Lorant is offering "Jet Black" from his The History of Love EP as a free download until next Thursday on his SoundCloud page.
Lorant feat. SAMN! - Jet Black [Free download until Sept. 2] by DJLorant
Showing posts with label Samn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samn. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
EP Review: Lorant - The History Of Love
Music can be repetitive.
No matter what genre I'm listening to, I always hear some of the same elements repeated over and over again. Any song on FM radio follows the verse/chorus formula, dance music producers love to recycle some synth tunings, and rock bands often write lyrics on only a few subjects.
But every once in a while something comes along that is so vastly different and original; something that breaks the cycle and makes you wonder: "how did someone come up with this stuff"?
Lorant's The History of Love EP is that kind of release for me this summer.
When speaking about electronic music, what sets Lorant apart from other producers is his attention to the smaller things: the drum patterns, the basslines, and the musical bells and whistles that give each track its own flair.
And while some producers compose a lead melody and then create a track around that (sometimes reusing the same background effects as others), Lorant's creations yield that "homemade" feel. Every song on the EP sounds built from scratch, and throughout this 31-minute release, there are few moments where you can predict what's about to come next.
1. Hunter
"Hunter" was the first track I heard off this release before it came out, and like I described earlier, it's an incredible array of melodies, effects, and sound patterns mixed into seven minutes. The song is primarily electro, but has some garage-sounding drums thrown in for added variety.
2. Dracula 2010
As the title implies, "Dracula" has an underlying 'haunting' vibe. The song is carried by a choppy electro synth-melody with a few surprises: most notably some hand-drumming and low-pitched piano notes.
3. Sound X. ft. Emanuel Xavier
This is the mellowest track on The History of Love, and features the voice of Brooklyn poet Emanuel Xavier over relaxing background synth notes and percussion that has the style of a New York City street performance.
Xavier's performance is something different, but gets repetitive near the end of the track.
4. The History of Love
The EP's title track is built around a techy-synth melody that moves along at the pace of some minimal drum and percussion sounds. As the song progresses, the melody becomes longer in some places and shorter in others, with additional effects thrown in to keep the track from becoming too predictable.
One of my favorite effects is the powerful synth hits that shine in the back half of the song (they sound reminiscent of something you'd hear in an 80's action movie soundtrack). But as things start to really pick up, "The History of Love" ends. Although the track is four and a half minutes long, I feel like an extended version would suit this song concept better.
5. Movie ft. O-Red
"Movie" is a breaks track with a rock-band feel, supplemented by the vocals of O-Red. The heavy usage of vocals and non-electronic drums are nice departure from the previous songs on the EP, but the track doesn't seem to build to any climax or endpoint.
6. Jet Black ft. SAMN!
Lorant enlists Royal Advisor Records labelmate SAMN! to help out in the EP's final cut, which is among its best.
SAMN!'s soulful voice adds an interesting dynamic to this electronica-style track, which becomes ridiculously catchy as a xylophone pattern plays a back-and-forth game with a slew of electro-synths and percussion effects.
Final Verdict
The good: Lorant's debut release is nothing short of original, with a wide variety of electronic and percussion sounds that keep you coming back for more. This isn't the kind of EP you do a once-over with: you have to keep listening to it again to uncover everything that's going on in each track.
The bad: The vocal work on this release has a few quirks, and a couple of the tracks left me wanting more, such as "The History of Love" and "Movie".
Rating: 8 out of 10 [Great]
For sale at:
Beatport // Traxsource // JunoDownload // AudioJelly // AmazonMP3
No matter what genre I'm listening to, I always hear some of the same elements repeated over and over again. Any song on FM radio follows the verse/chorus formula, dance music producers love to recycle some synth tunings, and rock bands often write lyrics on only a few subjects.
But every once in a while something comes along that is so vastly different and original; something that breaks the cycle and makes you wonder: "how did someone come up with this stuff"?
Lorant's The History of Love EP is that kind of release for me this summer.
When speaking about electronic music, what sets Lorant apart from other producers is his attention to the smaller things: the drum patterns, the basslines, and the musical bells and whistles that give each track its own flair.
