Music News

On the Radar Artist of the Month – Stonebank

April 24, 2018

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Stonebank – Summary

Genres: Electro, UK Hardcore, Hardstyle, Dubstep
From the United Kingdom
Releases on Monstercat
24.3k followers on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/stonebank
26k likes on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StonebankMusic/
6.8k followers on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stonebankmusic/
14.5k followers on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stonebankmusic?lang=en

Introduction

Welcome back to the newest edition of our On The Radar Artist of the Month! We had a hiatus of the series in March due to travel, but we’re back in April with another producer that we want to share with you. This series focuses on producers with high quality sound and track development that we feel are under-recognized and should be garnering more attention than they currently are.

In the fourth installation of the series, we will take a look into the artist formerly known by both Modulate & Rocket Pimp. The UK artist has a knack for both hard dance and electro, and he even dips into different genres of bass music. His music is consistently high energy and high caliber, and his tracks come out with reliable consistency.

Stonebank has released songs alongside legendary artists such as Gammer and Darren Styles, and with multiple releases on Monstercat, he has shown that he has the production quality and diversity to deserve a larger fanbase.

Music Production – Originals & Collabs

One of his newest releases, Stonebank and Darren Styles released the collaboration entitled “Sky is Falling” featuring EMEL on lyrics. Keeping with both Stonebank & Darren Styles signature light and airy synth lines, this track truly ethereal. EMEL’s impressive range on vocals float on the delicate intro and build, until the audience is hit with a fast paced and euphoric drop. By keeping a more serious, emotional edge, Stonebank and Darren Styles embrace a more sophisticated form of happy hardcore, which will allow the artists to break barriers surrounding the genre.

As one of his older works, “Blast From the Past” still reigns as one of Stonebanks’ most popular works, sitting high at approximately 115k plays on Soundcloud. The track is a beautiful example of the possibilities of complextro, with smooth blending of seemingly random sounds creating a song that easily makes the audience dance along. Building with spacey synth line and adding in tech-like sounds, the song creates intensity before going into a series of bouncy and energetic drops. Reminiscent of early 2010’s, Stonebank brings back the fun and quirky electro that many found early in their electronic music history.

Stonebanks’ “The Only One” featuring Ben Clark is one of his more emotional tracks, almost reaching into the realm of euphoric hardstyle. Haunting lyrics painted over the slow-building and spacy intro detail a love that has faded away and the realization that it is over. After its impassioned build, the track dives directly into a powerful and heart-rendering drop that keeps the audience’s attention throughout. Reintroducing the build with minute, but noticeable changes, the track continues to keep the passion in the track while also making the next phase feel fresh and different. Ending with a quick lyrical reiteration of the title and a quick fade, the tune ends on a note of acceptance and the determination to move on.

Conclusion

For an artist on such a monumental label like Monstercat, it is baffling how Stonebank has yet to reach greater popularity. The producer puts out tracks quickly, and yet each one maintains a high level of quality and keeps to his unique style that we have come to love. While the hardcore and hard dance scenes in general are not that large in the United States, we believe the dedicated fans would truly appreciate the work he does, and his exceptional drum & bass and bass music releases are wonderful bonuses. We are excited to hear what else Stonebank has for the year, and hope to see him touring in the United States sometime soon.