Five Questions and a Song is the weekly column where we delve into the minds of musicians and ask them to share one of their newest tracks with you.
Son Lux, or Ryan Lott as he is also known, paints pictures with sound. The incredible orchestral pop single ‘Lost It to Trying’, which you can stream below, is the first shimmering brushstroke of his forthcoming album Lanterns, released on October 29th via Joyful Noise Recordings. The New York-based musician has previously worked with Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti and also helped create the soundtrack to the action filled science fiction thriller Looper, developing virtual instruments on his laptop in various hotel rooms and garages around America. We talked to Ryan about the joy of stumbling upon beautiful melodies.
Photo: Son Lux
Describe Lanterns with three words.
Technicoloured, mysterious and heaving.
What was the best part of making the album?
Unexpected discoveries are always my favorite part of the process. Making music for me is a very private, but not lonely, affair. I experience moments of exhilaration when I come upon something that "clicks" or that magically reveals itself as if I had no part in its conception. I privately celebrate these little miracles until the album is out and in other people's ears.
How does New York influence your music?
New York is a mercurial mess wherein things that don't belong together come together. The stark juxtaposition of incongruent parts is inspiring, because in New York, the result is often beautiful.
What's your favourite spread? [asked by previous interviewee Daniel Blumberg]
Peanut butter. All natural and preferably with a touch of honey.
What can you tell us about this song?
‘Lost It to Trying’ came together slowly in pieces over several years. I wrote the flute and sax parts on the spots with the musicians in the studio. I was doing ad work at the time, and had them in the studio for that purpose. I knew we'd have time left over, so I quickly jotted some ideas down at the beginning of each session and tracked them to a click. I developed the piece from that starting point. The vocals and lyrics came last. Often, the melody and lyrical content does not come into the picture until very late in the development of a song. I prefer to work backwards.
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