And while some producers compose a lead melody and then create a track around that (sometimes reusing the same background effects as others), Lorant's creations yield that "homemade" feel. Every song on the EP sounds built from scratch, and throughout this 31-minute release, there are few moments where you can predict what's about to come next.
1. Hunter
"Hunter" was the first track I heard off this release before it came out, and like I described earlier, it's an incredible array of melodies, effects, and sound patterns mixed into seven minutes. The song is primarily electro, but has some garage-sounding drums thrown in for added variety.
2. Dracula 2010
As the title implies, "Dracula" has an underlying 'haunting' vibe. The song is carried by a choppy electro synth-melody with a few surprises: most notably some hand-drumming and low-pitched piano notes.
3. Sound X. ft. Emanuel Xavier
This is the mellowest track on The History of Love, and features the voice of Brooklyn poet Emanuel Xavier over relaxing background synth notes and percussion that has the style of a New York City street performance.
Xavier's performance is something different, but gets repetitive near the end of the track.
4. The History of Love
The EP's title track is built around a techy-synth melody that moves along at the pace of some minimal drum and percussion sounds. As the song progresses, the melody becomes longer in some places and shorter in others, with additional effects thrown in to keep the track from becoming too predictable.
One of my favorite effects is the powerful synth hits that shine in the back half of the song (they sound reminiscent of something you'd hear in an 80's action movie soundtrack). But as things start to really pick up, "The History of Love" ends. Although the track is four and a half minutes long, I feel like an extended version would suit this song concept better.
5. Movie ft. O-Red
"Movie" is a breaks track with a rock-band feel, supplemented by the vocals of O-Red. The heavy usage of vocals and non-electronic drums are nice departure from the previous songs on the EP, but the track doesn't seem to build to any climax or endpoint.
6. Jet Black ft. SAMN!
Lorant enlists Royal Advisor Records labelmate SAMN! to help out in the EP's final cut, which is among its best.
SAMN!'s soulful voice adds an interesting dynamic to this electronica-style track, which becomes ridiculously catchy as a xylophone pattern plays a back-and-forth game with a slew of electro-synths and percussion effects.
Final Verdict
The good: Lorant's debut release is nothing short of original, with a wide variety of electronic and percussion sounds that keep you coming back for more. This isn't the kind of EP you do a once-over with: you have to keep listening to it again to uncover everything that's going on in each track.
The bad: The vocal work on this release has a few quirks, and a couple of the tracks left me wanting more, such as "The History of Love" and "Movie".
Rating: 8 out of 10 [Great]
For sale at:
Beatport // Traxsource // JunoDownload // AudioJelly // AmazonMP3
(also available on iTunes)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Weekly shows update
The biggest news this week is that the 2010 Electric Zoo lineup has been finalized with schedules released for each day (minus set times):
And at Pacha last weekend during the Oakenfold and Laidback Luke shows, flyers were being handed out to advertise a bunch of new events, including Aly & Fila's first-ever visit to NYC.
Lastly, Royal Advisor Records and their artists have a couple shows lined up for the next two weeks.
[Image credit: PlexiPR, Brad Miller @ TranceAddict]
And at Pacha last weekend during the Oakenfold and Laidback Luke shows, flyers were being handed out to advertise a bunch of new events, including Aly & Fila's first-ever visit to NYC.
Lastly, Royal Advisor Records and their artists have a couple shows lined up for the next two weeks.
[Image credit: PlexiPR, Brad Miller @ TranceAddict]
Saturday, March 20, 2010
DJNY #3: Lorant Duzgun
Any musician can compose music to release, but without the backing of a record label who can provide professional assistance and marketing, their chances of commercial success are reduced.
Enter Lorant Duzgun, a New York DJ and producer and founder of the newly-launched Royal Advisor Records, an electro-focused label that is a home for an eclectic variety of sounds from local artists.
RAR, which kicked off their live show schedule with a recent launch party in Manhattan at Home Sweet Home on 131 Chrystie Street, will be showcasing their talents and new releases at the venue on every last Sunday of the month.
Here's the inside story on the beginnings of RAR- a mix of luck, passion, and friendship leading to bigger things.
Around town…
Enter Lorant Duzgun, a New York DJ and producer and founder of the newly-launched Royal Advisor Records, an electro-focused label that is a home for an eclectic variety of sounds from local artists.
