Filterias "Lost In The Wild" is one of very few masterpieces of our time

[Shpongled247]

There hasn't been enough Filteria talk on here as of late for me. I understand this album came out in 2013 now but quite frankly, nothing has come close since as far as artist development and maturity, album to album goes.

The growth and inherent connection between Daze of our Lives and Lost in The Wild is obvious for any Filteria fan to hear, but I guess is maybe perhaps lost upon those who haven't followed the entire journey so far.

For me, it is something akin to Jannis quite literally perfecting his craft and I'm guessing what he originally set out to do with Sky Input in this album. They are clearly worlds apart, but the idea and essence of pure goa trance convalesced so perfectly in Lost In The Wild that I can't help but feel he achieved what he always had set out to do from the start.

So is everyone else still as enthralled with this album as I am? Are some people still longing for the more "noisy" Sky Input days?

Don't get me wrong, I love any and all Filteria but for me the best part has been hearing the journey of a musician and producer growing as an artist along the way…

PS:
How the hell do you follow up on this album??

[Ormion]

I like all Filteria albums, but for me it goes like this

 

Sky Input>>>Heliopolis>Daze Of Our Lives>Lost In The Wild

[Jaza]

Hmmmm... I actually prefer Daze of Our Lives. There's not a lot in it, they're both masterpieces, but the more polished sound and spacey atmospheres in Daze win it for me. Just a matter of taste. The way he went back intentionally to the slightly muddled sound reminiscent of older goa in Lost In The Wild is superbly done, and so many love it, but I'm a fan of more polished sounds.

 

As to how he follows it up? The answer is a big break I'm pretty sure? Working on KOB as a starting point. If Lost In The Wild took 4+ years to write it's hard to imagine we'll be getting a new Filteria LP for quite some years.

 

Lost In The Wild cements him as an all-time great of the genre though IMO. Worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the greats of the 90s. He's still very much the best live act of them all too; I saw Goasia, A303, Celestial Intelligence, E-Mantra and many more in Europe last summer. There were some damn good sets (Goasia and Morphic Resonance probaby closest) but when it comes to the full live experience Jannis is the best there is by a decent margin IMO.

[technosomy]

yeah i love the latest album.. his best i reckon

can't listen to any of the others anymore

[johnb820]

I have had a hard time getting into Filteria over the years, mostly because of production/aesthetic preferences. However, Lost in the Wild just hits me in all the right ways. The melodies are all mostly the same, but maybe it's the stuff going on in the background felt more haphazard in earlier albums? Where as on Lost in the Wild everything feels so meticulously perfected and overt. Not as much wading through high pitched non-harmonic tones.

[franki]

I've just played it again to refresh my memory, because I've not listened that many times.

TBH, I'm not a huge Filteria fan and this album has done nothing to change that.

I don't much enjoy the frantic, in your face melodies on most of the tracks. At times they sound Nitzho-like and on the title track almost random. There's just way too much treble going on and not enough groove for my tastes. Tracks 1-4 are probably my favourites, 5&6 my least.

I think it's o.k. but I'm more of a fan of E-Mantra, Celestial Intelligence & Artifact 303. I do agree that his work has improved album by album, though.

[Oopie]

Although never a huge fan, I've always wanted to give Filteria a proper chance when coming out with a new album. I do agree with the opinion here that he's definitely improved on each consecutive album, obviously in terms of production but also as a musician, to some extent. Still, I'm bound to say he's always sounded a bit random with his melodies and pulled off harmonious, remembable hooks only a couple times in a satisfying fashion (the climax of birds lingua franca for example). So perhaps the honest thing to say is, I just think differently to Filteria as to what kind of melodies sound good or he lacks the ear to distinguish an average melody from a great one.

[Guest antic]

There hasn't been enough Filteria talk on here as of late for me. I understand this album came out in 2013 now but quite frankly, nothing has come close since as far as artist development and maturity, album to album goes.

 

The growth and inherent connection between Daze of our Lives and Lost in The Wild is obvious for any Filteria fan to hear, but I guess is maybe perhaps lost upon those who haven't followed the entire journey so far.

