Flamagra

Flamagra is the sixth studio album by American record producer Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison), released on May 24, 2019 by Warp Records.^[6] It is his first album since 2014's You're Dead!.^[7] The lead single, the spoken-word "Fire Is Coming" featuring David Lynch, was released along with its video on April 17, 2019.^[8] The album also features contributions from Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, Shabazz Palaces, Thundercat, Toro y Moi and Solange.^[9] A deluxe version of the album with the instrumentals was released on May 29, 2020.^[10]

Flamagra
Studio album by Flying Lotus
Released	May 24, 2019 (2019-05-24)
Recorded	2015–2019
Genre	Jazz-funk[1] hip hop electronic
Length	66:57
Label	Warp
Producer	Flying Lotus
Flying Lotus chronology
You're Dead! (2014) Flamagra (2019) Yasuke (2021)
Singles from Flamagra
"Fire Is Coming" Released: April 17, 2019 (2019-04-17)[2] "Spontaneous / Takashi" Released: April 23, 2019 (2019-04-23)[3] "More" Released: May 8, 2019 (2019-05-08)[4] "Black Balloons Reprise" Released: May 21, 2019 (2019-05-21)[5]
Alternative cover
Deluxe Edition cover art.

Background

Ellison said that he had gathered different material from the past five years in the process of making the record, and had a "thematic idea" about making an album with a fire concept during that time. He imagined an "eternal flame sitting on a hill", and upon hearing David Lynch talking at a party he was attending, asked him to record the same words for his album, at which point he said the idea for the album became fixed.^[9]

The track "Post Requisite" was featured on the soundtrack of Ellison's 2017 feature film Kuso and was accompanied by a music video. Prior to the album's release, the tracks "Fire Is Coming", "Spontaneous", "Takashi", "More" and "Black Balloons Reprise" were released as singles. The latter is a reprise of the song of the same name from Denzel Curry's 2018 album Ta13oo. The opening track "Heroes" is a new version of the previously released song "Heroes Pt. 5".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.8/10[11]
Metacritic	80/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
The A.V. Club	B+[14]
The Guardian	[15]
The Independent	[16]
The Irish Times	[17]
Mojo	[18]
NME	[19]
Pitchfork	7.8/10[1]
Q	[20]
Rolling Stone	[21]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Flamagra received an average score of 80, based on 27 reviews.^[12]

Year-end rankings

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Afisha Daily (Russia)	The Best Foreign Albums of 2019	20	[22]

Commercial performance

As of July 2019, the album has moved 10,000 units in United States.^[23]

Track listing

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[24]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Heroes"	Steven Ellison Stephen Bruner	2:44
2.	"Post Requisite"	Ellison Bruner	2:08
3.	"Heroes in a Half Shell"	Ellison Bruner Brandon Coleman	1:17
4.	"More" (featuring Anderson .Paak)	Ellison Anderson .Paak Bruner Justin Brown Dennis Hamm	4:17
5.	"Capillaries"	Ellison	1:54
6.	"Burning Down the House" (featuring George Clinton)	Ellison George Clinton Bruner Coleman	3:03
7.	"Spontaneous" (featuring Little Dragon)	Ellison Yukimi Nagano Erik Bodin Fredrik Wallin Håkan Wirenstrand Bruner Coleman	2:08
8.	"Takashi"	Ellison Syunsuke Ono Bruner Coleman	5:51
9.	"Pilgrim Side Eye"	Ellison Herbie Hancock Bruner Miguel Atwood-Ferguson	1:30
10.	"All Spies"	Ellison	1:45
11.	"Yellow Belly" (featuring Tierra Whack)	Ellison Tierra Whack	3:11
12.	"Black Balloons Reprise" (featuring Denzel Curry)	Ellison Denzel Curry Bruner	2:41
13.	"Fire Is Coming" (featuring David Lynch)	Ellison David Lynch Bruner Atwood-Ferguson Hamm	3:16
14.	"Inside Your Home"	Ellison Bruner	1:26
15.	"Actually Virtual" (featuring Shabazz Palaces)	Ellison Ishmael Butler Bruner Coleman	1:58
16.	"Andromeda"	Ellison Bruner	1:28
17.	"Remind U"	Ellison Coleman	2:41
18.	"Say Something"	Ellison Bruner Atwood-Ferguson Hamm	1:15
19.	"Debbie is Depressed"	Ellison Bruner	2:19
20.	"Find Your Own Way Home"	Ellison Taylor Graves	1:40
21.	"The Climb" (featuring Thundercat)	Ellison Bruner Atwood-Ferguson Coleman	3:15
22.	"Pygmy"	Ellison Bruner	1:24
23.	"9 Carrots" (featuring Toro y Moi)	Ellison Toro y Moi Atwood-Ferguson	3:01
24.	"FF4"	Ellison Atwood-Ferguson	1:11
25.	"Land of Honey" (featuring Solange)	Ellison Solange Robert Glasper Bruner Atwood-Ferguson	3:27
26.	"Thank U Malcolm"	Ellison Coleman Bruner	1:32
27.	"Hot Oct."	Ellison Bruner	4:35
Total length:			66:57

Japanese edition bonus track^[25]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
28.	"Quarantine"	Ellison Bruner	3:48
Total length:			70:45

Sample credits

• "Post Requisite" contains a sample of "Everything You Do Is a Balloon" by Boards of Canada.
• "Heroes in a Half Shell" contains audio samples of the Dragon Ball series.
• "Black Balloons Reprise" contains a sample of "Ten Et Tiwa" by Alain Goraguer.
• "Debbie is Depressed" contains a sample of the theme for the Wii Shop Channel by Kazumi Totaka.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[24]

Musicians

• Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – strings (1, 3, 12, 19, 20, 26)
• Ashley Norelle – backing vocals (4)
• Taylor Graves – keyboards (4)
• Ronald Bruner – drums (8, 26), backing vocals (20)
• Deantoni Parks – drums (19, 21)
• Niki Randa – backing vocals (20)
• Thundercat –  bass (1, 2, 4, 6-9, 12-16, 19, 21, 22, 26, 27), Backing vocals (20, 21)

Technical

• Flying Lotus – mixing
• Daddy Kev – mixing, mastering

Artwork

• Winston Hacking – artwork
• Echelon Color – retouching
• Stephen Serrato – layout
• Guccimaze – typeface design
• Joph (Jeong-woo Jo) – portrait

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[26]	55
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27]	47
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28]	16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29]	122
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[30]	74
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31]	60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32]	20
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[33]	36
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34]	28
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[35]	96
Scottish Albums (OCC)[36]	20
UK Albums (OCC)[37]	25
US Billboard 200[38]	45
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[39]	5
US Top Dance Albums (Billboard)[40]	1
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)[41]	1