Flying Lotus has released the most acclaimed album of the year so far in Cosmogramma, and “Table Tennis,” a track from the album, proves an indicator of its greatness. The mysterious L.A. beat auteur incorporates the titular sport as percussion: the crack of ping pong balls bouncing on wood and the slam of the paddles become the groove—but like the game, you never know where it’s going to land, giving the track a subtly seismic intensity. The use of table tennis sounds actually ties Flying Lotus to two avant-garde ideas that have clearly shaped his aesthetic: the musique concrete concept of using “real” sounds as opposed to those played on instruments to create music, and the skittering, unexpected rhythms of free jazz, like when Ornette Coleman used his ten-year-old son Denardo to play drums.These heady concepts prove irrelevant, however, due to the visceral nature and unique melodic power of Flying Lotus’ music. “Table Tennis” features a haunting, gossamer vocal from Daedalus collaborator/wife Laura Darlington, and swells emotively like a soundtrack to a film that’s never been made. By making such haunting music out of so unexpected elements, Flying Lotus has clearly won the game.