Filteria - Lost in the Wild

[Filteria]

Hi all

I've read through the reviews. Thank you all for your kind words. I am very happy to see that you enjoy the album. I feel proud to be around for 10 years now and see that the music still work

 

To Jon & Penzoline: I've never heard the track "Juno Reactor - Conquistador" before reading your reviews. After listening to it on Youtube. I still can't find any similiraties between Food Demons and that track? Feel free to point out where in track. I am really curious
As for Dog Days Bliss: It wasn't my intention to "copy" Liquid Troll, but sometimes when I am in the flow and work with music, I just "do" without thinking. Listening to this type of fusic for 17 years have set it's marks and sometimes you end up where it feels "right and familiar".

Thank you again for all the support. It means a lot to me
Take care / Jannis

[mars]

I had the chance to be close enough to Filteria to follow the genesis of "Lost In The Wild", so I'll give you my personal review and a few insider informations.

So, "Daze Of Our Lives" was very entertaining, with much better production as "Sky Input" or "Heliopolis", though the tracks were sleeker. Similarly as "Domestic Modulator" in "Sky Input" which gave an insight on "Heliopolis", the last track Filteria had composed for "Daze" was "Earthrise", and, IMO, this gave a pretty appealing insight of what might come after.
But Filteria was out of juice after "Daze", and he doubted he could ever make a 4th album. Yet there were hopes: the "Illogical Logic" track released later was full of energy and inventiveness. What decided him was...the crowd (especially in a party in Russia, and Japan too).

I think he started with "Filteroid" and "Night@12AM" in 2011. I thought they were very good, trancy, along the lines of "Daze", totally worth a new album, but I kindof expected more punch at the time and I strongly believed the crowd shared that view.

...and it happened. I was at Filteria's place in april 2011 when he composed the track "Lost in the Wild". He was having fun with crazy music again! You can hear it's got all the features of the killer tracks of the album, and yet it's a little less well balanced...anyway it worked perfect on the dancefloors, and it was the start of something completely new!

In 2012 I think he made "Dreams Are Under Construction" (eventually released on GlobalSect), and preview versions of "Food Demons" and "Dog Days Bliss". They were good, very good even, but both needed a little more work. So "Food Demons" was reworked and given that creepy feeling with these sort of weird voices. Overall an exhilarating electronic/fx show!
"Dog Days Bliss" had a first half that didn't really match the second half (you can still find it on Filteria's Soundcloud), but Filteria couldn't find a solution for that (yet).

 

In February 2013 he got a new SSL mixertable to replace his old Mackie. The mixing became much clearer and it opened a whole new field of possibilities.

So in March 2013 he shifted gears again! On March 8th I received "36th February", almost final (it just had a longer ending). I was amazed. To me it was a track close to "Pleiadians - Electra" because you could hear it "breathe" with all the wooshes and its explosive structure.

 

Soon after, I got "Life Never Sleeps" and was amazed again. What a fantastic structure, what a pack of psychedelia in just a few minutes, these grinding sounds in the first half, wow what a trip! Here again, a "breathing" track, almost alive, almost a snake swallowing you altogether!

 

At that point we were totally confident and agreed with Filteria that the album would be completed on the end of August 2013 so we could release at the Autumn. Still, 1 or 2 tracks were missing, others needed reworks, and the summer season was approaching with little time for Filteria to spend in the studio.

 

So I proposed Filteria to include the "Birds Lingva Franca" Live Mix he'd made around the same time as "Daze"...and guess what he did? He (re-)remixed it completely. Just for you! But since it was not a track espacially made in the scope of this new album, we decided it would be a bonus track. I think it's great because it keeps the spirit of the original whilst adding extra energy and neat production.

 

In the end of spring 2013, he started with "The Lights of Shibuya" as a tribute to the wonderful people that had welcomed him in Japan. Roughly, the track was here, but the melodies were not bursting enough, and the last 2 minutes were missing. Later, he reworked it to make it more or less the track you know, but the ending was still missing!

 

There, Filteria was giging or was busy and had little time to focus really on new music, so he decided to switch to the overall mixing of the album. So he reworked each track, roughly one week per track, a crazy work if you ask me. As I was stuck at the hospital (with WiFi), he would send me (and Ukiro) the tracks just after they were recorded so we could give extra comments, if any...some were really tricky to mix like "36th February" or "Life Never Sleeps" because they lost some energy without the "breathing".

 

By the end of this excruciating session, he finally found a new first half for "Dog Days Bliss", which made it an immediate dancefloor killer. Yeah it sounds like Chakra in the second half but the first half is totally original and everything matches perfectly.

 

We were really close to the deadline at this point (maybe beyond), and all of a sudden, the "Lights of Shibuya" situation just unblocked and the track was completed! Here again, you can admire the hectic features of the track, which remind of the relentless japanese life!

