Lotus Emperor Premiere Video for Title-Track of New Album Syneidesis
Posted in Bootleg Theater, Reviews on November 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Lotus Emperor release their awaited second album, Syneidesis on Nov. 25 through Sound Effect Records. The Athens-based four-piece made their self-titled debut in 2015, and they return now with vast distances measured across 47 minutes of dug in, hypnotic and meditative heavy psychedelia. The bulk of the offering takes place in three extended songs complemented by two shorter stretches that, to scale, could be called interludes, but nonetheless flesh out the atmosphere that is so much a focus throughout the entire proceedings. On the most basic level, it is a marked shift in songcraft from the first LP, which had more songs (14), ran 69 minutes, and touched the 10-minute mark only once.
As to what’s behind that shift, I couldn’t say — hey, a lot of things have changed in the last seven years — but it lends Syneidesis a thematic thread that pushes farther and farther out through its title-track with an epilogue in the three-minute closer “Synteleia” (they translate it as “continuity,” which I like; when I looked it was the somewhat less romantic “the end”; go figure). “Anemos” indeed is windblown throughout its coming together across its early minutes, and Lotus Emperor work with enticing quickness to establish key elements in their patience in how the song unfolds, their use of minimalism in the guitar to make each note seem to count double, their ambience, melody, and ability to fluidly transition into a harder-hitting rhythm as they move through the second minute before solidifying (relatively) at about 3:13 into the total 11:48 around a riff that presents itself like what might happen if Queens of the Stone Age‘s “I Think I Lost My Headache” fell into a black hole.
The groove they lock in at that moment is a telltale galactic rollout that serves as a beginning point for the whole record, opening up to a clear verse delivered by vocalist Konstantina Latzaki over cymbal washes and an eventual resurgence of a slower version of the central nod. By the song’s halfway point, Latzaki, guitarist Stasinos Papastathopoulos, bassist/synthesist Panos Dimopoulos and drummer Nikos Antzoulatos have worked their way into to the march that will define the song, but there’s still more spacing out to do in the back end, with guitar and bass underscoring a section of open, vocal-topped atmospherics that’s duly otherworldly and entrancing. The riff comes back, and Papasthathopoulos‘ guitar seems to rise in the mix to a dominant, triumphalist position.
Since the album was recorded live, between 2020 and 2021 at Room 59 by Haris Pitsinis — who also adds effects to “#59” and “Synteleia,” while drummer Greg from The Last Rizla joins in on the title-track and Nikos Antzoulatos adds backing vocals to “Petra” — it is that much easier to imagine it being relatively close to the stage experience of seeing the band live, and in that context, “Anemos” moving into the more actively riffy “Petra” makes even more sense. The nod of the opener is expanded on and the vocals echo out with held notes for the last lines of measures before dropping to whispers over bass punches just past the midpoint, but it’s a short break and the roll resumes, with synthesizer swirl added as a thanks-for-hanging-out-feeling bonus element. The ending of the song, which begins at about 8:47 into the 13-minutes-flat track, is righteous in its added push, the guitar leading the way through a noisy surge before breaking down to ambience and exploring that quiet space for a while until “#59” takes over with its own eerie psychedelic vibe, horror organ and willfully meandering guitar.
Fair to call it an interlude, but it’s not insubstantial even among the longer pieces surrounding. It serves to guide the listener through the middle of the tracklisting and bridge “Petra” and “Syneidesis” in a way that allows for a breath between them while staying consistent in terms of mood, which is paramount. Dimopoulos‘ bass work early adds progressive flair to “Syneidesis” as that title-track begins to unfurl, and the emergence of the march is gradual but palpable. An atmospheric vocal highlight, with Latzaki moving between croons and whispers in creepy but not necessarily witchy fashion, the platform is ready for the declarations that top the get-loud apex beginning at 7:51, soon enough swallowed by the dual-layered guitar solo.
They’ll recede and build back up before they’re done, and over a swirling riff with just an edge of Mediterranean folk influence, “Syneidesis” ends suddenly and cold in the way of, well, death. Dimopoulos shows some influence from John Carpenter in the synth-led finale, some vague samples and VHS-cinema swirl for the end credits of the long-player, with a sense perhaps of that being an aspect of their sound that will be utilized more in releases to come. That is to say, there’s room for more if they want to go that route over the longer term, but for a band who just took seven years to follow-up their debut — for whatever reason; again, I don’t know the circumstances behind the delay and I’m not about to guess — I’m not remotely comfortable trying to predict where the “next record” might go, whenever it should arrive.
Perhaps, then, the message should be to appreciate what’s happening in the moment. Those who caught onto the first record seven years ago — that’s not me; I suck at life — will no doubt rejoice at the something-of-a-comeback Syneidesis represents, but if they’re new to you as well here, the cohesiveness with which they undertake what’s actually a pretty stark change in approach remains striking. Syneidesis is an album that builds a world and a story of the self in the universe, a cosmic identity forged in a reach of unfathomable scope. Elements of what they do will be familiar, nestled as they are somewhere between psychedelic exploration, space-doom and atmospheric post-heavy, but the affective experience of Lotus Emperor is no less individual than what you bring to hearing it. So probably the thing to do, then, is hear it.
You can get a sample of the title-track in the video below for an edit of the song. I hope you enjoy:
Lotus Emperor, “Syneidesis” official video
Lotus Emperor on Syneidesis:
We open our sails for a second time! With aid from “Anemos” (Wind,) Lotus Emperor’s vessel travels again through the mysteries of life, using our sounds as a medium to carve the “Petra” (Stone) and, through our “#59” wormhole accelerator, shape the new collective “Syneidesis” (Consciousness) in order to get things done from the beginning to the “Synteleia” (The End).
7 years after their self-titled debut, and a minor classic among the international heavy-psych scene, Lotus Emperor are back with “Syneidesis”, their second and debut for Sound Effect Records! Led by Constantina Latzaki’s voice, Lotus Emperor have broaden their horizons, moving on to a mystical journey, an atmospheric mixture of fuzzed-out doom, shoegaze and post-punk, all part of a deeply ritualistic psychedelic concept! On “Syneidesis” Lotus Emperor go cinematic and turn the “difficult” sophomore album to their most compelling work so far.
Released on limited black and neon violet vinyl and CD, on November 25th 2022.
Tracklisting:
1. Anemos (Wind) (11:48)
2. Petra (Stone) (13:00)
3. #59 (4:46)
4. Syneidesis (Consciousness) (14:40)
5. Synteleia (The End) (3:19)
Lotus Emperor:
Vocals: Konstantina Latzaki
Guitar: Stasinos Papastathopoulos
Bass: Panos Dimopoulos
Drums: Nikos Antzoulatos
