by Dropping in for our 75th installment of Focus Five comes another eclectic batch of artists you need to know. This month showcases a Texas-based producer making his mark in the underground, an Aussie edit specialist, an electric drum and bass creator, a producer fusing rap and bass perfectly, and some wonderfully summery house vibes.
fluent
Hailing from Houston, Texas, fluent is slowly becoming an absolute monster throughout the underground. His mastery within the mystical arts of sound continues to shine brighter and brighter within each of his works. Each containing their own flare and stand-out characteristics. Making up such violent and gorgeous environments from start to finish. From releases on Subdermal Records, Solace Family and just recently Jadū Dala, the artist is making his way down multiple paths of success. Stopping at nothing! One of his recent releases, ‘paint’ is a wonky wonderland full of surprises around the corner! Those brisk and mental bass leads will truly bless your ears and soul. It’s such a fun and everlasting burst of adrenaline each second. Complete mayhem to say the least! But his newest release on Jadū Dala will absolutely blow you away. Combining forces with 1SEC , this masterful creation really highlights both of their greatest strengths and qualities as artists. From an intoxicating and wavy arrangement, angelic sound design, and a well-paced rhythmic structure, this hard-hitting weapon will light up the dance floors as well as everyone on it. Completely leaving you in a constant trance you won’t want to wake up from! So keep your eye on him because we have a wonderful feeling this is only just the beginning!
-JD
frog chaser
Gaszia discovered frog chaser earlier this year. I discovered frog chaser earlier this summer. Now it is your turn to become familiar with frog chaser. Hailing from down under, this serial remixer came onto my radar at first thanks to Gaszia’s Bootleg Business mention and then by popping up on Ninajirachi’s profile with a collaborative edit of Soulja Boi’s ‘Pretty Boi Swag’. Edits are indeed the specialty of the house. Brilliant, irreverent, formidable, sometimes diabolical, on the whole “everything they do is pretty bonkers.” From Charlie XCX to Burial, there are no restrictions on genres. House, Jersey Club, everything that passes through frog chaser’s hands is shaken and pushed at 140 frogs a minute. If you’re looking for new cuts to spice up your tracklists or just spend some quality time on SoundCloud, now you know where to click.
– A
Manta
Manta first caught my ear a couple of months back with the release ‘Home’ via SINFUL MAZE Recordings. When looking for an artist to feature this month, I was scrolling through my likes and rediscovered this electric drum and bass cut, and it prompted me to dive deeper into the Austrian producer’s discography. Upon doing so, I discovered a collection of intoxicating tracks that broadly covered the genre of drum and bass but encompassed a variety of styles and subgenres. ‘It’s You,’ for example, is a 174 BPM track loaded with energy, but appears to take sonic influence from future riddim, which is rather unique in the drum and bass sphere. From neurofunk to liquid drum and bass, Manta is able to execute consistently across the umbrella of the aformentioned genre, earning him support from heavy-hitters such as Dimension, A.M.C, Emperor, and more. It’s evident that Manta is an artist worth keeping an eye on.
-SC
Trunk Space
Mixing rap and bass is the foundation of what FUXWITHIT is built upon. 10 years later not much has changed. In our eyes, there’s not much that tops the blend of the two. If you feel the same, then you need to put Trunk Space on your list. The Orlando-based producer has been heating up with a steady slew of hip-hop-tinged originals and stellar rap flips. I first came upon his work in smalltalk’s Guest Mix with one of the mixes’ standout cuts being Trunk Space’s remix of ‘Leon The Professional’ by UK emcee Knucks. The minimal backing finds the perfect balance between deep low end, hypnotic flourishes, and gritty percussion. The rework beefs up the track for club sets without taking away from the gripping storytelling bars. Far from a one-off, Trunk Space boasts a stack of heaters including his flips of Takeoff’s ‘Casper,’ JID’s ‘Dance Now’ and the Lucki leveraging ‘Lottery.’ Blurring the boundaries between trap, dubstep, and rap, Trunk Space continues to impress with every release.
-C
snflwr
It’s been a house music summer for me all the way. Whether it’s live shows or mixes online, I can’t seem to escape four on the floor. LA-based snflwr is the latest of my new artist obsessions. Self-described as “dreamy house music for late nights and lonely mornings,” this is the perfect guy to put on when you’re driving in sunshine. His lo-fi, almost vaporwave-esque style might sound subtle at first, but those kick drums will have you moving and grooving before you know it. The recently-released edit of ‘Wildfire’ by SBTRKT and Little Dragon might just take the title as my #1 bop of the season. The soft piano and chord pads set this amazing atmospheric tone before the drums and vocals start to rip through and carry you off on your dancing feet. Tracks like ‘bet you never’ continue to blend the ethereal lo-fi soundscape with deep house to create a similar juxtaposition: gentle melodies underlaid by in-your-face basslines. Next time you’re sipping a mimosa outside on a Sunday afternoon, put some snflwr on. Trust me, it’ll click.
-BG
Written by Alessio, Braden, Colin, John & Steph
