Liner Notes: Rell the Soundbender

Rell’s story starts like many others, with an infectious love of music and a burning desire to create. Growing up in Virginia Beach, as early as grade school Rell was making beats. “I used to get sent to the office a lot in school for ‘distracting the class’,” he laughs, “I have permanent marks on my knuckles from doing that as a kid.” Thankfully, Rell eventually moved on from the principal’s office, going from his school desk to the Playstation game MTV Music Generator. It was there Rell got his first taste of music creation, but it was not long before he moved on to a real production program and “never looked back.” As Rell grew up he realized that he appreciated music differently than most of his peers. He ranked artists and rappers by their beat selection and production, rather than lyrics. “I’ve always loved music, like the actual music, but I’ve never known the words to songs.” It was at a 2003 50 Cent contest where Rell fully realized this difference.

While his friends all rapped together to hip-hop classics, Rell was lost for words. He knew the songs themselves, the arrangements and how it sounded, but could not rap the lyrics with his friends. “I was already programmed with that producer mind frame from the get go.” Rell was focused on the actual music side rather than the storytelling side. With that in mind, Rell continued to make beats and learn his new craft. As time passed and technology evolved, what was once a far off pipe dream became a more realistic possibility.

As a young kid from Virginia Beach, Rell couldn’t avoid Timbaland’s presence. In fact Rell notes, “Timbaland is the reason I started producing." Look at Timbaland's pedigree and it's no wonder why. Reading his production's credits like a hip-hop and R&B who's who. From Ludacris, LL Cool J, and Jay-Z to Aaliyah, Ginuwine, and Justin Timberlake, Timbaland has made his mark in more ways than one.

Unwilling to stay confined to hip-hop tropes, Timbaland began infusing a heavy dose of electronic dance music into his productions beginning with the 2006 Justin Timberlake album FutureSex/LoveSounds. The album was ultimately a precursor and source of inspiration for an entire generation of producers like Rell. "To me, Timbo had always been the front runner in that 'new sound,' so when that album came out it inspired me to dabble in electronic music a bit; but I still wasn't really fully aware of the world that existed in EDM." With Timbaland's new electronic sound running through his head, Rell began to incorporate more of it in his sound. It was this fundamental change of direction that in the end would lead him to his own solo career as Rell The Soundbender.

Before he became Rell The Soundbender, though, Rell was just M.Rell, the hip-hop producer. Like millions of others, music dreams in hand, the advent of the Internet and primitive social media gave Rell a chance to share his beats with audiences around the world and reach wanting ears. “I’d upload beats to SoundClick and sell them there, but back then pushing your music online was ‘whack.’" Whack as it may have been, Rell found his first taste of success through the SoundClick. Just as the service designed, Rell connected with yet-to-be-famous group, Far East Movement. The group had reached out to purchase a beat from Rell and it the beat eventually became their 2006 single, "Holla Hey." The single ultimately helped FM make noise and land a record deal, receiving placements on various TV shows including HBO's hit-series Entourage. But as the story goes for a producer, Rell didn't hear from them again: "they were outta here, they were global." Rell knew that despite producing their most successful single to date, he would lose touch; "us losing touch is something that happens in this industry. They took off and signed with a major. I was just happy for them and kept working on my craft." But looking back, Rell speaks fondly of the memory: "It was great getting that placement. I still have people today that mention the song to me."

So not only had the single helped FEM achieve their dream, but it also gave Rell the true realization that he too could use the internet, MySpace and SoundClick specifically, to realize his dreams and make them a reality. And he was right, social media was conceived with the idea of connecting people. SoundClick and MySpace allowed aspiring producers like Rell to connect with aspiring rappers, labels, A&Rs, fans and whoever. Thinking back, Rell saw how things were going to change, “I got caught in that era where the game was going digital, and fortunate enough for me, I stayed with it and evolved along with the changes. The game has changed over the past five-to-seven years to a more indie/Internet-based foundation; it wasn’t how it is now with bloggers and SoundCloud stats.” Rell was right, today bloggers and A&Rs alike will use SoundCloud and various other social media metrics to in their hunt to find what’s hot and predict the next big star.

After meeting a young rapper named Carnegie, Rell began working him with and his project named Silver Medallion. Working with Silver Medallion, Rell began to infuse a more electronic sound into his productions, as the group aimed to create a dance/hip-hop fusion. With Rell behind the boards, Carnegie rapping and Oren (the other half of Silver Medallion) singing and rapping, Rell began to find his stride, producing singles "Gravity," "Scottsdale," and "All I Ask." Silver Medallion kept growing in popularity and by the summer of 2010, the group had begun working on an album for Akon's Konvict label and began playing bigger concerts, ultimately opening for LMFAO; things were looking up. After reaching the career milestone, however, tragedy struck when a drunk-driving teenager killed Carnegie. "His spirit keeps me motivated and I'm sure it does the same for Oren as well, as he keeps the Silver Medallion legacy alive."

