SongDNA is Actually Exciting

If you’ve been with us a while, you’ll know we love liner notes and have discussed song DNA a couple of times. We love that most music comes with some lineage. Producers tend to have a huge fingerprint; no matter who comes to them, their work is noticeable. It feels the same.

A great example of that is Diplo (despite recent controversy, we’re going to use him as an example). If you are familiar with his previous work, you will be able to hear when he appears again. A strong personal styling.

Last week, BTS released a new album, and there were a couple of tracks that felt like Justin Bieber, and to feel like that, the architect of some of his most well-known music? Diplo (with Poo Bear and Skrillex). Like Animals was the most stand-out example. And you’d question your own ear, unless you have access to the credits.

SongDNA is one step further. And cooler.

FYA has the same fingerprint, with the addition of Flume and Pdogg. Sure, there are other producers and a lot of writers and influences, but there is a Major Lazer/Diplo feel. What are we talking about here? Better ears than ours can probably pick out more, but we’re talking about splicing genres, vocal chop and manipulations (drags, glitches, etc.), synth makes a big impact, sharp percussion and rhythms that when separated aren’t danceable, but with his precise choice of genre splice, they are.

Here, the best way to understand it is to hear it:

Okay cool.

Now to Spotify’s SongDNA. We’re gonna stick with Diplo ‘cause we’re already in it.

On the mobile app, swipe up on whatever you are listening to, tap anywhere, and you’ll open up a whole world of DNA. The feature isn’t available in all regions yet, so update your app and keep an eye out.

In this case, here is what it looks like:

To make sure the GIF didn’t run forever, we cut out most of the 1900+ collaborators. But, essentially, what you are left with is all the places that Diplo has been involved.

And from there? You can click through more, and more, and on and on until that one strand of DNA leads you anywhere. In 6 clicks, you’ll be in a whole new genre and a whole new world.

It now makes it one of the coolest ways to find new music. Rather than being stuck in the algo-loop, you can head into projects and collaborations you’d never even heard of before. The reason it is so robust is that, thanks to Spotify acquiring WhoSampled, it is so much more than just “who wrote this.” It covers everything, including tiny 2-second samples.

The general consensus on the new feature has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve mentioned before that when it came to good credits, Spotify just wasn’t doing as much as it should’ve been, considering it is the biggest music streaming service.

SongDNA makes a song’s lineage transparent and offers up an intricate web, so if you’ve ever heard two songs that sound a little too similar or a sample that seems to be a recurring feature but couldn’t find the who or what, now you can.

We think it is one of the coolest features to be released in a while. Many of the new features on other platforms focus on friction-free ticket or merch buying; this one seems to be designed for the music lover, without strings.

Until next time,