The Lotus Matter Interview: ‘In Limbo Pt. 1’ and the Shape of an Unfinished Work
The Lotus Matter are a band that clearly outgrew their origins. Formed in 2017 and reshaped through lineup changes, they moved away from progressive death metal toward something more patient, layered, and exploratory.
That shift defines ‘In Limbo Pt. 1.’ There’s a deliberate sense of movement throughout the album. Ideas repeat, expand, and sink in over time. It gives the sense of moving inward rather than forward, which fits with the loose conceptual starting point around Dante’s Inferno without turning it into a literal narrative. Their influences are clear without being overstated. There is the patience of post metal, some indie and art rock restraint, and a clear appreciation for the scale of older progressive rock. Keyboards and electronics play a central role, marking a turning point in their sound and opening space for experimental arrangements. The production reflects the same approach. The band had a clear idea early on and handled much of it themselves before bringing in an outside mixer to finish it. The album is clearly the first half of something larger, and it leans into that incompleteness.
“We wanted to create this sense of entering a cave and going deeper and deeper”
‘In Limbo Pt. 1’ feels less like a collection of songs and more like a continuous piece, with everything flowing together into a single, dense whole. Did you approach it as a unified work from the beginning, or did that sense of cohesion take shape gradually as the material came together?
Probably both. The album in the beginning was loosely based on Dante’s Inferno, so we wanted to have some kind of thematic continuity in both lyrics and music. We also wanted to create this sense of entering a cave and going deeper and deeper, in a way. That’s why all the songs are connected and there is no silence in between. Of course, later, when we all started writing and recording, riff by riff and song by song, everything started to make sense as we were getting a clearer picture of the album’s structure and flow.
The title ‘In Limbo Pt. 1’ suggests this is part of something larger, something unresolved. What does “limbo” mean in your context, and how do you see that idea carrying into the next part?
We prefer not to answer this question before ‘In Limbo Pt. 2’. It will have some kind of resolution, though.
The use of strings, trumpet, and even bagpipes on ‘Erased?’ stands out within a post-metal context. How did you approach integrating those elements so they felt natural rather than added on?
In ‘Erased?’s case, we didn’t view the opening riff as a traditional metal one. We viewed it more as a drone. In Greek/Balkan/Eastern traditional music, having a drone and a lead line (whether it is vocals, clarinets, or bagpipes) is very common. The song was already moving in that direction anyway, so it made sense to use this instrument in this song.
The rest of the additions (string section, trumpets, and female backing vocals) were a matter of experimentation and trying to break the conventional sounds one expects to hear on a post/prog album.
You moved from progressive death metal toward a more experimental, atmospheric sound. How did that shift happen?
It was a matter of personal influences changing and the addition of new members. The biggest change happened when Aggelos, our keyboard player, joined. So we began experimenting with synthesizers and more electronic sounds. It was around that time that keyboards became a core part of our sound and not just an addition, which changed a lot of things in terms of arrangements and original ideas.
The album has a lot going on, but it still sounds clear and defined. How important was the mixing and mastering in keeping those layers balanced?
From the early demos, we had a very clear idea of what we wanted this album to sound like. As it was self-produced, we committed early to various things such as guitar/bass tones, drum sound, etc.
We also did the early stages of the mix ourselves. Later in the process, we wanted to involve someone not familiar with the project to finish the mix because we needed someone who was not emotionally attached to it (and burned out). So we contacted John and gave him a lot of notes. Those notes gave way to lots of revisions and lots of “there is this guitar that comes in at 10:42—can you please take it 2 dB down?” etc.
Anyway, he didn’t kill us, and we are happy with the result of both the mix and the master.
The track ‘In Limbo’ features Katerina Charalampopoulou, and she appears elsewhere as well. How did you approach the vocal side of the album, and when did it make sense to bring in a guest voice?
‘In Limbo’ serves as the opener for both ‘In Limbo Pt. 1’ and ‘2’. It made sense thematically for it to be completely different from the rest of the album, as the perspective changes lyrically.
In order to create this contrast, we used very different (almost acoustic) instrumentation as the core of the song (piano, strings) and, of course, female vocals. After all that, we contacted Katerina, who is a friend and a great singer. We talked about the concept of the album, and we recorded the song.
How did you come up with the name “The Lotus Matter,” and what does it represent for you?
The name of the band, for us, is more or less a photograph of some people working and making music together at some point in time (I’m unsuccessfully paraphrasing David Gilmour’s answer to this question), but I believe it’s true. We are happy that the band’s name is open to interpretation, but for us, the origin of it is really not that serious.
You’ve had several lineup changes since 2017. How has that affected your sound, and what did the current lineup bring to this album?
Every member of the band contributed to the making of the LP—from original song ideas to close collaboration on the various aspects of the production. This album would not have been the same without this lineup.
In a way, the final product a band produces is the collection of everyone’s influences, ideas, and input. As new members were coming in and old members left, the band was pulled in various directions depending on what each individual wanted. So the band’s sonic direction is dictated by the people who are in it at any given moment.
The visual side of the album feels very deliberate. How important is that aspect to you?
For us, the visual aesthetic of the things we do (whether it is the album cover or the music videos) is almost as important as the music. This probably comes from Pink Floyd, who already from the ’60s were combining visual storytelling with their songs. For example, this is why, for both our music videos, we did not choose to record ourselves fake-playing over the tracks, but instead tried to create a visual narrative.
So we are not exactly trying to build a visual language alongside the music, but rather make this visual language part of the music, if that makes sense.
Can you walk us through how a track like ‘Into the Bone’ or ‘Erased?’ came together?
We can’t really remember ‘Into the Bone’ or ‘Erased?’ to be honest. ‘Run, Rest. Return,’ on the other hand, was born during a jam in the studio. Our bass player, at the time, began playing the opening riff, and by the end of the session we had a rough idea of what the first part of the song would look like.
We had the ambition of having a really long song on the record, and having this part—which is basically a 4-minute build-up—seemed to be a good basis for the rest of the song to evolve.
To close, what do you hope listeners take away from ‘In Limbo Pt. 1’?
The concept of the two LPs, for us at least, revolves around one very specific question—and it is a question that has been asked before. We hope things become clearer when Pt. 2 comes out.
As none of the albums is going to answer this question directly, we want everyone to take away what they want from them.
Klemen Breznikar
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