Lotus has crafted a unique musical style outside of simple genre
limitations. On a given weekend the band could be the only group with
guitars at an all electronic music festival and then the next night
crash a traditional rock festival with their dance heavy beats, synths
and samples. Equal parts instrumental post-rock and electronic dance,
the band's distinguishing feature is the ability to maintain a
decidedly unique musical voice and remain current while bucking
passing trends.
No matter what the venue, the energetic joy and catharsis of a Lotus
show is infectious. The band slowly built a devoted fan base through
steady touring and the crowds have grown at an increasing pace. This
grassroots growth has made the band in high demand for festivals
including Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Ultra, and Rothbury and earned the
band sold out shows at the country's premier theatres and clubs.
Lotus's new self-titled album moves in a decidedly more electronic
direction than their previous two releases - Hammerstrike (2008) and
Oil on Glass/Feather on Wood (2009). Analog synthesizers, manipulated
sounds, dub effects and heavy bass are complemented by horn and string
arrangements in addition to Lotus's standard guitar/bass/drums
instrumentation. Grooves move from slinky funk and gritty half-time on
the first half of the album to the beautiful and expansive closing
track Orchids. While short pieces of vocals are used throughout, the
only song to feature singing is The Surf. The track may be the closest
thing to an indie-pop song the band has released, but the melodic
guitar hooks and ecstatic synth parts are pure Lotus.
Similar to their music, the recording process for the album looked in
multiple directions in order to achieve a distinct style. Using
traditional recording methods to track live to analog tape and then
editing and mixing using modern techniques created an expanded musical
space filled with uniquely crafted sounds. The band road tested and
tweaked these tracks for the better part of two years. The result is
an album worthy of the self-titled status - the band's singular sound
and spirit runs through every track.