In early December, jamtronica favorites Lotus released a brand new album Frames Per Second, their first studio release since 2016’s Eat the Light. Frames Per Second is a sprawling, 19-track release comprised of a mix of never-before-heard material and songs the band has been introducing and road-testing since the release of Eat The Light (like “Cold Facts”, “Bug Love”, “Faceblind”, “Cosmosis”, “Forgotten Name”, “Gifford’s Airship”, “Jiggle”, “Pachyderm”, and “And yet They Fight”).
Along with the album itself, Lotus released a studio documentary chronicling the recording of Frames Per Second at Rittenhouse Soundworks in Philadelphia. The documentary showcases Lotus in a pure, raw form performing live in the studio.
INTERVIEW: Mike Rempel Talks Lotus’ New Album & Evolution, Side Projects, Disc Jam, & More
Today, Live For Live Music is pleased to debut the band’s video for “Fortune Favors”, as Lotus gives an in-depth look into their recent Frames Per Second recording session. Bassist/composer Jesse Miller shared the song’s origins, explaining:
“Fortune Favors” originated from some bits of music written for our 2016 Halloween ‘Space Disco’ set. We had the basic chord change and some of the synth patterns. I had been listening to a lot of Alice Coltrane music and other 70s spiritual jazz at the time. In many of those records, musicians were bringing in Indian instruments into a free-jazz context and a droning tambura was often used. So I was drawn to that sound to start off the song. The melodies move from a basic western minor scale with disco oriented chord change into a section that uses more half-steps (flat 9, major 3rd, minor 6 for music theory nerds). Those scales give a kind of Middle Eastern sound. The modular synth bridge pushes the chromaticism even further. I like that it functions like a guitar solo in the arrangement, but with the precision of a sequencer. The guitar, instead, is used to add texture with a reverse delay effect. Fortune favors the bold.
You can check out the Live For Live Music premiere of Lotus’ new video for “Fortune Favors” below:
Lotus – “Fortune Favors”
[Video: Lotus]
Lotus also recently announced a new crop of 2019 tour dates in support of the new LP. The band’s upcoming scheduled performances include a pair of shows in Philadelphia in January (1/25, 1/26) as well as multi-night stops in Buffalo, NY (2/8, 2/9) and Pittsburgh, PA (2/15, 2/16) in February. Lotus will pick back up in the spring with a three-night stand in Brooklyn, NY (4/4, 4/5, 4/6); a two-night stint in Washington, D.C. (4/19, 4/20); and a two-night Colorado run including a show at Denver’s Summit (4/26) and a tour-closing blowout at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with Ghostland Observatory (4/27). Lotus is also scheduled to make festival appearances at Live Oak, FL’s Brainquility Fest in February, as well as a performance at Scranton, PA’s Peach Music Festival in July.
For ticketing and more information, head to the band’s website here.