So…guitars are not cool anymore? “Un-Block The Music” begs to differ. Check out Concrete Dream. They’ve got it all…guitars, drums, bass and steaming hot vocals. It’s hip hop banging into metal banging into EDM! The band describes itself as Trap Metal.
The band, Jeremiah Mayhem (vocals), John Kennedy (guitar), Alejandro Mena (bass) and Juan Bang (drums), released their debut EP, “Inverse” earlier this summer. Their first single is “Catch 22”…Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iF_AUjCdA4
AND, their video for “Relationshit” drops August 7!!
Admittedly, I am not an expert on Trap Music, but I have heard it described as 1/3 hip hop (tempo and song structure are similar, most tracks are usually between 70 -110 bpm) – with vocals sometimes pitched down,1/3 Dance Music – High pitched Dutch synth work, Hardstyle sampling, as well as a plethora of trap remixed of popular EDM songs and 1/3 dub (Low frequency focus and strong emphasis on repetitiveness throughout a song). But….Concrete Dream adds more and describes its sound as Trap-Metal, and I kinda love it!
Jeremiah, Juan and Alejandro were in a group called Whyte Henny together where they were first creating the Trap Metal sound, Jeremiah explains. “After the end of that group, the three wanted to continue with that sound. John was brought in by Alex to play guitar in the new version of that band that would become Concrete Dream.”
Jeremiah says all of the songs on the EP are about struggle. “We love something, we lose it, mess it up, or it leaves us. Then we feel pain and then we find a way to escape the pain. Then we repeat, again and again. This negative to positive cycle drives us forward, and we are inspired by both the good and the bad.”
How do these songs all come together? John says, “We all try to be in the room together during writing sessions. Everyone has their flavor and style to add. Songs generally start with guitar riffs, then are built from there with drums/synths etc. Jeremiah comes in with hooks and lyrics. We usually have a structure at that point but the lyrics help to guide where the song goes. From there our songs continue to evolve. We’re always tweaking ideas and trying new things before we go into the studio. The songs then go through more production and changes through the tracking process.”
The band does their own pre-production during the writing process in Logic Pro-X. “Next, we go to Ricky Armellino to track and to have him produce and mix the songs in Pro Tools,” John explains. Andres Magnusson did the mastering for “Catch 22,” “One Thing” and “Relationshit”.
Concrete Dream are playing East Coast shows through November as they continue to write new music through the summer. They hope to record new music in the fall/winter. To keep up with this band, check them out on Facebook at Concrete Dream Music.
Sidebar: About The Band As Described By The Band
Jeremiah received a guitar at the age of five from his grandfather, part of a tradition coming from his Spanish background. He went on to play bass in multiple rock/metal bands before switching over to vocals and hip hop. Jeremiah met Juan while both were members of the group H.A.T.E.
Juan was born in Manila, Philippines. At the age of two, his family moved to Secaucus, New Jersey. Similar to John, he gained music education from playing saxophone in school bands throughout his childhood. During that time, he began learning how to play drums and he became a journeyman drummer in multiple bands.
John was born and raised in Ramsey, NJ. He began learning bass on his own in the seventh grade. Similar to Juan, he also gained music education from playing saxophone in school bands throughout his childhood. He went on to become the guitarist and songwriting partner for the band The Great Airport Mystery.
Alejandro is from North Bergen, NJ. He began playing guitar at fifteen and played in a multitude of bands as either guitarist or bassist. He met John through the music scene and mutual friends.
Un-Block The Music 
Leave a Reply