Alternate Forms by Son Lux
The release of Lanterns in 2013 was a breakout moment for Son Lux. Fans, critics, and musicians were drawn into the album’s otherworldly vortex of sound. NPR described Lanterns as the "most fully realized Son Lux album," noting that the music rested “comfortably at the nexus of 21st-century R&B, hip-hop and synthpop.” Album tracks like “Easy”, and “Lost It To Trying” earned millions of streams online, and were covered/sampled by pop stars around the globe. The glowing success of Lanterns cast a bright light on the future of Son Lux, providing a strong signal of things to come.
Son Lux has evolved in unexpected ways since the release of Lanterns, as evidenced in their recent Oscar performance with David Byrne and Stephanis Hsu (Son Lux’s score for the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once was nominated for two Academy Awards). Alternate Forms celebrates that journey, while honoring the collaborative spirit of Lanterns.
Collaboration is a foundational element in the creative process of Son Lux, and Alternate Forms offers a formidable set of contributors, including Kishi Bashi, Sen Morimoto, KAINA, Sedcairn, Sound of Ceres, Chris Pattishall, Vuyo Sotashe, Jordan Munson, Isaiah Robinson, Anna B Savage, DM Stith, vōx, Alexander Vincent, Kilamanzego, and Omari Jazz. The album’s artwork has also been reimagined by Lanterns cover art designers Ryan Sievert and Anthony Ciannamea.
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From the start, Son Lux has operated as something akin to a sonic test kitchen. The band strives to question deeply held assumptions about how music is made and re-construct it from a molecular level. What began as a solo project for founder Ryan Lott expanded in 2014, thanks to a kinship with Ian Chang and Rafiq Bhatia too strong to ignore.