![]() Strawberry Fields, the memorial for John Lennon in Central Park fits the criteria for a cosmogram: a pattern inside the border of a circle with an inner circle inscribed "Imagine". Examples include a memorial at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, which commemorates the center's namesake and Langston Hughes, who during his lifetime lived near the plot of land where the center was constructed. Often public buildings and parks host the cosmogram permanently. ![]() In the 20th and 21st centuries, the framework of a traditional cosmogram is used to reflect on a particular person, persons or cultures. For example, traditional Chinese coins that are round with a square hole in the middle, have been given such an interpretation, and so has the board for the game ludo, see Cross and Circle game. Many diagrams featuring circles and squares or crosses may be interpreted as cosmograms, although they may not be intentionally created as such. The square or cross may represent the Earth, the four directions. The circle may represent the universe, or unity, or an explanation of the universe in its totality - whether inspired by religious beliefs or scientific knowledge. ![]() Often, cosmograms feature a circle and a square, or a circle and a cross. They are used for various purposes: meditational, inpirational and to depict structure - real or imagined - of the earth or universe. JSTOR ( October 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ī cosmogram depicts a cosmology in a flat geometric form.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. FlyLo is working at the height of his creative powers right now, and the scary thing is it's reasonable to think he could get better.This article needs additional citations for verification. It's this level of confidence and commitment to his vision that ultimately makes Cosmogramma so fascinating. It's so subtle, in fact, that if you're not paying close attention you might miss his appearance altogether. But FlyLo doesn't pay Yorke any undue deference, just treats his vocals like another element to manipulate and weave into the mix. Obviously an electronic-music fan, Yorke has done these guest spots before (for Modeselektor and others) and with such a high-profile contributor it's easy to make the song all about him. The song that will likely get the most attention here is ".And the World Laughs With You", a collaboration with Thom Yorke. And it's not just beats: "Satelllliiiiiiite" is as dreamy as anything FlyLo's done to date, its distorted vocal samples and steam-building arrangement not unlike something out of Burial's repertoire and frankly just as good. These aren't just tricks- in each case they push the song toward a groove. The beat of "Computer Face // Pure Being" trips over itself again and again like clothes tumbling in a dryer. In "Zodiac Shit", he makes a heavy, loping bass thump sputter out on cue, creating a physical rumbling quality. FlyLo shows ridiculous talent in each section- the things he can do with and to beats just aren't common. The latter partly serves as a necessary breather from the complicated sounds earlier on. True to its title, Cosmogramma then moves through a heady astral stretch and finally a more downtempo jazz-heavy period. Like much of the album, it sounds almost frustratingly unstable until you hear it a few times and the pieces begin to interlock and congeal. ![]() On "Nose Art", FlyLo puts raygun squiggles alongside woozy synths, grinding mechanical noises, and about 10 other sonic elements. There are roughly three of these passages- the first is an aggressive three-song suite based loosely on videogame sounds. That's clear on Cosmogramma, as there are distinct passages that pursue an elaborate kind of digital jazz and the album is constructed to move through different sections, as one of Coltrane's might. Ellison is, of course, the nephew of jazz great Alice Coltrane and has said in interviews that his albums are in part dedicated to her. Jazz is a big influence on the record, and it's a good place to start talking about the individual sections that make up the whole. In this sense, it feels almost like an avant-garde jazz piece, and so it takes more than a few listens to sink in- one or two spins and you're still at the tip of the iceberg. But Cosmogramma is conceived as a movement- bits of one song spill into the next, and its individual tracks make the most sense in the context of what surrounds them. Even on Los Angeles, which hung together well as a full-length, there were moments you could pick out as singles or highlights- the distorted pop of "Camel" or the maniacal electro-house of "Parisian Goldfish". Indeed, Cosmogramma is an intricate, challenging record that fuses his loves- jazz, hip-hop, videogame sounds, IDM- into something unique. ![]()
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