by If you’re looking for your favourite new artist, you’ve arrived at the right place. Our latest installment of Focus Five features a bubbling bass artist from Brooklyn, a fellow New Yorker cooking up bangers, a moody, almost Burial-esque creator, an artist known for bone-chilling sound design and mind-boggling arrangements, and a gifted storyteller who is defying genres. Get familiar with all five below.
Bronze Sun
When an artist pops up on Beat Lab Radio and drops a release on the ADBC Halloween heaters compilation within the same month, it’s time to take note. This is exactly how Brooklyn producer Bronze Sun landed on my radar. His latest release ‘DAANCE’ was a standout on the ADBC compilation, which is saying a lot given how stacked the lineup is (Great Dane, golden child, samsin, Luhv, Kurei, and small talk to name a few). The track mixes a sultry, and addictive vocal that drifts in and out, pulling you onto the dancefloor and grooving to the wonderfully sludgy basslines and tight percussion. If getting lost in the music is your thing, ‘Losing My Mind’ is a hypnotic trip. Masterful sound design is paired with pitch-shifted vocals and clever thematic samples for a stellar sonic expedition. Insanity has never sounded so good.
-C
Ert
As always, when autumn kicks in, my listening habits change drastically. I quickly dust off my wave and future garage compilations, and I start to look for new additions that match the classic “late-night-walk-in-a-misty-road-under-street-lights” vibe. It took just a quick digging session through the right SoundCloud channels to stumble upon Ert. A multi-genre music producer from the Republic of Tuva, he released a lovely EP, Unrequited, that has been on heavy rotation for the past week. Fluttery and propulsive, soaked in a pagan liturgy of icy synths and evanescent pads, Unrequited is an exquisite Future Garage oasis. Burial-esque is the first label that might come to mind to delineate the frame of ‘Close Enough,’ the ravishing opening title track, but also the whole EP. A definition that is not totally overblown, although with the necessary differences. While Ert’s work lacks the nervous, yet romantic touch of the iconic British producer, he delivers a highly crystalline sound, which manifests itself now with projections of cut-throat futurism, and waves of synthetic sentimentality. Beyond Future Garage, Ert extensively explored the wide world of IDM, botanica, and ambient with his previous EPs and LPs Denmark, Fragments, Broken Tales, and Museum. A saga of albums that I’m sure will soundtrack your evenings in the cold months ahead.
– AA
Ryan Tapalaga
Do you like filth? If you’re on our site, I can only assume the answer is yes. So if nasty, stinkin’ bass is your thing, you need to get up on Ryan Tapalaga. The New York-based producer landed on our radar at the tail end of the summer with his Subu release ‘QWOP.’ The track builds tension from the second you press play, when the rap vocals give it a second breath it proceeds to bless us with some wonderfully wubby basslines, gun clicks, snappy snares, and vibey vox. Tossing in a rap acapella at the end gives it an extra bit of sauce that takes the flavours to a peak. Proving that bit of heat is no fluke, the artist recently followed up with equally nasty, room-shaking ‘got dat’ on Aspire Higher. Teetering between dubstep and trap, Ryan Tapalaga really does ‘got dat.’
-C
Veiled Eye
Unveiling unspeakable darkness and bass-infused glamor is none other than Veiled Eye. A creative with pure raw power shown throughout his discography in the form of bone-chilling sound design, mind-boggling arrangements, and a perseverance to climb to the top. Within the underground, he’s continuing to create a memorable mark for himself. From star-striking self-releases to his most recent collaboration with SKYLER released on BREAK ROOM, his sound is stunning listeners all around while working day and night to deliver us his next best creation.
His track with SKYLER called ‘TAKE IT!’ highlights both of their styles beautifully while delivering something truly special for the label and their fans. A club and electronic trap combination wonderland filled with addictive drums, solid bass line, and airy vocals to complement everything together will knock you out of your seats in the best way! While his newest bootleg for Lethal Bizzle’s ‘POW 2011’ compliments the artist’s stellar flow with a nasty and brain-tingling bass line to get any dance floor in a frenzy! The stars continue to align for the artist as days go by, and we’re stoked to hear what else he has planned for the future!
Zimoh
“Storyteller, mood creator, sometimes banger maker.” That is the brief yet intriguing biography on Zimoh‘s SoundCloud. When he first landed on my radar with ‘Îneca (Drown),’ I would argue that he hit all three of those categories in a single track. Moody and introspective while still carrying a fiery undertone of bass, the track quickly showed me that the Italian producer had serious talent. With the release of his debut album 8 Months, in April of this year, Zimoh further showcased his incredible versatility over the span of 8 diverse tracks. From a beautifully mystical introduction, to tracks ranging from complextro to future garage to house to drum and bass, Zimoh does not confine himself to the boundaries of a single genre, and navigates through these with ease. For an artist with less than 1k followers on SoundCloud at the time of writing, I think it’s safe to say that Zimoh is heavily underrated.
-SC
Written by Alessio, Colin, John & Steph
