Album Review of
Lost in the Future

Written by Robert Silverstein
December 26, 2023 - 3:57pm EST
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One of the original French synth music masters from the late 1970s, Zanov returns in 2023 with Lost In The Future. When Zanov released his 2020 classic Chaos Islands, some listeners thought it would be a hard act to follow. Filled with haunting melodies, including some of the finest arrangements ever created for the electronic music genre, Chaos Islands was released just at the start of the 2020 pandemic and as such, with all the fear and scarcity, it might have been sadly overlooked. Not enough can be said about the sonic breakthroughs created by Chaos Islands, yet in 2023 it's clearly time for Zanov to make his future music now.

A fitting sequel to the shapeshifting Chaos Islands era, the 2023 release of Lost In The Future is nevertheless an amazing sounding album that will appeal to Zanov’s core fans as well as those listeners that appreciate other modern era synth masters from pioneering electronica countries such as France and Germany. With song titles like “Conscious Machines”, “Brain To Brain”, “Living With Robots” and “Interstellar Travel” to name just a few, Lost In The Future may depict a dystopian future for the human race, yet it’s done with skillful precision that unquestionably reflects Zanov’s mastery of modern day synth-based electronica.

On the 7-track 45-minute Lost In The Future, Zanov employs an arsenal of custom synth keyboards and all manners of computerized programs and the results are quite stunning. The old school synth keyboard sounds of the 1970s and ‘80s are long gone while it would take a 76-year old electronic music veteran such as Zanov to breathe new life into the 21st century synth genre. The thoughts of a freedom-less, apocalyptic era may be upon us, yet I can’t think of a more gifted synthesist than Zanov to fashion the soundtrack of our future. On Lost In The Future, Zanov charts a new sonic vision.