Jamtronica music pioneers STS9 (aka Sound Tribe Sector 9) have a new live album with Chromalight featuring all-new material. The adventurous instrumental quintet’s LP is a collection of material that debuted in a live setting at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheater in July 2023. STS9’s ever-innovative blend of electronic and acoustic instruments into an organic sound is showcased on Chromalight with dazzling results.
The 2023 shows marked 20 years since STS9’s debut performance at Red Rocks, and they went all in to keep things fresh. The new songs explored synergies between the group’s cutting-edge sound and their inventive light show, as they sought to create a multi-dimensional experience where the synchronized interplay between the music and the lights was more integrated than ever before.
“The multi-sensory production set out to explore the connection between sound and light, the colors we associate with musical notes and scales, and how we can tap into the power of the harmony between them to create an intentional and immersive live spectacle,” STS9 said about Chromalight in a press release.
Guitarist Hunter Brown and keyboardist David Phipps are genuine tone science masters, crafting inventive melodies that sync with pulsating grooves and dynamic beats from drummer Zach Velmer, percussionist Jeffree Lerner, and bassist Alana Rocklin. The quintet have a knack for dialing up fresh sounds that also seem familiar in their infectious trance dance jams, which bring audiences together in ecstatic unity as few other groups can. This collective talent for creating inspiring soundscapes where the whole feels greater than the sum of the parts is fully displayed on Chromalight.
“Everything on the album, that’s the first time we’ve ever played it,” Brown told Denver’s Westword alt-weekly in a recent interview. “We’d written most of it in the months leading up to Red Rocks. So it’s a big force of creative energy that culminated in that work.”
The mid-tempo “Darkest Before Dawn” is an early highlight of Chromalight, conjuring an uplifting spiritual vibration (a longtime Sound Tribe specialty.) No matter how dark the world gets, STS9 have a talent for generating inspiring tunes that make it feel like all will soon be well. Phipps’ crisp piano lines and Brown’s bright guitar melodies are vital elements here.
“Haze” features trippy synths over a marching beat of sorts, while “Habitat” invokes a meditative vibe with a softer beat and skillful layering of sustained melodies before Phipps takes the lead with his artful piano runs on the airy “Halos”. One of the peak moments of Chromalight occurs on “Dreamstate Patrol” as STS9 drops an instant classic dance groove, featuring a pulsing bass line over a tightly syncopated beat with psychedelic tricks as the melodies seem to climb up and down the sonic landscape.
“Searchlight” keeps the groovy vibes flowing with tight polyrhythms from Velmer and Lerner, generating something of a cosmic cowboy sound with more trippy synths from Phipps that seem to open a portal to another dimension. Phipps continues to star on the second half of the album with his rippling synths over kinetic breakbeats from Velmer on “Obscure Intro”, while Brown alternates between counter melodies and matching harmonies. “So Much More” raises an uplifting vibe again with a female vocal sample invoking visions of positivity as the vocalist sings “Much more is what we got in store”, while Rocklin leads the way with some sensational grooving that the group coalesces around.
“Refraction” sparkles with a psychedelic synth loop over a straightforward beat that gives the synth melodies room to flow, a prime example of STS9’s skill for sonic spacing. “Cave and Light” shines with more of the spiritual vibrations that come from Brown and Phipps weaving melodies over a gentle groove from Rocklin, while Velmer and Lerner play with a lighter touch. “Fires” stands out with guitar and synths harmonizing a tune over a compelling beat, while “Skyspace” soars with triumphant synths and sustained guitar lines that resonate with a utopian mood. “Human Dream” concludes the proceedings with the group starting at a simmer and gelling as they build up swirling melodies around a big groove.
STS9 have been one of the most unique bands in the music world for a quarter century, with their debut album Interplanetary Escape Vehicle dropping in 1999. Chromalight keeps a long winning streak going as the influential instrumental quintet continues to push boundaries with their genre-blending sonic alchemy and collective improvisations.