Potential: The Range’s New Album Fights EDM Status Quo

The Range’s new album “Potential” was released on March 26th 2016 with almost little to no fanfare, except for a featured spot on Itunes, with only a few websites giving their opinion on his second full-length album. “Potential” comes in at an odd time for Electronic Dance Music, almost ignoring complete mainstream sensibilities by keeping in favor with sampling random YouTube videos and unearthing the weirdest sounds from the corners of the internet.

Coming from the days of early hip-hop, sampling in 2016 has almost become an art, and, as EDM merges even closer with pop radio in 2016, The Range’s new album is a rebellion piece that embraces sampling concepts from a decade ago, and has never felt more out of place in a world where producers have created a formula for creating only the most catchy EDM-influenced beats in the pop world. That merging of genres have also affected some of our more well-known DJs and electronic music artists, as the market has begun its stages of over-saturation, with newer DJs and acts forced to bleed every inch of their creativity to not only produce something fans will cling to, but what also may get them a record deal.

“Potential,” from the very first track, plays like The Range has been living in his girlfriend’s walk-in closet for a good year; gone are the tropical Dance Hall-esque beats that are starting to attach themselves to remixes and exploding drops, you won’t even find remnants of 2008’s “Dubstep” buzzword production craze the pop world made such a big deal about. Making chords out of sounds you would find around the house, “Potential” should not be read track by track, but as a proper ethereal full length experience. With these ordinary sounds, The Range has produced an album that when listened to each sound individually, you hear almost no musical semblance or chord structure at all; Potential’s chord structure stems from the simple concept of mixing it all together. “But Relentless, isn’t that what music is? Random sounds put together to make organized sound?”

Yes, reader, you are right, that is quite the lazy description to bestow upon a really good piece of musical ass. The Range’s debut plays in such a way that sounds so tribal, that it seems the purpose of the individual songs probably came out after he had finished them. While “Potential” is a highly sophisticated collection of songs, there is a gritty non-genre texture to the album that makes it feel you are in the studio with him experimenting with samples and sounds you never even knew could fit into the song. That is not to say that vocals don’t exist, for they do, scattered and broken mixed with the melody that doesn’t get in the way of too much like some songs in the EDM world can.

“Potential” by The Range is an album that, even if you don’t feel compelled to buy it, gives it a proper listen and experiences the odd production values for yourself. You might be surprised by its obscure beats, but it’ll definitely be a breath of fresh air you’ve been looking for.

Connect With The Range: Facebook | Official Website | Twitter | Soundcloud

Sources: NPR