DAKRED, real name Dakota Reed, is an up-and-coming multi-faceted artist hailing from Murrieta, CA. He has just dropped his self-titled album–’DAKRED’– and it is one for the ages. This album is a journey and reflection of an emotion everyone is all-too-familiar with: love. Dakred sonically explores what it means to love someone, lose them, and navigate through his 20s. 

“It is generally considered better to have experienced love, even if it ends in loss, than to have never loved at all.” 

This quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson showcases the main theme of the album: feeling love and losing it and how the highs and lows of emotions showcase the true meaning of life: feeling. ‘DAKRED’ is an autobiography of his resilience through the loss of love and how he gets bac up again every time.

“Never Going To Be The Same” is the starting track of the album and serves as the beginning of DAKRED’s story: one of love, growing through his 20s and ultimately finding himself through connection and adventure. A melodic bass powerhouse with hauntingly beautiful vocals, this song sets the tone for the story that is to come. 

Other highlights on the album include “California” which is a tribute to where he came from and the place he met his first love, and includes multiple genres including a drum and bass break in the middle and melodic bass at the beginning and end of the track. “Illumination is a heavier bass track that dives into the pain of realizing the truth about a relationship’s true meaning. The album’s ending track “Enlightenment” showcases a new chapter for DAKRED and listeners alike, a peaceful experimental bass track that stops time for a moment and illustrates that a new, more exciting chapter is coming in life. 

DAKRED’s 12-track album is a deeply personal and relatable soundtrack and serves as an emotional outlet for him and his listeners alike. Throw it on in the shower, in the car, and anywhere else you are wanting to express your emotions, but aren’t always sure how. =_. Stream ‘DAKRED’ today.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0y5FXuXvDQuidTejPUENm3?si=gBxtX-45SMWX9dobxCdtjw

Written by: Maddie Whelan