Music Review

6/14/2017 Rich text editor, grade_submission_feedback_comment, press ALT 0 for help. < I like this a lot, but it feels .. heavy. Even the lede sentence is soooo long. Is there a way you can lighten it up a little? Be careful about overdoing it. There are so few albums that are really ABOVE, you know? And we need a little old school in here because I don't know any of the references you make. The past year in popular music has fostered the explosion of Electronic Dance Music and a new generation of neonclad ravers in America, taking the music from its roots in the clubs and abandoned warehouses of inner cities and dropping it on festival stages big and bright enough to see from space. As tidal waves of young, talented artists, and veterans alike, fight for their share of the spotlight, RussianGerman producer Anton Zaslovski, better known as Zedd, has separated himself from the heard with his gutpunching electrohouse style and the genre’s most anticipated fulllength album release since it’s rise into the American mainstream, his debut record, Clarity. After sending OWSLA record label head honcho and dubstep king, Skrillex, a sample of his work in 2011, Zedd punched his ticket straight to the top of the game. Although Clarity is the artist’s first studio album, it’s seamless flow from track to track and heavy electro influences point to a musician wise beyond his years. Traditionally, EDM has been a genre dominated by single releases with many artists struggling to create cohesive fulllength albums that make any sort of lasting impression on listeners. Classics like Tiesto’s Elements of Life and French duo Justice’s Cross are memorable exceptions to the rule that have elevated each respective artist to the upperechelon of the dance music elite, but the fact remains that they represent a flashinthepan of excellence that is about as rare as Haley’s Comet is infrequent. With, Clarity, Zedd has done the unthinkable. He has created the first legitimate classic of the new era of electronic music. Born in Russia, Zaslovski moved to Germany at a young age where he would trainED in classical music and begin playing PLAYEDboth the piano and drums by the tender age of four. Zedd’s dexterity as an musician undeniably exceeds that of his youthful peers, who often lack the ability to play an actual instrument and learned to produce music in their bedroom with the help of elaborate computer software, gallons of Red Bull and a mouse and keyboard. The result is a collection of songs with an unmistakable element of variety and soul that few before him have been able to capture. < best graf Admittedly, the album is much fluffier and commercial than expected from Zedd, who’s previous remixes and studio output landed on the heavier side of the genre. That being said, Clarity still fully embodies the upandcomer’s uncompromising energetic sound while exposing his deeper musical genius. Chart topping progressivehouse songs like “Spectrum” and the album’s title track, “Clarity”, combine catchy singalong style vocals with progressions of rising euphoric melodies, showing an impressive break from the norm and the majority of the album’s commercial appeal. Conversely, tracks like “Shave It Up” and “Stache” are dancefloor juggernauts composed of chunky electro bass lines that remind the listener just whose album they’re listening to. The album surprisingly reminiscent of Cross, one of the greatest electronic music creations to date. The striking similarities are not in sound or style, but it’s equally groundbreaking stature as an actual musical album and not a mere collection of songs to DJ compiled from artists across the industry. https://sakai.udel.edu/portal/site/62154d84-6669-4a4c-b1dc-2cd764b62532/page/206c7c57-56af-4985-b8d0-36b7930e4817 1/1.

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