New Deluxe Edition LP from Orisha Lux

Coming out of Chicago, Orisha Lux is an artist whose work lands in the overlap where electronic music can move between the physical magnetism of the dance floor and the more reflective spaces of sound. The artistic banner of Jordan Thomas, Orisha Lux is an electronic artist, producer, composer and screenwriter whose creative world brings together house, drum and bass, downtempo, hip hop, R&B and trip hop in a genre-blurring fashion. Moving between driving rhythms and atmospheric textures, his music is shaped by an interest in cinematic storytelling, with each project offering another opportunity to explore the relationship between energy, emotion and sound.

Taking his first sonic steps in chill lo-fi and trip hop, Jordan has gradually expanded his musical vision into Chicago house, deep house and ambient electronic areas. His influences range from J-Dilla and Madlib, to the dance-floor legacy of Frankie Knuckles, as well as acts like Thievery Corporation, Portishead and Three 6 Mafia. He doesn’t view such diverse sounds as separate destinations and through Orisha Lux, he draws from their different qualities to create a style that remains open to experimentation. Groove and atmosphere are equally important, allowing his music to shift between movement and contemplation while retaining its own sense of identity.

His developing output can be traced through a growing catalogue that includes Dream Dimension, The Dreamer, Elysian Alchemy, 33 Degrees and Prismatic among others. His track “Lake Park Avenue” received airplay on Chicago’s Vocalo 91.5 FM, bringing his music to a wider local audience, while his third-place finish within his group in America’s Next Top Hitmaker, a national music competition presented in partnership with Rolling Stone, offered another accolade in his journey.

With Final Flash, Orisha Lux brings the radiant identity of The Lux Era into a more concentrated and energetic setting. House music, drum and bass and Jersey club provide much of the album’s forward momentum, while R&B, hip hop and chilled trip hop contribute contrasting shades of warmth and tone. The release reflects his interest in electronic music as something that can be expansive while offering an emotional centre, where rhythm supplies the movement but atmosphere and melodic detail give the material room to breathe.

The next chapter arrives with Final Flash: Deluxe Edition, an expanded release that turns an initially separate project into a more immersive statement. The additional material was originally conceived as a standalone EP called 35 Degrees, before Orisha Lux decided to fold the songs into Final Flash, resulting in a 21-track edition that includes seven new compositions, taking the album further into drum and bass, liquid drum and bass, deep house and atmospheric electronic music. Kicked off by “Final Form,” the record starts with sweeping electronic textures while the steady pulse of Jersey club rhythms and sparse vocal sample shots ride above crisp percussion to form a grooving curtain raiser.

The aptly titled “Voltage” follows with zappy synth tones and shuffling beats as warbling vocal samples add to the track’s infectious sense of motion. “Afterimage” casts a mesmeric scene of soft keys, contrasted by the punch of drums as wobbly bass lines and alluring vocal textures combine to form craft a slick dance jam. “Flashpoint” leans into Orisha Lux’s R&B side where soulful vocals drift above spacey instrumentation and rattling beats to serve up a downtempo slice of pop-tinged music that’s catchy and immersive throughout.

One of the new cuts, “Tanzanite – 35 Degrees Intro” rolls into smooth drum and bass, combining energetic breakbeats with enveloping electronic textures and breezy, jazz-inflected instrumental tones. “Lapis” moves towards a deeper house groove, while “Moonstone” lands with bubbling textures before rustling percussion and chopped vocal samples collide to form an invigorating scene as flute-like leads flutter throughout.

“Eclipse (Amethyst Remix)” features Brother Jacob, revisiting an earlier collaboration with the Chicago blues vocalist and bringing soulful expression into Orisha Lux’s developing electronic fabric. “Citrine” explores the more fluid, melodic qualities of liquid drum and bass before the closing track “Celestine” brings an intricate bounce of clapped rhythms and warm, stuttered instrumentation, offering an upbeat finale to Orisha Lux’s epic new release.

Across Final Flash: Deluxe Edition, Orisha Lux continues to explore how electronic music can balance physical intensity with a more dreamlike aesthetic. Based in Chicago’s house tradition but receptive to a vast array of cutting edge sounds, the expanded album captures an artist whose identity is driven by the opportunities presented by bringing them together. As he continues to make an impact as an exciting and highly original producer on the rise, we can’t wait to see what Orisha Lux has lined up next on his thrilling sonic adventure.

Listen to Final Flash (Deluxe Edition) below