Ping Trace–Flying Under the Radar

Jenn Cohen | June 1, 2012 | 0 Comments

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 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 Flameout Records in the not-too-distant future.

A verbal art like poetry is reflective; it stops to think. Music is immediate, it goes on to become. – W. H. Auden

Online: pingtracemusic.com