Posted on: August 2, 2015 Posted by: Peter Burns Comments: 0

Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Lucien Dante, hails from Chicago in the USA, but the turning point in his artistic career took place in Germany, when he was sixteen years old. As sophomore in high school, Dante participated in an exchange program that took him to Germany and led him to recognize his passion and desire to perform and produce music. This led to the songs featured on his album, “First Breath”.

Lucien Dante
Lucien Dante

Since then, Lucien Dante has signed to DEG Records, and released three singles as well as the EP “Lights”. His debut full-length album is entitled “Our Of We” and contains 15 tracks plus 3 bonus songs. This is a rare album. Luscious, layered, modern, edgy, moody, distinctive and full of emotion – from performance to production – the attention paid to detail is impeccable. All the while Dante, with his melodically pronounced voice, gently induces us into dreamlike ecstasy throughout the album, where his vocals are clear and never obstructed by the production.

Right from the punchy opening track, “Worldwise” and the sultry “Love Me Lessons (Imma Be) Feat. Lu Reads”, everything, from Dante’s earnest, crystalline vocals, to the impeccable electronic music arrangements, make this effort a particularly special and poignant one. It gets even better by the time you arrive to the piano-driven “Tell Me Why” and the sublime “Beowulf” with its sensual falsettos.

Dante seems to have a byzantine understanding of music. The way he presents his cryptic ideas is gorgeously groundbreaking. His dreamy, unusual sound is mixed perfectly and layered with just the right amounts of vocal effects and musical wizardry, and is splendidly evident on “#ShouldIWait” and “Mr.Drugman”.

Lucien Dante
Lucien Dante

“Ivory Toast” serves as a natural vehicle for Dante’s ever-reaching vocal range, while “Black Water” showcases his ability stimulate deep and dark emotions with a soft filtering voice and a minimal music background. If you enjoy dance-inducing electronic drops with soul, depth and creativity, then fast forward to the bonus tracks, “Pulsing” and “Tonight”.

Lucien Dante seems to successfully bridge the distinct sounds of various genres to conceive his own hybrid electronic pop and soul style. “Our Of We” is a record that has a song for every emotion you’ll likely experience, no matter what your sex…or even in spite of it!  It has been meticulously crafted over 18 tracks with the use of an incredible range of sounds, beats and vocals.

The sonic scope of “Our Of We” is fairly large, and there is something to be said about an album that grows bigger with every listen. The songs are all immediately intriguing at first listen, but explore a little more and a surprising amount of sonic depth begins to reveal itself. These songs are rich and have plenty to offer on repeat listens. There’s plenty here that’s catchy, and the album as a whole moves the soul.

Lucien Dante has proven himself as a performing and recording artist, with the release of “Our Of We”. This is a colossal achievement for his proper full-length debut, and I suspect we’ll be hearing much more of Lucien Dante in the future.

OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITEITUNESFACEBOOKTWITTERYOUTUBEINSTAGRAM – SOUNDCLOUD

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