Son Lux at Prince Charles / Saturday, 11.05.2015

Son Lux is 35-year-old producer-composer Ryan Lott, a man classically trained, but rewired by his own design. A frequent collaborator and consummate “man behind the curtain,” with Son Lux, the New York- based auteur takes center stage. Somewhere between the concert hall and the dingy hip-hop club, you’ll find his haunting liquid soundscapes, born of beatwise means, rich in their orchestral warmth, always hinting at some divine unreachable height.

Lott was born in Denver in 1979. At 2, he moved to California; at 5, to Connecticut. His father made industrial adhesives; his mother made the home; he had one brother and one sister. Piano lessons were a family rule and Lott began at 6, counting down the clicks of the egg-timer. He hated it, and by 12, knew he wouldn’t be a concert pianist. He’d be a composer instead, but offset this revelation by performing Nirvana covers on guitar in middle school dance bands. His parents brought him to Atlanta for high school, where he picked up the drums, a punk band or two, and a piano teacher who sneaked in a few lessons in jazz and pop.

While he is most recognized for a post-rock and alternative hip hop musical style that has won him many awards, he has also created the soundtracks for major feature films, most notably Looper (2012) and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2013).

In late 2014 he signed with Glassnote Records after previously being with Joyful Noise Recordings. His adventures into pushing the boundaries of sonic wonderment are now legendary. His three full length albums as Son Lux are At War With Walls and Mazes (2008) which earned NPR’s Best New Artist, We Are Rising (2011), and Lanterns (2013) which earned multiple year-end awards. Son Lux’s EP Alternate Worlds (2014) features four tracks reworked from Lanterns, including a collaboration with Lorde. Other collaborators include Sufjan Stevens, Peter Silberman (The Antlers), and Richard Perry (Arcade Fire).