If you're walking through the streets of L.A. and happen to hear "Thundercat" being thrown around in passing conversation, there is a good chance they could be talking about Lionel or Cheetarah, but being that the former have been irrelevant to American pop culture for the last twenty-eight years, there is an even better chance their talking about Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner. The L.A. native and bass virtuoso has been very busy since '06 as a live session and studio musician, running in various musical circles and working with the likes of Erykah Badu, Shafiq Husayn and Om'Mas Keith of the Sa-Ra Creative Partners. Picking up where the incredibly talented Robert Trujillo left off some years ago, Thundercat also plays bass for the popular hard-core punk band Suicidal Tendencies and doesn't even miss a beat.
More recently, Thundercat was beamed up by the Brainfeeder mothership and has been working closely with fellow musician and good friend, Flying Lotus, to complete The Golden Age Of Apocalypse, Bruners' debut album on the label; a foray into the neo-funk, jazz fusion and electro cross-genre meld. Last week (yeah I know…), FlyLo saw fit to bless us with a mix of the new, the old and the unheard of from Thundercat in prelude to TGAOA LP dropping on Aug.30th. Here is what he had to say about it:
Lots of people ask me about Thundercat, and how I come to know this guy. Thing is you've been hearing him for years and probably didn't even know it. He's one of the most talented bass players I've ever witnessed and I've been blessed to have worked with this guy on 'Cosmogramma' and 'Pattern+Grid World'. Since then Thunder has been like a brother to me and feels like the other half of my brain in the studio. I thought it would be good to get you familiar with the man who's contributed his unique sound to so many records I love. Here's some things, a prelude to the LP. Some new, some you might know, some we may never release. His debut album 'The Golden Age of Apocalypse' drops Aug. 30th, which I have had my hand in putting together.
Flying Lotus – Shenanigans Pt.1
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