Meet Logan Larson, originally from Waukee, Iowa who is taking music to a new level. An award-winning, classical music composer and Electronic Dance Music producer who inspires us to reconsider adopting instrumental notes into modern dance music. Well versed in musical theory, he received his Bachelor's degree in Music at Luther College in 2016 and a Masters’s degree in Composition at the University of Kansas in 2018. Currently, he is working towards obtaining his Doctorate in Musical Arts at the University of Miami. Larson has studied and worked with many accomplished musicians including; Brooke Joyce, Forrest Pierce, Dorothy Hindman, Lansing McLoskey, Melinda Wagner and Christopher Theofanidis. His work has been performed across three continents and launching his career worldwide in tours across the United States, Canada, Italy, and Australia. Larson has been selected to compose works for Grammy-nominated string quintet, Sybarrite5!
Logan Larson's sound is one of a kind, with his ability to fuse many distinct genres of; Electronic Dance Music, Hip-Hop, Rap while incorporating contemporary techniques. Logarithmic Collective is a group composed of; vocals by Logan Larson, saxophone by Benjamin Morris and Trombone by Thomas McKee. Logan Larson is constantly expanding his sound and regularly will collaborate with featured guest artists. For those who have been waiting for evolution to EDM, here is the answer to your craving with his new debut album, “As We Grow”, released in September of this year.
The album opens with, “Inside the Kaleidoscope” opens with sirens and powerful vibrato vocals. His lyrics harmoniously drop in and out of these textured beats. The song title could not be a better representation of the layering sounds featured in this track as a kaleidoscope is a constantly changing pattern or sequence of elements.
Following this is, “The Beauty of Cosmic Things” with a lighter and angelic feel to it. Larson uses fixed media tracks filled with colorful melodies, timbers, and hypnotic rhythms to ensue the senses. Continuing to build his new genre or what Logan refers to “NWCAM”, better pronounced as “nuke-um”, stating for New Wave Classical Art Music. “As We Grow” has two versions, one which demonstrates his incredible piano skills with seamless additions of Hip-Hop beats while the other draws the listener to focus on his brawny and powerfully built vocals. Larson continues to soothe our senses with purely instrumental and vocal versions of other tracks including; “Tidal Wave Earthquake”, “Muffled Voices”, “Overzealous” and “On the Rise”. It’s hard to pick a favourite as each version provides a different experience.
“Judgement Upon the Earth”, is another surprising track beginning with a calming Reggae tone and accompanying lyrics. The song continues to build with the addition of Benjamin’s skillful saxophone performance.
As mentioned above Logan is a highly educated musician and this well represented in his tenor vocals displayed in “Let Me Save You”. One of the stronger lyrics, one that drew up so many emotions in myself was his self-expression of “I could be your love, let me save you”.
To end this musical journey, I want listeners to finish this album feeling happy and carefree and what better way than with Larsons song, “Piping Hot Recoil”. I love his consistency and use of the clarinet in this track, from start to finish these pieces leave me feeling upbeat and swaying. Listen to Logan Larson & Logarhythmic Collective's full album here.
Welcome to BuzzMusic and thank you for this new musical experience. Can you tell me what inspired you to combine EDM and contemporary music?
Since the beginning of my career, my goal has always been to find new ways of combining classical and EDM. All of my instrumental acoustic works have some elements of EDM intertwined within them. In the early stages of my career, I wanted to only write acoustic music and leave the electronics out of my compositions. My mindset changed when I came to the conclusion that current EDM could use more layers and complexity, and any attempt of the fusion of the genres in the classical realm lacked intensity, power, and movement. Over my extensive college career I have been crafting this new genre that ultimately formed Logarhythmic Collective, and in turn, created “As We Grow”.
Another inspiration for this fusion music is that I feel like I may be the only one who can create it. Everyone says that, but realistically how many people could write this music? I don’t know anyone else who writes EDM that has nine years of training in counterpoint, orchestration, theory, and analysis. I also don’t know another composer who has enough production skills or interest in EDM to create it. I feel like I owe it to both the Classical and EDM communities to bring something new to the table.
We noticed that this album has both instrumental and vocal versions. Can you example the purpose of each version and how they add to the album?
Being a vocalist, I use my voice throughout every step of my compositional process. While crafting the melodies of the solo instrumental works, I am constantly making up lyrics. These lyrics that I have in my head facilitate how I phrase and shape the entire piece. The vocal versions are a look behind the curtain of how I craft the instrumental versions of each piece. These vocal versions obviously add lyrics and voice, but also convey to the audience a more refined vision of the subject matter of each work.
Each track is so unique and takes the listener through a different journey. What was the message you were trying to convey in “Overzealous”?
My pieces are highly driven by either a storyline or a concept I want to explore. Being a fitness enthusiast, “Overzealous” draws on the concept of pre-workout and the effect it has on the body. The chemicals combine to generate explosive power within our bodies with the only way of expelling the energy is through high-intensity physical movement.
Given that you are currently working on obtaining your Doctorate, what are you planning to specialize in?
I’m currently obtaining my Doctorate of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Music Composition at the University of Miami through the renowned Frost School of Music. There are no formal specialties associated with my degree; hence, I am allowed to pursue anything that falls under the classical arts. The faculty has given me the freedom to carve my own path and put my passion for EDM into my classical music by exploring the relationship between acoustic instruments and the electronic elements of EDM. The results of my work formed a new subgenre I call “New Wave Classical Art Music” (NWCAM, pronounced nuke-um), which is the genre of the entire “As We Grow” album.
Thank you for chatting with us. Seeing that you perform worldwide, where can we expect to see you next?
Most of the upcoming performances of my music will be in the Miami area, but in March 2020 my music is being premiered in New York City at the Manhattan School of Music by Mezzo-Soprano, Natalie Rumer. Logarhythmic Collective and I will be performing around Florida and are currently setting up shows to perform across America. We will be releasing new music in 2020.
Music update for Logarhythmic Collective and myself can be found through our social media pages and websites.