One of the defining and most popular acts in live electronic music, Lotus has never fit neatly in a simple categorization. The 5-piece continues to push boundaries with the September 10th release of Monks, a hip-hop album featuring Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Mr. Lif, Doodlebug (Digable Planets) and more. Using the band’s own studio work as a sample source, the music will have a familiar feel to Lotus fans but recontextualized as classic hip-hop. Monks will be available digitally, for free via the band’s official website or on iTunes, and on vinyl (pre-order)."The project started with a couple tracks we recorded with Mr. Lif,” explains Luke Miller. “From there, we just kept expanding to eventually include 11 different MCs and singers. Lotus is predominantly an instrumental band, so it was a lot of fun to create these collaborations."Instrumental interlude tracks push into more experimental to create cinematic vignettes. Jesse Miller states, “For the interludes, we went toward funk and jazz influenced beat music. Off-time drum beats, analog synthesizers, tape echo machines and even a baritone guitar were used to record these short evocative set pieces.”The tracks on the album are woven together with a narrative following a monk's journey. "Life as a touring artist feels monastic sometimes. Monks devote their entire lives to their spirituality. We devote much of ours to music and have to sacrifice certain things to make that happen," says Luke.Consistently on the road selling out venues across the country and joining major festivals, Lotus has multiple dates confirmed through the end of the year (schedule below). Highlights include a headline show at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre; North Coast Music Festival & Official After Party; and two night runs at the Georgia Theater in Athens, The Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA and 9:30 Club in DC.The group’s previous release, Build, dropped in February 2013 and had Earmilk calling it “a lushly recorded masterpiece… very powerful and aggressive around the edges, articulated by excellent musicianship and surprisingly heavy beats.”Lotus is composed of Mike Greenfield (Drums), Jesse Miller (Bass, Sampler), Luke Miller (Guitar, Keys), Mike Rempel (Guitar) and Chuck Morris (Percussion).Monks Tracklisting1. Monk (Young)2. He Ain’t Well – ft. Ozay Moore3. Cannon in the Heavens – ft. Lyrics Born and Chris Vos (Record Company)4. Great Molasses Flood5. Deep Inside the Mothership – ft. CX6. Different Dream – ft. Mr. Lif and Jay Lapp (Steel Wheels)7. Pitched to the Fire8. Another World – ft. Gift of Gab9. In the Shadow of Towers10. Follow Me – ft. Mane Rok and Xencs L. Wing11. Atlas Slugged12. Simplify Unwind – ft. Mr. Lif13. Four Tips – ft. Ras Arcane14. Bow Out15. Cloud 9 – ft. Doodlebug and Ras Arcane16. Monk (Old)
