WAV Artist of the Month — Lotus

For Lotus, putting out an album means more than just a collection of songs.

As the pioneering jamtronica band commemorates over 20 years of performing, the band’s eleventh studio album How To Dream In Color soundtracks a kaleidoscopic, sonic journey balancing the forces of rock and electronica perfectly pieced together for their most beloved fans.

Two years in the making, How To Dream In Color emerges as a 12-track audio reverie. Both intentional and transformative for the band, the album tracks between hi-fi studio sounds, deep grooved jamtronica, and lo-fi analog beats.

Once you embark on the listening journey, you’ll find a collage-styled sonic book illustrating technicolor electronic textures, psychedelic blues nods, electro-pop sensibilities, and all around gooey jam sequences that perfectly poise the band as they fully step into their new chapter as a four-piece.

“[How To Dream In Color] was pieced together with recordings from different times. There ended up being this sort of contrast between really hi-fi studio sounds and lo-fi analog sounds. We put all of that together and got this really vibey sound and deep grooves throughout the record,” Jesse Miller (bassist) told MP3 MAG.

“’Bamboo Forest‘ is a great example of that concept,” Luke Miller (guitarist) chimed in. “It starts off with a pon drum and then there’s violin on top of that, guitar, and all sorts of synth layers, going into a whole modular synth section. That’s not something you would do live unless you had like a 20-piece group or something.”

The dichotomy between genres is potent from the start.

The album ignites with the rock-driven track, ”How Do I Come Down” highlighted by Tim Palmieri’s scorching guitar parts, soon swept away as it transitions into “Splinter,” a 135 hard swing, two-step beat electronic number.

As if the balance between rock and electronic was ever an issue for Lotus, this album truly put the two to the test for a beautiful auditory balance.

With a selection of styles that ultimately sum up the band’s two decades’ worth of influence in the live jam scene, the album also marks the now four-piece’s first full-length studio project following the tragic passing of longtime percussionist Chuck Morris. Instead of completely leaving out Morris’ sound in the band’s new chapter of music as a four piece, Lotus instead adapted their recording process to honor his memory while still embracing new creative directions.

“’Can You Hear The Sound’ is an example of where there’s a loop from the original tape drum recordings and then it’s layered with a drum recording from the studio to produce a double drum sound to mimic the rhythmic complexity that Morris brought to our group,” Jesse Miller said.

Lotus does more than intentionally bring Morris’ spirit into the record — the band has made it one of their most collab-heavy records to date. While Lotus is known for their jam-heavy instrumentals with the occasion of vox vocals, this album proved to be a penchant for inviting collective collaboration. The tracks “How Do I Come Down” and “On My Block” both feature complementary vocal layers by longtime collaborator Gabe Otto.

“’How Do I Come Down’ and ‘On My Block’ both started as instrumental tracks and then we both could use some vocal parts to complete them,” Luke Miller said. “Most of the original arrangement of ‘How Do I Come Down’ started in the minor key and [Gabe Otto] sent back a vocal part that shifted it into a major sound that impacted the arrangement a bit. It’s been around 10 years since he’s been in the actual studio with us so it was cool to bring him in again.”

Journeying through the technicolor album, you’ll hear even more sonic landscapes that are outside the group’s usual wheelhouse from their onstage performances. From Rachel Eisenstat’s (Sugar Nova) vocal echoes ringing out behind the bubbly melodies in “Splinter,” Arthur Lewis’ soulful nods in the psychedelic blues tune “Can You Hear The Sound,” Chalk Dinosaur’s talk box and vocoder in the electro-disco composition “Electric Orange,” Jinty McTavish’s intentional violin chords in “Bamboo Forest,” Brothers Of Brass’ New Orleans brass-band stylings on “Glass,” and Creative Horns’ horn arrangements on “In The Shadow Of The Mountain,” each track chapters a new set of instrumental characters that are brought to life in the studio.

As the album comes to an end, the ethereal and hazy melodies of “Goodnight Supermoon” that segue into the rippled guitar on the closing track “Wavvvves” truly complete the album’s narrative sonic arc.

“’Goodnight Supermoon’ is a straight reference to the famous book by Margaret Wise Brown,” Luke Miller explained. “To me that song was kind of trying to get into that vibe where you chill out and relax and go into a dreamlike state — that space between awake and asleep — and explore that sound. It’s the penultimate song, right before the last track ‘Wavvvves’ that truly takes you from that open space between falling asleep to being fully dreaming.”

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