Kevin Bronson on April 17th, 2019

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Flying Lotus’ first album in 4 1/2 years comes advertised as “an astral Afro-futurist masterpiece of deep soul, cosmic dust and startling originality.” Which sounds a lot like what was said about 2014’s “You’re Dead!,” but that was then and this is now.

Today, the artist born Steven Ellison, whose sonic stew simmers through hip-hop, funk, soul, jazz, world music and all strains of electronica, announced that his new album “Flamagra” would be out May 24 via Warp Records. Like his previous work, it’s a behemoth — 27 tracks on two LPs, with a staggering roster of collaborators. The boldfaced names include Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, David Lynch, Shabazz Palaces, Thundercat, Toro y Moi and Solange, among others.

“I’d been working on stuff for the past five years, but it was always all over the place,” Ellison says. “I’d always had this thematic idea in mind — a lingering concept about fire, an eternal flame sitting on a hill. Some people love it, some people hate it. Some people would go on dates there and some people would burn love letters in the fire.”

He ignites the flame by unveiling the video for “Fire Is Coming,” which features David Lynch. Directed by the artist and David Firth, it’s a puppet-filled fantasy playing out the spoken-word track. Be very afraid.

||| Watch: The video for “Fire Is Coming” (feat. David Lynch)