They are saying success is not about luck, connections and even cash. It is the self-discipline to outwork everybody round you—a tenet which Ray Volpe has lengthy been tethered to.
The byproduct is Legend of the Volpetron, his new EP, out now by means of Disciple. The ingenious file successfully pours gasoline on the broiling profession of Volpe, who was named to EDM.com‘s Class of 2022 earlier this 12 months. It is a dazzling showcase of his generational manufacturing skills, which lengthen far past the confines of his breakout hit, “Laserbeam.”
“It sounds tacky, however it means every thing to me!” It is a second in time that I’ll look again on years from now,” Volpe tells EDM.com of his new EP. “I actually wished to mash every thing I cherished about music into one physique of labor.”
Legend of the Volpetron is a microcosm not solely of Volpe’s tireless grind, but additionally his resilience. If there’s anybody who exemplifies the “exhausting work pays off” mantra, it is Volpe, who says he skilled an id disaster within the throes of his struggles to seek out success navigating the tortuous world of EDM.
“Admittedly it’s been a protracted street—2019 was a low level for my profession and shortly after my psychological well being as nicely,” Volpe remembers. “I felt like everybody was towards this venture and that I wouldn’t ever achieve success underneath ‘Ray Volpe.’ That harm rather a lot. Particularly as a result of this isn’t just a few alias—that is my actual title. That is who I’m to my core. I couldn’t assist however really feel hopeless at some factors.”
“However I knew that if I had been to actually simply sit down and push myself, then I’d have the ability to escape of that mildew and alter everybody’s minds,” Volpe continued. “And that’s doable for anybody. Imagine in your self and be per every thing you do. Be open to suggestions and have moments of reflection.”
Ray Volpe performs at The Armory in Minneapolis.
And whereas the EP is an enormous second for Volpe, it additionally moonlights as a prophecy for a shiny way forward for bass music.
Whether or not or not you are prepared to confess it, dubstep has grown stagnant. Mired in a 2022 scene devoid of innovation, the style wants new pathfinders. Volpe steps into that function with Legend of the Volpetron, a tour de power with sufficient versatility and imaginative and prescient to resuscitate a beloved cog within the EDM wheel.
“I need to positively be one of many faces of ‘you can also make a couple of sort of music and achieve success,’ as I do know it may be extremely intimidating as an artist to really feel such as you would possibly want to stay to 1 factor,” Volpe continued. “Earlier than ‘Laserbeam’ for instance, my greatest tune was melodic! And the one earlier than that heavy, and so forth.”
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He will get proper to the purpose with “Screechy Music,” kicking off Legend of the Volpetron with cinematic rave leads that culminate in a shrieking dubstep drop. Volpe flexes his transformative method to manufacturing within the tune’s dreamlike coda, the place spacey synths float atop syncopated percussive components earlier than he brings the association dwelling with one other searing dubstep sequence.
Volpe then follows with “Elbow Grease,” a collab with fellow dubstep trailblazer Soltan, whose Center Jap influences run roughshod by means of Volpe’s frenetic sound design. Sum 41 drummer Frank Zummo options on the following “Afterlife (I will Dream of You),” a euphoric Wave monitor with punk twist.
Then comes “Laserbeam,” which wants no introduction because it continues to rain hellfire on the world’s greatest raves and digital music festivals. And that was by design, based on Volpe. Waxing poetic about his breakthrough hit, he says he owes a debt of gratitude to a couple elite artists who helped break it.
“I need to say that it has been the exhausting work of manufacturing and simply making an attempt to make cool music, however truthfully it actually all got here right down to the power of the monitor and the reside playability and viral points,” Volpe explains. “On the power facet, having it really feel fast-paced even being on the identical tempo as 90% of dubstep provides a lot energy to any room you hear it in. Simply doing that with quick baselines like I did right here or having fixed switch-ups to maintain issues going.”
“The reside play-outs although completely elevated this tune to the subsequent degree,” he continued. “I’ve so many mates to thank for making this doable for me—particularly Excision and ILLENIUM. With out them jumpstarting it with their excessive manufacturing units to really use lasers in, this wouldn’t be taking place. I’m so, so, so grateful for them. I’ll always remember listening to X drop it at Thunderdome in individual for the primary time. Then the TikToks and Reels beginning to flood in.”
“I knew at that time this tune could be totally different,” exults Volpe, who mentioned he gave himself a pat on the again for conceptualizing the tune’s epic pre-drop vocal, which has been doubling because the starter pistol for probably the most epic laser barrages festival-goers have ever seen.
Volpe ties a bow on Legend of the Volpetron with the incandescent “Rising Wild,” an aching swan tune that includes Myah Marie. Serenaded by lush pads, Marie candidly muses in regards to the effervescent emotions that include discovering an individual who accepts your flaws. Volpe followers the flames of the tune’s emotive nature by means of its crescendoing drop, which matches haywire by interpolating ferocious dubstep wobbles.
You may stream Legend of the Volpetron right here.
FOLLOW RAY VOLPE:
Fb: fb.com/rayvolpemusic
Twitter: twitter.com/rayvolpe
Instagram: instagram.com/rayvolpe
Spotify: spoti.fi/3dqG1WH
