Armed with their accessible and cheerful form of Future House, Raven & Kreyn just arrived at their next stop: ‘You & I’ on Hexagon Records. This duo became known in the scene partly because of their collab with Blasterjaxx in 2020, but mainly because of their enormous workflow. You’ll be amazed by the number of tracks they released. Apparently, it’s really easy to work with the two Frenchmen. The collabs with Dante Klein, Laidback Luke & Robert Falcon show that the sound of Raven & Kreyn suits a lot of different other sounds. ‘You & I’ is something we haven’t heard from them before. We like it a lot! We hear that they worked on the track with great care. On critical moments, the producers show an astonishing sense of momentum. A lot of details got strengthened and the guitar chords come along fluently. You can’t ignore the somewhat too loud kickdrum in the drop, but that delivers an even greater danceability!
READ & LISTEN ALONG
THE GREAT NEW MUSIC GUIDE (7 TIPS + BONUS)
Searching for new music is an activity what amuses you for days. It’s like a real expedition which starts over again every time. You never know what tracks you’re going to meet. And finally, you find the treasure which was buried deep in the ground. Take an hour, use these tips and enrich your list of favourite songs. Let’s start!
Written by: Mark Benthem
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Photo credit: Kaylee Swart
Tip 1: Out of your comfort zone
First things first. Streaming services are programmed to lead the listener to a certain kind of music he/she already knows. That is based on what you’ve listened to before. The algorithm knows you better than you. An innovative technique, but not what we’re looking for. Try to avoid the algorithm, music you already know and step out of your comfort zone.
Tip 2: Avoid mainstream playlists
The mainstream playlists on Spotify and Apple Music are filled with popular and good sounding music for a reason. People who listen to these playlists, want to listen to recognizable music in an easy way. But that doesn’t challenge us enough. We want to explore what’s new and what we don’t know yet. In case we find something great, that makes it more satisfying.
Tip 3: Don’t skip any artist
During your research, it’s easy to skip a lot of artists because you don’t know them. Maybe this artist doesn’t have even 100 followers on Instagram or less than 1.000 plays on his latest tracks. You’re not sure if his/her music fits you. We don’t want to miss any of those! Make sure to listen to a song long enough to have an opinion. Preferably 30 seconds, because only then a stream counts as an actual stream. The artist is getting rewarded, even we don’t like the song. For us, it’s a small effort. For the artist a huge favour.
Tip 4: Talk about interesting music
It might surprise you how many people in your own environment have an unspoken opinion about music. Talk about it and let their opinion guide you to new music! Usually, people who have their interest completely elsewhere, have another perspective on music. Respect it and give unknown music a chance. That’s worth a lot for you.
Tip 5: Related artists
Every streaming service has a function to lead you to other music which is similar to what you’ve heard. ‘Related tracks…’ (Soundcloud), ‘Fans do like this as well…’ (Spotify) and ‘Recommended because you listened to…’(Apple Music). Don’t forget to take advantage of this opportunity, sift it thought! Be sure you don’t miss anything! The results are completely different in comparison with the algorithm we’ve already talked about. If you pick some artists once in a while, we’re sure you’ll find music what fits you well.
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Tip 6: Listen to live sets
Artists who play live, love to play unknown and different music than they usually do. Listeners could be inclined to skip artists because of one or two tracks on Spotify they don’t like. In our opinion, that’s the exciting part! We think it’s interesting to listen to artists you don’t know yet or known artists at other venues. Listening to live sets (1001tracklists.com) could also help to learn respecting other genres which you didn’t in the past.
Special thanks to MentalMint for this submission on our Instagram story!
Tip 7: Take account of your playlist
At last, you’re approaching the climax of your exploration. Now you have a fine collection of tracks really you like or might like even more after a while. Sort out your music in a playlist with a theme: a certain mood, an activity (workout, study, writing…) or just a bunch of music you like. Give it a name which suits! With putting this effort in your playlist, it saves a lot of time in searching for music you want to listen to on a particular moment.
BONUS
Overheated speakers? Besides listening to music, you can read about it as well! The internet is filled with articles about music and they’re available for everyone. Some of them give you background information about a certain subject and some blog writes choose a certain sound to write about. Choose 3-4 blogs to keep an eye on. On this website (LINK), you can choose between more than a hundred blogs about Electronic Dance Music.
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