REVIEW & INTERVIEW: OH, THE LUMENS ‘PARADE’
“Just as flowers in a bouquet or floats in a parade, it’s a sprawling and organic collection, but there’s still a musical narrative that holds the different tracks together,” said Péter of Oh, the Lumens.
Parade marks a glorious comeback for the Oh, the Lumens duo after many years of inactivity. Quirky, vibrant musical doodles came to life in the evolving dance beat while the flamboyant background dipping in colors and shapes. Sometimes it gets goofy and lost in the motion, and just when you get comfortable, it surprises you with a crafty dance move.
Sometimes it takes you to a twisted world of post-rock, and sometimes you find yourself floating in space, surrounded by stars. Sometimes it takes you to a tropical “Favorite Island.” Suddenly, the friendly smiles, foreign dance groove, and refreshing weather are all that you could care about. It has emotions and moody, reflective moments. In a spacious environment, “Jets Again” is where emotions run wild in the wind.
Photo Credit: Daniel Greenfeld
As an escape from the boredom during covid-19 isolation, Parade is a vivid, sprawling, and hypnotic. “I love the variety, the many details, and layers. Our sense of humor shines through much of the music,” Péter commented. “I’m also delighted and sometimes surprised by the level of detail we managed to achieve in the record,” Rikard commented.
Parade by Oh, the Lumens is a fearless initiation of intuitive music-making inspired by a technique they invented seven years ago. Running Ableton on two laptops in the same room, working on two songs simultaneously. They would set up a timer and switch, adding an interesting twist and unexpected development to each other’s draft. Working remotely on Parade follows the same core idea, although they have to use Dropbox as the middleman. Instead of criticizing, they encourage bold ideas and fun attempts. “It was liberating,” Péter commented, “frankly, we were surprised and overwhelmed. We were also overjoyed by how much music we were making.”
Bounded over the mutual love for At the Drive-in, Jamiroquai, and Radiohead in high school, they have collaborated on numerous projects until a creative stagnation. They stayed friends throughout the years, intending to make something together once again. "It's been a very fearless and vulnerable experience where I’ve been contributing by not thinking what sounds right, but rather what feels right and knowing that my musical co-writing partner, Péter, will embrace whatever I send him,” said Rikard. “The experience of making an album together means a lot to us. We really want to keep going with this new project of ours,” said Péter.
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