'Chris Hunt' makes his debut on Lost Kommunication Records with this uplifting trance anthem 'After The Longest Time'. This track surges forward with a driving bassline, solid percussion into a massive breakdown that captivates. Uplifting arpeggios swirl through lush pianos and pads, weaving a melody that radiates beauty and emotion. Chris masterfully crafts an exhilarating soundscape, building from a powerful euphoric crescendo that will leave listeners soaring.

Sanderlift and FARSHID FARR return to the label with "Stay In The Sky", an uplifting trance masterpiece that reaches celestial heights. This track features soaring leads, emotive piano, majestic strings, and a heavenly choir, creating an expansive and euphoric soundscape. With driving energy, a powerful bassline, and an array of dynamic FX, "Stay In The Sky" is a transcendent journey that captivates from start to finish.

In this months spotlight we interview label artists Comacode, Jox, Helena Kristiansson, Roberta Harrison Sanderlift & Farshid Farr on their musical influences, inspiration, motivation & creative processes into music production!

I belive techtrance has evolved too much and gone too technically forward, but it has lost the magic of the combination of tech and a good trance melody, which in the 2000s had, for me, the best overall picture of this musical genre. In my opinion, this genre will return in the future in its best sound as in the old days, so I'm trying to go back to what it used to be!

I think it is a purely technical project, but also a trance one, which in my opinion is what the teaching of the techtrance style should look like.

Daw:  Bitwig Studio - I have tested several DAWs and Bitwig is for me the best combination of classic DAW and modern type of music production.

Nexus - The synthesizer I use in every project.

Diva - One of the best sounding virtual synthesizers.

Dune - I love the quality of its sound combined with the possibilities of the arpeggiator.

Serum - The number of presets available means I can find any sound I want.

God Particle - In every production he is present on the master bus.

UAD Chandler Curve Bender - My favorite equalizer, it makes sounds more transparent and full.

Spec Craft - Recently I use it often to get rid of unnecessary resonances.

Valhalla VintageVerb - One of the most universal reverbs, suitable for everything from vocals to instruments.

Yes, fans can expect such productions from Comacode, but there will also be stronger releases in the hard trance style!

[Jox, Helena] Over the two years, we’ve worked together, we have established a great workflow. We have the same DAW so sharing arrangements and files are extra easy for us.

Originally, this song started out with the intention of being instrumental. We are both fascinated by the universe so we had that in mind when we wrote the basic composition. Something spaceious. But as we started to lay down the early arrangements, it just called for a vocal like Roberta’s so we reached out to her. Happily, she was on board and that literaly brought the track down to earth.

[Roberta] I write with my husband and musical partner and producer, Ken Harrison. We both loved the track that Helena and Jox sent so we were inspired to work on it. When we receive a track for consideration we usually each spend a bit of time alone with it to see what comes up. Sometimes one or the other of us leads the process a bit more. For “Cherry Blossom” I had some melody ideas and sketch lyrics in place but didn’t have a compelling main catch phrase. That’s where Ken came in with the title and theme of cherry blossoms, as that was the thought that had come to him when he first heard the track. It happened to fit perfectly with the melody I’d been playing with and so became the basis of the song and what tied all my lyrical musings together. The collaboration with Jox and Helena was seamless. Not only did they initially present a track that we loved and felt inspired to write to, they also had great feedback on melodic and lyrical changes to make our first ideas even stronger.

[Roberta] I loved the beauty I heard when I first listened to the track. It felt blissful but also a bit melancholic. Right up my alley ;). There’s so much uncertainty in the world right now. I’m always looking for the light. Tumbling back to love. And the image of cherry blossoms bursting with beauty before falling to the ground to decompose and bring new life seemed exactly right. My mom died almost 2 years ago and although I don’t tend to write directly about my personal life, I know that loss has influenced my lyrics. So there’s sadness. And maybe some fear. But love too. And hope.

[Helena] I had this melody thing in my head a whole evening and when I finally got home, I rushed to my studio to record it. Thats the theme you still hear in the track today and thats what started the whole thing. 

[Jox] To me, besides the whole thematics of life in the vocals, the diversity of the parts and how they come together are special to me. How Roberta’s voice sits so emotionally in the piano breakdown and building up to the climax.

