CYTRUS – AN ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AND COOL CONVERSATION.
By Ralph Beauchamp
Cytrus is an eight piece psych-funk ensemble based out of Seattle. They have just released their sophomore album entitled Duality. Cytrus‘ sound sits on the crossroads of flow and glow. They blend punchy funk foundations with a bright psychedelic edge. Their guitars carry a brazen tone while layering clean lines of groove that cut through like flashes of sunlight, The band balances divine energy with measured control making their music feel urgent without becoming chaotic.
The band is composed of Jared Squires (guitar/vocals), Luke Nevills (bass/keys), Brandon Hailey (saxophone), Owen Mayo (guitar/keys), Trevor Church (drums), Connor Merritt (aux percussion), Alex Dean (synth/keys) and Sean Connelly (vocals/keys). All eight musicians exceed expectations. Every member contributes to the exalted vibes Cytrus exudes.
What really sets Cytrus apart is how diversity is woven into their sonic choices. Their sound can feel sharp and groove-laden one moment, then unexpectedly reflective the next, creating contrast without losing cohesion. Vocals often ride this aural wave, switching between confident power and more vulnerable tones. Altogether, Cytrus sounds like a band that knows how to hit a stride while still leaving space to breath. It makes their music both memorable and texturally resonant.
Cytrus was kind enough to sit down with AMP for this cool conversation.
AMP: How did Cytrus originally come together, and what’s the story behind the name?
TREVOR: We came together back in 2018. We were originally two bands. Half of us were in one band, half of us in another but we shared the same rehearsal space (a storage garage) in Everett, WA. We got word that our space was getting shut down by the fire department, so we decided to have a “super jam” where both of our bands combined forces and recorded a 6hr jam session.
When we listened back to the recording, it sold us on the idea of creating a “super group” and decided to combine forces from there on out. The band name was one of the first things we had to workshop and it took a while to steer into a direction we all agreed upon. We started landing in “fruit” territory and it snowballed from there. Jared threw out the idea “citrus”, then I threw out the idea of switching the “i” to a “y” and Bob’s your uncle.
AMP: What were some of the early turning points or “this might actually work” moments for you?
LUKE: In 2019, we played in a band competition for a spot on a music festival we had been going to that we all loved and dreamed of playing. We won the competition but the slot was at 2pm on a Sunday, when most people are at the river.
To get more people to our set, we did a renegade jam at 2am the night before, in something called “the sensotorium dome”. People started coming and pretty soon we were surrounded with a line to get in the dome. The next day our stage was packed, and after that we started selling out shows before even having an album out. To this day we’ll see people claim “I was at the dome jam!!”
AMP: When you start working on a new song, what usually sparks the idea first – groove, melody, lyrics or something else?
JARED: It can vary. Sometimes it’s a melody or bassline from a pre-rehearsal improv jam, and sometimes it’s a set of lyrics that call for something with a specific vibe or tempo. But usually melody & bass is king in terms of what catches our ears first!
AMP: Cytrus songs often blend genres. How intentional is the fusion, and how much is pure instinct?
JARED: It doesn’t feel as intentional as it does natural. As a band, we’re sort of a melting pot of different music tastes. Some of us enjoy old movie scores, others old soul, funk, hip hop, disco, anything really! You can hear the movie score influence in our longer form music.
You can hear the hip-hop influence in the backbeat of many drum grooves. In addition, you can hear the funk in the syncopation and rhythmic push/pull. Most of these elements are things that are just naturally inherent due to our music tastes and inspirations
AMP: What’s the weirdest experiment or accident that ended up making it into a track?
JARED: I’d have to say our song “Concentrate” from our first album “Concentrate”. It’s a 12 min epic that was actually born from an improvisational jam that was sort of reverse engineered and refined into a song. It was originally called “Alice Jam” because Sean Connelly (organ, rap) was live scratching an audiobook vinyl of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, and in the context of a psychedelic jam, hearing the vocals being bent and warped was such a trip. We ended up recreating that in what is now “Concentrate” on our first album. That was probably the weirdest experiment turned studio track so far!
AMP: Was there a specific song on the new album that pushed you creatively?
JARED: It’d have to be “Untethered (Young Man)”. I created the initial demo and it was basically just drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and vocals with a loose structure. It needed an orchestral touch, and another person to give it a level of attention and nurturing from a keyboards perspective that I knew was outside of my skill set. But I knew the song, narratively speaking, had to be on this album.
I passed it off to Owen and gave him the brief rundown of inspirations and where I’d like it to go, without being too specific and pigeon-holing him. He put in a good 16 hours by himself, meticulously re-structuring, crafting keys & strings, adding new breakdowns etc. It was once “my baby” and by the time he had returned it with his new additions it was clear that he trusted the idea enough to give it that level of attention and nurturing it needed. I feel like that is a prime example of what letting go and pushing yourself creatively looks like.
And also the probably 30+ hours of editing and aligning horns across the entire album was an absolute test of a creative and technical willpower haha! Some of these songs start on a click track, but we intentionally drop the click halfway through the song. That can make for some very challenging editing in post! But we did it
AMP: What themes or emotions were you trying to capture in your most recent release?
JARED: The album naturally started to sway towards 60s/70s psychedelic and funk, and there are a lot of emotions inherent with those styles of music that we wanted to capture. Love, happy, sad, angry etc. But even more so we wanted to capture the aura within those genres. Euphoria, introspection, reflection, the idea of mortality (good vs evil) etc. In many ways this is the band’s dive into conveying a narrative via lyrics across a full length album so it was important to capture these elements while still leaving room for the listener to come to their own conclusions.
AMP: Who are the artists or producers that most influence your music right now?
JARED: Quincy Jones, Mildlife, Azymuth, Frankie Beverly & Maze, D-Train, Isley Brothers, Earth Wind & Fire. Anything with a good groove!
AMP: Your live shows have a strong reputation for energy. What makes Cytrus’ performances so unique. Also, where do you see the band two years down the road?
JARED: I’d have to say the aspect of risk/reward has become a very unique and important part of our live show. Especially since we have stopped using setlists, I feel like the audience can sense when the band is pushing themselves or stretching their legs during improvisational moments. That’s very exciting as a musician on stage, and that excitement can be felt from the fans off stage too! Being able to write songs with strong hooks adds a motif to a setlist, almost like a screenplay writer but with the ability to write on the fly based on what the crowds are feeling.
As for where I see the band in 2 years…We’re currently writing our 3rd album and it’s shaping up to be some of the strongest music we’ve ever written. It’s going to be its own sonic world and I struggle to see a world in which this music doesn’t resonate with our existing fans while bringing in new fans! It’s always hard to say where we’ll be in 2 years because we have surprised ourselves in the past. But I can say we’re in the best shape we’ve ever been in and we’re putting our best foot forward!
Views: 26
