Welcoming the dreamy bedroom Synth-Pop Artist Laine Rex to the industry with her shimmering debut single, "Money Down."
Decades in the making, Laine Rex (Erin Dickson) took it upon herself in the unpredictable year of 2020 to delve deep into her solo craft and spend hours recording her charming and dreamy sound.
Her debut single "Money Down" brings the listener into a spacious atmosphere through various synths and Laine Rex's vocals resembling that of Debbie Harry. Sending us back to the late 80s with sparkling electronic production, Laine Rex has impressively blown us away with a colossal debut.
"Money Down" opens with dreamy background vocals, nostalgic synths, and Laine Rex's atmospheric Bedroom-Pop vocals. As the supporting production begins to grow with help from stimulating drum patterns, the hook quickly approaches with laser-like synths that bring the song into an incredibly electrifying space.
While singing lyrics of putting her complete faith into someone for their relationship to flourish, Laine Rex offers a textured and surreal atmosphere for listeners to get down and relate with easily. Around the bridge, ambient pads soak up the song while airy keys drift over Laine Rex's intoxicating vocal performance.
Picking the energy up once again for a lively outro, we can't express how dreamy yet stimulating Laine Rex's "Money Down" is. With each synth and breath that graces our speakers, we're taken into sweet-sounding bliss.
We love each picturesque moment of your warm debut single, "Money Down." What inspired you to take this dreamy Bedroom-Pop route for your debut single, let alone your music career? I would say that going the bedroom pop route with my music was less of a conscious decision and more just the product of what happened when I let myself create what I wanted to create without worrying if people would like it. I try not to overthink it too much and let the music be what it wants to be. For this song and all the songs on my upcoming EP, I actually recorded all the demos in my bedroom—I even have a room in my house dedicated to being a home studio, but my bed is comfier so that’s where I camped out with my keyboard, laptop, and guitar. There were days where I actually worked on my music for up to 12 hours straight because I was just in the zone, ha. When I decided to take the songs to the studio to record for real, we ended up keeping all the demo synth parts which helped maintain that warm, lo-fi feel while adding in some energy and drive that real drums and bass can bring. Regarding your lyrical content within "Money Down," could you take us through what inspired the song's message? What pushed you to create such heartfelt and romantic lyricism? I’m not very good at expressing feelings in real life, so I have to put all my feelings into my songs. I think the lyrics for “Money Down” are based on a memory of one of the better summers I’ve had when I first joined a band and discovered how much I love playing and writing music. At the time that I wrote the song, it was more just subconscious thoughts coming to the surface, but the theme that keeps showing up is this idea that if something is that important to you, you have to take a risk and go for it. That's why I chose this song to be my debut release--because I'm finally taking that chance on my music. Speaking on the nostalgic production within "Money Down," what did your sonic creative process look like when crafting the melodies through various synths? What sound were you aiming for? The foundation of this song is actually the background vocal “oh’s” you hear at the very beginning. Then I added in one main synth patch that I really liked—it’s the first one you hear at the beginning of the song—and built on that. I always try not to overthink it too much, because the sheer amount of timbre options can be overwhelming—I just try to start with a tone that is really interesting to me and that fits well with the overall feel of the song, and then as I listen through, either in the moment or weeks later, I hear parts that need to be added in, and I keep building layers until the soundscape brings the right emotion and introduces enough sonic interest to keep the story moving along. The guitar is an important color in this one too--I think the bright guitar helps keep the song from feeling too melancholy, and the drums and bass keep things moving. (Shout-out to my guitar player/recording engineer/mixer Ryan, drummer Brandon, bass player Beniah, and guitar part-writer Alex!) We've heard that becoming Laine Rex was decades in the making. What made you decide to finally undergo this musical venture? I just felt like it would be a waste to hold onto all these songs I’ve written and not share them—even if just one person is able to connect with my music, I think it makes it worthwhile. Not to mention, the whole process of songwriting and recording is something that I really enjoy, and that gives me a sense of purpose. But I don’t think I ever would have decided to do this if I hadn’t received the immense support and encouragement from my close friends and family that I have over the last few years. What can fans anticipate next from you? Keep a lookout for another single this winter, and then an EP shortly thereafter! And when live shows are a thing again…who knows? I’m open to whatever comes next!