British military spouse artist, LUISA, returns with her follow-up single “Awaken,” building upon the base she laid down with her internet-famous debut track last year. Influenced by many of the big electronic music icons, “Awaken” sees LUISA dial things up a notch with her orchestral/progressive house-trance beats.
The track introduces itself by starting with a twinkling introduction to keys, beats, and synths interweaving melodic motives. This prelude plays instruments that rise in sequence and build in dynamic energy, creating anticipation. Once the kick drum fully enters, it is a climactic transition that brings this piece to the main song structure.
The driving percussion pattern is based on a standard progressive house loop of a kick, clap, and hi-hat hit on quite predictable rhythmic placements. Gorgeous additions of extra percussion hits or synth fills add interest without monotony. Transients are crisply mixed throughout, keeping the energy alive.
Elaborate melodic layers weave around that solid rhythmic ground. Prominent motifs played by virtual string ensembles converse melodically with synth pads and staccato hits. It is this basis of rhythmic certainty that serves as the necessary contrast, allowing the euphoric build-ups to burst forth. The string arrangements and melodic motifs could, without a doubt, belong on the soundtrack of some film or game. Yet they interact synergistically with the electronic ones, never clashing or competing for the listener’s engagement.
The synth basses continue at the low end, and the risers build anticipation. Meanwhile, the background pads swell to create a thrilling atmosphere. Texturally dense, the sound design shows the precision of LUISA across the full frequency spectrum.
On “Awaken,” LUISA focuses on her skills and vision to take this orchestral EDM fusion to the next level of sophistication. It’ll be interesting to see where her constantly growing skill set and point of view take her music next. This blend of orchestral and EDM styles certainly struck a resonance within me, having grown up loving both styles of music in equal measure. I was hooked by the imaginatively crafted soundscape of “Awaken.” She shows not only masterly technical skills across composition, production, and sound design but also demonstrates what it means to be a true artist person who can tell a story and elicit emotions with their work.
As an avid consumer of electronic music in all its forms, I will make sure to stream “Awaken” with regularity and share it as much as possible to do my part to give support to such a rising talent like LUISA. This single deserves to be heard by the masses. It is highly recommended, and I urge you all to steam it.
