Photo Credit: Peter Dons
Following the release of his crowdsourced and highly collaborative project, SESSION, Vol. 3, we spoke with KRANE. The Bay Area based producer has melded a jazz and classical upbringing with his modern music perspective to create a sound unique to KRANE. He has worked alongside artists such as TOKiMONSTA & Anderson .Paak, Ekali, and Alexander Lewis, to name a few. Additionally, KRANE has released sample packs from his own production that have been implemented in top 40 hits, including Dua Lipa’s ‘New Rules’. Check out what KRANE had to say about his music, workflow and what’s next below!
BTS: How would you describe your style to someone who has not heard it yet?
KRANE: I’d think my style, or what makes my songs recognizably me is a product of my non-electronic musical upbringing married with my relatively recent discovery of bass music, trap, edm, or whatever you want to call it. I’ve been a long time fan of genres like modernish jazz, minimal music, folk, metal.. the list is rather long. Its those elements that I incorporate outside of conventional electronic music that probably give me some sort of style. Also I’ve been told that my somewhat compulsive attention to sound design and, at-times, overly-complex layering of elements into something that still sounds balanced, makes my music a bit individual.
BTS: Your new project, SESSIONS, Vol. 3, recently dropped. Do you want to talk a bit about what SESSIONS are all about?
KRANE: SESSIONS is a project where I invite any and all producers, of any style or repute, to submit demos during an allotted period and I select a handful of tracks to collaborate and release. The intent is to help spotlight some of the amazing talent that may be under-appreciated using what reach I have accrued. It’s also personally incredibly fun and exciting to work on a range of genres and release songs in a more experimental way, versus a polished KRANE single that needs to conform somewhat to my existing style. It gives me some freedom to show fans something they may not expect of me. Ultimately, though, the most gratifying part of the SESSIONS albums is seeing just how much talent there is out there and how rich the community of producers there is, and trying to boost some of them.
BTS: What do you enjoy most about working with so many different artists on a single project?
KRANE: Everyone’s workflow is so different, and through sharing a project and building a song with another producer you are exposed to new ways of music-making. As a producer, I find myself at times stagnated creatively by my workflow- I can struggle to achieve newness by repeating a process of song-writing that may not afford certain kinds of ideas. Seeing how other producers approach tracks, especially the open-minded up-and-comers, is super inspiring and every one of these collaborations in some way adds a new technique to my palette, Selflessly, as well, I enjoy sharing back and hopefully helping out with skills I’ve learned over time.
BTS: You’ve released sample packs for others to use in their production, what is it like hearing samples that you created used by others?
KRANE: Mostly, hearing my sounds in others’ songs is both validating as it makes me feel like I created something valuable to someone else, as well as motivating as it pushes me to then try and create sounds that are new and potentially desirable to others. You can’t really release sample packs that repeat the same style, with some tweaks, like you might do with songs. So when I see some of my samples become especially popular, it pushes me to explore newness. For example, my Bamboo Snare sample is certainly my most recognized and used sample to date. I’ve heard it in a ton of songs, including some big top 40 sort of records. But rather than try and repeat that success with similar sounding samples, I feel pressure to make something totally different and potentially equally desirable to producers, This keeps me from getting into a sonic rut repeating the same style of sounds, and inspires me to explore.
BTS: Do you have a track that you’re most looking forward to playing when shows come back?
KRANE: I don’t think I have an individual track, so much as some producers in mind I think are making some super inspiring stuff. People like Heimanu, Juelz, Capshun, Acyan… Of course I’m biased by who I’ve recently worked with though.
BTS: Any artists or songs that you’ve been digging lately?
KRANE: Within the producer community, I’ve been super into what people like Juelz and Hex Cougar have been up to, to name a couple outside of the SESSIONS group I just worked with. Personally, when I’m just listening to music for fun, I’ve been super into Daniel Caesar, Jai Paul, Eddie Kendricks, and a lot of random gospel groups (I started zoom drum lessons, so gospel drummers are some of the best).
BTS: Do you have any big plans for the remainder of 2021?
KRANE: I’ve got a bunch of music I’m aiming to finish and self release, songs that are in part inspired by the styles that initially got me excited about becoming a producer. I’ve also got an ongoing side-project I’ve kept anonymous I’ll keep putting tracks out under, and a new side-project of a completely different style I’m kicking off that I’m really excited to show my current fans- it’s a very different side of me as a producer, and that’s all I’ll say about it.
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