Today, long-running instrumental-electronic quintet Lotus has released their new independent studio album, Free Swim. PRESS HERE to listen. Free Swim, available digitally and on vinyl, mines dance grooves from soulful funk to dirty disco to build instrumental songs with a signature Lotus sound. Check out the first listen with Relix. Written and produced by the group's Jesse and Luke Miller and recorded earlier this year at Spice House Sound in Philadelphia, Free Swim marks the band's 10th full-length studio album overall, not including their multiple live, EP and remix collections, and is the follow-up to Lotus's 2018 audio and video album experience Frames Per Second.
"After working on Free Swim for the last year and a half, we are very excited to share it with the world," shares Jesse Miller (bass, modular synth). "Crank up the speakers and dive in!"
The new 10-track album pays homage to the greats of music's past, built on the bones of what the five members of Lotus listen to and have absorbed over time. Free Swim is an eclectic and groovy instrumental mix of funk, disco, jazz and psychedelia, looking to bring happiness and joy to listeners. From the jazzy-house of album opener and lead single "Catacombs," which was inspired by everyone from Daft Punk and St. Germain to Nile Rodgers, to the vintage funk of "Sepia Rainbow" and "Earl of Grey" and the head-bopping cosmic disco tune "Bjorn Gets A Haircut," Free Swim will make you want to move. The chorus on title track "Free Swim," whose groove is built on a galloping piano riff and a syncopated guitar melody, is full of summer brightness with the guitar and synth repeating against a bass line that bounces like bare feet on a hot pavement. Tracklisting for Free Swim below.
Lotus will celebrate the release of Free Swim on Friday, September 4th with their only live performance for the remainder of the year. The special event takes place at the parking lot adjacent to Citizens Bank Park in their hometown of Philadelphia, part of the Live-In/Drive-In concert series presented by Live Nation Philadelphia and Budweiser Zero in partnership with the Philadelphia Phillies. PRESS HERE for tickets and more info.
Lotus - Mike Greenfield (drums), Jesse Miller (bass, modular synth), Luke Miller (keyboards, guitar), Mike Rempel (guitar) and Chuck Morris (percussion) - has always been difficult to define musically; an instrumental jamband that has favored groove-based improvisation instead of gaudy solos and noodling. Influences of classic electronic dance music, funk, post-rock and dance-rock have all made their way into the Lotus sound. Over the years, their unique musical blend helped forge a new path in the jamband landscape, influencing many younger bands in the scene. Albums such as their debut studio release, Nomad (2006) have become a touchstone for how to organically fuse elements of electronica with jam music, and the band continues to evolve through each tour and album bringing in new sounds and writing styles. Since their formation two decades ago, Lotus has toured actively throughout the US working their way up from dingy basement clubs to world-class venues such as Red Rocks. They've become festival favorites, playing everything from Bonnaroo, Camp Bisco and Outside Lands to Ultra Music Festival and Electric Forest, building a hyper-loyal following along the way. Lotus also hosts their annual SummerDance Festival in Garrettsville, Ohio, which will resume in 2021. A Lotus live show is an experience, a uniquely crafted and improvised set taking everyone, the crowd and band, on a journey.
That unique journey continues with Free Swim, which is packed with catchy melodies and killer grooves with a rich analog sound from top to bottom. The end result is a wide variety of styles that twist and turn, but all of them are a blast of sunshine glinting off the water. Jump in for Free Swim!
FREE SWIM TRACKLISTING
1. Catacombs
2. Turtlehead
3. Free Swim
4. Sepia Rainbow
5. One-Eyed Jones
6. Bjorn Gets A Haircut
7. Straight Blade
8. Earl of Grey
9. Snake Island
10. Land of the Lush