 

For me, it is something akin to Jannis quite literally perfecting his craft and I'm guessing what he originally set out to do with Sky Input in this album. They are clearly worlds apart, but the idea and essence of pure goa trance convalesced so perfectly in Lost In The Wild that I can't help but feel he achieved what he always had set out to do from the start.

 

So is everyone else still as enthralled with this album as I am? Are some people still longing for the more "noisy" Sky Input days?

 

Don't get me wrong, I love any and all Filteria but for me the best part has been hearing the journey of a musician and producer growing as an artist along the way…

 

PS:

How the hell do you follow up on this album??

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I find the premise of your question pretty flawed - should we really praise Filteria for improving his melody writing & song structuring skills? Isn't it something that should be expected by default from musicians? I'd rather complement those, that already with their first proper release started on a very high note: Ephedra, Celestial Intelligence, Cosmic Dimension, Psysutra, etc.

 

And he's far from "perfecting his craft" - some melodies are still cringe-worthy, production is still pretty "thin" and he relies too much on very high-pitched, unpleasant sounds.

 

Still, he earned his deserved place in pantheon of Goa-gods (along Suntrip founders) just by the virtue of kick-starting the neo-goa revolution

[franki]

 

_{Well, I find the premise of your question pretty flawed - should we really praise Filteria for improving his melody writing & song structuring skills? Isn't it something that should be expected by default from musicians?}

 

 

 

I think that's a bit harsh - there are plenty of musicians who peaked early and totally lost their way.

[Ormion]

I'd rather complement those, that already with their first proper release started on a very high note: Ephedra, Celestial Intelligence, Cosmic Dimension, Psysutra, etc.

But Filteria already did that much better than the others. Sky Input was, is and probably will be the best new school goa album of all time. Nothing ever came close.

[franki]

Sky Input was, is and probably will be the best new school goa album of all time. Nothing ever came close.

 

 

 

In your opinion maybe. Certainly not mine.

[Guest antic]

I think that's a bit harsh - there are plenty of musicians who peaked early and totally lost their way.

 

Well, I'm old & pretty busy - I don't have the time to wait for the artist to "grow". There's so much very good & mature music around (not only goa/psy), that I'm already past the phase where "any new goa/psy is good goa/psy" and you can see I struggle with this in a lot of threads lately

 

But Filteria already did that much better than the others. Sky Input was, is and probably will be the best new school goa album of all time. Nothing ever came close.

 

I definitely do not agree with that - it was one of the first, that's why it's quality perception is often skewed by nostalgia. Like a lot of old-school, actually

[franki]

 

Well, I'm old & pretty busy

 

LOL! You & me both!

[Paul Eye]

In your opinion maybe. Certainly not mine.

Certainly not mine either. I'd have no problem placing PortaMento - The Portal on top of that list. With Ephedra - Journey Through My Head and Omnivox - Fragments Of Evolution fighting for 2nd place

[Guest antic]

Certainly not mine either. I'd have no problem placing PortaMento - The Portal on top of that list. With Ephedra - Journey Through My Head and Omnivox - Fragments Of Evolution fighting for 2nd place

 

Yes, how could I forget about Portamento - it is such a great and unappreciated album!

[Guest The Hypnotic LFO Room]

I love debates where people (usually die hard fans) forget to write "IMO"

[Rotwang]

I'd have no problem placing PortaMento - The Portal on top of that list.

Yep, I immediately thought of The Portal when I read Ormion's post too.

[Oopie]

I love debates where people (usually die hard fans) forget to write "IMO"

That abbreviation is useless unless you want to/need to emphasize the personal aspect in the point of view you're having; basically one can write an opinion e.g. Filteria's music is the best new school out there just like that, even though it's written in factual manner it's easy to see being just an opinion.

[franki]

That abbreviation is useless unless you want to/need to emphasize the personal aspect in the point of view you're having; basically one can write an opinion e.g. Filteria's music is the best new school out there just like that, even though it's written in factual manner it's easy to see being just an opinion.

