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lostarea


Band name: Lost Area
Title: Dare to Dream
Genre: Electro
Release date: 24th Nov. 2006
Record Company / Label: TheXoomo



Introduction

LOST AREA was founded end of 2003 by Swiss Jan Moser and German Jan Bertram. Both were aiming to produce modern Electro with lot of emotions and deep lyrics. Ingo Ertel was next member joining the project. Short after he joined in, LOST AREA got its female touch with Daniela Dietz (ex-ILLUMINATE) who supported from than on front man Jan Moser in the vocal part. The EP ‘Gabriel’ was released in spring 2005 showing a huge musical bandwidth. The song ‘Painbringer’ develops to some kind of club hit. Live on stage, the band could be seen together with THE CRÜXSHADOWS in Switzerland or at the famous Dark Dance Treffen. Additionally, the charismatic stage presence is underlined with pictures of Jan Bertram’s wife, the well-known scene photographer Annie Bertram. After several additions to different compilations and certain remixes for other bands, now the first regular studio album ‘Dare to Dream’ is available.


Line Up

Daniela Dietz – Lyrics, Female Vocals
Ingo Ertel – Drums, Programming
Jan Bertram – Programming, Mixdowns, Premastering, Management
Jan Moser – Music, Lyrics, Male Vocals


Website

http://www.lostarea.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lostarea   


Song Review

01. Labyrinth (Album Version) 5:06
The labyrinth this song deals with is the labyrinth of life with all its complicated paths. This song tries to tell you how to find your way in this labyrinth – maybe even with the help of a friend. ‘Labyrinth’ starts with whispering voices to the music before a dance beat appears. This one is definitely a song made for the clubs.

02. Phoenix (Album Version) 5:30
The second song of the album is a little bit calmer as the first one. It deals with difficulties in today’s society and hot to find your way through it. With the strength you bear in you, you can rise like a phoenix from the ashes and fight all problems – is you just trust in yourself. That’s something this song wants to tell you. Female vocals and male vocals alternate to the strong dance beat of this song, even though the whole song is a little bit calmer than the first one.

03. Vengeance of Nature (Album Version) 4:23
Female speech chant and a sound like blowing wind lead into this song about the band things humans do to nature – polluted rivers, melting poles etc. And now it is time for nature to strike back, to get its revenge with earthquakes or typhoons. We need to do something now if we want to save nature. Really some serious topic this song deals with. The overall mood is gloomy, dark and dangerous. The obvious dance beat does not fit right here in my opinion. German speech samples about nature catastrophes are woven into the music – I somehow knew some of those samples from different movies.

04. Biomech 5:14
Have you ever asked yourself what happens if there is biomechanical live, consisting just of yes or no decisions? What happens when such a unit fails? What happens when there are emotions? Listen to that song to learn more. At the beginning you have – like in several other songs – male German speech samples. Used harsh metallic sounds fit quite well to the topic of this song. Even though the song is quite beat driven, there are some calmer passages with a duet of male and female vocals.

05. Forever
5:02
The song starts with samples of a child’s voice asking questions about death. That right away leads into the topic of this song which is about the loss of a beloved person – however this loss happened, also death. It is about your emotions when you love forever and have lost what you love, all the pain and the suffering. ‘Forever’ is a sad song with male vocals which are more dominant than before. The beats at the beginning - which remind me a bit of VNV NATION - do not really fit to the sad mood. These lyrics I could imagine within a ballad. During the development of song, female vocals in a strange singing way appear to even stronger beats.

06. Dare to Dream (Album Version) 4:20
Just further with another dance song. Where are those promised balladry songs? The female vocals hold again very much back behind the music. Not too much alternation. But what I miss in the music do the lyrics have which are deep and thoughtful. This song talks about the duties in everyday life and the fact that there is no room for dreams. It leads you back in time when you were a child and still dared to dream. Maybe we should dare to dream today too? Be a child again?

07. Stolen Child 5:54
This relative long song presents very metaphoric lyrics full of fantasy. The whole song is passed through with German speech samples. The typical beat underlines a more spherical and calm songs, not really a ballad, but we go there. The female chant partly goes very high and is combined with choral second voices that create an overall mystic feeling.

08. Soulhunter (Remixed by Accesory) 5:11
After the album songs we switch now over to the remix part of the album. This remix by ACCESORY is very reluctant instrumented with several electronic trifles accompanying the male vocals. Again, we have German speech samples at the beginning.

09. Penhesilea (Remixed by Cephalgy) 4:12
Extended synth layers lead into this calm remix. A certain beats sets in, but it is not as dominant as the synth layers. Finally, some more dominant female vocals are presented. But anyway, also this song reminds me a lot of BLUTENGEL.

10. Deconstruction (Remixed by Unheilig) 4:24
Here we have the first of two remixes of ‘Deconstruction’ – this one by UNHEILIG. It delivers very calm female vocals which are partly even a bit opera-like. The music is changing between calm synth layers and stronger beats; but the overall calm mood dominates.

11. Gabriel (Remixed by Blutengel) 4:58
After a spherical and calm start, strong dance beats appear. This song with male vocals delivers a quite calm spherical connecting piece with synth layers.

12. Life and Order (Remixed by Re:\Legion) 5:43
As some alternation, we now get an instrumental delivered. After a short intro, this piece starts right away with distinct dance sounds and holds them until the end. 

13. Life of Lies (Remixed by Spectralized) 4:29
Even though this song is a bit calmer, there still is an overall dance beat. Female vocals are completed by male vocals. The big plus of this remix are electric guitars (samples?) towards the end.

14. Deconstruction (Remixed by A Flower for Tuesday) 4:27
Here comes the second ‘Deconstruction’ remix. It is even more spherical and calmer than the UNHEILIG remix and presents wide synth layers. The female chant holds back a bit more. The mix ends with sounds of a thunder storm.

15. My Suicide (Remixed by Eurocide) 4:49
Before a pushing beat sets in, the song almost starts in a calm medieval way with choral chant in the back. The beat leads through the whole song with male anyway. Several nice musical gimmicks are used like bell-like elements or lots of spherical sounds.


Cover Artwork



Technical Information

Total Playing Time: 73.42
Total Tracks: 15


Conclusion

The whole album is more dance-driven than balladry – in fact you only find the balladry elements in the second part of the album which is reserved for several remixes of older songs. ‘Dare to dream’ lives from the alternation of male and female vocals and the strong lyrics. If LOST AREA reached their aim - pushing beats and huge synth layers that alternate with balladry songs going under your skin – has to be judged by the listeners. ‘Dare to Dream’ is a start to develop the concept of the band – ‘Electro meets Emotion’ – further. LOST AREA’s delivered quite a good start, but there is also lots of room for improvement; all in all there are not enough innovative ideas and the huge amount of used speech samples is known from several other bands too. Anyway, this album is a good debut of a you band that surely will make its way.


Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7


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