Arts & entertainment
2023
EDM trap is an ever-growing and increasingly expansive genre of music traversing above, beyond, and across seemingly virtually limitless bounds of creativity. Steadily emphasizing and incrementing its footprint and global foothold on the history of music itself, its monumental global popularity has, today, cemented its place in history as a reigning force and mainstay to people across the planet. As a Sony/ATV Music Publishing artist, producer, designer, and more—and given this is also my primary genre and production style—I felt it worthy to finally bring some of the most unique, eclectic, diverse, powerful, and mighty tracks today to the main stage, and showcase all of the talent the world has to offer particularly in this future-bound genre that will remain here to stay for decades and generations yet to come.
Set and prepare your high-fidelity monitors or speakers, headphones, or audio equipment, and enjoy FRNTR’s first episode of an exclusively picked and curated track.
Here … we … go.
We initiate our exploration with our first EDM-trap track, entitled “Pages,” by trio LAUTRE., N.E.B. & Tommygunnz. A mix of lyricists and electronic-music producers, this track knows no creative bounds. The endless flow of rhythmic and dynamic elements, musical alignment/arrangement, aural effects (i.e., “ear candy”), and essentially perfect bass progression brings alight this unique track with a cohesiveness and synergistic union like no other. The sheer musical power imbued into this track acts as a force unto itself, with the intrinsic ability to inspire dance—and particularly animation-style dance—setting ablaze sparks of creativity with every passing bar and beat.
The introduction immediately floods your headphones with mysterious, aura-like chords that signify what is yet to come—and as we transition into the verse, the tone of the track immediately becomes evident. Masterfully produced vocals push forth eminently and rise above the music bed/instrumental with all of the might of a lion. The vocals—or vox—flow in line with brilliantly timed, rhythmically dynamic hi-hats and truly melodic Reese-bass-synthesizer note progression ebbing and presenting itself in the background’s soundscape.
With our movement into, mid, and in between the pre-chorus, risers come into play and make their presence known while the incoming lead becomes increasingly aurally prominent. Snares become, as such, notably prominent and draw our ears to the impending drop.
And as we build up tension into a powerful, all-encompassing moment …
… the drop arrives with the swiftness of the flight of a griffin, roar of a lion, flame of a dragon’s breath, and limitless musical intensity.
We release tension into what is now the core of our track: the chorus.
Monstrous 808s, beastly kicks, and raw synths glue your attention to what has now transformed into a musical composition with the power of what can only be described as a dragon, though yet in another new sense—simply mythic, beautiful progressions crafted with such creativity that their presence cannot be set aside.
Cymbal crashes, precise stutter-step vocal chops, and an elegant yet melodically dominating piano plays atop of rugged synths to establish the main melody. Minute (i.e., minimal) vocal interludes cut through the track and establish dynamic presence with as much significance and prominence as the lower frequencies and bassline itself. Syncopation between various—simply myriad, in closer observation or examination and listening—melodic elements drive the sheer interest and musical power of the track, while the booming kicks elevate intensity all throughout the chorus.
Excellently crafted synths establish the core sound design aspects or elements of the track and formulate the melodic core and synth-note progressions, whilst dynamics and FX/effects processing from elements such as the grit and flame of the kick to the spice of the hi-hats add to the variety of interesting in-track components.
Hybrid-trap or even dubstep-like effects riffs propel the progression even further and lock the listener’s interest, while the varying tone, pitch, glitch, warping, and plentiful more mix-processed manipulations of digital musical instruments therein showcase the variety and uniqueness of the track.
One is simply left wondering how much more compelling the track can be—and determinatively struck by how compelling it already has been—as the instrumental pushes, moves, and continues to flow from section to section, verse to verse, bar to bar, and beat to beat.
As we’re met once more with the lead vocalist/singer’s distinct and powerful voice and lead/main vocals, the story of the track progresses onward equally as powerfully, whilst myriad background ad-libs emphasize the grit and determination of the singer or lyricist as lines are delivered with authority and meaningfulness.
In the second verse, directly prior to the pre-chorus, buildup, and subsequent drop or release of tension, we once again hear the striking yet elegantly and gently melodic piano tones atop poignantly vivid Reese-base tones, once again reinforcing the main progression and thematic elements or motif of the overall composition. It can be crucial to note here, with a careful ear, any effects being processed and audible in the track, as they, also, only serve the core elements of the track with meaningful intent.
As the Reese bass progression continues to cut through the mix with an almost haunting, castle-like nocturne beauty, one may only imagine a story that evokes images of the main character or lead vocalist/protagonist on a determined path to victory, traveling through the deep, cavern-like forest until dawn strikes in the early hour as they emerge victorious through all obstacles presented in their path.
Horns and brass line the way and pave the path for movement into the next section of the song—the second chorus. Though, prior to reaching this destination, we—the listener—are once more met with slightly fading audible hues, mere tinges of the upcoming melodic progression yet to repeat, lulling away in the background between stereo channels and evoking readiness as we head into the chorus.
As the lyricists voices [the word] perfect, we are leading into the chorus once more, met with the booming bass presence, stunning melodic progression, instrumental soundscape, and perfectly executed rhythmic elements of yore—that is, of the prior chorus—with a nigh-unmatched intensity.
Hi-hats once again immediately strike the eardrum with a sonically enhanced prowess and rhythm to maintain the virtually unmatched melodic drum-line pocket as the melody sashays and sways, pushes and pulls into itself with all of the elegance of a flame-driven phoenix gliding into and out of the night—in a single moment of my own creative inspiration, it becomes immediately apparent that the only missing element that could send the composition into overdrive is a live choir, at which point one’s attention would feel magnetized or magnetically attached to each and every note of the track as such a hypothetical choir commands each generated note in line with the melody, thus making it virtually improbable to turn your attention away or at least not listen with distinct, striking care and precision.
That phoenix, as such and so to speak in meticulous musical metaphor, rises once more, builds, and releases tension as we sweep with a downriser/downlifter release out of the chorus and with the final three 808 notes to conclude our track.
The conclusion remains as thus: an enigmatic track and musical story is brought to life with “Pages” in myriad forms, as we conclude our exploration and examination of this production.
Brilliant work to all involved.