With his sights set on learning about and joining the electronic music world, Rell began working with two others to create a trio called The Beatnox. "It was great because I learned so much from those guys. They are my brothers for life." It was through his time in The Beatnox that Rell learned to DJ saying "I used to just watch them" knowing that without that time, he wouldn't be where he is now.

Since then Rell has taken bookings, support, and remix credits with acts like Craze, Sliink, gLAdiator, Far East Movement, Bro Safari, David Heartbreak, and many more. Rell continues to make his name known on the blogosphere and on the airwaves with his music now featured on BBC Radio 1 and on big time compilations like Moombahton Forever (which dropped earlier this year via T&A), where his collaboration with David Heartbreak (as The AggroKids) was featured alongside tunes from Munchi, Dillon Francis, GTA, and a host of other moombah acts.

Before he could jump into the world of electronic dance music as a solo artist, Rell had to focus on a sound. With the Beatnox, Rell tried his hand at dubstep and electro house, exposing himself to new artists, but as a solo artist Rell settled on the natural fit, moombahton. Rell found it when he came across Munchi: "When I heard Munchi's remix of 'Firepower,' it blew my mind," adding that "I'm Panamanian. I was the first in my family born in the US, so as a kid all the way up until my freshman year in high school I went back to Panama during the summer." Moombahton made sense to Rell and it gave him away to connect with his routes in a way hip-hop hadn't previously let him. Growing up on a steady diet of reggaeton, salsa, merengue, tipico, moombahton was perfect. Rell has since re-focused his productions to a trap-bounce hybrid, but still holds the genre close to his heart.

"Well, reggaeton originated in Panama, but got popular when the sound was taken over to Puerto Rico. Moombahton is a sound that runs through my veins. The mixture of reggaeton and dutch/electro house synths is addicting. The groove, the rhythm, that bounce, that entire sequence of sound is something I grew up on as a kid. I believe moombahton will have its day when it becomes a more mainstream sound, Like anything else thats new, it takes time. I will always make and play moombahton in all of my sets, it's my first love."

Rell shares his thoughts on the future of moombahton, and the latin influence on dance music believing that it will have it's time. "Like I've always said, music is a universal language with a bit of influence from cultures around the world. As it continues to grow and production becomes more accessible to the youth, that sound will continue to grow and spread and be infused with many different influences. In countries like Panama, kids may not have the same opportunity as kids in the US so when they do get their hands on equipment or a computer to experiment and create, it'll really an exciting thing."

Rell's future looks brigther now and we're regularly supporting him, but it's far from over for him. Rell continues to take bookings, make big remixes and churn out originals. You wouldn't know the kind of success he's had just talking to him, remaining humble as ever. Even if you ask him about certain challenges he has, he'll brush them off and instead offer a perspective full of wisdom and maturity. One of those challenges is being deaf in one ear. For many, music is purely an auditory experience. For some it's much more than that. For Rell it's different. With deafness in one ear, Rell has had to adjust to truly feel the beat. His deafness "sucks" but as he says, it has been "truly a blessing."

"It sucks, but its truly a blessing. It has allowed me to experience music in ways that most people don't. When I say I feel the music, I literally do. When I'm DJing, I mix off of the bass of the kick in my feet along with the music. I mix off of vibrations. When I'm producing it's the same thing. I produce off of the feel and vibration of the sound. It took me a while to get a mixing technique that worked, but now I have one that works well for me.""

Rell The Soundbender had officially launched and he was on his way. Already steeped into his DJ career, Rell's former life as a hip-hop producer was never completely left behind. As things tend to in this universe, his life as a hip-hop producer came full circle when he hooked back up with Far East Movement. Passing contact information off between the two parties, Rell said they reached out to each other and kept in touch. By the time November rolled around, Rell was booked to play Blasted in LA.: "I reached out to FM to see if they were in town and we linked up. I played them 'Grimey Thirsty' and my 'Thank You' remix. Next thing you know, they had me flown back out to do work with them and 'Ain't Coming Down' was born." Since then Rell has hooked up again with them on additional releases including his West Coast rap inspired single "Inglewood" and has also signed with their management firm.

Since hooking up with Far East Movement, Rell has continued to see his star rise. In addition to regularly appearing on DAD, Rell has numerous projects including a forthcoming West Coast rap inspired EP coming called Murder Was The Bass, international shows, a collaborative project with fellow rising star David Heartbreak (The AggroKids). Even Snoop tagged Rell specifically to do the only official remix for the single "Lighters Up," giving him the stems to do so. Still in his twenties, Rell is excited about the future and what it brings. It's one thing to be a fan of someone's music but another when you get to know them personally and understand their story. Everyone has a story and with Rell's, we can't help ourselves from rooting him on.