Back and ready for action, the alt-pop duo RAINNE drenches us in a modern pop ambiance with their latest punchy single, "Monster."
Weighted in darkness and emotional catharsis, RAINNE has shown us time and time again that they're not a duo to take lightly. Compromised of singer-songwriter Annie Dingwall and saxophonist/engineer Justin Klunk, the two classically trained artists merge their sophisticated stylings with pop prowess, offering more of a sinister and ominous sound.
Touching on their latest release, "Monster," RAINNE takes us through incredibly dynamic sonic elements that sweeten our speakers while also sinking deep into the low-end with hard-hitting kicks and powerful bassy synths. Not to mention Annie Dingwall's passionate performance, she sings highly conceptual lyricism that keeps us locked into each magnetic breath she takes.
"Monster" begins with plucky electric guitar melodies and Annie Dingwall's luminous vocal stylings. As the sonics start to expand with heavy drum breaks, groaning synths, and pulsating guitars, Annie Dingwall gets her gears turning and pushes through the hook while singing of exploring the possibility of finding a love that embraces every inch of her being.
Around the hook, we're blasted through this tightly-wound and well-produced sonic breakdown through ominous synths and sharp drum patterns, highlighting Annie Dingwall's fluorescent performance as she powers through until the very end. RAINNE keeps us entirely engaged with the heavy vibes and gripping sonics on this single, and we're always grateful for powerhouse alt-pop bangers like this.
Find RAINNE's recent single, "Monster," on all digital streaming platforms, and sink into the duo's heavy stylings and meaningful lyricism.
We love the heaviness and intricacy of your latest single, "Monster." What inspired your duo to write a song about beauty in chaos?
Annie Dingwall: Funny enough, this song actually had a completely different lyrical concept when we started it, and it went through many evolutions to finally arrive on “Monster.” We are not ones to shy away from heavier topics, so this time we decided to confront the fear of rejection many of us have about being imperfect. Life and emotions are messy and chaotic, which is what makes it so dynamic and interesting! But so many of us try to put up a good front and pretend everything is fine when it’s not. There are moments where we all feel like the darker, scarier version of ourselves is going to burst out at any minute but are scared to let those feelings show out of fear that that part won’t be accepted or loved. This song explores the idea that the monster inside is only one part of a beautiful, chaotic whole that is worth loving in its entirety.
Your instrumentals and production within "Monster" are incredibly sharp and dynamic. What sort of sonic feel were you initially going for when creating the single?
Justin Klunk: Thank you so much! I think from the get-go, we were aiming for this song to be as “big” and dynamic as possible. While Petie and Patrick took the lead on the production process, Annie and Patrick were focusing on the drum groove to make sure the song would never lose that drive while Petie and I searched for textures in the synths and saxes to make the space of the recording wider.
AD: We always aim for our songs to be as dynamic as possible! With this song we also wanted to create a feeling of urgency and power to match the sentiment of the lyric. We never want to release a song that just stays at one volume or energy for the entire duration, and since a lot of our band’s focus has been on the dynamics of the live show, we want our recordings to emulate that ebb and flow. The goal was to be able to turn the volume up of “Monster” and be able to dance to it, and I think we accomplished that by the time it was ready to go!
How did your duo split the songwriting process for "Monster"? Did you both have a say in the song's lyricism, or did one member handle the songwriting solo?
JK: The approach to this song was a bit different than any of us had ever done before. We originally started the song as the 4 of us in the same room tossing out ideas but ended up having to finishing it remotely due to all of the COVID closures. Annie pretty much spearheaded the lyrics on this one and would text me and the other guys when she had come up with new lines to get our input. It was cool to see the evolution of the ideas (and the growing length of the Monster shared note lol) and finally end up with the song we have now.
What was it like working with producers Petie Pizarro and Patrick Ridgen for your single "Monster"?
JK: We always love working with Petie and Patrick (aka PLAYDED)! We have worked with them on a couple of our other singles (“Psycho Killer” and “Dirty Little Dream”), so we had great confidence in this team to create another song we would all love. While this time was pretty different to the others because of COVID closures, it was so fun to push the bounds of working together remotely. Technology these days is so amazing! At one point, when it came time to record the vocals, Petie actually assumed control of Annie’s computer in Los Angeles from his house in Miami and was able to run the session remotely and communicate with Annie to vocal produce the session.
AD: This session was a lot more independent collaboration in the sense that we all created ideas that were then sent and put into one master session. Justin recorded his own saxes in LA, Patrick was producing drum parts in North Carolina, Petie was compiling everything and adding sound in Miami. It was really fun getting the latest mix with the all new ideas in and continuing to build it that way.
What can we expect to see next from you?
JK: We’ve got several new songs in the works that will be coming out throughout the year. We plan to really focus on creating more songs and videos so that when shows finally come back we’ll have a whole new set to play!