| Son Lux — Remedy EP (May 12th, 2017) |
Son Lux — Remedy EP (May 12th, 2017) 
♦¬ Remedy je výraz z oblasti různých fází žalu. Dopad textů je tlumen v průběhu jejich neprůhlednosti a temperamentních sonických posunů od klidu až k vulkanickému výbuchu, aby z tohoto typu náročného zážitku z poslechu, který nepoškozuje, naopak činí člověka blaženým, energizuje, vitalizuje, stimuluje i po opakovaných poslechových lekcích, vzešel pozitivnější výstup. Zvukové efekty nejsou samoúčelné, vokální rašplovačky neurážejí sluch a pisklavé kytary a děsivá syntéza z kláves oslavuje elektroniku. V tomto společně sdíleném kolektivním klimatu který se stane jasněji volatilním každým dalším dnem, takže tato proměnlivá paměť národů už tak nebolí a spíše subjektivně zoceluje, smekám, že někdo dokáže stvořit tak pronikavou a ucelenou výpověď o naší době. Ryan Lott, Ian Chang, a Rafiq Bhatia uklidili v celé miliardové oblasti stylu, ve kterém se pohybují. ♦¬ Dynamic, sound~manipulating post~rock project helmed by composer/keyboardist/vocalist Ryan Lott.
EDITORS’ NOTES:
•¬• Recorded as a benefit for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the four~song Remedy finds Son Lux as ambitious and genre~defying as ever. “Dangerous” layers singer Ryan Lott’s fragile, expressive voice over a bed of chopped~up percussion and strings, while “Part of This” explores the glitchy, post~dubstep soul of James Blake. Most striking is “Remedy,” a reflective hymn carried by 300 crowd~sourced voices.
Birth name: Ryan Lott
Born: 1979 in Denver, CO
Location: New York, New York & LA, CA, United States
Album release: May 12, 2017
Record Label: This Is Meru
Duration: 18:26
Tracks:
01 Dangerous 4:53
02 Part of This 3:08
03 Stolen 4:00
04 Remedy 6:25
℗ 2017 This Is Meru
Description:
•¬• “Evil settles into everyday life when people are unable or unwilling to recognize it. It makes its home among us when we are keen to minimize it or describe it as something else.” — Teju Cole, “A Time for Refusal”
=======================================================
Δ Reemerging in 2017 with four new tracks, Son Lux’s new EP ‘Remedy’ is the ferocious trio’s response to an ever~encroaching reality of social and political upheaval. Reflective but defiant, Ryan Lott, Ian Chang, and Rafiq Bhatia synthesize their signature unpredictable experimentation into an explosive examination of what it means to live, to create, and to resist in America today. These songs were born the week of the 2016 election, and they capture a band both mournful and refusing to accept the new normal. “How does it feel, to be your own deceiver,” Lott whispers in our ears, just ahead of the steady approach of swarming, mechanized woodwinds and rising torrents of noise. “I watch you fall, hollow and depleted. A city razed/raised, to bury you beneath it.”
Δ The EP’s final statement is a plea, sung in unison with a crowd~sourced choir of more than 300 people. “Find your voice, in the sea of surging bodies and breath, to form a melody, to find a remedy.”
Δ In that spirit, Son Lux will donate all proceeds of the sales of ‘Remedy’ to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non~profit organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of American society.
Review
By Larry Schiffman | Rating: 10
ΔΔ Let’s get the important stuff out of the way up front; because many readers may not get any further in the review. “Remedy”, the new EP from Son Lux is a terrific group of songs. Buy it. You need to hear it. The guys in Son Lux and the charity they are assisting could use the help.
ΔΔ Art is ethereal. One person’s triumph is another persons trash. I have lived through “John Cage’s super~minimalistic “4’33 for Piano” (1952) where the three musicians sit silently and the only sound is ambient and where I am told the Art comes from paying attention to what is usually filtered out. I have viewed white~on~white canvases where subtlety in texture and tone is to be interpreted as Art. Performance Art exists in the moment and you should be there to experience it. Electronic “Post~rock~alternative hip hop~trip hop” (as Son Lux is described in Wikipedia) often leaves me cold with the sense, that even after multiple listenings, I am hearing some self~indulgent musician making noise for his personal pleasure.
