Dance Club Music 2014 - K3vin Envoy's Playground
The independent EDM community that is independent is a fascinating creature, mainly due to the heavy inundation with relatively sloppy stuff. Countless artists attempt to be the following hot DJ, book another big club gig, or create the next artist that is substantial. The fact of the issue, however, is that it is difficult for every one of the artists to break from their own noise. Some do, though, and K3vin Envoy is carrying out a great job of rising to that particular challenge.
It's dance music, when exploring it analytically, and therefore, one must keep that in mind. Solid electronic dance music melds together various types of sub-genres: dub, trance, electronica, and several more generally make appearances under the moniker of "EDM." In the case of K3vin Envoy's music, several elements are utilized by his tunes from each of these genres, which will be probably why it is far superior to most indie EDM.
'Wut Makes U Tik,' the opening track on his new record 'Playground,' is a convincing attempt to listen to, even ifyou're not bopping around in the club as intended. It appears to have several "movements" of varieties that are distinguished by sections of astonishingly Diverse synthesizers. Sometimes, dubstep sway is considerable. At other times, sci-ti tinged electronica takes the reins. 'Wut Makes U Tik' feels intelligently composed and arranged, that is more than I can say for most EDM that comes across my desk as an indie critic.
'Tell Me the Truth' furthers Envoy's exploration of synthesizer-laden atmospheres, this time -industrial beats to the mixture. In some pop vibes using a squeaky vocal sample, he's also layered on top of that. Initially, the vocal album section is a tad annoying if it was sampled off 'Alvin and the Chipmunks,' but itgrows around the listener. The instrumentation at 2:20 before a massive dub-like build isparticularly amazing.
The title track of 'Playground' is arguably the most complex of the three chosen for this review, offering a rather pleasant landscape of rebounding, melodic synthesizers. It is a piece of EDM that one could listen to removed from the dance floor, I'd contend, which is a testament to production and the composition. In fact, 'Playground' would most likely be equally at home in the club or on your own fitness playlist.
It's difficult to find creative EDM that's worth exploring beyond tedious, mind-numbing head-bopping in the club. It is a rarity that the music isn't only good for that, nevertheless, but also good to explore on its own. These three melodies from 'Playground' are indicative of an EDM record worth listening to regardless of whether or not you are out to dance. It's enjoyable, nicely-made electronic music that likely has plenty to give throughout its ten track entirety.
