Check it: Soundtrap

Ryan Paullin is a talent behind anything that creates/emanates music, whether it be a piano or a soundboard. Paullin, using the pseudonym Soundtrap, is constructing an eclectic fusion of electronic, rock, funk, jazz, ambient, etc. After an unfortunate episode involving a "friend" who jacked his laptop and proceeded to delete all previous sound collages, Soundtrap started working on new beats from scratch. Luckily, the incident didn't hinder his creative energy.

Soundtrap masters the art of subtlety and texture. Layers are brought in and out, made louder and softer, with certain elements brought out at different times. A bass riff here, a smooth synth solo there. Those areas of a Soundtrap song that contain multiple layers, all working together are awesome; the areas that are stripped down are even better. Each track is a journey: one minute, you're hearing a preponderance of sounds weaving in and out of each other, and the next minute, you're listening to the simple beauty of, say, just a synth hook shimmering over a conga beat. These stripped-down areas give the tracks breathing room. The mark of a good beat-maker is his/her ability to realize this breathing room is needed for the listener to appreciate the beat in full.

There are two tracks posted on the Soundtrap Facebook profile, "Digirock" and "Wander." "Digirock" is a perfect song to pop in the car while cruising on the freeway. It contains a driving, but chill beat throughout. The track starts out with a catchy guitar shuffle, vaguely reminiscent of the Grateful Dead, but with the smoothness of Steely Dan. Towards the middle of the song, birds chirp as guitars and keyboards fade in and out with various solos. The shuffle then reappears at the end, bringing the song full circle. "Wander" is a great track, beginning with echoey synth fills and a moving bass line. After a perfectly placed pause where all sound stops, the beat picks up again with a sparse, yet effective keyboard solo. The drum beat is taken away in the middle of the song, giving way to dreamy swirl of sound. Then the track slowly begins to build. After a subtle, Mexican-like synth-trumpet solo, the drum beat kicks in hard with a strong, driving beat. The drums, along with simple keyboard repetitions and a great chord progression, form the backbone for an epic guitar solo in an explosion of brilliance. It sounds like the type of music you would hear at the end of a movie, at a graduation or get-together when everyone is reuniting and reflecting. They're sounds of pure joy. Then it slowly fades away, bringing the end of the song.

Check out the Soundtrap Facebook page here.

And dude, look, I met Soundtrap at a club! Haha. Ha.

Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak

4.0/5


Easily the most controversial album of 2008, Kanye West has released something completely different. Gone are the self-promoting lyrics, gone are the intricate and nuanced beats, and more importantly, gone is the rapping. West has constructed an album devoted to the loss of his late mother and his breakup with his former fiance, leading to, perhaps, the most insecure hip-hop release ever created. The beats are very minimalist, comprising of mostly 808 drum machines and 1980s style synths. Both of these characteristics are departures from Kanye's former proven style, but the facet that will cause the most controversy is the vocals. Kanye sings on every track with auto-tune technology.

First, lets tackle the subject of auto-tune. It's a feature that has taken over top 40 radio, popularized by T-Pain, used to full extent by Lil Wayne. I'm just going to come out and say it, auto-tune sucks. It makes voices sound fake and computerized. It gives the illusion that someone can sing when they can't. It sounds ridiculous. I can guarantee that in 10 years, we will look back at all the "auto-tuned" songs of this decade and we will say to ourselves, "What were they thinking?"

However, as unfortunate as Kanye's newfound obsession with the technology is (by the way, good thing he didn't discover it before recording the awesome "American Boy"), it doesn't bring 808s & Heartbreak down too much.

The songs certainly go well together. It can get grating at times to hear so little variation, a la Sea Change by Beck. But just like Beck's masterpiece, the album is certainly solid. "Love Lockdown", the first single off the album, is actually one of the less impressive songs. "Heartless" has an extremely infectious melody. "Welcome to Heartbreak" opens with an entrancing cello and contains an ominous and intriguing beat. "Paranoid" is the strongest track on the album, probably because it's reminiscent of the old Kanye. Despite sounding good on "See You in My Nightmares", Lil Wayne sounds retarded and ridiculous. And "Coldest Winter," Kanye's ode to his mom, closes the album out strongly.

People will hate 808s and they will love to hate it. I myself have reservations about his new direction. I certainly hope that it's simply an experiment, a one-time departure, after which he'll go back to making those intricate beats and rapping over them without the ridiculous auto-tune like he used to. But even if you hate it, you have to give props to Kanye for going out on a limb, going in a new direction, and taking a risk. And the result isn't half-bad.

Facts

Problem sets suck. Naked juice is awesome. These corn chips from the GBC are bland. Palin is a joke. My new off-white vans are sick. The Lakers are dominant (7-0). Jon Stewart is my idol. 2119 University is my home more than 2650 Durant. Metacritic is the best website ever. Mitch Mitchell just died (R.I.P.). Thanksgiving is going to be epic. Kanye West is frustrating me. And this video brings so many sweet memories.

Viva Obama!

I may sound cheesy, but I don't give a crap. Fifty years from now, I'm going to see in the history books: Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama. And I will be able to proudly say that I was a part of history. I was one of the many Americans across the nation who helped elect our first black president and prove that anything is possible. Expectations are high (maybe too high), but I believe Barack Obama will rise to the challenge and will use both Democrats and Republicans to take those challenges head-on.

The atmosphere in Berkeley was super exciting!