Orisha Lux is Chicago producer Jordan Thomas, and he named the album after Vegeta’s Final Flash attack from Dragon Ball Z, and that fits! This is an album about transformation, and you can hear it change shape from one track to the next.
“Final Form” opens with Jersey club drums, which reminded me of the bounce DJ Sliink built his name on, and it sets the energy high right away. “Voltage” moves into house. Given that Thomas is from Chicago, I couldn’t help thinking of the city’s long house lineage, from Frankie Knuckles to the shuffle Kaytranada has made popular again. “Afterimage” and “Neon Gravity” ease off a little and balance groove with atmosphere. “Flashpoint” brings in R&B, and I welcomed the change of pace. “Pulsar” then dives into drum and bass with a restless energy.
For me the emotional center is “Eclipse,” which features Chicago blues musician Brother Jacob, Thomas’s husband. Hearing a warm human presence in such a synthetic world hit me HARDER than I expected. “Remnant” passes quickly before “Radiance” and “Mirage” carry the momentum forward. “Theta Wave 4” turns inward and feels like a reset. “Palmisano Park,” named after the South Side park, is the longest song on the album and feels the most rooted in a real place. “Ion” and “Stellar” close out the original 14-track album, which came out in June.
The 7 deluxe tracks have gemstone names, and I love that idea, because each one feels like a different color. “Tanzanite (35 Degrees Intro)” opens the new section. “Pearl,” “Lapis,” and “Moonstone” stretch out at a slower pace. The “Amethyst Remix” of “Eclipse” gives the duet a second, more shimmering life. “Citrine” and “Celestite” end things quickly, and I wanted more of them. They felt like ideas that could have grown into full songs.
At nearly 56 minutes, the deluxe edition asks for some patience, especially from listeners accustomed to tightly focused dance records. But its stylistic range is a key selling point. If you want a tight, single-minded dance record, the constant switching between genres may wear on you, and the album chooses variety over cohesion. But I’d rather hear an artist this curious about what electronic music can be than one playing it safe. To me, it sounds like a producer still finding the edges of his sound and having a lot of fun along the way.
My personal standouts: “Final Form,” “Eclipse,” “Palmisano Park,” “Pulsar”
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