Originally composed by Universal Production Music US Senior Music Director John Lentz, the below excerpt from John's weekly New Releases email contains a quick synopsis of each of our new album releases from Universal Production Music US for the current week.
As a bonus,
John Lentz
sent this out a day early! Enjoy and have a great weekend!
- Front Runners - FRONT127 – Sour Pop – track #1, “Monsters” (Explicit) – (this review was written by the album’s producer, Christina) An all-female album created for our 100% Her initiative. Every songwriter, artist, producer, and engineer that was a part of this project is a woman and it introduces eight new women to the UPM catalog. There is a wide variety of styles on the album ranging from electronic, trap, grunge, punk & pop. It has a lot of youthful energy, and the overall tone is angsty, confident, gritty, attitude-driven, and even bitter at times. Main sectors we are targeting are obviously film and tv but also promos, ads and even some sports clients. WWE just asked for music like a few of our reference artists.
- Velocity - VL220 – No Guest List – track #1, “For The Rest Of Our Lives” – The musical house market is on full display with several varieties of house music (some with vocals) on Velocity’s newest release. There is tech house, deep house, funky house, classic house, and Detroit house represented on the album and all have that sense of cool that house always brings. This superb dance album is ideal for fashion and can also work for late night, beauty, tech, youth energy, and ads that need a modern and sophisticated rhythmic feel.
- Gum Tapes - GTP301 – Alternative Rock – track #1, “Give Me Your Hand” – An exciting and engaging album of alternative rock with male and female vocals. The songs all have an immediate appeal as the tunes get right to it with a fresh energetic vibe. The album touches on past alternative styles while focusing on today’s sound. Film/TV will want this now for source music and youth lifestyle/energy applications will find every track useful. Some of the instrumentals can work for ads, motivational, sports, and promos.
- SLAM! - SLAM103 – Stone Dub – track #3, “Red Sun” – Take a step back, slow down, and contemplate the music of this hazy and loose feeling album of indie/alternative/psychedelic/chill rock. The music is cool, unhurried, and often soothing. This album can work well for youth lifestyle that is more on the leisure side of things, commercials (CBD perhaps?), and documentaries. There are probably 420 uses for the album but they cannot all be listed here. Give it a listen and they will come to mind.
- Nuvotone Lime - NUVL1050 – Inspiring Synth Pop – track #5, “Champagne Sparkle” – Synth pop is represented well with the familiar builds that sometimes morph into future bass, EDM, pop, and nu disco. The music flows, inspires, motivates, and is uplifting to create a pleasant and energetic vibe. Some of the uses are youth lifestyle, commercials, and a few can work for corporate presentations, sports, and promos.
- Raydia - RAYDIA106 – Orion – Alternative Electronica – track #2, “Luxury” – It seems many genres have an alternative offshoot these days and the Raydia label has delivered a good one with this release. The synths are flowing, and the beats drive the tracks with influences of house, deep house, minimal house, and ambient/chill. The overriding groove is lush and sophisticated which makes it great for fashion, youth lifestyle, commercials (let’s sell some high dollar vehicles with these) and productions that might need a futuristic/rhythmic element.
- Voilta Music - VM082 – Trailer Drums 2 – track #1, “Full Ammo” – Drums and percussion are integral to trailer music. This album amplifies that with a collection of pounding drums that are aggressive and build to an intense finish. While all the tracks are certified trailer ready, many of them can also work for psychological thrillers, military combat applications, gaming, impactful sports, commercials that need a punchy presence, promos, and action scenes. This album is all about percussion and what it can do to capture the attention of the audience quickly and not let go.
- Hypersonic Music - HYPR032 – In A World: Trailer Intros Vol. 1 – Dark Synth and Hybrid Builds – track #3, “Maximum Velocity” – Those famous spoken words that introduced so many trailers, “In A World (fill in the blank)”, has its own soundtrack with this album. The moods are tense, suspenseful, dark, ominous, mysterious, and sometimes scary but always with an intensity that depicts a world gone mad, under attack, or at the edge of survival. The cinematic element keeps it in the traditional trailer zone, but the music can also work for sports promos, military action, investigative, and sci-fi. All tracks build under the shroud of darkness to varying levels portending a dystopian world that we all know is coming…on screen. 😊
- Hypersonic Music - HYPR033 – In A World: Trailer Intros Vol. 2 – Building Cinematic Soundscapes – track #1, “The End Is Inevitable” – While HYPR032 depicts the violent destruction at hand, this album is what is playing before that happens. These are openers that are cinematic, intriguing, ethereal, and introspective but all build to an appropriate ending that is not too over the top. Underscores and no percussion mixes are available for each track making this album perfect for trailer producers.
