When it comes to what you’ve heard about Thundercat, believe the hype. A prodigiously talented bassist and central pillar of the Los Angeles beat scene, Stephen Bruner was trained in jazz and classical standards but originally played alongside his brother in the rhythm section of thrash metal legends Suicidal Tendencies. After years of crafting his own music under the Thundercat moniker, it took encouragement from longtime affiliate and Brainfeeder head honcho Flying Lotus to get Stephen’s own swirling jazz, heavy basslines and fierce electronica to the world, but it was worth the wait. 2011’s The Golden Age of Apocalypse melded the astrality of Sun Ra with the stone cold impact of contemporary future bass and Bruner’s remained prolific since, releasing 2013’s Apocalypse and the sublime The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam in 2015, in addition to collaborating with Vic Mensa, Wiz Khalifa, Childish Gambino and many more. Thundercat reached even wider renown in 2015 via his contributions to Kendrick Lamar’s titanic To Pimp A Butterfly and Kamasi Washington’s sprawling The Epic, proving that we’re only just beginning to understand the wondrous creative power Thundercat wields with his bass. His latest album, Drunk, was released in early 2017 on Brainfeeder to much acclaim.

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