For someone who’s still focused just as much on getting into a good college as he is on producing quality music, Alex Young has put out a lot of the latter in the past year. Huge hip-hop oriented tunes like “Relapse” and “Outrage” have lead the 16-year-old Washington, D.C. area native to be labeled a trap hitmaker by many, but Young has consistently pushed back against such pigeonholing. “I have a fear of getting locked into a niche,” Young said in a recent interview, “Being labeled a “Trap Artist” isn’t what I want.”
As soon as the ominous horns and heavy backbeat start up on Young’s most recent track, “Mastermind”, it’s clear eschewing that label won’t be too difficult. Tossing aside any notions of genre stagnation, Young turns in a massive big-room house track with just enough edge to ensure its presence on festival mainstages all summer long.
From the extended build featuring a lush layering of kickdrums, “Mastermind” drops minimally but forcefully, with a huge echoing bass kick beneath poignant marimba-like tones. The song’s success begets a clear message for all you would-be producers out there: you don’t need to throw every saw wave in the book into your Ableton suite to make a hit song. Sometimes, less is more.
Stream “Mastermind” below and snag it as a free download from Alex Young’s official website.
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