ΔΔ So, what makes “Remedy” something extraordinary and worthy of acclaim? First and foremost Ryan Lott and his two compatriots make very emotional and personal music. Second, it is largely melodic, structured, compelling, and wonderfully produced. Third, it is topical in a less than strident sanctimonious sort of way. Finally, regardless of your political leanings, contributing profits from the album to a non~profit (in this case to the Southern Poverty Law Center) is a pretty wonderful thing to do.
ΔΔ I knew nothing about the group before I sampled “Dangerous”. I was immediately left with the very real visceral feeling that the title perfectly described the intent of the music. The album was composed following the U.S. Presidential election; and the mood makes a statement about the despair that many Americans felt, and dare I say are still experiencing. It is not obvious from the lyrics that the song, and the other three on the album are political in nature; but when placed in context the message is clear. “Are you dangerous...abscond with the truth”, “ I don’t wanna have to fight you anymore, But I will, oh, but I will”, “May you die... When you knew what you stole has been stolen from you”, “Find your voice in the sea of surging bodies and breath To form a melody, to form a melody”. The EP has been described as “ “a demonstrative look into “what it means to live, to create, and to resist in America today,” and captures the three~piece “both mournful and refusing to accept the new normal.””
ΔΔ There is much in the music to keep a listener occupied and entertained without searching for meaning behind the lyrics. There are plenty of hooks to keep you involved. The mix is eminently well done and adds to the enjoyment. Electronic woodwinds bristle with energy. “Remedy” opens with the sound of a stylus “stuck in the groove” before a lovely karimba introduces an almost classical melody eventually joined by the ethereal voice of Mr. Lott. A crowd~sourced chorus joins in to suggest we can, together, rise above what is becoming our new reality.
ΔΔ There are only 4 songs on the album and I am always sorry to hear them and it end. This is a wonderful and important release. It succeeds on every level intended. It alone may not be the “Remedy” for what passes today as politics in America; but at least you can spend 18+ minutes appreciating the artistry involved in making it.
Δ https://soundblab.com/
Review
Δ In a collective climate that becomes more explicitly volatile each passing day, experimental trio Son Lux doesn’t leave room for confusion regarding its new EP’s raison d’être. The official Bandcamp page for ‘Remedy’ describes the four new songs as a reaction “born the week of the 2016 election… both mournful and refusing to accept the new normal.” Sales of the EP go to the Southern Law Poverty Center, an NPO devoted to combating all forms of hate and prejudice. The name of the EP means “cure”, an antidote for tough times. Jumping into the actual contents of this politically charged project, however, it becomes clear, as well as comforting to hear, that this is protest art at its most nuanced.
Δ Son Lux began as composer and vocalist Ryan Lott’s solo venture, a melting pot of rock, hip~hop, and chamber music gracefully collaborating on records with Lorde and Sufjan Stevens while performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall with choruses and orchestras. On ‘Remedy’, Lott, guitarist Rafiq Bhatia, and drummer Ian Chang don’t take a drastic creative departure from their recent offerings, instead challenging themselves to communicate a message rung from emotional extremes within a tight number of tracks.
Δ ‘Remedy’ is an expression of the stages of grief. Lott wastes no time in incorporating the audience within this framework, asking, “Are you dangerous?” It’s an opening salvo filled with fear and confusion, while ‘Part of This’ is equal measures denial and guilt. ‘Stolen’ is a release of anger that resolves itself in the acceptance and rebuilding present in the closing title track’s call to action. The impact of the lyrics is dampened at times by their opaqueness, and the temperamental sonic shifts from quiet to volcanic make for a challenging listening experience that frustrates and exhilarates even upon repeated visits.
