The beginning of Lost Kingdom dates back to year 2000, when brothers Daniel and Mikael Tjernberg starts out a project where neoclassical orchestrations blends with elements from medieval as well as contemporary music, inspired by fantasy worlds and nature mysticism.
At the time, most material is arranged for piano and recorder, and the duo performs a lot of their music live. In 2003 they record their first demo entitled Under A Clouded Sky, which is a good demonstration of their more minimalistic works. The demo holds a total of seven pieces arranged for keyboards, percussion, woodwinds and even some vocals.
2005 – 2006: Shrouds Of Victory
The visions soon lead towards a more epic sound. In 2005, inspired by magical tales of dreams and imagination, the duo enters Goatman Studios in Sweden to set about record their second demo. Shrouds Of Victory releases the following year, and for the first time one can hear the ambitious orchestrations and powerful arrangements that has come to define the sound of Lost Kingdom. While the musical character is romantic and avant-garde, it also draws near completely different musical styles - such as jazz, popular and folk music - to create a unique and fresh blend.
2006 – 2008: As The New Dawn Awakes
Just a few days after the release of Shrouds Of Victory, the brothers are eager to set off for another musical journey. It’s then, in the fall of 2006, that they come up with the idea about a tribute to Mother Earth. The writing process immediately starts, and one of the first songs to form is the neo-romantic, orchestral In Heaven. This piece is chosen to represent them on the Radio Rivendell Compilation in the following year, and as a result of the enthusiastic reviews they receive from the public and press alike, they are offered a record deal with Waerloga Records in May 2007.
Under A Clouded Sky, arranged for big orchestra and piano, is another of the first compositions to emerge from the work with the album, and together with In Heaven it is made available on the Lost Kingdom official homepage and MySpace from early on in the production process to let people get a feeling for what to expect from the album.
2007 proves to be a year of hard work and many sleepless nights, as perfectionists Daniel and Mikael Tjernberg works to get every little thing just right. At times it seems hopeless, with the enormous amount of time being spent on large scores such as that of As The New Dawn Awakes and Birth Of A Sun in tandem with the deadline that had been set for January 2008. But somehow it all started to come together as a whole in late 2007, and every track was basically finished by the turn of the year. But it wasn’t until negotiating a month-long postponement of the deadline that Lost Kingdom could actually say that the album would meet their high standards.
Mastered by Simon Heath of Za Frûmi fame, the master disc was sent to the planting factory in early March, whereupon all that was left to do was to wait. In April 2008 As The New Dawn Awakes is officially released, marking the end of a long and demanding journey, as well as proving the same to have paid off: being the first Lost Kingdom release to be backed up by a record label, it is the duo’s most ambitious and polished production to date.
