Focus Five Vol. 16 is here! As you’ve come to expect, we’re back with five of our favourite new under-the-radar artists. This month we’re showcasing a broad array as per usual, taking a deeper dive into the incredible works of fjun, Golden Child, Greazus, Scharame & Sister Mary. Get familiar below.
FJUN
Damn, it feels good to finally write these words! I had this feature in standby for a long while, exactly 6 months ago, when I discovered his ‘Fjuneral Ep’ via Night Owl Collective. With a single song and its irresistible (and super effective) brand behind it, Fjun has smashed the competition, skyrocketing high in my favourites’ list. For the newbies, the nearest terms of comparison I can come up with could be Tennyson or Little Big Planet’s soundtrack, but trust me, the Fjuniverse is something apart. Guitars of any kinds, jazzy grooves and percussion, synthetic vocals are only the core elements of Fjun’s hocus-pocus, an unmatched diversity of sounds that’s continually assembled in new combinations on electronic matrices. But it’s not all about bright colors or funky little robots, Not at all. Only if you’re willingly to go beyond the playful facade, then you’ll bump into the complete creative power of this criminally underrated artist.
-AA
Golden Child
Hailing from the Sunshine State, Golden Child is here to light up your life. His style is an eclectic mix of foreign soundscapes, expert vocal manipulation, stunning sound design, hip-hop influence and a gritty trap core. This all adds up to a sound that is captivating and pulverizing. His recent collaborative effort ‘Click’ with JuLo put me on notice, but it’s the extensive and ever-impressive body of work on his SoundCloud page that quickly converted me into a real fan. With releases on presently lifted, Below The Surface and Jadu Dala, he already has some of industry’s most forward-thinking tastemakers as supporters. If that doesn’t impress you, his music certainly will. ‘eclipse’ is a bass-heavy spiritual journey, ‘Pharaoh’ transports you from ancient Egypt into another galaxy, while ‘Anubis’ will welcome you into the afterlife. That’s just the tip of the sand covered pyramid of what Golden Child has to offer. Dig deeper and uncover the treasures that await.
-CV
GREAZUS
Vancouver’s HxdB and Patrik Cure have been fostering fire in the lower mainland for over a decade with their label Aufect, but more recently they’ve been putting out their own dance-floor destroyers under the GREAZUS moniker. Delivering DnB on Hospital, halftime on Saturate, grime on Tru Thoughts, and a combination of that and more elsewhere, the duo can seemingly do no wrong in whatever they wish to whip up. And whip is often a theme in their productions, as jungle, juke and footwork are regularly found at the heart of their work. An example of this is their recent release with chronic collaborator Sinistarr, ‘UR4CR33PER,’ which combines electro and halftime with the underlying energy and drive of juke. If that taste has you hankering for more of this hybrid bass brilliance, then look no further than their debut LP Golden Hour which features a whole heap of killer collabs and fiery features. Bust your bass nut below…
-OJ
Scharame
Occasionally, thanks are in order for the people in charge of SoundCloud’s auto-play algorithm. I don’t know what I did to get so lucky, but hearing Scharame‘s ‘Viso’ after listening to QUIET BISON’s NEST HQ MiniMix might be the best surprise I’ve ever gotten. Everything from the extended yet captivating introduction and build up, to the euphoria and energy captured in the drops, not to mention the pristine sound design, had me wanting more. A quick dive into his repertoire had me hooked, as tracks such as ‘Mess’ brought such a contrast of emotions through its orchestral, instrumental introduction and its dynamic and effervescent trap sections. Not many producers can concoct an introduction over two minutes long and still have you enchanted once the drop hits, but Scharame does so with ease – a true testament to his innate production abilities. All of this to say, do not sleep on the prodigious talent, as he is sure to make waves sooner rather than later.
-SC
Sister Mary
A multi-year hiatus encompassing isolation and virtuous self-reflection has given rise to Calgary’s SISTER MARY. Formerly known as MARK INSTINCT, the newly donned vision dismantles the imposition of pressure from the external world, re-aligning an authentic self-initiative for sinister, unadulterated composition.
Capitalizing on an evolving proclivity for unorthodox production techniques emerges SISTER MARY, “The faceless nun; the reflectionless mirror, the ethereal powerhouse. This is the next chapter in my soul path and most importantly my artistic vision”. Accoutered with a calibrated sense of self, the ambitious Canadian-native has continued to unravel the mystique of this new shadowy narrative in his debut 7th Incision EP and the preceding OMEN EP.
-SL
Words by Alessio, Colin, Oggie, Sam & Steph.
