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Mind.in.a.Box
Lost Alone

Metropolis Records

Posted: Thursday, March 16, 2006
By: Stephen Sodergren

Video game music composer Stev steps out of his normal realm of soundtracks that accompany the seizure-inducing flashing graphics and blasting sound effects of today's video games, and steps into the realm of music composition for the stereo system with his new project, Mind.in.a.Box. His premiere album on Metropolis Records, Lost Alone is a 12-track opus to loneliness and alienation. Each track conveys some sort of emotional struggle that keeps a person locked inside himself or apart from others, in a sense boxing up his mind and not allowing himself to roam freely. This is a poignant topic in today's world where populations are exploding and people have no choice but to physically exist more closely together, yet feel more separated from their fellow man than ever before. The everyday rush and struggles of life take a person away from what makes life so important, which simply is living. Stev succinctly brings this issue to the front of our senses in this release and he does it with music that is beautifully structured with uplifting and airy synthesizers and dance floor friendly beats. With this musical composition firmly in place, he goes one step further and takes this accessible dance sound and adds less accessible vocals, which are tweaked, pitched, and warbled to the point of sounding almost robotic at some points. Even the lyrical twitterings add to the whole sense of aloneness because this is how the subjects of the songs see themselves, so detached that they are more akin to emotionless robots than to humans. The music on each track combines parts of techno, trance, and electronica to create the electronic pop sound that is gaining a stronghold on today's music scene. Stev's composition of the tracks and his delivery through the vocals make this an album that is essentially timeless, because anywhere and anytime someone can feel their own private alienation. Perhaps this album will help unlock some of that aloneness and help listeners reach a point where they are truly free and their mind is not "in a box."