Local sounds of Flying Lotus, Baths, to enhance atmosphere of “Offworld: Where you are – where you want to be” exhibit

Experimental, digital art by Design | Media arts students meets experimental, digitized hip-hop by Flying Lotus in New Wight Gallery tonight.

“I think they like his music because he has a strong visual component to his work … and his music is experimental, which appeals to Design | Media Arts students because they (experiment) with computer graphic design,” said Kelsey Mitchell, a third-year anthropology student and CEC concert staff member.

Mitchell first suggested that Flying Lotus perform at UCLA when she was being interviewed to join the Campus Events Commission concert staff. Her idea satisfied the requests of the Design | Media Arts students who are organizing the “Offworld” exhibit.

UCLA students who attend the “Offworld” exhibit can see him in a performance space adjacent to the exhibit, which will be held in the New Wight Gallery.

Flying Lotus, or “FlyLo,” is a prominent L.A. electronic musician whose music can be described as psychedelic, instrumental hip-hop. Flying Lotus recently returned from a tour in Australia and New Zealand, where he was promoting his latest album “Cosmogramma.” He was featured at last year’s Coachella Music Festival.

While the exhibit, which features art pieces from Design | Media Arts undergraduate students, is open to the general public, the performance requires a BruinCard, and admittance is on a first come, first serve basis.

Los Angeles-based electronic musician Will Weisenfeld, who performs under the moniker Baths, will open for Flying Lotus. Both performances, which will be held in the Experimental Digital Arts space of Broad Art Center, will also feature a visual component, with artwork from UCLA students displayed in the background that will sync with the artists’ performances.

Weisenfeld released the album “Cerulean” last year and has been performing around the country since.

A classically trained musician since the age of 12, Weisenfeld initially didn’t pursue a career in music.

“Once I began writing music, I fell in love with it again,” Weisenfeld said about the beginning of his career.

Inspired by artists such as Bjork, Weisenfeld, who said he has been writing songs for seven years, began writing from an electronic perspective and fusing his works with hip-hop sounds.

“(Cerulean) is not one specific color, but a spectrum of colors … and (the album) is a spectrum of similar ideas that work cohesively as a whole,” Weisenfeld said about his official debut album, which also features his own vocals.

Weisenfeld agreed to perform as part of the “Offworld” exhibition after a friend at UCLA asked the artist if he would be interested in playing for students. Weisenfeld said he will try to play new music as well as songs from a forthcoming album during his 40-minute set.

While the Design | Media Arts exhibit has a different concept every year, Vanessa Szeto, a Chinese and communications student and CEC director of concerts, said that these performers would be a good fit for the avant-garde exhibition.

“(Flying Lotus is) such a dynamic artist that blends a lot of genres. His music crosses a lot of boundaries with electronica and hip-hop,” Mitchell said.