The release follows their performance at Spring Awakening Music Festival where Soldier Field exploded in excitement as the Chicago natives took the stage for the first time since January. Since their last hometown performance, they have taken the Internet by storm- landing several #1 spots on Hype Machine and Soundcloud with breakout track, “Killin’ It” as well as their remixes. At the birthplace of house music, expectations were high, but fans would not be disappointed. The overflowing Equinox Tent raged with sweat and energy as thousands of Chicagoans raised their voices, championing the hometown heroes. Many had already having memorized lyrics from KREWELLA’s preview of the EP on Rollingstone.com only a few days prior.
The Play Hard EP features 6 tracks embodying five different subgenres of EDM, from dubstep to progressive house to moombahton. KREWELLA skillfully ties it all together with the signature vocals that they have become known for. Finally releasing the culmination of years of dedication and hard work, KREWELLA remains fiercely dedicated to one goal and one goal only— To make you wet… one song at a time.
Line Up:
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The Windy City trio adds a little more KREWELLA flavor in their remix, debuting sexy new vocals and a savage new drop. The evocative lyricism and melancholy pianos are a stark contrast to the screeching synths and growling bass that KREWELLA has become known for.
In addition to the remix, KREWELLA has also released two more video snippets in anticipation of their debut EP, “Play Hard”
Jahan, Yasmine and Rainman, who live in and create music in the gritty yet arty neighborhood, burst onto the national stage via their video for “Killin’ It” in early 2012, racking up Facebook likes and pinging around the globe via Twitter as EDM fans swooned over KREWELLA’s unique brand of dubstep-infused electronic music with female vocals. However, KREWELLA insists that they are just getting started.
“We get pigeonholed into it a lot, but only one of the tracks on our EP is actually dubstep,” says Kris Trindl aka ‘Rainman,’ beatmaker and one third of KREWELLA. “People like to put us in a box, but we just like good music….if it’s between 100BPM to 170 BPM we’ll figure out a way to make it work and have a good time with it,” the producer and DJ says. “We just make the music that we love.”
Jahan Yousaf, who co-writes lyrics along with her sister Yasmine Yousaf, help Rainman create KREWELLA’s sound. Tracks from their debut EP Play Hard, embody this signature sound, luring in listeners with melody and sensuality before Skrillex-worthy drops send fans into frenetic fits of EDM bliss. Kris’ masculine, pounding beats are offset by cooing vocals from both sisters, often resulting in a dizzying, heady mélange that sometimes veers into pop territory, something the band is proud of.
“Thanks to the internet, we grew up on a plethora of genres…KREWELLA is basically a product of the music that we were raised on—ranging from pop, to punk, to metal” says Jahan. Every track on the Play Hard EP embodies a different subgenre of EDM ranging from dubstep, to progressive house, to moombahton. Demand has proved so strong for KREWELLA’s signature sound that they have had to adjust touring plans from small clubs to major festival dates this year.
From Dallas’ Meltdown Festival to a string of dates at the Global Dance Festival (including a stop at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheater), KREWELLA will be reaching tens of thousands all summer long, culminating in an appearance at the Electric Zoo festival in New York in September. Most recently, they joined Benny Bennassi at the Indy 500, pioneering the first EDM performance at the world’s largest sporting event.
Track listing for KREWELLA’s Play Hard is:
1. Play Hard
2. Killin’ It
3. Can’t Control Myself
4. Alive
5. One Minute
6. Feel Me (bonus track)
KREWELLA’s North American tour dates include:
DATE CITY VENUE
Sat 6/9 St. Louis, MO Pulse Festival
Sun 6/17 Chicago, IL Spring Awakening
Thu 7/19 Minneapolis, MN Global Dance Festival
Fri 7/20 Red Rocks, CO Global Dance Festival
Sat 7/21 Kansas City, MO Global Dance Festival
Sat 8/4 Toronto, ON Veld Festival
Sat 8/11 Cincinnati, OH Fountain Square
Sun 9/2 New York, NY Electric Zoo
