It was the name of an online radio broadcast, then the title of the opening track on
Los Angeles, and ultimately the name -- and seemingly the purpose -- of
Flying Lotus' heterogeneous label, launched in 2008 and celebrated with this tenth-anniversary compilation. A crucial node in the L.A. beat scene since inception, Brainfeeder has also thrived with other forms of underground club music and left-field strains of R&B, jazz, and pop, and reached a new level of acclaim in 2015 with the release of
Kamasi Washington's
The Epic. A fair portion of
Brainfeeder X could have been picked off the label's releases of 2018, a year in which Brainfeeder's stature continued to heighten with albums from the likes of
Ross from Friends,
Dorian Concept,
Brandon Coleman, and
Georgia Anne Muldrow. Instead, the previously released portion of the compilation, significantly less than half of its 36 selections, all dates from 2010-2017, an era represented with
Teebs and
TOKiMONSTA's warped beatmaking,
Daedelus' MPB-tinged folk,
Martyn's pellet-spraying U.K. garage mutation, and disparate varieties of funk from
Mono/Poly and bass god
Thundercat.
Flying Lotus' own releases have been issued by other labels, predominantly Ninja Tune and Warp, so none of these flashbacks are from him. The label boss does contribute to
Matthewdavid's swirling ambient inclusion, transforms one of
Coleman's
Sunlight-era
Herbie Hancock emulations into chunky hip-hop, and with
Shabazz Palaces and
Thundercat whips up the aberrant funk of the
George Clinton-enhanced
WOKE. He's also behind one of the new highlights, the delightfully grim "Ain't No Coming Back," a blasting anti-spiritual jazz showcase for vocalist
Busdriver, whose performance resembles an unhinged hybrid of
Mark Murphy and
Eugene McDaniels. Among the other exclusives and glimpses officially issued first through this set are
Thundercat's trippy "King of the Hill" (with
BadBadNotGood),
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's sublime "Kazaru," and
Moiré's Prescription-meets-Dial beauty "Lisbon," progressive slices of soul, jazz, and house.