An Addictive New Electronic Release from Laklan

A brand new release from Laklan just dropped today, and this thing is an electronic powerhouse, complete with massive and invasive synth work, driving beats, vast undertones, and a very unique approach that gives things a blend of popping color and a dark overtone at times that certainly does beckon club music from start to finish.

The record kicks off with an intro that gets you off the ground and starts giving you a little bit of a hint as to what you might expect from the rest of the record.

Again, this combination of spacious and ambient undertone, complemented by edgy synthesizers and futuristic but flowing, melodic vocals, is the name of the game here.

"Party On!" is the first full track, and this one gives you a more widened, slower pace that hits harder. The beat is heavy-handed, giving it a powerful feel, along with glitchy percussion that is peppered throughout everything and vocals that have just touches of auto-tune, helping push that slight futuristic underbelly and giving things this huge atmosphere.

Like I said, this is the first actual track on the record, and it does an amazing job of introducing the entire thing because it shares some of the great aspects in staples that you can expect to hear throughout the release itself.

The release is called Club Matrix, and it wastes very little time pulling you in. This is another world that you're invited into, and it's one that has an air of that cinematic and electronic intensity that comes in waves.

One of the bigger aspects of the record, aside from the killer production throughout the entire thing, is the vocal approaches. The vocals throughout this thing are quite experimental and at times can be powerful, while at other times, they can be smooth and almost delicate.

Songs like "Sugar Rush" certainly display the more experimental side of things, but also showcase this pop overcoat that a lot of the record boasts as well. The vocal approach here gives you a lot of harmonies and super memorable melodies that are descending at times, and gives you hooks non-stop.

Again, the synthesizers on this track blend that futuristic, almost synth-pop feel with a classic dance-pop vibe. You hear elements of house, trance, electronica, and plenty more rolled up into this record, along with R&B, and tons of attention to the little details that make the record stand tall.

Some of these absolutely include the tones of those instruments. The way that he shapes the synths and chooses the right ways to grow songs and build them up into something intense is quite a beautiful thing.

This is one of the aspects I love about the record. It is hard-hitting a lot of the time. Again, the beats are very heavy-handed, the synths are plentiful and provide great melodies, but are also sort of heavy as well, but the arrangements and how he lets songs breathe are really a key element to why the record Works the way it does.

One of the big banger tracks on the record, for me, is called "Hologram", which showcases some of the more pop sensibility along with some of the punchy and deeper synths and beats. The vocals flow seamlessly over this one and still have that hint of auto-tune, but it's not overdone. The dynamic balance of how he combines the digital instrumentation with his vocals is really something that lets the record shine as well.

He's very in tune with being able to create something that feels super radio-friendly, obviously club-friendly, and still keeping that slight experimental underbelly throughout the entire thing.

The album includes the original releases of his EP with "I Would", "I Would Pt.2", and the final track on the record is a piano version of the single as well.

I absolutely loved how this works because the intro to the whole thing comes in strong and gets you prepared, and the outro to it sends you off properly.

Obviously, this whole thing was very well thought out, and this is definitely something you should be listening to nice and Loud.

While you do that, have a read-through of the interview we conducted with Laklan just below so that you can find out more about where this record came from and how it all initially started.

Check this one out.

RAG: Hey and welcome back again!! Great to hear this new record! This one had some

more edginess than usual in my opinion! Where did this record come from

exactly?

Thank you! This record came from me wanting to grow as a producer/

writer and lean more into my artistic side. I haven’t released music where

it’s just me singing on it and this project is all me. I wanted a piece of work

that could showcase my vision on what I wanted to create.

RAG: I can hear some personal attributes on this one. Did it take you long to write the

lyrics and do you feel like this was an expression of certain struggles?

The topics of these songs surprised me. I would make the track first and

once I had that complete, I would listen to it over and over again and let it

tell me what I should write about. Sometimes I had a concept in mind that I

wanted to portray and writing to that concept was a fun journey. Once I

was in that mindset the songs didn’t take long to write. When I finished the

songs, I noticed they all had an underlying theme in common and that was

acknowledging the messy parts of myself that I allow and owning that. I

think we all give into something that’s not the healthiest for us and most of

us deny that. But I think when you unapologetically own it, that is freeing in

a way.

RAG: Of course I recognize some of the music joining in with the new tracks! Has this

been an EP you have been working towards for a while?

It has! I started this project in June, 2023. It was a slow, gradual build.

Between two jobs, I would work on these songs when I had free time. I

also had to get over my fear of singing in front of people, so going to a

professional studio to make these songs was a challenge I had to

overcome. All in all, it’s been a great journey and I learned a lot about

myself while working on this.

RAG: Amazing production! Are you happy with the final outcome?

Thank you! I really am. Production is something I got into later in life and

it’s been a great skill I’ve embraced. I’ve learned so much by producing my

own stuff and I feel that I can express myself a lot more through it. On

Hologram and I Would (Piano), I had my good friend from Nashville,

m.e.g, produce on it as well. She is so talented and has such a great ear

and she really put her touch on those songs. I express myself through

different types of music, and for my pop side, I feel really proud with this

outcome.

RAG: Can we expect any music videos coming?

You know, never say never. I have concepts in my mind for some but at

this time it’s not on my radar. Maybe cool short TikTok videos but nothing

major.

RAG: Why the title "Club Matrix" what does that mean exactly?

Club Matrix is an imaginary club I envisioned that would play my songs. I

feel a bit disconnected from the music scene and I imagined a place that

would play my music and it’d be the best party ever. The club aesthetic

would be dark and moody with neon light beams hitting the dance floor.

The club fight scenes from John Wick inspired the theme I wanted to go

for. I wanted the overall sound to feel like it could be played in that type of

setting and I curated the songs to fit that. The Matrix part of the name

came from me going through a spiritual journey and realizing that this

world isn’t what we think it is. We all have the power to break out of the

“matrix” that we were programmed to believe in and make one for

ourselves. I love the concept of that.

RAG: Did you have scratch versions of these before they became something bigger?

Absolutely. I would make the songs and have demo vocals on my

computer. Once I had that done, I would then bring the songs in a studio

that I go to, and the owner/ sound engineer of that studio would make the

songs sound 10x better and really professional. I would rerecord the

songs at the studio to get a cleaner take. Chris, the owner, has all the bells

and whistles that I personally don’t have, and we would rebuild the song(s)

together to make them what they are now.

RAG: Were there songs that got cut from this?

Yes, there were 2 songs that I didn’t include. They’ll probably make

appearances in promo videos, but I didn’t think they were strong enough

to make the final cut.

RAG: How is it going with performing live? Have you taken steps towards that aspect

yet?

I have not, although I do think about it a lot. It’s another fear I have to

conquer. If I were to do it, I feel like I would want it to be a full production.

But like I said, never say never!

RAG: What would you say people can expect from this record?

This record has a dark, rave inspired energy to it. It’s sexual, self-reflective

and bold. When writing these songs, I imagined how they would sound in

a club setting and that is what it is meant for.

RAG: Now that its out there, what's next for you as an artist?

I want to play songs out in different clubs/ bars. Whether live or behind a

DJ booth. I’ll definitely be writing more songs and putting more projects

together. I feel like I’m finding my voice as an artist and I want to keep

expressing myself in that way. I hope that Club Matrix is one of many

stepping stones that will guide me to future collaborations with other

creative writers and artists so we can keep creating epic art.

SPOTIFY

INSTAGRAM

TIKTOK