After the latest video of Thom Yorke’s DJ set surfaced yesterday, I thought I would write a little post about the L.A. phenomenon that is The Low End Theory. I, like many of you out there am an avid subscriber to the Low End Theory’s podcast, and have been pawing at my iTunes of late, hoping for the newest one to surface. Four long months had passed since episode 18 and resident DJ Nobody’s set, and all was quiet on the Western front, then bang! new Gaslamp Killer episode is released and a few days later a video surfaces of Thom Yorke absolutely smashing the place with a DJ set!

Thom Yorke Live DJ Set @ Low End Theory LA 3.9.11 from Theo Jemison on Vimeo.

The glitch-hop / dubstep / all round new and awesome music coming out of L.A. at the minute is all being spearheaded by the guys behind Low End Theory and in particular, the stand out artist of the scene, Flying Lotus. They have taken what is essentially the very British dupstep scene and rebranded it for the hip-hop heads of America, and have bridged the gap between the two rather diverse and unique EDM cultures in a very different way to their East side counterpart Dub Wars.

As well as cross breeding the musical styles of the UK and US, they have also imported maybe not the biggest names from the UK, but definitely the most forward thinking (the latest example being Jon Hopkins guesting on episode 19). This sound is similarly being support back over the pond, with experimental British stalwarts Ninja Tune picking up a number of the artists that are very much within the Low End Theory community; Deadelus, Tokimonsta, Gaslamp Killer and others, all getting mentions on the Ninja Tune 20^th anniversary podcast back in September.

Now all we’re waiting for is the release of the long awaited Low End Theory documentary. I still haven’t heard a release date yet, but you can check out the extended trailer below. Get in touch if you know any news about the documentary.