Scarlet Dorn - Lack of Light (2018)

ometimes it’s the seemingly insignificant things that suddenly and unexpectedly trigger the most amazing developments. In the case of SCARLET DORN it was a small video track, with which the singer and composer, who grew up in Siberia, aroused the interest of the Hamburg producers Chris Harms (LORD OF THE LOST) and Benjamin Lawrenz. The clip was created after LORD OF THE LOST sent out a not quite serious call to their fans to write a beautiful love letter to the band via Facebook. Among the submissions was a video clip of the hitherto unknown SCARLET DORN accompanying herself at the piano with a song called ‘I Love The Way You Inspire Me’. For Harms and his studio colleague Lawrenz it was immediately clear: A great talent is developing here and it should be nurtured.

Just three years have passed since then, and the decision of the experienced producers was the right one. In no time at all, the talented musician has become the namesake and figurehead of the four-member newcomer band SCARLET DORN, which includes LORD OF THE LOST pianist Gared Dirge, guitarist Bengt Jaeschke and drummer Henrik Petschull. This group of talented people showcased themselves during the LORD OF THE LOST tour in the spring of 2017, and released their first single, ‘Hold On To Me’, in late February 2018, just in time for the LETZTE INSTANZ tour. The second release, ‘Heavy Beauty’, was following in May, just right in time for the tour with JOACHIM WITT. The upcoming debut album, ‘Lack Of Light’ is scheduled for August 2018 via Oblivion / SPV.

Such an amazingly rapid rise has of course many reasons behind it. Above all, they are found in SCARLET DORN’s warm, clear voice, which sounds tailor-made for her songs - a mix between atmospheric Dark Pop, Rock and Electro influences. At the same time, the 25-year-old exudes an artistic maturity that is rarely found in such young musicians. But even this maturity does not come by chance: Scarlet first attended a music school at the age of six and in the following years received both a classical vocal education as well as piano and guitar lessons. After moving from Siberia to Heilbronn with her family in 2001, she participated several times in the most important German music project “Jugend Musiziert” and also performed in various opera and musical performances.

All this and much more is now exploding on their band’s debut album. Together with Harms and Lawrenz, Scarlet has composed a multitude of atmospherically dense songs, a full dozen of which can be found on ‘Lack Of Light’. If you want to capture the essence of her music, you should definitely listen to the album opener, ‘Heavy Beauty’, with its wide stylistic range. Or ‘Hold On To Me’, in which SCARLET DORN presents her poppy side. In the duet with Chris Harms in ‘I Love The Way You Say My Name’, which featured in the first small video clip mentioned above, Scarlet reveals her penchant for ballads and also displays rougher elements. ‘Snow Black’ challenges the listener not only with its weird sound and unusual arrangement, but also with a bizarre variation of the ever popular Snow White story. On ‘Cinderella’ the fairy tale takes on a new dimension, with the protagonist of the story on a true vendetta!

These different songs and moods fit perfectly with SCARLET DORN, as her pretty features, the big dark eyes and the good-natured look cannot hide the fact that the charismatic singer has a strong and idiosyncratic personality. With ‘Lack Of Light’, we are witnessing her standing at the beginning of a very promising career!

TRACKLIST

01. Heavy Beauty
02. Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned
03. I'm Armageddon
04. Hold on to Me
05. Rain
06. Kill Bitterness with Love
07. Snow Black
08. I Don't Know, I Don't Care
09. Cinderella
10. I Love the Way You Say My Name
11. Frozen Fire
12. In Another Life