via Lotus.com:

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.”

Monks Tracklisting
1. Monk (Young)
2. He Ain’t Well – ft. Ozay Moore
3. Cannon in the Heavens – ft. Lyrics Born and Chris Vos (Record Company)
4. Great Molasses Flood
5. Deep Inside the Mothership – ft. CX
6. Different Dream – ft. Mr. Lif and Jay Lapp (Steel Wheels)
7. Pitched to the Fire
8. Another World – ft. Gift of Gab
9. In the Shadow of Towers
10. Follow Me – ft. Mane Rok and Xencs L. Wing
11. Atlas Slugged
12. Simplify Unwind – ft. Mr. Lif
13. Four Tips – ft. Ras Arcane
14. Bow Out
15. Cloud 9 – ft. Doodlebug and Ras Arcane
16. Monk (Old)

Lotus On Tour
August
17- Scranton, PA- The Peach Music Festival
25- Eugene, OR- Kaleidoscope Music Festival
29- Buffalo, NY- Thursday at the Harbor
30/31- Garrettsville, OH- Summerdance 2013

September
1- Chicago, IL- North Coast Music Festival
1- Chicago, IL- Concord Music Hall (Official NCMF After Party)
6-8- Hancock, NY- Catskill Chill Music Festival (exact day TBD)
13- Morrison, CO- Red Rocks Amphitheatre
14- Kansas City, MO- Dancefestopia 2013
15- Columbia, MD- The Blue Note
18- Nashville, TN- Marathon Music Works
19/20- Athens, GA- Georgia Theatre
21/22- Charlottesville, VA- The Jefferson Theater

October
25-27- Placerville, CA- Hangtown Halloween Ball (exact day TBD)
31- Morgantown, WV- Metropolitan Theater

November
2- St. Louis, MO- The Pageant
5- Covington, KY- Madison Theater
9/10- Washington, DC- 9:30 Club

January
4-9- The Open Seas, FL- Jam Cruise

February
14-16 – Live Oak, FL – AURA Music Festival (headlining two days, exact days TBA)