Δ Lott’s voice is mangled and manipulated over the course of the EP, an unstable presence put through the wringer. The trademark fragility of his delivery reaches an unchartered dimension of strained, with squeaky guitars and eerie synths playing against guttural vocal rumbles and sputtering sound effects. Trembling and breaking down like the environment that inspired it, our oral guide finds strength in unity, making use of a crowd~sourced choir of more than 300 people for the EP’s conclusion. Δ Son Lux is never more universally appealing than at this moment, with regard to both taste and urgency. The voices fade and marching drums crescendo, unsettled and advancing. Δ http://www.gigsoupmusic.com/
Son Lux — Stranger Forms (June 17th, 2016) Album release: June 17th, 2016
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop, Experimental, Avant~garde
Record Label: Glassnote Entertainment
Duration: 22:47
Tracks:
01 Cage of Bones 4:17
02 You Don’t Own Me (feat. Hanna Benn) 4:23
03 Change Everything 3:36
04 Redone (feat. Olga Bell) 4:13
05 We Are the Ones 3:16
06 Breathe 3:02
℗ 2016 Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC
Website: http://music.sonluxmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonlux
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonlux
ΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔ
| Son Lux — Remedy EP (May 12th, 2017) |
EDITORS’ NOTES:
•¬• Recorded as a benefit for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the four~song Remedy finds Son Lux as ambitious and genre~defying as ever. “Dangerous” layers singer Ryan Lott’s fragile, expressive voice over a bed of chopped~up percussion and strings, while “Part of This” explores the glitchy, post~dubstep soul of James Blake. Most striking is “Remedy,” a reflective hymn carried by 300 crowd~sourced voices.
Born: 1979 in Denver, CO
Location: New York, New York & LA, CA, United States
Album release: May 12, 2017
Record Label: This Is Meru
Duration: 18:26
Tracks:
01 Dangerous 4:53
02 Part of This 3:08
03 Stolen 4:00
04 Remedy 6:25
℗ 2017 This Is Meru
Description:
•¬• “Evil settles into everyday life when people are unable or unwilling to recognize it. It makes its home among us when we are keen to minimize it or describe it as something else.” — Teju Cole, “A Time for Refusal”
Δ Reemerging in 2017 with four new tracks, Son Lux’s new EP ‘Remedy’ is the ferocious trio’s response to an ever~encroaching reality of social and political upheaval. Reflective but defiant, Ryan Lott, Ian Chang, and Rafiq Bhatia synthesize their signature unpredictable experimentation into an explosive examination of what it means to live, to create, and to resist in America today. These songs were born the week of the 2016 election, and they capture a band both mournful and refusing to accept the new normal. “How does it feel, to be your own deceiver,” Lott whispers in our ears, just ahead of the steady approach of swarming, mechanized woodwinds and rising torrents of noise. “I watch you fall, hollow and depleted. A city razed/raised, to bury you beneath it.”
Δ The EP’s final statement is a plea, sung in unison with a crowd~sourced choir of more than 300 people. “Find your voice, in the sea of surging bodies and breath, to form a melody, to find a remedy.”
Δ In that spirit, Son Lux will donate all proceeds of the sales of ‘Remedy’ to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non~profit organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of American society.
By Larry Schiffman | Rating: 10
ΔΔ Let’s get the important stuff out of the way up front; because many readers may not get any further in the review. “Remedy”, the new EP from Son Lux is a terrific group of songs. Buy it. You need to hear it. The guys in Son Lux and the charity they are assisting could use the help.
ΔΔ Art is ethereal. One person’s triumph is another persons trash. I have lived through “John Cage’s super~minimalistic “4’33 for Piano” (1952) where the three musicians sit silently and the only sound is ambient and where I am told the Art comes from paying attention to what is usually filtered out. I have viewed white~on~white canvases where subtlety in texture and tone is to be interpreted as Art. Performance Art exists in the moment and you should be there to experience it. Electronic “Post~rock~alternative hip hop~trip hop” (as Son Lux is described in Wikipedia) often leaves me cold with the sense, that even after multiple listenings, I am hearing some self~indulgent musician making noise for his personal pleasure.
ΔΔ So, what makes “Remedy” something extraordinary and worthy of acclaim? First and foremost Ryan Lott and his two compatriots make very emotional and personal music. Second, it is largely melodic, structured, compelling, and wonderfully produced. Third, it is topical in a less than strident sanctimonious sort of way. Finally, regardless of your political leanings, contributing profits from the album to a non~profit (in this case to the Southern Poverty Law Center) is a pretty wonderful thing to do.
