Ping Trace
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Ping Trace

Denver, Colorado, United States | INDIE

Denver, Colorado, United States | INDIE
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"Ping Trace: A Forest"

Some months ago, I heard Ping Trace for the first time and had no idea what I was getting myself into. From the name of the 3 member group (referencing some IT jargon) you could be forgiven for believing that this is going to be 66 minutes of impeccably rendered but insufferably boring minimal techno. You'd be wrong. Ping Trace is one of the most forward-thinking acts I've come across. Comparisons beyond this single point are out of line, but they have that same quality that I love in the middle recordings of New Order: it's distinctive enough that you know who made it from the first few notes, but the band will continually surprise you with how flexible their sound is.

Ping Trace isn't the first group to treat electronic music with the hands-on approach of a traditional band - concerned as much with songs, with overall meaning, a depth of feeling and range of emotions beyond "c'mon get happy" that many frequently associate with House Music - but they may be the best of breed today.

Made up of two DJs ("Sven" Cleveland and Jeremy Golden) and vocalist Lynnae Rome, their music has a quality that's at once broad and intimate - with rough electronic scrapes and kicks always brought back down by Rome's lush, whisper of a voice. Nowhere is this more apparent than in "A Forest" - a song that, according to iTunes, I listened to 45 times prior to writing this review and will likely listen to twice as much in the coming days.

"A Forest" is a cover from The Cure, and despite owning the Cure's entire discography in about four different media formats, it took the liner notes to point this out to me. Say what you will about the original and the rather mixed results successive performers have had in covering The Cure, but Ping Trace really makes this one their own. In fact, in a blind test, I found myself preferring the Radio Edit of the four mixes here, which is something that almost never happens. As with their previous Terraform releases (2010's "How You Feel" and "We Are Human"), some might find this hard to classify - some including Juno and Terraform, for reasons best kept between themselves and their maker, classify it as "Progressive House". It's a small matter. Ping Trace is one of those acts whose music is destined to straddle, jump and obliterate the boundaries between genres.

[ - Review by Terry Matthew / May 2011 - ] - 5 Magazine


"Ping Trace - Flying Under the Radar"

by Charlie Sullivan

Electronica artists, Ping Trace, can best be described as epically powerful, ambient, dark, spacious, and a hypnotic hybrid of the electronic genre. The troupe fuses electronic beats and ethereal synths with fine melodies and smooth vocals. Surprisingly, the act has been flying under the local radar.

Lynnae Rome (vocals, keyboards) and Steve Cleveland (keyboards, programming), ‘80s synth-rock fans, formed the band in early 2008, and were joined by Jeremy Golden (programming) in 2009. “Jeremy had connections to gear and studios and started engineering some of our music,” says Cleveland. “He just fit in well with the direction we were headed.” The most recent addition is the raven-haired Shaunelle Burton (vocals, keyboards). “Shaunelle has solidified the act,” conveys Rome. “She’s a great lyricist, very melodic, and she had a lot of the same ideas we had when formulating the music.”

Crafting electronic music with layers of melodic and rhythmic interaction, the crew collaborates well together. They push each other to succeed. Cleveland is the genesis of a track, Rome adds structure, Golden strengthens the idea, and Burton works with the lyrics and melodies. The outfit has a way of keeping the songs musical; giving them an identity, the song isn’t just another track. The way they approach their music is unusual for an electronic band. There is a lot of interest and care imparted in the pieces. Check out pingtracemusic.com and give “Fall Away 2012” and “A Forest” (a killer Cure cover) a spin. They’ll give you a real feel for the music the band is generating.

Ping Trace has been primarily a studio band with two EP releases to their credit: Traces (2008), and How You Feel (2010), as well as several singles. You can also view videos of “Lies” and “We Are Human” at myspace.com/pingtrace/videos, nice visuals. They do aspire to cut an entire album at some point, something a little more substantial than what they’ve been releasing.

“We’re still trying to find a live theme,” relays Cleveland. “Finding our place in the local music scene has been a challenge.”

“We haven’t had a lot of live dates,” adds Rome. “If the opportunity presents itself, we don’t shy away.”

“I know, digitally, we’re reaching people globally with our music,” remarks Cleveland. “But we’d still like to make that local connection at some level because this is home.”

If you’re out and about on Sunday, June 17, 2012, the troupe will be performing in Arvada at Jammin Joe’s Bar at 2:00p.m. It’s an all-ages show, and it will be recorded for the Fox 31 ColoradoRock TV Show. Be on the scene, you might just get famous. Also, be on the lookout for an anticipated release on Flame Records in the not-too-distant future. - Colorado Music Buzz


Discography

"We Are Human (Second Sky & Thomas Blondet Remix)" - (Rhythm & Culture Music/ESL Music) May 2013
"Resolution" - Single - (Flame Records) July 2012
"Drunk Text (Ping Trace Remix)" - (Magik Muzik/Black Hole Recordings) November 2011
"Take Me Over (Ping Trace Remix)" - (Magik Muzik/Black Hole Recordings) May 2011
"A Forest " - Single - (Terraform Records) April 2011
"How You Feel" - EP - (Terraform Records) September 2010
"We Are Human" - Single - (Terraform Records) May 2010
Traces - EP - (Mrs Johnson Music ) July 2008

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Bio

From Denver, Colorado Ping Trace is a group of musicians and songwriters focused on high-quality music filled with catchy melodies and a lush production style. Their previous releases have received attention and airplay around the globe. Ping Trace has released tracks on Rhythm & Culture Music/ESL Music (Washington D.C.) Flame Records (Spain), Magik Muzik/Black Hole Recordings (Netherlands), Terraform Records (United States) and Mrs Johnson Music (self).