Crankdat comes to us with his fresh single on Monstercat, ‘Move Back (feat. Savage)‘, and his bass music playlist that breaks the rules a little bit, bending genres outside of bass music.
In our 15 questions and 15 songs Q/A format, Crankdat speaks on genre divergence in electronic music. When we asked him, “Thinking about shows, festivals, fans, rather than the business side, if you could, what is something you would change about the electronic music scene?” He responded with “I think it would be great for fans to be more open-minded about music – dubstep fans in particular. I’ve found that they can be a little consciously closed off to other bass music subgenres, and I think it’s healthy and fun to indulge in all the genres. I like it all, from David Guetta to hol! so I think it would be cool if fans reciprocated. Fortunately, my fans do a great job of this.”
His Q/A also delves into his dream plugin, his favorite plugin, parts of Crankdat he wished the world knew, and how he feels about the state of the Crankdat project right now.
With that said, here is his playlist that delivers tracks from Reaper, Skrillex, Space Laces, Ray Volpe, Wooli, as well as Hardwell and Tiesto.
Diving into his single, “Move Back (feat. Savage)” which begins with a sound-reflecting Spanish Mariachi Matador music, Crankdat switches gears by honing in on the melody fusing his notorious bouncy punches and slaughtering drops for a surefire festival anthem with Savage’s vocals leading front and center.
The track will take dance floors to the next level, bringing obliterating four on the four grooves and crowd-controlling vocals to venues around the world. The track flips back into the halftime cadence Crankdat commonly rocks, bringing an arrangement that will win over bass house heads and dubstep fans alike.
1) ‘Move Back’ is clearly a bit of a dance floor anthem, delivered with some crowd controlling lyrics – what was the original vision for the song? How did the song’s style progress over time?
The original instrumental before Savage hopped on was actually called “Ride the Bull” since the horns in the breakdown melody had mariachi/matador vibes. When Savage hopped on he wrote lyrics that were a lot more crowd control-esque, which transformed it into what it is now!
2) From a creative perspective, not compressor, equalizer, reverb.. which plugin really made this song possible?
The main sounds were originally created in Serum but I actually reconstructed them in Vital. Vital’s wavetables are super clean and that helped me get that wet growl bass you hear in the drop.
3) Your remixes you’ve been sharing on social always go off, how has making those influenced your songwriting for your original tracks?
It’s interesting, remixes are kind of the building blocks of Crankdat. I released remixes bi-weekly for years before ever dropping an original record. However, I thought it important to start releasing OG tunes. Now that I’m becoming known for remixes again though thanks to social media, I’m getting creative with some of my upcoming originals… a lot of them have samples or little blurbs from other songs that give them a “remix” feel, even though they’re original records.
4) Have any of those remixes been flipped into originals?
Not yet…. Keyword “yet”….
5) What has been your favorite part of the Crankdat journey so far?
My favorite part of the Crankdat journey has been evolving into what it is today. I think later this year, it’ll be very close to what I’ve always wanted it to be in terms of look, feel, and sound. The journey to get here hasn’t been easy but I think when I see and feel that final product it will be so worth it.
6) What is a part of the Crankdat journey that’s flown under the radar and you wish more people knew?
I don’t really feel like there’s any part that I need to scream to the heavens about, but for fan understanding, there have been some time periods where I wasn’t fully in the driver’s seat. There were many hands steering the choices that this project made during a few periods in time, and the result was some not-so genuine music and other creative decisions. I just think it’s important for the fans to know that to see the difference that is now when I’m fully in control.
7) What are your thoughts on AI-generated music? How will this impact music production and its artform?
AI art is all the rage but I haven’t seen too much with music yet. I think when AI music tools develop, especially sound design ones, it’ll be awesome to aimlessly tinker and generate crazy abstract sounds. I think this will really push electronic music forward and also put the focus back to songwriting.
8) What do you love about music production, what makes you tick, what keeps you going?
I love writing music and hearing that final product. I also love engineering records, it’s like one big game of audio Tetris, getting all of the different parts to fit together. What makes me tick is when the engineering doesn’t work super easily lol.
9) What is something about Crankdat that you wish the world knew?
I think a lot of fans know this but I make all my visuals and art! It’s one of those things where I don’t do it for recognition at all, however it takes SO much time, so I appreciate it when it’s appreciated.
10) Is there a creative realm you’d like to expand Crankdat into?
I’ve been keen to expand my sound into 128 four on the floor stuff. It’s truly my favorite rhythm but Crankdat has previously been known for trap and halftime dubstep rhythms. This year I’ve said screw it I’m going for it! My Monstercat EP reflects that.
11) Tell me about your playlist – how did you select these songs, which are some of your favorites?
These are all songs that I’ve been listening to lately; I love to check out new music from artists I like and also not-so-new tracks that I’ve been listening to, working out to, and enjoying lately. I listen to them all equally at the gym so I don’t think I have any favorites!
12) Which artists are you most excited about right now that the world needs to know about?
I’m very gassed on my buddies Celo and Mvchaki. They’re Florida boys who are super humble and hard-working, they remind me a lot of myself when I was getting started in the scene. Both of them write fantastic music and I think the world is going to see that super soon.
13) Talk to me about the electronic music scene – what is something you would change about it, if you could? This is about shows, festivals, fans, rather than the business side.
I think it would be great for fans to be more open-minded about music – dubstep fans in particular. I’ve found that they can be a little consciously closed off to other bass music subgenres, and I think it’s healthy and fun to indulge in all the genres. I like it all, from David Guetta to hol! so I think it would be cool if fans reciprocated. Fortunately, my fans do a great job of this.
14) What is your favorite plugin and why?
My favorite plug-in is OVC-128. It’s a hard clipper, but its algorithm is so good at letting transients hit through it and keeping the sonics of the synths intact. You can get stupid loud, clean masters with it if you know how to use it.
15) If you could have a dream plugin, what would it be called and what would it do?
Probably an AI synth generator. I love writing music but I’m not a huge fan of sound design. To me taking time to make sounds gets in the way of my flow. I think a tool like that would increase my productivity tenfold.
16) Bonus question – Did you know that New York City is covered in OhioIsForLeaders.com advertisements, and commonly makes jokes about living NYC in an effort to convince New Yorkers to move to Ohio – as an Ohio native, what do you think about this?
I’ve seen those everywhere. I’m all for it.