ΔΔ I knew nothing about the group before I sampled “Dangerous”. I was immediately left with the very real visceral feeling that the title perfectly described the intent of the music. The album was composed following the U.S. Presidential election; and the mood makes a statement about the despair that many Americans felt, and dare I say are still experiencing. It is not obvious from the lyrics that the song, and the other three on the album are political in nature; but when placed in context the message is clear. “Are you dangerous...abscond with the truth”, “ I don’t wanna have to fight you anymore, But I will, oh, but I will”, “May you die... When you knew what you stole has been stolen from you”, “Find your voice in the sea of surging bodies and breath To form a melody, to form a melody”. The EP has been described as “ “a demonstrative look into “what it means to live, to create, and to resist in America today,” and captures the three~piece “both mournful and refusing to accept the new normal.””
ΔΔ There is much in the music to keep a listener occupied and entertained without searching for meaning behind the lyrics. There are plenty of hooks to keep you involved. The mix is eminently well done and adds to the enjoyment. Electronic woodwinds bristle with energy. “Remedy” opens with the sound of a stylus “stuck in the groove” before a lovely karimba introduces an almost classical melody eventually joined by the ethereal voice of Mr. Lott. A crowd~sourced chorus joins in to suggest we can, together, rise above what is becoming our new reality.
ΔΔ There are only 4 songs on the album and I am always sorry to hear them and it end. This is a wonderful and important release. It succeeds on every level intended. It alone may not be the “Remedy” for what passes today as politics in America; but at least you can spend 18+ minutes appreciating the artistry involved in making it.
Δ https://soundblab.com/
Review
Δ In a collective climate that becomes more explicitly volatile each passing day, experimental trio Son Lux doesn’t leave room for confusion regarding its new EP’s raison d’être. The official Bandcamp page for ‘Remedy’ describes the four new songs as a reaction “born the week of the 2016 election… both mournful and refusing to accept the new normal.” Sales of the EP go to the Southern Law Poverty Center, an NPO devoted to combating all forms of hate and prejudice. The name of the EP means “cure”, an antidote for tough times. Jumping into the actual contents of this politically charged project, however, it becomes clear, as well as comforting to hear, that this is protest art at its most nuanced.
Δ Son Lux began as composer and vocalist Ryan Lott’s solo venture, a melting pot of rock, hip~hop, and chamber music gracefully collaborating on records with Lorde and Sufjan Stevens while performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall with choruses and orchestras. On ‘Remedy’, Lott, guitarist Rafiq Bhatia, and drummer Ian Chang don’t take a drastic creative departure from their recent offerings, instead challenging themselves to communicate a message rung from emotional extremes within a tight number of tracks.
Δ ‘Remedy’ is an expression of the stages of grief. Lott wastes no time in incorporating the audience within this framework, asking, “Are you dangerous?” It’s an opening salvo filled with fear and confusion, while ‘Part of This’ is equal measures denial and guilt. ‘Stolen’ is a release of anger that resolves itself in the acceptance and rebuilding present in the closing title track’s call to action. The impact of the lyrics is dampened at times by their opaqueness, and the temperamental sonic shifts from quiet to volcanic make for a challenging listening experience that frustrates and exhilarates even upon repeated visits.
Δ Lott’s voice is mangled and manipulated over the course of the EP, an unstable presence put through the wringer. The trademark fragility of his delivery reaches an unchartered dimension of strained, with squeaky guitars and eerie synths playing against guttural vocal rumbles and sputtering sound effects. Trembling and breaking down like the environment that inspired it, our oral guide finds strength in unity, making use of a crowd~sourced choir of more than 300 people for the EP’s conclusion. Δ Son Lux is never more universally appealing than at this moment, with regard to both taste and urgency. The voices fade and marching drums crescendo, unsettled and advancing. Δ http://www.gigsoupmusic.com/
Son Lux — Stranger Forms (June 17th, 2016)
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop, Experimental, Avant~garde
Record Label: Glassnote Entertainment
Duration: 22:47
Tracks:
01 Cage of Bones 4:17
02 You Don’t Own Me (feat. Hanna Benn) 4:23
03 Change Everything 3:36
04 Redone (feat. Olga Bell) 4:13
05 We Are the Ones 3:16
06 Breathe 3:02
℗ 2016 Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC
Website: http://music.sonluxmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonlux
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonlux