Splice

San Francisco-based producer CRUELS returns with the third installment of his neon-tinged trap sounds laced with nu-house and R&B influences. Use these sounds to inject that electrifying, goth dark-wave feel into your productions.

Lao Ra (Laura Carvajalino Avila) describes her music as subversive pop. The singer attributes part of her eclectic sound to the places she’s called home: London and Colombia. She credits the English capital - which she lived in for over 10 years - for bestowing her that punk attitude and Colombia for instilling the power of the tropics. The result is a multi-sensory collage where energetic beats and blunt lyrics are at the heart center. Through reggaeton beats and untamable wild animals, her vibrant storytelling is a nod to the female artists who’ve inspired her journey so far from Debbie Harry to FKA Twigs, from Frida Kahlo to Madonna.

Though Lao Ra does not make reggaeton music, per se, the influence can be heard in most of her music, and definitely throughout this pack. She grew up dancing to reggaeton, along with salsa, merengue, and other Latin genres throughout her early teens. Throughout her sonic journey, she's been inspired by the Dembow, reggaeton's rhythmic base, as heard in many of her songs. She's also influenced by the minimal production of reggaeton, using just one or two leading sounds through a whole track.

She suggests, "have fun with the elements reggaeton brings, but don't get too attached to the form. Experiment with it and push the limits."

Grammy-nominated music producer Taiko (Nicolás Jaña ) was born in Buin, Santiago de Chile. He started making beats at the age of 15, reaching the ears of Black Koi Ent.'s Sky Rompiendo in 2019 through Instagram. Later, Rompiendo invited him to join the label. Taiko's sounds now appear on Bad Bunny’s “Una Vez” featuring Mora, Jhay Cortez’s “Easy”, and J Balvin’s “Rojo”.

By age 11, after hearing reggaeton throughout his youth on the streets of Chile, on the radio, and on TV, Taiko decided he wanted to be a DJ. He started mixing in Virtual DJ, and about two years later, he downloaded FL Studio and made his first beats.

However, Taiko has never focused on just one genre. His productions are built on three main pillars: minimalism, texture, and atmosphere. When he does incorporate reggaeton, he usually starts with a melody designed to transport you to another place and then layers on a reggaeton bassline to define the rhythm. He also likes to use the classic drums of the genre, modernizing them with different processing techniques.

You'll hear these elements and more throughout Taiko's first-ever Splice pack. He hopes you use these sounds to experiment and create new sounds, a new spin on reggaeton, or a different genre entirely.