RAR, which kicked off their live show schedule with a recent launch party in Manhattan at Home Sweet Home on 131 Chrystie Street, will be showcasing their talents and new releases at the venue on every last Sunday of the month.
Here's the inside story on the beginnings of RAR- a mix of luck, passion, and friendship leading to bigger things.
Around town…
Binarysound: Can you tell us about your background and how you became interested in electronic dance music?
Lorant Duzgun: I started DJing in high school and then I got myself a fake ID and started going to all the big New York City clubs like Twilo and Vinyl. Shortly after that, I was introduced to Danny Tenaglia by my friend Geoff Gains while I was in the beginning stages of my career so that was obviously inspirational.
Later on I began working for Twisted Records which is a pretty significant label as far as the "tribal" genre of dance music goes. I first got into music production when I was working for Twisted by doing a remix of "The Hook" by Geoff Gains. After that, DJing took a backseat to production for a while because I wanted to learn music composition and get my head around some of the software out there.
A record label was something I always wanted to do but there needs to be a right time to start something like that. I met SAMN two years ago and we started working on some demos and I from there on in the label became a work in progress. I then started working with Monique-Renee (Sappho's Journey) and given that these are two very talented people, I thought I might as well start putting out the stuff we were working on.
Later on I began working for Twisted Records which is a pretty significant label as far as the "tribal" genre of dance music goes. I first got into music production when I was working for Twisted by doing a remix of "The Hook" by Geoff Gains. After that, DJing took a backseat to production for a while because I wanted to learn music composition and get my head around some of the software out there.
A record label was something I always wanted to do but there needs to be a right time to start something like that. I met SAMN two years ago and we started working on some demos and I from there on in the label became a work in progress. I then started working with Monique-Renee (Sappho's Journey) and given that these are two very talented people, I thought I might as well start putting out the stuff we were working on.
BSound: So that's where the idea for the label come from- trying to find an outlet to release these demos?
LD: Yea it was actually about 5-6 years ago that I wanted to launch a record label but I wasn't experienced enough. After meeting SAMN and Sappho's Journey it just seemed like the right timing to get it off the ground.
BSound: Where did you meet them?
LD: SAMN I met through a mutual friend of mine. With Sappho's Journey, we knew each other back at the time when we worked at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. Then we lost touch and I ran into her on the street a little over a year ago and I told her "we used to talk about making music so lets finally do it". So then she came over one day to see if we could work on something together and it was an instant musical bond [laughs].
A label is born…
BSound: Where did you come up with the name 'Royal Advisor' for your label?
LD: There are two answers to that. One of them is that it just came to me and the other answer is that I'm a big Queen fan. Freddy Mercury is my idol, but I didn't want name it something like it 'Queen Records'. I just liked the whole concept that Queen had to their stuff like "A Night at the Opera" and "A Day at the Races". They were kind of like an indirect inspiration.
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BSound: In today's music industry, record sales seem to be shifting away from physical formats to digital stores like Beatport and iTunes. How did that transition affect you in your experiences of starting up RAR?
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BSound: In today's music industry, record sales seem to be shifting away from physical formats to digital stores like Beatport and iTunes. How did that transition affect you in your experiences of starting up RAR?
LD: It's much easier as far as costs go because you don't have to print vinyl and CD's. The upside is that you save a lot of money by not having to do that. But the downside of it is that many, many others are doing the same thing at the same time. There are a lot of independent labels going up at once, so there's a lot of competition. But in terms of getting a label off the ground it's a lot easier because you only need a web site, distributor, and some talented artists.
BSound: Can you describe the styles of the artists on RAR?
LD: Both of them are very good songwriters. They have their own styles and that's not something that comes by every day. They both have definite but separate visions, like Samn is really into the early R&B nu-jack swing stuff, and he wants to reinvent that genre and bring it into 2010. With his voice especially, it's working out and it makes sense for him to do that and I think he's doing a good job at it. He comes to me with what he wants and shows me his inspirations and we take it from there.
