REVIEW: Son Lux - We Are Rising

Son Lux - We Are Rising
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There is an annual creative challenge held in February called “The RPM Challenge.” Within this limited timeframe, musicians are invited to make an entire album (10 songs or 35 minutes in length), from a simple tape recording to a full-blown studio production. The rules permit using material written before February, but some are daring enough to conceptualize and complete a batch of nothing but new material for the project. Son Lux (aka Ryan Lott) was busy with his day job and working on his sophomore album when NPR asked if he’d accept the challenge. Not only was he bold enough to accept, he also scrapped all the material he had been laboring over for the sophomore album. We Are Rising is a product of both The RPM Challenge and one man’s inspiring, unflinching determination to transform an ambitious idea into an awe-inspiring reality.

LISTEN: Son Lux - "Rising" + We Are Rising LP

Photo by Brenden Beecy

New York-based electronic artist Ryan Lott (aka Son Lux) is set to release his new sophomore album, We Are Rising, next Tuesday, April 26th. At this time, I have not given the album a full spin yet*, but I can tell you that it is an album you can really get lost in -- and I mean that in the best way possible. We Are Rising is a special album, not just for the aforementioned reason, but specifically because Lott wrote and recorded the entire thing in one month -- just two months ago, to be exact. Yep. That's right. When you hear just one or two tracks, it's hard to believe that something so textured and fairly complex in construction could have been the product of just one month. And to top it all off, Lott had already begun work on a new Son Lux album but didn't use any of that material on what would become We Are Rising.

Was Lott so bold to draw this mission himself? Well, it was all NPR's doing. Lott was already busy with his day job in addition to working on the intended sophomore Son Lux album when NPR contacted him about the RPM Challenge. Basically, it's an annual, international call for musicians to write and record an album (10 songs or 35 minutes) in the month of February. NPR challenged Lott, and Son Lux delivered. Check out "Rising" from the album below.

Ryan Lott on the challenge from NPR:

"My initial reaction was, 'There is no way I can do this,' " Lott says. "So I slept on it and talked to a couple of people. But honestly, it was totally a gut thing, which ended up being the theme of the month. Just go with your gut." (via NPR)