- Sonic Beat Records - SBR264 – Fast Track Trap – track #1, “Win No Matter What” – Trap is probably the hottest sound in sports today and the latest from Sonic Beat delivers twelve stellar tracks for that. Trap can be a petri dish for many moods and this album has plenty of dark, bold, tough, punchy, aggressive, tense, and victorious elements that make the music work so well for almost any sport. Promo makers can use every track and the music also works for youth lifestyle and some commercials. But the main focus is for sports, especially football and hoops.
- ENERGY Music - EN058 – Triumph 3 – Victorious Sports Anthems – track #1, “End Zone Rebellion” – General George S. Patton once proclaimed that, “Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser”. The famous general would love this soundtrack of nothing but music for victory. There is good variety on the album with tracks that are cinematic, stomp/clap, rock, house, future bass, and electronica. Some of the tracks are hybrids of styles and a few have vocals about winning. Every sport can use this album of energetic and exciting tunes. A few tracks can work for corporate that wants to deliver an impactful message and the music is great for promos, too.
- Nuvotone Stratos - NUVS1051 – Positively Emotional Piano – track #9, “Be My Lifeline” – Beautiful piano-led tracks in an assortment of moods that build. The music starts with piano and builds with orchestral elements. The album is divided into two sections of gentle momentum and emotional/warm. The gentle and momentum tracks have moods that are inspirational, motivational, positive, sometimes a bit exciting, and aspirational. The emotional and warm tracks are just that…toned down some to evoke feelings that are heartwarming and hopeful. The music can be used for commercials that need a warm sound appealing to positive emotions, promos, documentaries, storytelling, corporate that wants to sound more human, and programming for similar scenes. Always beautiful, always building, and timeless.
- AFROSONIC - AFRS070 – East African Drums – Authentic Rhythms – track #3, “Baakisimba” – This is an album of authentic solo drum and percussion tracks from East Africa with many moods. Some are driving, determined, repetitive, exotic, and hypnotic. One of the best features of the album are the interesting and informative track descriptions that paint a clear picture of the usage that might occur in an East African setting. Documentaries about the region will love this album given its authenticity in composition and use of native instruments.
- Koka - KOK2603 – Majestic & Romantic Scores – track #2, “Wonderful Lands” – Pleasing orchestral and piano works that have a romantic and sometimes grand/prestigious feel. The orchestra is not just background but rather an active participant in the many emotions included on the album. Feelings of romance, love, and caring are a given. But some of the tracks have a stately and elegant presence that makes the album an ideal choice for film score, historical productions, the arts, royalty, panoramic scenes, heroic uses, and fantasy. Film/TV will find many tracks useful and creative editors can make these work for commercials (the music lends itself to upscale/luxury, but not with a contemporary feel), and documentaries.
- Slate Sonics - SLS013 – Pressure Cooker – Hybrid Tension Beds – track #4, “To Scale” – Tension beds are a staple of the production music world. The hybrid tracks on the album do not disappointment as they deliver music for anticipation, mystery, suspense, and tension. The strings do the heavy lifting as the tension drives the music with accompanying electronic percussion and synths for film/TV, reality programming, modern game show tension, and promos.
- A Remarkable Idea - ARI122 – Christmas – Benson Taylor – track #1, “Carol Of The Bells” – Solo grand piano takes on well-known Christmas classics with an emotional and delicate approach for each track. The moods are peaceful, elegant, gentle, and pretty and the tempos are slow. Ideal for Christmas programming that needs a softer and slower feel without the emotion getting too deep. Low-key Christmas advertising will find these tracks useful, too.
- Ninja Tune Production Music - NTP309 – Quirky Casserole – track #1, “Groove On” – Big band jazz with a large Latin influence that is funky, fun, cool, sophisticated, and exciting. Every track is captivating, and the arrangements combine the big band jazz and Latin elements together quite well. There are touches of fusion, a jazz trio, and a Latin jazz band that give that album variety that keeps the listener entertained. A highly creative album whose tracks go in all sorts of directions that never stop entertaining. These can work for commercials targeting the Latinx demographic, quirky commercials, and some children’s programming (many of the tracks have a playful vibe). More than anything, this is the type of album where a creative mind can find a place for it and make their production stand out. It is also great entertainment for anyone wanting to hear something creative and fun. "