 

 

Conclusion: To me this is the best Filteria album to date, a concentrate of wicked ideas, explosive melodies, impossible climaxes, crazy electronic fx...the tracks are more subtle than in "Sky Input" or "Heliopolis" and they completely blow your mind nonetheless. There's some hidden details everywhere. This is the kind of album you can listen to in several years and keep noticing things you'd never heard before. And the production is way better than any of the previous albums. To me, the best psychedelic album of the year, all substyles together. 10/10.

 

I was surprised to be in the special thanks of the booklet. I only saw it on the day we sent the artwork to the press This gave extra strength in the difficult moments I was going through.

[Robbelaar]

Off Topic: I so want to dance with a bunch of crazy Japanese people on Filteria!!!! It has been in my mind for years already.... One day...

[Shpongled247]

Awesome and epic post Mars. Thanks for the insight into the journey of some of the tracks..

I think part of what I love about Filteria has been the journey and literally hearing someone grow musically with each album. Must have been quite cool to be so close to that along the way! As Richpa said somewhere else, the way Jannis has taken the bits that were great from the past and built on them while adding more experimentation is just great to see.

 

On a side note, I can only imagine how many other remix versions of these tracks he has laying around! Can't wait to possibly hear in the future! Also, I think I prefer the old Dog Days Bliss on soundcloud even if the halves don't match heh.

[Manuser]

will agree with pretty much everyone, we have a winner here ''life never sleeps'' very charismatic track, my favourite with opening track ''filteroid''

 

never liked Filteria before, but we say ''never say never'' don't we ? fantastic release. 9/10

[Goa-Head]

Has anyone one noticed how the melody on Dog Days Bliss is similar to a track from Chakra & Edi Mis, either Liquid Troll or Final Mission?

[Dolmot]

Has anyone one noticed how the melody on Dog Days Bliss is similar to a track from Chakra & Edi Mis, either Liquid Troll or Final Mission?

 

Er...yes, in post #24 of this topic? (And answered in #26...)

[Goa-Head]

:)

[Drew05]

i actually find that Dog Days Bliss reminds me most of Dark Soho's - The Fusion, rhythmically i guess http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_023DUnwbw8

 

 

 

this is a fantastic album from Filteria. really keen to see where he goes next

[Shpongled247]

I'm hoping we get another unreleased/remixed album that covers both this and Daze era tracks sometime in the next years heh. Might be dreaming tho lol

 

As to where he goes next.. I can't even imagine!

[IronSun]

Starting with Filteroid the album opens subtly almost teasing of the things to come. Snarling acid lines scream along in the background just waiting to unleash the full roar of overdriven vintage analog synth power. I like the way it teases the listener for an opening track.

 

Dog Days Bliss marks a more acidified version of Filteria, a screeching psychedelic number that is set to become a classic.

 

Life Never Sleeps is the highlight of the whole album, and that is saying a lot, as there are some incredible tracks on here. Slightly darker in tone and picking up the pace a bit more, this is one of the tracks which shows utter mastery of his art. Building climax upon climax Filteria perfectly blends acid drenched sonic assault with melodic madness that adds up to one powerful journey. This track is going to set dancefloors alight across Europe next summer.

 

 

I completely agree with these three descriptions. Three astounding tracks with Life Never Sleeps being one of the best tracks of the genre. Instant-classic.

 

I must admit that I had grown a bit tired of filteria as I listened so much to his stuff in the beginning when I had just discovered goa. But every time he releases a new album he just blows me straight out of the water again each and every time. I love how your sound has grown more acidic and twisted Jannis, it really shows that you know how to give your music that psychedelic edge. Reinventing your sound without losing your integrity is a hard thing to do these days it seems, but you seem to pull it off time and time again. 4 albums and a remix-and-unreleaseds compilation... An impressive feat for a new-school goa trance producer.

 

So this to me is Filteria more mature, and with more edge, rawer but at the same time more elegant than Sky Input, and especially more acidic. Crazy climax driven, ultra-psychedelic high octane goa trance that's going to be a very strong contender for album of the year for me.

 

A must.

[StratosOZ]

I wonder when T2MU is doing a review?

[Trance2MoveU]

You know, I have the disc in my hand I just haven't even opened it. Guess I should get crackin.

 

Mdk

[healium]

That'd be great!

 

We need more progressive psytrance and psychill reviews though.. This site is way too neo-goa heavy..

[Trance2MoveU]

I actually have a few of those on deck and ready to go. Just trying to find the hours in the day!

 

But back on topic, apparently this is the greatest work Jannis has ever done. I can't wait.

 

Mdk

[IronSun]

That'd be great!

 

We need more progressive psytrance and psychill reviews though.. This site is way too neo-goa heavy..

 

You're welcome to participate in and help build the review-section

[healium]

Haha I would but I can't write reviews well at all - they'd be like 2 sentences apiece.. I can't format the thread right either I tried it once..

[Shpongled247]

I actually have a few of those on deck and ready to go. Just trying to find the hours in the day!

