Krewella’s ascension through the dance community stratosphere is a multi-faceted feat. The success of their Play Hard EP lead by the hit single “Alive” was the catalyst that resulted in their 2012 IDMA award for Best Breakthrough Artist and their blazing hot start to festival season at Ultra Music Festival shifted things into full gear. Those accolades alone come at the rate and level of success in vein of some of this decade’s most popular EDM stars. And while they’ve been hailed as such, Krewella come more as the first mega stars in a new electronic climate — one that SFX CEO Robert Sillerman coined EMC (Electronic Music Community).

Together, Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf with Kris Trindl’s Rain Man persona make for the first EMC titans, reaching far beyond the festival appearance and Beatport routines of EDM stars. While they’ve covered those bases (and have quickly exceeded them), Krewella introduce a new depth with songwriting, an unprecedented theme involving sexual innuendo, and a new meaning to the term “electronic musician.” Krewella have a cult following. Jahan, Yasmine, and Kris have a cult following. Their following is unlike some of the most impressive that dance music has seen come and go over the course of the past five years. Perhaps Skrillex pulled a similar legion of fans, but those fans gravitated more towards an arising dubstep movement than the Sonny Moore the man.

Now with the release of their full-length studio album, Krewella roll the many facets of their success into Get Wet. Coming from Columbia Records, Get Wet allows Krew faithfuls to further more attach themselves to the personalties that make up Krewella and, 14 tracks later, share the voice of their favorite band.

Yes, Krewella is a band — not just an electronic group, and it’s ever so evident with their new album. Get Wet has Krewella as the modern day punk rock bands that ruled the 90s — the electronic version of that generation’s Blink 182s. Much like millennials enjoyed Blink 182’s catchy hits, they stayed tuned in to live vicariously through the outgoing, fun-loving, and often rebellious personalities of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonges, and Travis Barker (whom makes an appropriate appearance on one of the albums biggest tunes).

As long as Mark Hoppus was singing lyrics such as “shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cock-sucker, mother-fucker, tits, fart, turd, and twat,” the 90s youth which sought rebellion found that they not only had a new favorite band, but a new best friend. That’s where Krewella’s followers connect. Not so much with newfound vulgarity, but rather with a strong connection and even a level of friendship that the trio have made possible by opening up, sharing personal stories, and allowing the world into their lives.

“We’ve been through the same shit and the same amazing experiences of meeting all these crazy, awesome people, being influenced by insane stories fans tell us about how our music has helped them or changed them, or helped them in need when they’re going through something really terrible.” Yasmine told Dancing Astronaut in regards to the songwriting of Get Wet with her older sister Jahan. Their new album comes loaded with hits — from “Alive” to “Live For The Night” — and even the catchy “We Go Down” which is the unanimous favorite recording by all three members comes with a depth that attributes to fans’ connection. Yasmine continued to describe the track as “the song on the album that is like if you need a hand, this is the power anthem… like we’ve got your back.”

Preparing Get Wet, the Yousaf sisters poured their hearts out for their Krew fanbase, making more advanced songwriting a focal point. “With the album Yazzy and I have crafted our lyrics much more than we ever had. We spent a lot of time making every lyrics mean something and recording things over and over until we were happy with the vocals,” Jahan attests. And while masterful production from Trindl gives Get Wet a heavy dose of its spunk, the Krew drew songwriting inspiration in working with Tony Gad (who’s written for everyone from Beyonce to Donna Summer) and Patrick Stump, whom they’d collaborated with for “Dancing With The Devil.”

Krewella – Dancing With The Devil (feat. Patrick Stump & Travis Barker)

“Dancing With The Devil” embodies much of the Krew’s momentum. From the punk rock and metal influences they pull from to picking up new tips. “It went through many different production phases and it got to the point where we knew it had to be on the album,” said Jahan, “We thought Patrick Stump would be perfect for it, having an aggressive male vocal.” She continued, “So we got in the studio with [Patrick] and it was really cool because Yazzy and I got to learn a different style of writing from him. We probably spent just an hour writing notes, it felt like a therapy session.”

Jahan went on to note her favorite record from the album as their ballad, “Human,” where the sisters let their vocals and lyrics shine through. The “liquid, dubstep, melodic feel,” as they described, brings out all that’s been adored of the most demanded songmanship across electronic music. Then there’s the acoustic version of “Enjoy The Ride,” one of the album’s two bonus tracks in addition to the Gareth Emery collaboration, “Lights & Thunder.” Here Jahan and Yasmine let their voices do all the work atop nothing but blissful piano.

Krewella – Human

Between the anthems and the ballads, the crafty and the hits, offerings such as “We Are One” have Krewella dishing out the best of their production appeal. Even greater comes songs like “Pass The Love Around,” where the bulkier beats remain but emotions flourish as Yasmine and Jahan deliver well-rounded vocals that range between aggressive and vulnerable. That’s just where the Yousaf sisters strive and best pull fans into their world — the lyrics that allow for partying and euphoria to the lyrics that touch and agree with listeners.

Krewella – Pass The Love Around

The EDM world had albums such as Zedd’s Clarity for fans to listen to well-groomed products straight through, and now the EMC world has its first taste of what an electronic band is. Get Wet comes with the hits, the collaborations, the ballads, and the hidden gems, but its release marks more than a long-awaited debut. Krewella has opened this new door that allows the current youth to connect with electronic artists and escape to the dance music world without attending a festival or suiting up for a rave.

Sure the cult-like followers won’t be missing out on the extraordinary volcano that the band is currently taking across the United States and their live shows are certainly one to marvel at and enjoy, but Krewella’s appeal is multi-faceted and is fueled by revelation of humanity that nine out of ten successful dance acts have been incapable of alluding. While the two years of collecting recordings and cutting down almost 50 songs to make for a 14-track outing leave fans with a high-quality album, Get Wet is second to fascination of Jahan, Yasmine, and Kris. Get Wet is all aspects of their personality and its those personalities that are allowing the electronic music community to see engaging superstardom.

Purchase: iTunes

Tags: get wet, Krewella

Categories: Music