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Review by: Irina Kotik
When romanticism meets mystical melodic techno, as achieved by producer Lehar, the outcome is everything you wish for in music.
A relatively fresh but already reputable name on the scene, Lehar aka Lorenzo Esposito is an extremely talented Italian artist gracing the Offenbach imprint Connaisseur Recordings with an impressive new EP, “Flora & Zephyr,” set to be released in July. Being closely attached to the Hindu culture, the word Lehar means “wave” in Hindu, as in an oscillation accompanied by a transfer of energy. His artfully emotional musical compositions are infused with enigmatic and ethereal sound.
The “Flora & Zephyr” EP consists of four tracks, including a collaboration with Musumeci. The EP takes its name from the mythological Roman steadfast love story between Zephyr, the fickle west wind, and Flora, a nymph and guardian of earthy flowers and extols of virtues. The love story inspired by the mysterious power of the passionate romantic impulse reflects in Lehar’s new release.
“Flora & Zephyr” starts off with the beautiful beatless track “In Ipnosi”, a hypnotic prologue to an unknown journey where distant synths sparkle while shimmering percussion and echoing keyboard makes the melody glide alone.
The second original track on the release, “Zephyr”, drips with a dark, sweeping energy full of wonderfully haunting melodies that create a mystical ambiance.
On the “flip-side”, “Horizon” emerged from a collaboration between Lehar and his labelmate, an extremely talented Sicilian producer and co-founder of Inndigital, Mauro Di Martino, otherwise known as Musumeci. Dark and driving, with progressive synth lines enhanced by an overall emotive feel, it radiates a deep and mysterious tone, building layers of throbbing baseline and hypnotic synth, drifting with prominent stabs and melodic undertones. Definitely a perfect track to let you feel lost in the moment.
The closing track on the EP is entitled “Flora”. It has a minimalistic, straight-forward beat, hypnotizing atmosphere, and submerged dub-techno depth. “Flora” is a simple but powerful DJ tool that can be played as a transition track from warm up to peak time.
In “Flora & Zephyr”, Lehar succeeds at creating elegant musical myths that manage to tickle the mind and yet move the body at the same time.
Release Date: July 7th, 2015 (Beatport & vinyl), July 21st, 2015 (other digital stores & streaming)
Linkage: Lehar Facebook // Lehar Soundcloud // Musumeci Soundcloud