Flying Lotus Releases ASH Soundtrack Ahead of Film's Debut

Flying Lotus has released ASH (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) featuring the single “It’s Out There.” The soundtrack features music written by Flying Lotus for his visionary new directorial project, a sci-fi horror thriller, starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul.

An unpredictable, tension-filled story of survival on an alien planet, ASH required a soundscape as otherworldly and expansive as its setting, prompting Flying Lotus to draw inspiration from synth score pioneers like John Carpenter and Vangelis. Anchored by atmospheric, layered synthwork, pulsating rhythms and industrial sci-fi textures, the 27-track collection is a captivating sonic companion to the onscreen story, fully immersing viewers into the alien world of Ash. Following its worldwide premiere at SXSW earlier this month, ASH will be available in theaters nationwide this Friday, March 21 from RLJE Films and Shudder.

 The score was originally introduced with lead single “OXYGENE,” its darkly propulsive rhythms and synths coalescing into a foreboding and hypnotic opener to the album. Featuring during one of the film’s key scenes, meanwhile, is “IT’S OUT THERE,” a haunting, electronic slowburn of throbbing synths that dials up the sense of dread as the story intensifies. Also included on the album are features from a variety of artists – experimental producer Little Snake joins Flying Lotus for unsettling industrial cue “CONFRONTED,” while producer, composer and sound designer Kuedo contributes the lushly orchestral “WHAT’S WRONG PEACH?” featuring violinist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. The album concludes with “OBEY,” an original vocal track and the film’s end credits theme featuring singer-songwriter Niki Randa.

Of the album, FLYING LOTUS says, "Working on the score was both inspiring and challenging. I spent most of the time writing it during the final postproduction and color grading when I was in New Zealand, running back and forth to different rooms to check on progress and going into my lil cave there and working with just my laptop and controller. I drew inspiration from composers who primarily just used synths to create soundtracks, like John Carpenter, Akira Yamaoka, Angelo Badalamenti, and Vangelis. It was a great time trying to find a distinctive sound for the movie that also felt fresh and unique for me to explore."

ABOUT ASH

On the mysterious planet of Ash, Riya (González) awakens to find her crew slaughtered. When a man named Brion (Paul) arrives to rescue her, an ordeal of psychological and physical terror ensues while Riya and Brion must decide if they can trust one another to survive.

ABOUT FLYING LOTUS

It's impossible to examine the music of the last 15 years without considering Steven Ellison, aka Flying Lotus. A creative of many mediums, Ellison is just as likely to appear at Sundance with a film as he is to perform at Coachella. His run of six studio albums, featuring collaborators like Thom Yorke, Mac Miller, Erykah Badu, David Lynch, and longtime friend Thundercat, solidified him as one of the decade's driving musical forces. So renowned is his aptitude that everyone from Kendrick Lamar, who recruited Ellison for the landmark To Pimp A Butterfly, to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim turns to him for inspiration. Pitchfork designated the LA-based artist an icon of the past 25 years, and he won a Grammy for his work on Thundercat’s It Is What It Is and was nominated for Producer of the Year at the 63rd Grammy Awards.

Growing up in LA, Ellison was immersed in a rich environment of artistic inspiration - with musical legends, Marilyn McLeod and Alice Coltrane in his family, and his interests spanned everything from beat-making to anime. By the late 2000s, his ability to incorporate jazz, hip-hop, and nebulous, futuristic elements had established him within LA's famed Low End Theory and beyond. While he himself signed to the famous Warp Records label, Ellison began a label of his own, Brainfeeder, putting out music by Grammy-recognized artists such as Thundercat, George Clinton, Kamasi Washington, and Hiatus Kaiyote.

Thanks to his passion for animation, experimental films, and the future, Ellison’s visual output has been equally as expansive, provocative, and avant-garde. His live sets draw acclaim for their immersive visuals that perfectly complement his genre defying music; sophisticated visual projections, stunning 3D animations and futuristic light displays blur the lines between music and visual art. This attention to the visual details translates over to the screen as well. He directed Kuso (2016), a body horror film that premiered at Sundance, and served as an executive producer as well as composer for Netflix’s animated series Yasuke, starring Lakeith Stanfield as the titular samurai. Ellison co-wrote, directed and scored a segment for the renowned found footage horror anthology V/H/S/99, and has announced a development deal between his Brainfeeder Films and Paris based Logical Pictures and XYZ Films, to direct and produce a slate of forthcoming projects. In tandem with his musical talents, Ellison’s visual artwork solidifies him as one of the foremost creatives of his time.

Photo Credit: Jen Raoult