Kaarmaa | “Single”, Anime-Inspired Hit
Lanz Nagrampa, going by the stage name Kaarmaa, is back from his hiatus and decided to pick up right where he left off with “Stay”. Kaarmaa’s new single “Stay” is an anime-inspired track laced with electric bass guitar, complemented with headphone riveting 808’s that perfectly envelopes the aggressive and conscious wordplay of Kaarmaa.
“Stay” is the hip hop remix of “Brave Shine” by Japanese pop singer Aimer. If you are interested in anime, then you’ve may already come across this song in the season 2 opener of “Fate/Stay Night: Ultimate Blade Works”. “Stay” perfectly encompasses the theme of this series, capturing its raw emotions in a free for all, battle royal saga. Kaarmaa’s engineer Ronin Campbell and Editor in Chief Albert “ S.O.S” Jakubiszen brilliantly worked together on crafting this joint while Kaarmaa for sure delivered.
Off the jump, the structure of “Stay” plays a huge part in how palpable his music can be. Instead of the typical 3-chorus, 2-verse arrangement, Kaarmaa knew two verses wouldn’t be enough to completely capture his story, so he decided to reach way into his bag to deliver a third and final verse that ties his entire love story together, giving closure to himself as well as the listener. Many songwriters typically get caught up in trying to send punchline after punchline, but on this track, Kaarma attacks with a different approach in breaking down this single into three parts: Verse 1 describing the present, Verse 2 describing the past, and Verse 3 describing the future.
“I’m a solid believer in being a “Mayweather tactician” in music and thought that this was a really good stratagem to adopt because the audience is expecting a repeat of the chorus, not a third verse, in this particular section. Moreover, the conceptual breakdown of the song can be defined as “fragmented memories” (Verse 1 describes the present, Verse 2 the past, and Verse 3 the future), a creative writing technique serving as my “Mayweather Pull Counter” for an era that relies more and more on hooks and vibes, rather than lyrics to procure hits.”
Along with Kaarmaa expertly dicing apart the instrumental with his vocals and riding the highs and lows of the chorus, his team’s work on producing this sound deserves just as much praise. Stepping outside his comfort zone, Kaarma experimented with his vocals, applying it to the chorus while his team sprinkled in just strong enough effects that his voice pierces through the main chorus as background vocals. Another strong standout in production was the sparse injection of autotune to pitches that sound off-key, instead of applying it to the entire song. This is an issue many artists experience, which can lead to inaudible lyrics, but Ronin laid it on this track just right.
“Speechless, no secret, that timeless love is priceless / Like a pair of diamonds tryna find a shine, all it takes is some pressure / Diving in your mind even if the world was ending / Baby, take my hand, like Phoenix ashes, we can be the ones to resurrect it.” – Kaarmaa.”
Kaarmaa is currently in the midst of planning his sophomore EP N!mbus, a direct follow up to Inst!nct, which follows a Dragonball Z-inspired soundtrack. If you have any interest in DBZ and “Stay”, follow Kaarmaa on Instagram and be on the lookout for his next drop.
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