"This is yet another face carved in the endless totem pole of creative outpourings by Memory Collector, but this album is more so an “inpouring” of collectibles from someone I personally equate to a downright Ancient Alien and magician of the arts. The album begins with the title track “Fear Dreams,” eliciting a state of immediate euphoria in which the impossible is at our fingertips, palpable and waiting for us to completely let go of the fear that dreams cannot be fulfilled. “Scorpio Rising” happened to be written during the same time that his newly formed company Deus Ex Machina was putting together an exhibition of art and music under the same name. This song rings in one of the more serene themes blended into the album which was felt as the state of being blessed, a rising of people from the darkness of monotone lives by bringing, collecting, operating our soul’s creations from the lighthouse of our beings. “Addicted” (featuring Gina Lee) propels the listener into a heart racing flood of emotions with Gina’s lyrics enunciating what so many of us experience in relationships. The songs in this album have an eerie serenity that evokes waves of relaxation balanced on the edge of a knife, consciousness building towers before they collapse into the hourglass of the future. “Tiime Lord” and “We’re Already There” envelops the listener in a cocoon of beats which is habitual for works by Memory Collector. Deeper feelings emerged as I listened to “Black Neon,” like a hidden memory of the choices we make with the people we love and the passions and gifts that tie us to this life. “We Drift Deeper” wields unforgettable lyrical hooks within contrasting musical elements of neurotic tension and moments of wild release and freedom. Always, there is a summation of Sascha’s skills as an electronic producer of music that can be absorbed in each progressive album, but especially in the song “Torrent” on this one. The album is concluded with “Bad Mantra,” a song I would describe as having undertones of cyberpunk as it entrances the listener in the concept that what we are thinking and saying to ourselves directly affects how our dreams manifest in reality. This is somewhat of an ominous ending due to the fact that so many of us are living lives that we curse every single day upon awakening. We arrive in the middle of life with the terrifying understanding that our thoughts, our energy are what have brought us here, to this moment, to this experience. We draw the cards each day and search for meaning and then we fold them just the same and take what we need to fall asleep. But what if we held onto that card, held onto the gripping thought that death may in fact be just around the corner. How would that affect how we spend our time? Each waking moment, grains of sand are falling in that hourglass, we are doomed to face the desert that stands between us and our destination. This is the Fear Dream. This album is an example of how Sascha navigates it, as a father, as a festival organizer and business owner, as a musician. He embraces it all." - Matthew Cain (Crazed Visions)

Memory Collector's 11th self-produced album "Fear Dreams"
a few words from the creator ...

"I told myself I'd go all out in 2021. This has been the busiest year of my life, as I've taken on many challenges that have brought me well out of my comfort zone. Since I began releasing albums in 2011, I have stuck with the initial goal of releasing at least one Memory Collector album each year. It was tough to find the time to work on music this year with everything else that had been going on. But after accomplishing some very big goals of mine, I found that I came into the last quarter of the year bursting with creativity. Some of this music had just been waiting all year to get out of my head.

After completing some of the biggest undertakings of the year, though in a creative mood I found myself feeling a bit empty and under-productive. All the excitement and energy of what had transpired was gone, and in its place, sort of a void. I began having dreams about my own fear of failure, dreams that made me wonder if I was pursuing the right path in life, and that made me start to doubt myself again. The coming of cold weather and shorter days didn't seem to be helping. I knew I had to get busy immediately or suffer the consequences, so I buried myself in the idea of completing a full album, rather than the initially planned EP for the 2021 year.

Luckily, I was able to convert the dark energy I was feeling into music that made me feel better. This album is the product of that energy transformation. It is not my intention for listeners to relive the emptiness I was feeling at times when working on these songs. Rather, I just want to get across the message that music can be used for healing, and that darkness is a part of life. If you can just accept that it's there, you can move forward without being afraid of it.

I really hope you enjoy this album! In doing yearly album releases, I am constantly learning new things and expanding the scope of my music and creative pursuits. Thank you for following me on this journey!"

- Sascha Damon Frost (Memory Collector)