 

But back on topic, apparently this is the greatest work Jannis has ever done. I can't wait.

 

Mdk

It is indeed!

 

Mmm I don't know how u haven't ripped it open yet found the time to review some quite bad stuff in general lol.. I couldn't wait!

 

Maybe you were savouring it, like how u (me) might put off finishing a really good game or something, heh.

[Trance2MoveU]

Unless I receive a request to review something I like to hop around. Good or bad it doesn't matter. Some of my best reviews have come from the worst albums. I look forward to listening to this, but I fear there is no way for it to live up to the considerable hype.

 

I'll take my time with it to be sure.

 

Mdk

[healium]

Yea, TTMY knows how to write awesome reviews - great humor and style.

 

Here's the issue I have:

 

"6. The new psynews staff has decided that first review, or first post, should always be longer than normal. This doesn't mean an essay by any means. A nice example of a short but still informative review would be this which is around 400 words long without release details. People come here to read about the release, to get some information how it is and stuff like "this release is killagrgrhrhrg" won't tell them anything. After the first post you can post mini-reviews and discussion if you so wish, but no derailing of a thread is allowed. If you feel so strongly about something that does not generally have much to do with the release, please make a thread in an appropriate section and stop posting in the review thread."

 

Can we relax that a bit? I could start multiple reviews for albums, and then others could write a good review.

 

--

 

Anyway, back on topic - I'm digging this Filteria album - Dog Days Bliss is my fav so far - I go for the catchy melodies in goa trance - the tracks that are simpler but have catchier melodies are what I prefer - whereas with progressive I go for the more complex tracks..

 

Modern/neo-goa has one major flaw that I see - they do not keep a storyline or uniting theme throughout a track - lots of nice sounds and little melodies, but all disconnected. Goa needs a main lead melody that is used throughout the track - a recurring melody - or if not recurring, 2 or 3 melodies that has a lot of charisma and play for awhile. Think about tracks like Hallucinogen - "Alpha Centauri" or "Solstice", or Dimension 5 -"Antidote" - they have a melody or two that is used repeatedly and so have a strong sense of coherent story. Or Pleiadians "Alcyone", or Blue Planet Corp - "Alidade" - really charismatic and memorable lead melodies in those tracks. Most neo-goa seems to lack this, so what you wind up with are tracks that all sound pretty nice, but that aren't really memorable..

[exotic]

Well said Helium.

 

Im digging Dog day bliss too because it has that central uniting factor , that main catchy melody and all the elements build around it very nicely. The bassline is sick sick sick at the start of the track to say the least , hits you bam in the face and you cant help but get sucked in . Little by little effects are thrown in that has you wondering whats going to happen next. The break at 6:46 is the defining moment , its like a pause in this little psy story tale being told by the head goblin about the meaning of life or something. The climax is really powerful because the melody builds and builds until it explodes , all along very wel complemented by the oh so sexy rawwwwwrrrr of a bassline. I can literally astrally project to this track its that powerful. more tracks like this please.

[Jon Cocco]

This is my favourite Goa album of 2013. The songs are exciting, vibrant, imaginative, and evolving. This is a strong follow up to Daze of Our Lives (2009).

 

I admit that I love DoOL's opening track more than the opening here which is great. Dog Days Bliss I've heard dozens of times. It's another example of Jannis's fluidity, also showcased extremely well in Life Never Sleeps, The Lights of Shibuya (the second half), and Night @ 12PM. The last track flows nicely too.

 

This is a solid sequel to Filteria's more evolved style that began with 2009's masterpiece, Daze of Our Lives.

[ollylovesgoa]

This is the only Neogoa album I hold in equal standing with the classics of the 90s. It really is excellent. Twisted, acidic, raw and driving, spiralling into melodic and textural euphoria. He gets better and better, the melodies in this one seem more thoughtful, less automated sounding, but retain the intensity of older albums. And of course there's more acid, and don't we all just need more of that?

[Filteria]

Reinventing your sound without losing your integrity is a hard thing to do these days it seems, but you seem to pull it off time and time again.

 

Thank you This is probably the hardest thing to do as an artist. Will the "fans/followers" accept the changes? Or should one go with the "easy road" and continue with the same old sound. You either become a sellout or that guy that never changes his sound. Lose-Lose situation

 

 

Seriously, thanx again everyone . I am so happy with the feedback i've recieved. Sometimes while making with this album (especially back in 2011) I was really unsure if it was any use to make another album. Maybe it was enough with a trilogy? But looking back now, I am happy I continued and satisfied with the final product I might add

 

Oh and K.O.B. album is in the making. For real this time

[IronSun]

You're welcome ^^

 

Very interesting to hear that you are up to the challenge of a full K.O.B. album! Although I must admit that I'm curious, I thought a K.O.B. album would never be... What has changed your mind?

 

Very cool to hear btw that the last two BIG Suntrip releases (Lost In The WIld and Nemesis) both showcase a return to the rawer acid. Loving it!