Chris Harms not only stands out as a musical chameleon with his band Lord Of The Lost, but now also with his very first solo album “1980”.
The record, which is strongly reminiscent of synth pop, will be released on 31.01.2025 via Napalm Records and is the realization of a long-cherished dream that is finally coming to life. “1980” stands for a very unique sound and is not to be found in this form with Harms’ main band. Rather, it dives into the atmospheric synthesizer sounds of the musically unique 80s, interweaving them with electro, wave and gothic elements and completely dispensing with guitars and the usual rock sound.
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Chris Harms himself says about 1980: “If I were forced to put this album in a drawer and label it, it would probably say ‘a strange but successful mixture of Depeche Mode, Modern Talking and Sandra with the voice of Chris Harms, but with less perm and mullet’.
With Lord Of The Lost, Chris Harms looks back on the most successful four years in the band’s history, including participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, tours with Iron Maiden and one #1 and two #2 albums in the Official German Album Charts.
The idea of a solo album has been maturing in his mind for some time and has now taken its final form. Harms’ distinctive voice and the synth-pop-inspired sound create an atmospheric journey through time, which begins with the wave dancefloor-ready “I Love You”. Songs such as the hit “She Called Me Diaval” or “Lunamor” exude a pleasant lightness, while “Past Pain” and “May This Be Your Last Battlefield” strike a reflective note.
Two selected duets round off the album: on “Madonna Of The Night”, Harms welcomes guest singer Sven Friedrich (Solar Fake), while Ronan Harris (VNV Nation) can be heard on “The Grey Machines”.
1980 deliberately does not attempt to reinvent the wheel, but is to be understood as a musical journey through time. It is proof of Harms’ artistic versatility, for which he is admired and appreciated far beyond genre boundaries. There is no deliberate calculation or riding the wave of any trends on the album, but simply the desire and love for music with which Chris Harms has set a new, remarkable exclamation mark in his discography as a musician.
