Electronic dance music has turned into a multi-billion global industry. Simultaneously, producing and making music have become far easier than when synth bands dropped songs in the early 80’s: physical, analog equipment has been replaced by easily accessible and affordable software. And with the internet as your audience, bedroom producers have taken the music world by storm. Anyone with the acumen, has potential to become a dance music producer. But the bigger the genre becomes, the more sharp its divisions – even down to the BPM and type of synths used. Your sound is your brand – and thus the most important facet a producer has to establish. Italian based EDM producer and pianist, LREDS, is building his brand alongside the melodic and soulful voice of his vocal collaborator Rafaela Koseva.
The two have worked together on quite a few of LREDS’ productions. Last in order of time, “Tell Me”, released less than a month ago. Once again they set themselves firmly in the mainstream pop arena with a sound that is as poignant and as it is sweetly melancholic.
The sounds of EDM have firmly entered mainstream pop, but what interests me is the softening of those sounds, to make the genre more accessible to ears far removed from the dancefloor. It’s almost an easy-listening type of EDM, that doesn’t as much lose its energy and momentum as it does its abrasive loudness.
There are a handful of capable producers able to make this transition, without selling out there electronic dance roots, and among them is LREDS. “Tell Me”, possibly signals his finest hour working in this crossover direction.
A fair dose of classical strings, a shimmering piano, a strumming acoustic guitar and a steady drumbeat. On top of this the warm and resonant voice of Rafaela Koseva – a perfect amalgam for crossover, easy-listening EDM and mellifluous pop.
EDM’s effect on the pop landscape has been to elevate the producer out of the director’s chair and into the spotlight. So while Pop artists are more frequently joining the world of electronic music, EDM producers and DJ’s are busy taking over the mainstream charts. I
t’s not easy creating a club bagger or festival anthem that can still be played on mainstream radio and be well liked by the masses, but more and more of the EDM artists are figuring out how to do it. In the underground list, LREDS has been doing it for a while now with his pop infusions. But on “Tell Me” he has taken an even sharper turn towards the subtle and the sublime, with a track that is smooth on the ear and food for the soul.
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