[Jox, Helena] We are the kind of producers who prefer having the vocal as early in the process as possible - even just a demo take - and do the final construct around it so the sound design and vibe reflects the thematic and the vocal. We followed that approach here and we are really proud of it.

A fun fact is that a leftover part from the original demo now serves as our intro when we dj.

[Roberta] I would say the melody and theme were directly inspired by the beautiful track that Jox and Helena sent us. When I first started singing professionally I only sang in my lower register. I’d never had any vocal training and honestly didn’t know there was an entire other range available. And although I’ve become more comfortable in my upper register over the years, the song has to really dictate my need to be up there and fully exposed before I go for it. Like their beautiful piano breakdown.

[Jox, Helena] Roberta’s words probably means something uniquely to each of us but a common thing is the reference to life and the experiences it brings us and how it from time to time tests us - from younglings to grown-ups.

[Roberta] We would happily work with Helena and Jox again in the future. We have some collaborations in the pipe with Raz Nitzan that we’re really excited about and we've just started working with William Schneider on some of his beautiful tracks. Ken and I have some other projects outside of our vocal trance work and so there always seems to be something to work on. Which we love!!

[Jox, Helena] The recent months have been really good. Currently, we are getting some remix opportunities which are really awesome - and we are also working on something with Juan Almiñana who is not a stranger to fans of Lost Kommunication Records.

There isn't an ongoing new track with Roberta but we're sure - if she can find the time - that we will have something to present to her later this year.

I have to start this by saying thanks to Craig who not only signed the track but who’s feedback made it 1000x better.

After the Longest Time is a bit of a personal one for me. Not to go into too much detail but at the time my wife and I were trying to extend our family and after a lot of setbacks we got some good news - so that’s what it’s about really, the long journey to reach a goal or a place of happiness.

If I go back 12 months, I used to be really methodical about how I put a track together. I’d assemble it from the ground up - kick, bass, percussion etc. - all very logical, a bit like putting Lego bricks together. And the main problem I found was that by the time I got to writing the melodic parts I’d restricted myself by the choices elsewhere and they just didn’t fit right.

For After the Longest Time I took a completely different approach. I already had a bit of an idea in my head - you know how sometimes you just wake up and it’s there - so that’s was the first thing to go down. As an aside, I’m a terrible piano player so actually translating what was in my head into Logic took a little while! Once I had that it was really a case of just fitting the other elements to it, starting with some pads and building from there. I’m a massive fan of pianos in trance, there’s just something about the feeling of a piano that you can’t replicate, so that does its job bringing a bit of quiet melancholy before it all builds up again.

Ultimately, I wrote the track based on my journey from a place not necessarily of sadness but perhaps longing or dreaming, to one of realisation. I hope that comes across in what people hear and they can come away with a bit of a lift at the end.

I think I mentioned before I was quite methodical, well nerdy really. In terms of production approach, while I’ve now pivoted to being more melodic element focussed in my workflow, I’ve kept all my organisational instincts intact - everything gets routed to buses for group processing, projects are always arranged in the same order down the page etc.!

As for my style I think I’d sum it up as Acids, Supersaws and long breakdowns! I’m an 80s kid and as a teenager had access to all this amazing trance which was in no rush to get mixed into the next track. That’s the main thing for me anyway, the breakdown is what defines a track so the longer the better!

Definitely more to come! I’ve got a handful of tracks, including a collaboration with another LK artist lined up for release this year - watch this space!

Of the events that have happened in life, good or bad, when you think about them, you realize that if these events hadn't happened, maybe this situation wouldn't exist. Pre-arranged events have led to progress and improvement in the situation.

Looking at a good past event that is being repeated in the current situation, creates a strong and creative force to create a joyful melody full of good feelings. This melody is created by creating focus and control of the mind.

Almost every aspect of the production of this song was exciting.

The piano melody is derived from the overall feeling and spirit of this song, which was created with focus and control of emotions, so that the listener feels a sense of peace and inner excitement when listening to it.

With joint collaboration, in the future, much more energetic and emotional songs will be made than before. And several songs have been jointly produced and released. Including Stay In the Sky, Fateh coming out on Lost Kommunication Records this year!