The enigmatic German producer, known across a decade by aliases including Traumprinz, DJ Healer, and now irini, has released lost in dreams, a monumental, three-hour-plus LP that feels like a culmination of his sprawling, cult-followed discography. Spanning 37 tracks, the album functions as a long, singular transmission from his self-defined “Sehnsuchtsort”—a desirable place that exists only in fantasy—a realm the artist retreats to, shunning the corporeal world.
lost in dreams achieves a new, cohesive aesthetic by freely swirling the sounds that were once neatly separated among his various identities: the flinty techno of Prince of Denmark, the pop-enhanced deep house of Traumprinz, the hymnal tones of DJ Metatron, and the ambient aura of DJ Healer. The prevailing mood, however, is something new: a hazy, profound sense of yearning and dreams.
The album’s strength lies in its dual quality: it delivers groovy, genre-adherent club tracks while simultaneously showcasing a level of songcraft rare in dance music. irini knows how to lay down melodies and chord progressions that resonate on a deep, almost spiritual emotional frequency. This is particularly evident in the album’s best moments, like the haunting, solemn atmosphere of the first untitled track, or the emotionally rich dub techno of the final three records, including the “dreamuniverse” tracks, which are pure goosebumps material.
The centerpiece moments are those that shed the project’s occasional retro camp. “sweet charlotte,” a Reese bassline-powered drum’n’bass tune, is both ethereal and romantic, elevated by a breathy French dialogue. Another exception to the album’s occasional unevenness is the ambient interlude “afraid 2 go out in the sun,” which uses a unique vocal sample of 13-year-old environmental activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki. This moment crystallizes the album’s mission: to preserve, against all odds, the beautifully uncynical perspective and valence of emotion that most lose as they grow older.
While the album contains some relatively forgettable tracks, lost in dreams ultimately competes with the best work in irini’s catalogue. It is a creatively generous, quietly immersive tome that invites the listener into a spiritual and emotional space, confirming the producer’s continued dedication to the profound possibilities of the imaginary realm.
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