Anders Trentemøller made a name for himself when he remixed DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Wrong’ in 2009. He succeeded not only in stamping his own vision with a far superior interpretation but more significantly, highlighted the more recent shortcomings in DM’s production and arrangement department.
With support slots for Basildon’s finest too, the scene is now set for his own work to be recognised. While primary known as a dance producer, his previous two albums ‘The Last Resort’ and ‘Into the Great Wide Yonder’ showed the Dane to be highly capable of mixing organic instrumentation with electronics. ‘Lost’ is a combinational development of its predecessors but with a greater emphasis on songs. This is particularly evident with his hip support cast of vocalists such as Low, Kazu Makino, Jana Hunter, Marie Fisker and Ghost Society.
Positively nocturnal with smatterings of Lynchian guitar and mechanised beats, ‘Lost’ however begins with the meditative slowcore of ‘The Dream’ fronted by Low. But the album is jolted from this sedate start with the bass grunt and eventual electronic intensity of ‘Gravity’ voiced by Jana Hunter. Bigger beats start in earnest with ‘Still on Fire’; its trance-like qualities would be quite similar sounding to Ferry Corsten’s ‘Sublime’ were it not for the rockier inflections. There are also the psychedelic overtones which dominate ‘Candy Tongue’ and the Turkish flavoured electro spy drama if ‘Constantinople’ which comes complete with an organ solo aping THE DOORS! Elsewhere, while technology merges with guitars, full-on dance friendliness is very much on the backburner. Instead downtempo haziness is very much on the agenda with the processed chill of ‘Come Undone’ angelically sung by Kazu Makino and the chilling atonal bells of ‘Morphine’; the mutant jazz of the latter has a distinct ‘Twins Peaks’ meets Nordic Noir vibe.
But the standouts of ‘Lost’ are much more rhythm laden. The muted synth trumpets and spacey swirls of ‘Deceive’ driven by an incessant drum machine come over like DM meets DEATH IN VEGAS. Meanwhile, the epic ‘Trails’ with its conventional bass and guitars take a visceral approach that sidechain to a sickly claustrophobic feel before erupting into a more electronic and percussive second half. There is no shortage of ambition as proven by the deviant sub-9 minute drone ‘n’ bleep fest of ‘Hazed’ and the hidden piano piece after.
Add in the indie electronica of ‘Never Stop Running’ and the frantic GHOST SOCIETYassisted ‘River Of Life’ with its aggressive arpeggios and raw feedback, ‘Lost’ is an adventure in sound that will reward multiple listens simply because it sounds different on each play depending on mood and the time of day. It will win Trentemøller plenty of admirers for its rugged, cavernous production style if nothing else. And to think DEPECHE MODE’s perfect producer has been sitting under the noses of Messrs Gahan, Gore and Fletcher for over 4 years! Trentemøller’s multiple texture blend would work tremendously… after all, he pulled it off once already with ‘Wrong!
‘Lost’
http://www.anderstrentemoller.com/
https://www.facebook.com/trentemoller/
Text by Chi Ming Lai
10th September 2013
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