As far as Sappho's Journey goes, she's very into Depeche Mode and Radiohead and the darker electronic sounds. She also has a very definite vision- she wants each of her EP's or albums to be a concept from beginning to end. And with her EP that recently came out, Venerate, I think we've succeeded in that sense as far a concept from the first song to the last.
As far as Sappho's Journey goes, she's very into Depeche Mode and Radiohead and the darker electronic sounds. She also has a very definite vision- she wants each of her EP's or albums to be a concept from beginning to end. And with her EP that recently came out, Venerate, I think we've succeeded in that sense as far a concept from the first song to the last.
The concept behind the EP is the process of discovering oneself whether it's through love, struggle, or loneliness. Sappho's Journey found the perfect word for her EP- Venerate, which means to have the utmost respect for something or to adore it a Godly fashion. I think she means to say we owe it to ourselves to feel that way about who we are after all the things we have to put up with in life.
Bsound: On RAR's web site, there's a fourth artist- Forest Families, which looks interesting based on the concept artwork you have posted for them. What's the deal with this artist?
LD: Forest Families is a new artist from New Zealand. We have never met in person and that's one of the good things about the digital age, where you can reach out to people like that. Their tracks are not ready to be released but hopefully by the end of the summer.
BSound: Where do you draw your influences from in your songs?
LD: I think it's kind of a gut feeling. When I sat down to create "Hunter" I wanted to make it be like a roller-coaster ride. It's like 'stuff all you can in there and see where it goes'. As I was finishing it I thought about it and thought 'maybe this has a lot going on in it', but that is what I wanted.
With my next single, "The History of Love", I wanted that to be very emotional while keeping in sync with a minimal tech-house vibe. It has a lot of strings that come in near the end. It's a very minimal track that's not like "Hunter" at all, in the sense that it builds up and then fades out.
[Sappho's Journey performing at RAR's launch party on Feb. 23]
BSound: Are there any upcoming shows or releases that RAR is going to be putting out?
BSound: Are there any upcoming shows or releases that RAR is going to be putting out?
LD: At the end of this month on the 28th we're back at Home Sweet Home in Manhattan, where we had our launch party. This show is going to be Sappho's Journey Venerate EP release show where she's going to be performing all the songs from that record.
I'm also going to release my own EP in May- The History of Love, which contains six original songs including collaborations with famed Nuyorican poet Emanuel Xavier, French pop artist O-Red, and SAMN in addition to my current tracks "Hunter" and "The History of Love".
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Tracks from Royal Advisor Records artists can be purchased at iTunes, Beatport, Traxsource, Junodownload, TrackItDown, and other digital music stores.
[Image credit: Jason Whitehead, Ron Porto]
Friday, February 19, 2010
New NYC electro label launching next week
Royal Advisor Records, a new local electro-based label, will be launching next week with a free party at Home Sweet Home on 131 Chrystie Street in Manhattan.
The show will feature live performances from Samn, Sappho's Journey, label-founder Lorant Duzgan, and others. There will also be free CD giveaways throughout the night and an open vodka bar from 10:30-11:30pm.
You can hear individual songs from each of the performing artists at RAR's web site, and judging by the samples, this is going to be a pretty decent live event.
I really like the voice of Monique Renee, the soul singer that makes up Sappho's Journey. Their song "Venerate" is an interesting mix of drum patterns and electro tinges. It'll be interesting to see what other sounds she's paired up with in the coming months.
Lorant's single "Hunter" is also good- he manages to pack a ton of drum, electro, and synth effects/rhythms into a variety-filled six minutes.
[Image credit: Creative PR]
The show will feature live performances from Samn, Sappho's Journey, label-founder Lorant Duzgan, and others. There will also be free CD giveaways throughout the night and an open vodka bar from 10:30-11:30pm.
You can hear individual songs from each of the performing artists at RAR's web site, and judging by the samples, this is going to be a pretty decent live event.
I really like the voice of Monique Renee, the soul singer that makes up Sappho's Journey. Their song "Venerate" is an interesting mix of drum patterns and electro tinges. It'll be interesting to see what other sounds she's paired up with in the coming months.
Lorant's single "Hunter" is also good- he manages to pack a ton of drum, electro, and synth effects/rhythms into a variety-filled six minutes.
[Image credit: Creative PR]
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