An Alt-Pop Opus from KENNSIX
The latest single release from KENNSIX gives off such a lush and edgy soundscape by breeding elements of alternative pop and even industrial music to create something with a vast and spacious underbelly and a powerful approach.
"Born Sick" is a track that definitely gives you a lot of what you want right from the start. The reason for this is mainly because he comes right in with the hook at the start of the song.
The hook of the track is very addictive, showcases a lot of that cinematic tonality but an edgy punch, and the very start of the song brings it right in, so you automatically get hooked.
In my opinion, this is very smart songwriting because as the song plays out, the elements of it build musically and instrumentally, but you want that hook to come back. And that it does.
The arrangement of this song was also very well thought out. Again, this gives you a lot of what you could ask for from a hard-hitting industrial or alternative pop single, including all kinds of instrumentation that you wouldn't expect.
There's a bit of a cultural flair in the melody, giving you hints of a Middle Eastern flavor. There are string sections that come in later in the track and build an almost orchestrated feel and aesthetic. The entire thing has a particular way of building into something huge.
One of the things that hit me about this track was the use of synthesizers. The keys and synths throughout this track are brilliant; they add that drive, they're sort of big, fat, but still have a sharp tone on the high end, so that brings out a lot of the edginess in the track.
Different kinds of samples play through the background, vocals, and more, which all add this cool and even more cinematic threshold, and it all has a really great flow to it.
It's amazing to hear a song that's got this much pop sensibility still attached to it, but comes through with a heavy punch the way it does. Again, to me, this is very alternative. It's got a heavy feel, it does blend some industrial tones into the mix, and it comes through with that robust and expansive set of textures that pulls you in.
The layering in this track is a huge part of why it works so well. He doesn't go overboard all at once. He lets you wait. He gives you little pieces of new instruments to hold on to and then has a way of pulling them out and putting them back in where the song reaches higher levels of intensity.
So, like I said, you can tell a lot of this was well thought out. There was a lot of attention paid to the tones of those synthesizers, the samples that were used, the string sections that were inputted; everything has a way of fitting together perfectly.
The vocals add a whole different layer of texture and tone to the song. They bring more emotion to the plate. The whole thing has an intensity throughout its entirety, with rises and falls as it plays through, but the vocals really add to the story, the emotion, and the character behind it all.
The singing comes through a little softer or more delicate, breeding some more emotion, and then when the course has come in, they're harder. The vocals become more bountiful and grow with the climactic sections of the song.
I also love how it was mixed.
The way the track allows elements of the instruments to come and go like that is amazing. At certain points, you hear more synths, others you hear that background vocal sample more, while at certain points, you hear the string sections in full swing.
Not only does this work well for the arrangement and building towards the choruses, but also has a way of showcasing all of the individual elements that are in the track itself.
When you hear all of those elements broken down during different parts of the track, you have more of an understanding of what was actually built.
This was a massive track, and you can tell that KENNSIX is as much a producer as he is an artist because a lot of this had to do with sound sculpting.
This is definitely someone who knows how to change, manipulate, and sculpt sounds using samples, instruments, and even vocals.
There are experimental elements, outside-the-box approaches, but still a familiar pop overcoat that lets the song be very memorable.
Aside from the fact that the chorus is really drilled in, so you can't forget it.
Definitely check this out because it's a really strong single and certainly showcases an artist who pays a lot of attention to all the different attributes of his songwriting and is clearly an artist who has a vision for what sounds he wants, even though he gets experimental and probably changes things as he goes.
Excellent track. Have a listen to it and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.