 

I don't agree. Unless you put IMO or "I think / believe that... " or something along those lines, you are basically stating a fact and dismissing any other opinion, which can come across as arrogant, even if it wasn't meant to be.

It's saying "I am right, your opinion counts for nothing." (Unless it's the same as mine.)

[Anoebis]

Well, imo its one of the very few artists that managed to become better and better after every release... Something SUPER rare! Most artists (95% actually) release a stellar album, often a very good second one and then... they go down. He managed to have thé perfect up to date goa sound imo... Ever saw him at a festival last 2 years? Whoaaaaaa

[Ormion]

You guys need to clean your ears.

 

Sky Input is not just the best new school album, but one of the best albums of all time. Memorable melodies, unmatched power and no filler tracks. It's a masterpiece.

[Ormion]

I love debates where people (usually die hard fans) forget to write "IMO"

You didn't write it either.

[Jon Cocco]

Everyone has their preferences.

 

Sky Input blew me away the first time I heard it, regardless that it wasn't as fluid or as elegant as its Pleiadian's style and influence, and their masterpiece, I.F.O. I'm glad that Jannis evolved his style.

 

Heliopolis (2006) made some improvements by introducing a wider range of sounds, key changes, etc. Some tracks were great (Reflected, Rotate to Vibrate), but the few weak tracks (track 2) took away from the whole. Also, the Pleiadian-influence began to grate on me after a while.

 

Daze of Our Lives for me was the biggest stretch of evolution for Filteria (and for a new school artist in Goatrance) IMO to date, album and improvement wise. His style felt freer, more open, fluid, elegant, and colorful than ever before. I also noticed his re-imagining in some ways relative to Hallucinogen's style, which was (during these times) refreshing and infectious. I just heard it again last night. DoOL is the first new school album in Goa Trance that I ever gave an A to, to date!

 

Lost In the Wild was an improvement in some ways from DoOL, with great Halluciongen influence that was quite infectious for the most part. But the fluidity on LitW was at times inconsistent around an overall excellent album. For instance, tracks 3 and 5 could have been better refined. Track 3 just got too busy for me at some point. I understand the maximal approach, but I'd take really layered, fluid, and infectious over that almost any day of the week, which is what he did with the opening track. I really liked tracks 1+2, but I loved 4, 7, and 8, with the final track 9 being sweet remix too. These tracks are the level of what the whole album could have been, thus getting another A from me. LitW felt like an evolution since DoOL, but some of it felt like a continuation, rather than an evolution from his previous growth and development as both a creator and technician.

 

I've enjoyed all of his albums. Jannis continues to impress me with each release. You can tell that he really takes his time before releasing an album. He has standards and doesn't just release albums because he's made a name for himself in Goa-Trance. LitW (the album) while not perfect, is one of the best Goa albums of our time IMO and deserves more credit than its gotten. I think the same goes for a handful of Goa-Trance albums these past 10 years from numerous record labels.

[Guest The Hypnotic LFO Room]

You didn't write it either.

 

 

No because I have no opinion about Filteria. I was making an observation

 

But here you go... IMO Filteria is way too much debated here

[franki]

You guys need to clean your ears.

 

Sky Input is not just the best new school album, but one of the best albums of all time. Memorable melodies, unmatched power and no filler tracks. It's a masterpiece.

 

I honestly don't get it.

I think it's a reasonable album, but the melodies to my ears are very much the standard Middle Eastern / Israeli style that I'm not too keen on and are too prevalent in Nu-Goa.

To be fair though, that's just down to personal taste - it's the "unmatched power" part I really struggle with.

If you compare these two tracks for example - the Portamento one has drive and groove to the bass & kick, that instantly make me want to get up & dance. The Filteria rhythm sounds a bit flat - lacking in dynamism. To me the groove is all important in a track made for the dancefloor.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlK7y1hhM-A

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnXe8oNr9o

 

 

I'm going to leave it there, as I don't want to sound like I'm slagging Filteria off. I'm not. I've bought & enjoy all his CDs, but there are other Nu-School Goa artists I prefer.