Artist Exploration
Diamond Lounge - bright and relaxing. If you like funk synthwave electropop then this is the group for you. Their reach is pretty significant, too given that most of their tracks have some sort of feature for their vocal samples. Overall, these are very competent arrangements lacking the numbers they deserve.
Diamond Lounge brings a few elements to the table worth looking into. Strip away the vocal features and what you've got is still some pretty impactful synthpop. In terms of things like musicality, there are plenty of neat chords and sequences to enjoy. Synthesizer-wise, they have a good feel of what fits into the mix and what won't. Bass riffs are always in the sweet spot - there's just enough movement in all the behind-the-scenes to give the listeners something to grab onto. Mixing seems to be really well throughout the whole thing. Every once in a while I could have asked for a little more vocal compression here or some mix leveling there, but songs like 'City Lights' make me eat my words.
'City Lights' is an interesting composition from Diamond Lounge. Fused with little elements of funk coming from Luc on the Guitar, Aaron meets him with some traditional R&B style chords. The pop vocals from OTYSEE bring it all together to give us this funky, almost lo-fi, synthwave experience. It really feels like that, especially when you are just *listening* to the song with nothing going on around you. The entire catalog has this ethereal presence represented by spacious reverbs and buoyant high melodies that bob on top of everything below it. In this song, it could be artistically interpreted as the "city lights" (I'll take my Pulitzer now) in this song, but I think it's more of an homage to the "Diamond" part of Diamond Lounge regardless of intent or purpose.
Another one that I had a lot of fun listening through was 'There for You'. Don't ask me why but I definitely started thinking about the 2008 'Speed Racer' film featuring Emilie Hirsch. The beginning of the final race scene actually.
Don't believe me. Here do it. Mute the Speed Racer clip and Play 'There for You' by Diamond Lounge and watch 'Speed Racer' for a second and tell me that it's not an almost perfect fit. I don't own the clip.
Aside from that, it's got more near perfection EDM music with great vocals that complement the mix. Nitpicking here a little bit I think the vocals could have been on top of the mix a little bit more, especially in the spoken part, but that's one of those things I don't think most people would even notice. It's genuinely a great track to just enjoy - whether it's a long drive or a rainy day in the living room. I could even see this popping up in DJ playlists. Like most of Diamond Lounge's songs it has the ability to be cut and sampled, even played, and remixed with something live. That's another reason I'm really excited to see what comes of Diamond Lounge's music in the future.
Overall, Diamond Lounge has gotten the act of hiring, or at least collaborating, down to a T. The best part about it is it's not done in a way to conceal any shortcomings on their part - it's quite the contrary. They find others who see their vision and are prepared to contribute something to that as well and it works. Make sure you give Diamond Lounge some love below and add some of your favorite songs to your playlists - especially your feel-good ones. I'm looking forward to many more to come! And if you made it this far, make sure to like this write-up and even comment on what you thought about Diamond Lounge.
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