CRANKDAT Uses Nostalgia to Inspire Modern Sound on his Sad Robot EP
CRANKDAT really has the juice. With his recent Sad Robot EP, the DJ/producer showcases his talent, versatility, and uniqueness while making quality songs along the way. For an artist who claimed to be a musically uncultured youth, CRANKDAT has come a long way in developing a wide palate that is heard in his production, especially throughout the Sad Robot EP. For this 5 song project, which is his first extended play with Vancouver’s Monstercat Records, the 24 year old Youngstown, Ohio native aimed to showcase his pandemic-refined production abilities and melodic dubstep style through a nostalgic sound that is inspired by his early dubstep and trap style that produced classics like “Stoopid Rich”, “Light (Re-Crank)”, and of course, his remix of Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen”. The product of this philosophy is an incredibly listenable EP that fuses different genres, production styles, and emotions into one cohesive piece, creating a ton of replay value within this BANGER-filled project.
Cover art for the Sad Robot EP
The Sad Robot EP kicks off with “Wish You Were Here”, an instrumental dubstep track that allows the listener to focus on CRANKDAT’s technical abilities, which he says “went up like, 9 levels” . The song sets the emotional tone for the sad robot theme of the album with a gloomy key melody that works into a progressive melodic dubstep drop, where the high-energy synth melody could even be considered Brostep, if we’re getting nostalgic. Besides the song’s emotional yet robotic sound, it’s also a diverse listen from a production standpoint because of the way the drums transition from a half speed trap style into a house-influenced 4 to the floor tempo like butter, and even though this is the only instrumental on the EP, the production doesn’t take a backseat on any of the songs.
For the second track and lead single, titled “Better Without You”, CRANKDAT calls on vocalist JT Roach to create some Future bass feelings. The sentiment of JT’s soulful pop vocal delivery is encompassed in two lines from the pre-chorus that say “I pushed you away to be on my own, Never knew what I had ‘til I let you go”, some tear shedding content. Despite the sad tone of the lyrics, CRANKDAT balances it with the song’s upbeat production, where tonal synth patterns and upbeat drums build into a half step Future bass drop that sounds perfect for a big festival performance. This track exemplifies how CRANKDAT is able to create an emotional tone in his production while making an energetic and engaging listen.
Ace Aura
On the EP’s third track and second single, called “The Feeling”, CRANKDAT brings the sad robot theme to the forefront, with the help of new age dubstep DJ Ace Aura. The tone is set for the song with the intro synth that sounds like a spaceship is starting up, where passionate and soft vocals from CRANKDAT enter to say “You don’t have to love me, Just give me a reason”. From there, techno-inspired synth patterns, echoed percussion, and distorted vocals build the energy of the song into a huge drop that has Ace Aura’s signature chord-driven, melodic riddim sound all over it. One the reasons why this song is so replayable is because CRANKDAT arranges his percussion, synth melodies and fills, and bassline on “The Feeling” in a way that creates so much texture for the listener, plus it’s catchy as hell, so you could definitely say this track BUMPS.
Though a banger like “The Feeling” isn’t an easy song to follow up, CRANKDAT keeps it coming with “What It Feels Like” featuring vocalist KC. Her soulful mid-range vocal about the bittersweet memories of a broken relationship are perfect over the deadmau5-like synth melody and half step trap drums, creating a unique Future bass sound. As the song builds up, a massive acoustic drum fill transitions you into a big dubstep drop with heavy drums and a matching synth melody, and then it transitions into an even heavier second half of the drop. The nostalgic yet progressive dubstep sound that is created in the first drop is expected in the final as well, with a similar energetic build up being used, but CRANKDAT switches it up and drops a bouncy trap beat with a spacey reverberating melody over it to create my favourite drop on the project. This track incorporates a strong vocal and lyric from KC to the fusion-oriented dubstep sound that CRANKDAT has been exploring and executing on this EP, making it really listenable.
CRANKDAT performing live
The Sad Robot EP closes with “Higher”, a song that expresses the recovery of the sad robot’s emotional journey. With the line of “I’m never coming back down” being the main vocal sample for the song, CRANKDAT surrounds it with an emotional yet uplifting tone in the production, using soft mid range melodies, shimmering synths, and aggressive future bass drums to transition into a simple and well executed melodic dubstep drop that sounds like a synth blast is going off. The distortion and other vocal effects that are used on “Higher” maintain the emotional tone in the vocal while adding a robotic element to it, which builds energy for the song, an effective strategy that’s used throughout the EP. Another production element that CRANKDAT executes on this song and the album in whole is his drop transitions, where percussion delays, synth fills and other methods are used to keep the track engaging, which is especially helpful on “Higher”, where the second drop is the same as the first but the transitions and fills used keep it sounding fresh.
One of the most impressive aspects of the Sad Robot EP is the amount of diversity heard within five songs. Like on “Wish You Were Here” we got to hear CRANKDAT’s improved production ability with an aggressive melodic dubstep track, on “Better Without You” and “Higher”, the powerful and simple, yet effective Future bass-inspired tracks create a live performance sound - like if you shut your eyes during these songs you might see cO2 cannons blasting overhead, and on “The Feeling” and “What It Feels Like” we hear CRANKDAT making quality songs that tell a story and showcase his diverse and seamless dubstep sound. CRANKDAT also executed his goal of creating a nostalgic theme on the project by frequently incorporating synths, whether they be melodies or fills, that are inspired by prominent dubstep and house songs from the early-mid 2010’s, all while smoothly incorporating it into his modern melodic dubstep style. Overall, the Sad Robot EP showcases a variety of song styles and production abilities, and tells a story that is relatable to many, all within five songs, so this project definitely BUMPS.
Favourite songs: “The Feeling”, “What It Feels Like”