The animators of the video have made their model sources available to all in the hopes of generating some more lovely entries by those amazing, anonymous nerds of Internet country. Take a look here and here.

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Hobbs’ 2009 showcase at Sonar became the stuff of legend, helping the careers of the likes of Gaslamp Killer have a hair-shaking breakthrough moment. Hobbs Sonar posse circa 2010—who performed last week at the event—rates equally high on both the quality meter and the avant-garde barometer: featuring sets from the likes of Flying Lotus, Joy Orbison, and the mighty Roska, it’s already entered the stuff of blog legend. Thankfully, starting early Thursday morning—around 2:00 a.m. U.K. time—Hobbs will do a Sonar special, with sonic recaps of the her festival showcase’s best sets. The broadcast will only broadcast legally for a week here, although, strangely, Hobbs’ radio shows usually show up as illegal downloads somewhere… However you hear it, thought, Hobbs’ Sonar experience is surely a must-listen for those that need that first look into the future of the groove.

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.

Another Low End resident, Nobody, contributed the edgy but catchy backing track: with its stuttering “no-n-no-no” hook and thumping drums, making “Hurry Up And Wait” like a Bladerunner “A Milli” on the underground tip. It’s an incredible beat, no doubt, spurring the MCs on to true greatness. Headliners Murs and Nocando are of course mindblowing on the mic, getting profane, hilarious, irreverent, politically incorrect and totally perceptive with each line; Murs tells some raunchy stories that evoke his classics on love and sex like “Freak These Tales”—totally NSFW, but supremely lyrical regardless. But the alliance of Western MC talent on this track seriously holds its own. The real standout is the blazing verse from Dumbfoundead, Nocando’s homey from Project Blowed. It’s the combo of talent, however, that makes this beat even the stellar original. “So magical, man” Murs states at the beginning of the remix—so true.

1. Faith No More (7:55, Coachella Stage, Saturday):
The legendary Northern California-bred alt-rock band that brought us the epic pipes of Mike Patton gets their reunion fever on in the desert.

2. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (5:10, Outdoor Theater, Saturday):
Their Manson Family-meets-Up With People hippie-folk collective vibe seems born in the country, but these are Lost Angelenos all the way. Looking forward to hearing a massive crowd sing along to their hit, “Home”…

3. Flying Lotus (10:45, Gobi Tent, Saturday):
Flying Lotus is the don of the West Coast electronic scene, and his new release Cosmogramma is in the running for album of the year. If we’re lucky, maybe Thom Yorke—who guests on Cosmogramma—will make a guest appearance….

4. Girls (3:25, Gobi Tent, Saturday):
Girls bring the San Francisco boho indie rock love, proving they are the true heirs to Brian Wilson with shambling intensity.

5. DEVO (11:50, Mojave Tent, Saturday):
Sure, DEVO originated in Ohio, but they all live in L.A., okay? The veteran new wave/punk innovators’ live show, by the way, remains as energetic, crazed, and well, DEVO as ever….

6. Jason Bentley (2:35, Mojave Tent, Saturday):
The KCRW main man is big on the radio, sure, but he’s been spinning at local raves for centuries, so his DJ skills will be sure to rock the early-afternoon crowd.

7. Z-Trip (10:30, Mojave Tent, Saturday):
Z-Trip was recently voted the greatest DJ like, ever, and it’s true: he’s got the scratching virtuosity, the blending brilliance, and the selector genius to lay that claim. Add in a crazy personal charisma and an ability to play across genres, and this homey will blow your mind on the wheels of steel.

8. Sly Stone (7:45, Gobi Tent, Sunday):
The great innovator of R&B/soul forged his psychedelic genius in San Francisco’s Summer of Love. He’s a true eccentric, and whether he actually will show up for a gig is always a question, but if he does, the excitement of seeing such a legend in the flesh can’t be denied.

9. The Soft Pack (12:55, Mojave, Sunday):
San Diego’s latest, greatest indie-rock band make charging guitar pop that’s smart, ridiculously catchy and just edgy enough to be truly memorable.

10. The Glitch Mob (3:45, Mojave, Sunday):
One of L.A.’s most powerful electronic live acts, this power trio lays out beats that are as innovative as they are powerful. At Coachella, Glitch Mob will be debuting their new, kaleidoscopic live show built around their new album, Drink The Sea. Drink up!

Touching down in Austin starts the process of re-entry: one has to psychologically gear up for the amount of beers about to be drunk in the next few days, as well as the copious quantities of loud bands and music-biz networking needed to be endured. Austin is deceptive: while the airport was filled with hipsters cramming into taxis, the ride into the city is bucolic, the rolling hills and forest trees moving against the huge Texas sky, belying the craziness about to unfold.

The first stop in town for many visitors involves not music, however, but a ritual pause at one of the city’s many shrines for amazing barbeque: we chose Iron Works BBQ for some amazing huge plates of brisket, ribs, and sausage, the sauce all mopped up with Wonder Bread. Next, a pass through the convention center to pick up badges and goodie bags is inevitable: there, attendees attend industry seminars and watch exclusive interviews with the artists at the fest (Wednesday’s special guest was Motorhead mastermind Lemmy, in town to promote a spectacular documentary about him which had screened to much fanfare in SXSW’s film portion earlier in the week).

After a quick disco nap, it was time, finally, to check out some sounds. There’s always a big show from some huge artist that everybody buzzes about, often at Austin’s great venue Stubb’s. While Stubb’s holds around 2,000 people, the acts that come to SXSW who play there often could fill arenas: Metallica played last year, while this year Muse and Hole are set for the venue.

