Captain Murphy (Flying Lotus) Returns with “Mudhole,” From ‘The Furious’ Soundtrack

Steven Ellison is resurrecting his Captain Murphy alias in 2026 with a brand new single titled “Mudhole.” The track was created for the Lionsgate film The Furious, which will hit theaters on June 12th.

Most widely recognized as the producer Flying Lotus, Ellison is nothing if not layered and multi-dimensional. His grandmother was Motown songwriter, Marilyn McCleod, responsible for writing hits like the Diana Ross tune, “Love Hangover.” His great aunt was Alice Coltrane, whom he has sampled in his music, and his cousin Ravi Coltrane has contributed to his work in the studio. FlyLo signed to WARP to release critically acclaimed, forward-thinking electronic and beat music, but effectively helped shape the future of hip hop production from the mid-2000s forward. Thundercat would become a frequent collaborator, resulting in the pair later working closely with Kendrick Lamar. Further collaborators range from Odd Future, Mac Miller, and Erykah Badu to Thom Yorke and David Lynch.

The jazz, electronic, and hip-hop influences all converge into a swirling, visceral pastiche that was on full display during FlyLo‘s impressive multimedia set we experienced at this year’s Big Ears Festival.

Around 2012, the rap alter-ego, Captain Murphy, began appearing online to endless speculation about his real identity. A few tracks arrived as part of the Adult Swim singles project. The sole Captain Murphy LP, Duality featured music from Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s midnight movie classic, El Topo, and was released without a label. In 2012, it received an EXTREMELY limited vinyl release for Record Store Day that can now go for as much as a grand on the secondary market.  The character has popped up on the rare FlyLo track, but, overall, “Captain Murphy” doesn’t release a ton of material.

As a former film school student and filmmaker himself, contributing to the upcoming Kenji Tanigaki martial arts feature is right on brand for FlyLo, and, doing so as his larger-than-life pseudonym is even more fitting.  You can check out “Mudhole” below. The song features production by Ellison‘s Brainfeeder labelmate, Little Snake, and includes “a visual element created by Adam Fuchs aka Lilfuchs, a frequent collaborator and longtime Adult Swim animator who helped create the original imagery associated with the Captain Murphy.” Hopefully, this is a sign we’ll be hearing even more Captain Murphy in the near future.