The Devil’s Lotus

The Devil’s Lotus are a Brighton-based band documented by the Brighton Music Archive.

Early days in Devon

The brainchild of Joe Deville Morel and Lottie Holden, The Devil’s Lotus began around April 2018 in Devon. The early days of the band are hazy but its safe to assume it was primarily the duo. They did include Lola Sam (Hotwax) as the bassist on the bands demo of “The French One” that released in July 2021. This single was to be part of an EP that was announced in May that year, however, it would be delayed and end up never being released.

A year later, in May 2022, another EP would be announced with the song “Bad Wolf” to coincide. Whether it was the same EP from a year prior is unknown as this collection would also never release. The single to promote the EP also wouldn’t make it out the studio but would still be used in the “Bad Wolf” short film, so it did technically release in an unofficial capacity.

Move to Brighton, genre shift

In 2023, the band would bring in Lewis Swainbank (Wallfrog) and Sam Lewis to the fold but their tenure would be short lived and they would depart soon after. They would also sign to Moonrock Promotions and become managed by Riley Smith. Later on around July time, Zen Kanu and Jude Reid (Darcy) would replace the previous hands and have a slightly longer tenure, but would also depart to focus on their other project around October 2024. The band would subsequently move away from their indie-rock style and move towards a more world-dub reggae with the introduction of Thomas Roffe (Wallfrog), Matt Cowdry (Goetia, Fat Lloyd) and Ted Hanlon, turning the group into a 5-piece for the first time. The band would then focus on gigging, however, they would leave Moonrock Promotions during the label’s band cuts in 2025.

Radio interview with Morel and Holden for Totallyradio by Nick Roseblade

https://www.totallyradio.com/shows/the-keep-slack-album-club/episodes/the-keep-slack-album-club-the-devils-lotus-fat-freddys-drop-based-on-a-true-story

This month on The Keep Slack Album Club I’m joined by Lottie and Joe from The Devli’s Lotus, and we will be Fat Freddy’s Drop debut 2005 album ‘Based on a True Story’. This album is a LOAD of fun and is a great introduction to the band, if you aren’t familiar. To find out why holiday drinks never taste the same when you are back home, why Lottie moved from Sussex, to Devon and back to Sussex, and Joe’s unwaning love of reggae, press play now…

Music video for “Animals”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-t9JLv3vA