Coleman	1:17
4.	"More" (featuring Anderson .Paak)	Ellison Anderson .Paak Bruner Justin Brown Dennis Hamm	4:17
5.	"Capillaries"	Ellison	1:54
6.	"Burning Down the House" (featuring George Clinton)	Ellison George Clinton Bruner Coleman	3:03
7.	"Spontaneous" (featuring Little Dragon)	Ellison Yukimi Nagano Erik Bodin Fredrik Wallin Håkan Wirenstrand Bruner Coleman	2:08
8.	"Takashi"	Ellison Syunsuke Ono Bruner Coleman	5:51
9.	"Pilgrim Side Eye"	Ellison Herbie Hancock Bruner Miguel Atwood-Ferguson	1:30
10.	"All Spies"	Ellison	1:45
11.	"Yellow Belly" (featuring Tierra Whack)	Ellison Tierra Whack	3:11
12.	"Black Balloons Reprise" (featuring Denzel Curry)	Ellison Denzel Curry Bruner	2:41
13.	"Fire Is Coming" (featuring David Lynch)	Ellison David Lynch Bruner Atwood-Ferguson Hamm	3:16
14.	"Inside Your Home"	Ellison Bruner	1:26
15.	"Actually Virtual" (featuring Shabazz Palaces)	Ellison Ishmael Butler Bruner Coleman	1:58
16.	"Andromeda"	Ellison Bruner	1:28
17.	"Remind U"	Ellison Coleman	2:41
18.	"Say Something"	Ellison Bruner Atwood-Ferguson Hamm	1:15
19.	"Debbie is Depressed"	Ellison Bruner	2:19
20.	"Find Your Own Way Home"	Ellison Taylor Graves	1:40
21.	"The Climb" (featuring Thundercat)	Ellison Bruner Atwood-Ferguson Coleman	3:15
22.	"Pygmy"	Ellison Bruner	1:24
23.	"9 Carrots" (featuring Toro y Moi)	Ellison Toro y Moi Atwood-Ferguson	3:01
24.	"FF4"	Ellison Atwood-Ferguson	1:11
25.	"Land of Honey" (featuring Solange)	Ellison Solange Robert Glasper Bruner Atwood-Ferguson	3:27
26.	"Thank U Malcolm"	Ellison Coleman Bruner	1:32
27.	"Hot Oct."	Ellison Bruner	4:35
Total length:			66:57

Japanese edition bonus track[25]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
28.	"Quarantine"	Ellison Bruner	3:48
Total length:			70:45

Sample credits

• "Post Requisite" contains a sample of "Everything You Do Is a Balloon" by Boards of Canada.
• "Heroes in a Half Shell" contains audio samples of the Dragon Ball series.
• "Black Balloons Reprise" contains a sample of "Ten Et Tiwa" by Alain Goraguer.
• "Debbie is Depressed" contains a sample of the theme for the Wii Shop Channel by Kazumi Totaka.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.[24]

Musicians

• Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – strings (1, 3, 12, 19, 20, 26)
• Ashley Norelle – backing vocals (4)
• Taylor Graves – keyboards (4)
• Ronald Bruner – drums (8, 26), backing vocals (20)
• Deantoni Parks – drums (19, 21)
• Niki Randa – backing vocals (20)
• Thundercat –  bass (1, 2, 4, 6-9, 12-16, 19, 21, 22, 26, 27), Backing vocals (20, 21)

Technical

• Flying Lotus – mixing
• Daddy Kev – mixing, mastering

Artwork

• Winston Hacking – artwork
• Echelon Color – retouching
• Stephen Serrato – layout
• Guccimaze – typeface design
• Joph (Jeong-woo Jo) – portrait

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[26]	55
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27]	47
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28]	16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29]	122
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[30]	74
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31]	60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32]	20
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[33]	36
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34]	28
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[35]	96
Scottish Albums (OCC)[36]	20
UK Albums (OCC)[37]	25
US Billboard 200[38]	45
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[39]	5
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[40]	1
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[41]	1

References

1. Patrin, Nate (May 24, 2019). "Flying Lotus: Flamagra". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
2. Blistein, Jon (17 April 2019). "Flying Lotus Taps David Lynch for Bizarre New Song "Fire Is Coming"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
3. Torres, Eric. ""Spontaneous" [ft. Little Dragon] / "Takashi" by Flying Lotus Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
4. Duffey, Connor (8 May 2019). "Flying Lotus Shares New Song "More" (feat. Anderson .Paak)". Stereogum. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
5. Strauss, Matthew (21 May 2019). "Flying Lotus Enlists Denzel Curry for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
6. "Flamagra by Flying Lotus". iTunes Store. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
7. Renshaw, David (April 17, 2019). "Flying Lotus announces new album Flamagra". The Fader. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
8. Lamarre, Carl (April 17, 2019). "Flying Lotus Announces 'Flamagra' Album, Drops New Single 'Fire is Coming' Featuring David Lynch". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
9. Minsker, Evan (April 17, 2019). "Flying Lotus Announces New Album Flamagra, Shares New Video With David Lynch: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
10. Yoo, Noah (27 April 2020). "Flying Lotus Announces New Flamagra Instrumentals Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
11. "Flamagra by Flying Lotus reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
12. "Flamagra by Flying Lotus Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
13. Kellman, Andy. "Flamagra – Flying Lotus". AllMusic. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
14. Reeves, Mosi (May 24, 2019). "Left-field cameos fuel Flying Lotus' latest odyssey, Flamagra". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
15. Monroe, Jazz (May 24, 2019). "Flying Lotus: Flamagra review – cosmic voyager's cartoonish cinematic vision". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
16. Harrison, Ellie; Bray, Elisa (May 23, 2019). "Album reviews: Flying Lotus – Flamagra and The Amazons – Future Dust". The Independent. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
17. Van Nguyen, Dean (May 20, 2019). "Flying Lotus: Flamagra review – A sprawling masterwork of genius". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
18. Chick, Stevie (July 2019). "Hearts of darkness". Mojo (308): 92.
19. Hobbs, Thomas (May 23, 2019). "Flying Lotus – 'Flamagra' review". NME. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
20. Yates, Steve (July 2019). "Flying Lotus: Flamagra". Q (399): 110.
21. "Quick Hits". Rolling Stone. No. 1328. June 2019. p. 83.
22. "Лучшие зарубежные альбомы 2019 года" [The Best Foreign Albums of 2019]. Afisha Daily. December 26, 2019.
23. Caulfield, Keith (7 July 2019). "Marshmello Dominates Nielsen Music's Mid-Year 2019 Dance/Electronic Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
24. Flamagra (booklet). Flying Lotus. London: Warp Records. 2019. WARPCD291.
25. Flamagra (JP booklet). Flying Lotus. Tokyo: Warp Records, Beat Records. 2019. BRC-595.
26. "ARIA Chart Watch #526". auspOp. June 1, 2019. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
27. "Austriancharts.at – Flying Lotus – Flamagra" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
28. "Ultratop.be – Flying Lotus – Flamagra" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
29. "Ultratop.be – Flying Lotus – Flamagra" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
30. "Flying Lotus Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
31. "Dutchcharts.nl – Flying Lotus – Flamagra" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
32. "Offiziellecharts.de – Flying Lotus – Flamagra" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
33. "Flamagra on Billboard Japan Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 29, 2020.
34. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2019-06-03" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
35. "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. May 31, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
36. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
37. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
38. "Flying Lotus Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
39. "Flying Lotus Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
40. "Flying Lotus Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
41. "Flying Lotus Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2019.