Crankdat Discusses ‘Sad Robot’ and What’s To Come

After taking fans on an adventure with his latest EP that’s landed on Monstercat, Sad Robot, Crankdat swung by to dive into the release.

Crankdat has proven himself to be one of the most promising acts in the bass music scene and has caught the attention of fans and tastemakers alike with his stylistic synths and heavy drum and bass rhythms. Gaining recognition in the dubstep realm with massive hits ranging from “Need Somebody” and quarantine anthem, “BADFUTURE,” he doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

After capturing audiences with Gearworld Vol. 1 and Fearworld, Crankdat returns to Monstercat with his debut EP on the imprint, Sad Robot. This five-track EP features vibrant synths, robust basslines, and catchy vocals which celebrates the iconic sounds which made him such a memorable artist, and the features with KC, Ace Aura, and JT Roach take it to the next level.

‘Sad Robot’ EP is my first full-length EP since my ‘Gearworld Vol. 1’ EP in 2019. This EP showcases my melodic style in a manner reminiscent of the music I made when I first started my project back in 2015. I’m very happy to have had some awesome collaborators help me with it – including JT Roach, Ace Aura, and KC!
Crankdat

With a busy 2021 ahead of him, fans can expect to see Crankdat on tour and his name on various festival lineups. Fortunately, we were able to catch up with him to chat about Sad Robot and what’s to come in the rest of the year. Take a listen to the EP on Spotify below, download or stream it on your favorite music platform, and read on for our conversation with him for the extra insight!

Stream Crankdat – Sad Robot EP on Spotify

Hey Crankdat, thank you for stopping by to chat with us today. You just released ‘Sad Robot,’ your first body of work since 2019, can you talk to us about the writing process and inspiration for this EP?

Yeah absolutely! Sad Robot is kind of a small album. The underlying theme to it is all of the tracks are emotive and melodic. I deliberately left out any bassier tunes because I wanted for this to be its own thing entirely. The concept behind it is that it tells the stories of various experiences had by different individuals, rather than one individual’s experiences.

You can imagine a world where a robot like the sad robot exists – it would likely be widespread manufactured (kind of like a Blade Runner scenario) and would have individualistic personalities in each model, but one cloud hub database it derives its direction from and sends its memory to. You can see how it would “feel” a bunch of different experiences through its models. I guess the more proper label would be “Sad Robots,” but Robot is cooler.

You have features with JT Roach, Ace Aura, and KC, how does the writing process vary when you’re writing with or for someone else versus creating tracks that don’t have features?

It seems like the cop-out answer but it’s really the simplest way to put it – when I’m working with someone else I don’t make all the decisions, and when I’m working by myself I do. I make a conscious effort when working with others, to really just allow them to do their thing and enjoy the ride. Collabs can get messy when one hand tries to steer the whole ship. It’s a lot easier to allow everything to occur naturally, and it often results in a better product too!

Following the release of “Sad Robot,” can fans expect a tour, and what should fans expect from your production?

I won’t be specifically touring off of Sad Robot! I will be doing shows and playing out all the songs of the EP but it won’t be a proper SAD ROBOT TOUR. Those things take a bit longer to plan for than we really had the opportunity to; having just come out of the pandemic. I will say though that my current sets are very inspired by the EP, and it feels like the best sets I’ve ever gotten the chance to play!

With life getting back to normal following a rough 2020, how has the past year altered your view of the music industry and your career?

Personally, I’m exploring additional business ventures outside of music. 2020 showed me how fragile the live touring industry is and how the infrastructure of the music industry isn’t set up for electronic musicians to be able to sustain themselves with touring off the table. As a responsible adult, I can’t keep all my eggs in one basket, so I’m working on building some alternative ventures to go alongside music!

And finally, looking ahead to the future, what are goals you have set for yourself for the rest of 2021 and beyond?

My goals are to keep music coming – I’d really like to surpass 12 songs (that’s my annual benchmark) released by the end of the year. I have some other EP’s I’m working on that I’m hopeful I can put out before the year is over! After that, we’re just focusing on continuing this journey and reaching new fans every year!

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