Los Angeles is a city that divides opinion.
Is it a vacuous artificial hell-hole or an optimistic city of dreams? Probably a bit of both really, as a couple of Clash-friendly beatmeisters are about to reveal, in a musical fashion.
First up, LA is the new single from Sunday Best one-man synth-maestro Sportsday Megaphone, and it’s surprisingly dark. Megaphone, AKA Hugh Frost, worked in the city for several months and rode past the mad, bad and dangerous every morning on his bike route to work. Meanwhile LA’s highest-profile religion was spinning a different story…
“Most Scientologists aren’t movie stars, but when public figures like Tom Cruise proclaim that mental illness does not exist and victims have imagined their own problems, there’s a danger that the more suggestible listener is going to come away believing that,” says Frost.
“The song isn’t straight up telling anyone they’re wrong or crazy, it’s more of an observation of a very strange two-faced city. Sometimes I wonder if the Hollywood celebrities who have taken to Scientology like it because it absolves them of any sense of responsibility towards those less fortunate.”
Meanwhile Flying Lotus also wades into the City of Angels’ seamier side. Lotus, AKA Steve Ellison, made quite a splash with several spunky bootleg remixes last year, and has now made a concept album about his old abode, entitled simply Los Angeles. It’s a very different beast from the Sportsday sound, as intense, experimental beats fly off in all directions, but the roots are the same.
“Los Angeles is a place with many faces, so I tried to represent all the LA vibes the best way I could,” he says. “Los Angeles is a special place to me for obvious reasons, but for the majority of my life, I hated living here. It’s hard not to be inspired by your surroundings, I only realized that by leaving.”
Good or bad, LA certainly rubs off on people. We’ve got signed vinyl copies of both the Flying Lotus LP and Sportsday Megaphone single to give away, so head over here to enter. Don’t worry, they’ve signed the sleeves, not the vinyl.