On Wednesday, the big Stubb’s show was local heroes Spoon, but Kspace opted for more underground sounds. It was pretty incredible to see Cali groove mastermind Dam-Funk spin a set entirely made up of vintage seven-inch vinyl 45s at the Speakeasy, but it was Flying Lotus, headlining the Warp event at the Phoenix, that was the show of the night. FlyLo came on a little after 1:00 a.m. and proceeded to not only fry the attendees’ brains, but get bodies moving, too: despite the experimental nature of his beats – mixing the fractured rhythms of IDM, the death-blasts of dubsteps bass, and the downright jazzy wonder of FlyLo’s own psychedelic imagination – he managed to turn the Phoenix into a sweaty, ecstatic dance party. P-Funk genius George Clinton’s dictum “Free the ass and the mind will follow” seemed to come into play here: after FlyLo played, there seemed to be a lot of tired asses and freed minds wandering the streets of Austin…

Over the next few days, you can expect more blog posts giving you the heads up on what’s happening in Austin, as well as video showing just what an awesome day at South By Southwest can be…

Indeed, Cosmogramma must be as good as the advance hype—the likes of both Thom Yorke and Erykah Badu have deigned to put his vocals on it, after all. To further whet appetites until its release in early May, FlyLo’s label, the esteemed Warp imprint, has blessed us with three unreleased tracks, none of which will appear on Cosmogramma, but all of which showcase a different color in the producer’s kaleidoscopic quiver. “Quakes” is one of Ellison’s loping, hypnotic tracks that casts a spell in its rippling, Dilla-esque rhythms of tinkling percussion and off-kilter synth burbles; like his best work, it seems to become a part of the atmosphere it’s heard in, changing it in into Lotus’ decidedly psychedelic image. “Ancestors” is one of the tracks FlyLo has created for the mystical troubadour GonjaSufi, yet it shows more of Lotus’ hip-hop roots: where Sufi’s Devendra Banhart-style hippie shtick is often paired with trebly garage rock, FlyLo surrounds him here with scratchy Wu Tang-style grooves that seem to float in the air, making Sufi seem even more strange and exotic (a feat). As airy as “Ancestors” is, “Photo Shoot,” a remix of an Atlanta gangsta rapper Gucci Mane track, teems with claustrophobia, hitting hard with sirens and insistent drums; on it, FlyLo deconstructs the beat to evoke the ballooned mind state of Mane’s rhymes even more effectively than the original. The promise and diversity of these tracks demonstrate Lotus’ sprawling virtuosity, making anticipation for Cosmogramma even greater: if he can go this far on throwaways, imagine what he’ll do on a fully realized album.

José James just might be the male Sade. Like her, this soulful crooner uses his smokely seductive voice to effortlessly fold himself into the listener’s consciousness. But while this young, New York-based singer starts with jazzy soul as his root force—his haunting vocals recall everyone from Billie Holiday and Chet Baker to Bill Withers—he’s smart enough to know that his smoothness will stand out best when placed against edgier textures. For example, James’ recently released second album, Blackmagic, features its share of tinkling supper-club pianos, scat runs, brushed snares and stand-up bass, but there’s also production from the likes of groove iconoclast Flying Lotus (James also shines on a majestic remix by dubstep maverick Joy Orbison). On songs like “Made For Love,” lines like “love to touch your body” could come straight from an R. Kelly jam, but the asymmetrical boom bap surrounding James’ vocals takes the groove out of slow jam archetype into avant-garde bliss.

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Most of all, however, the stark yet expressive backing sounds on Blackmagic showcases James’ sly skills: even when placed against samples or synthetic beats, his voice demonstrates the glory of human musical virtuosity. James’ mode is permanently set on simmer, never letting the ache resolve: the vibe is sexy but never overt, expertly deployed without breaking a sweat—the end result proves so unforced, it seems magic has to be involved, despite the pointed lack of smoke and mirrors. All in all, James seems to belong to another era, yet one that’s never existed in either past or future—in a word, he’s timeless.

Out now on Brownswood Recordings – get your copy at your local now or online here
Jose James album cover and riad style photo by Hassan Hajjaj

This weekend in LA is a one of a kind evening of LA’s master beat-makers. While many electronic artists in the UK have discovered the open-minded audiences here, the main draw for many in the dubstep and hip-hop communities is the budding talent pool of artists here in LA. Most Wednesdays you can find a whole host of them holding court in a dirty hole in the wall north of Los Angeles called the Low End Theory, but for the first time ever the elder statesmen of this scene are taking the stage to play a big room in LA… on a Saturday night.

If you and a friend would like to attend, hit us up at info@kspace.tv. The first two (2) people to email will win. Entries are due by 1PM on Friday.

Henry Fonda Theatre

6186 Hollywood Blvd.

Hollywood, CA

We give a whole lot of updates here about José – all with good reason no doubt. José will be back in London on June 14th guesting with and celebrating Flying Lotus’s new Los Angeles release in a dope car park in Shoreditch. He also has finished the video for ‘Park Bench People’ which you can now check in our TV up left. We are also happy to bring you a new podcast with ‘the BPM’ as part of our new conversation series with Brownswood Recordings. José will be back in the UK and Europe in July and August (the 6th at Roundhouse) – you can check those dates here. Hit us back at konnected@kswiss.nl and you may win a pair of tix to catch José at Brainfeeder or at The Roundhouse in London.

With only one edition under its belt, Benji B’s monthly Deviation night is already becoming one of London’s most upfront clubnights. On Wednesday 7 November Benji B brings Warp’s Flying Lotus and 4Hero’s Dego to the table. To set the mood before heading of to the Gramaphone venue, enjoy this 4Hero clip. And a short reminder to round this up: if you send an e-mail to eric@kspace.tv you might earn yourself a spot on the guestlist!