Metronome #043: WRLD

Insommiac’s Metronome series features mixes from some of today’s fastest-rising electronic stars, as well as championed legends. It takes listeners deep across a wide range of genres, movements, cultures, producers, artists and sounds that make up the diverse world of electronic music.

The gleam in David Lawson’s eyes will tell you everything you need to know about the Dutch wunderkind. At 17 years of age, the scene ascendant has displayed a level of ingenuity you just can’t teach in the classroom. He has a natural-born gift for crafting catchy tunes that can whisk listeners away to a far-off dimension.

Operating under his WRLD moniker, his presence became known after the mighty Monstercat crew snatched him out of obscurity. Lawson was quick to show he had the goods through a string of ethereal future bass offerings that drill down into fizzy, feel-good landscapes. Only a few releases in, he has now sent his debut EP, Chase It, into orbit. Don’t let the date on his birth certificate fool you; he is already grabbing the world by the tail with full-grown songwriting and matured, melodic keenness.

Give WRLD a whirl by hitting play below, and catch a few words from the kid while you’re at it. Enjoy your one-way trip to vibe central.

The song that sparked your interest in music production was constructed entirely of Microsoft Windows sounds. Have you ever considered creating something in the same vein (possibly using field recordings of everyday items)? If so, what would be your angle?
When I first saw the video I, of course, wanted to make something like that as well, haha. At that time, I had no interest in music at all; but I found out it was a ton of fun to do, and that way I became interested in all kinds of music. I’ve never done another attempt at creating a song with crazy sounds like Windows sounds or whatever, though. However, game samples and SoundFonts are really my thing, and as you can already tell, I use them a lot in my songs. So, if I were to make a song like the Windows one, I would only use game SoundFonts and make a Pokémon-style song!

You just released your Chase It EP, which exhibits a shift in focus from making tracks to actual songs. Was this an intentional direction you decided on taking?
Yeah, definitely. I have a huge love for pop music, and I wanted to experiment with this. The first artist I became a fan of was Owl City, which is synthpop, and he is still my favorite artist. I love the simplicity of pop music, and the trick is to make it catchy but still interesting. Also, I really like the verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus thing pop music always has; it’s very challenging to use those types of structures, I think. Owl City’s music has tons of layers. I’ve listened to his songs thousand of times, but I sometimes still hear sounds I haven’t heard before. That’s what my goal is as well.

The release is vocally driven, as you called on some solid talent to the effort. Without choosing favorites, what lyric resonates with you most?
Tough question. “When we finally realize that we’ve been learning to fly, we’ll have already reached the edge of the atmosphere” is a line I really like. Richard always writes amazing lyrics, and that line is actually a rearranged outtake from our debut track, Orbit! I am not sure why I like this line so much; it’s just very dreamy, I guess.

Everything from future bass to nu-disco to pop are cited in your work. Even though the influences may change, do you feel there are any constants in your catalog?
Catchy soft-synth melodies is something I can’t avoid using; I bet you can spot a ton of them on my EP! I’m also a big fan of trance-y, super saw chords. I used to do trance and progressive house music all the time, and that’s something I couldn’t abandon.

Your preferred creative process involves completing the instrumental before singling out a vocalist for each track. Why does this route make the most sense to you?
I want to pick a vocalist that completely fits the song, and to know what kind of voice will fit the most, I’ll need to know what kind of vibe the song will have. This is why I always finish the instrumentals first.

From the release, “Chase It” has a strong video game aesthetic, having drawn inspo from “Sky Tower” (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon). Do you listen to VGM on the regular, and how much influence does it have on your productions?
Definitely! A lot of my favorite video game music is written in Japan and South Korea, and I think their sense of melody and chords is so unique. I try to understand what their tricks are and apply it to my own music, so I listen to that type of music a lot. Nostalgia is also an important factor in my music, having spent hours and hours playing Pokémon and Maplestory (my two favorite games ever) when I was younger.

A special track has the power to take you to a faraway place whenever you close your eyes. Where do you hope your music takes your listeners?
A place with floating islands, mechs and hypermodern cities with white skyscrapers.

If you were to ever take over the world, what one universal law would you enact for the entire population?
You’re never too old to buy Bionicles!

Track List:

Sebastian “Arabest”
Pomrad “This Day”
De la Soul “Much More” w/ Pokémon Mystery Dungeon “Sky Tower”
Color Therapy “Screw Eyes”
Akira Complex “rift.exe”
Aruna “The End” (WRLD Remix)
TNGHT “Higher Ground”
Djemba Djemba “Macking in the Car”
WRLD ft. Savoi “Chase It”
Perfume “Spice”
WRLD “Style”
Nero “Two Minds” (Nero ‘92 Minds Remix)
Moonchild “Girl”
LXURY “J.A.W.S”
Hudson Mohawke “Thunder Bay”
WRLD ft. Richard Caddock “Echo”
Tanuki “Everytime, Everywhere”
Zedd “Clarity” (Kors K Remix)
Noisia & Phace “Program”
Chromeo “Lost on the Way Home” (Mat Zo Remix)

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