1983 is the debut studio album by American electronic music producer Steven Ellison, under his moniker Flying Lotus. It was released by Plug Research on October 3, 2006. The album is named after Ellison's year of birth. The 20th anniversary edition was re-released on vinyl for Record Store Day on April 17th, 2026.
Critical reception
Marisa Brown of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5, writing, "It's controlled and circular but also very warm and expressive, able to have fun, to not take itself too seriously." Chet Betz of Cokemachineglow commented that "1983 isn't very obvious about envelope-pushing, yet it's rare that an instrumental hip-hop album can remain eminently listenable while standing so firm in character and purpose, ontological towards its subgenre without forgetting to funk, simultaneously without milking the funk for its more shameless immediacies." Dave Segal of XLR8R called the album "a rare species of cosmic underground hip-hop". He added, "Flying Lotus combines Madlib's affinity for jazzy arrangements and chord progressions, Nobody's and Daedelus' psychedelic textural proclivities, and J Dilla's economical, dusted funkiness." Meanwhile, Brian Howe of Pitchfork gave the album a 5.8 out of 10, stating, "like an overly workshopped novel, the album is stylish, well-turned, and interchangeable with its peers".
In 2017, Ammar Kalia of Clash wrote, "Composed using a patchwork of influences ranging from jazz harp to Japanese synthpop, Afro-Cuban rhythm and distorted game sounds, it serves as a mission statement, setting the tone for Ellison's future works."
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.
Flying Lotus – music Laura Darlington – vocals (10) Daedelus – remix (11) Kelly Hibbert – mastering Brandy Flower – artwork
Charts + Chart performance for 1983 Chart (2026) Peakposition
References
External links
1983 at Plug Research