It’s the end of the month so you know what time it is. Focus Five is back with our 17th edition and it’s a broad spread of talent as per usual. We’ve got bass wizards, a wavy French producer, a Skrillex-supported bass house artist, and a futuristic creator blending jazz and neo-soul with electronic leanings. Get familiar with each artist below before they blow.
Ciro Mont
Here we go again folks! Here’s another fresh pill for your musical culture. Sit back, read, listen and thank me later. Ciro Mont’s name may be new to many, but during the last year it has been backed by a fat list of fine tastemakers such as the likes of Kumo Collective, Darker Than Wax, Inner Ocean and BBC Radio 1Xtra. If these hints ring a bell in your memory, big up! If not, don’t worry. His latest Both Pills EP, released earlier this month on the iconic Night Owl Collective, is the white rabbit that will lead you deep down into Ciro Mont’s wonder world: a place made of “neo-soul and jazzy elements with electronic feelings, based on a truly unique futuristic vision.” Call me a fool, but despite his 310 followers, he already sounds like a future star in that niche that stretches from lo-fi hip hop to future bounce and alike. The level of creativity (and sometimes complexity) that he often manages to throw in the game with just a few “normal” elements is astonishing. One trait that is especially highlighted in his EPs is his gift as a storyteller. Don’t be shy then, join us aboard Ciro Mont’s hype train, and let’s see where it’ll carry us, from Naples to the world wide web and beyond.
-AA
Dropkick
Clearwater, Florida’s David Steren, better known by his textured bass alias Dropkick, is the production manifestation of an iceberg. Possessing roughly three-dozen releases to-date, including the merciless Combustible Rounds EP via ThazDope Records last year and buoyant sonic voyage ‘Pop It’ alongside Smokestax, the bulk of Seren’s magnitude resides discreetly below the surface in the form of untethered collaborations and unofficial flips.
Biding his time and gathering ammunition in anticipation of the inevitable reign of Dropkick, Seren painstakingly hones in on his creative prowess, leveraging funk, glitch-hop, dubstep, and freeform bass as principal components of inspiration, affording him uncanny variety and the ability to compose a novel experience within each set.
-SL
Jetpacc
Blurring the lines between rap, lo-fi, trap, future beat and future funk comes French producer Jetpacc. The gifted beatmaker has a knack for grabbing elements from any of the aforementioned genres, throwing them in a pot and cooking up straight crack. I’m talking addictive music that HITS. ‘Ice Cold’ lives up to its name pairing chill-inducing soundscapes with pitched 21 Savage vocals. The first half is a wavy vibe that’s dripping with swagger while the end portion sees Jetpacc kicking things up a notch with some wild pounding drum programming that feels like jersey club on lean. Other standouts include the hypnotic slapper ‘ACTING CRAZY,’ the stunning work of art that is ‘AURORA,’ and his latest funky groove ‘OUT THEIR LEAGUE’. Jetpacc’s SoundCloud is littered with gems, start mining.
-CV
Murci
I’m not sure if Skrillex has a personal assistant feeding him the best tracks from the underground or if he keeps up with it himself, but either way, the legend has impeccable taste in music. One of the tracks that caught me off guard when listening to ‘CLAP BACK VOL 1‘ last month was Murci‘s infectious ‘DEEP_INSIDE’ due to its raw club energy and unique reworking of a classic sample. A quick peak into the mix’s tracklist revealed that the bop came from the mysterious producer with just over 1k followers on SoundCloud, so I knew I had to do some more digging into his arsenal of originals. With only six tracks to his name, Murci has already concocted a signature sound dominated by flipping old, popular tracks and adding an insatiable amount of groove and filth. His most recent outing reworks Rihanna’s ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ into a club banger that will have you dancing the night away with its raunchy bassline. We’re keeping a close eye on Murci, and you should too.
-SC
OAKK
I’ve been saying it for years, but for some reason it seems like Canada’s got an upper hand when it comes to crafting dark, menacing bass music. Or maybe I’m still just riding high on the Raptors championship (#WeTheNorth). Whatever the case, Calgary’s OAKK has been cooking up fire for a few years now and certainly seems to be turning heads. Earlier this month he made his way onto Fool’s Gold by way of deep and devilish take on the Smalltown DJs & Dances With White Girls’ collab ‘What’s Your Poison.’ It shows off perhaps his best quality as his tracks often remain reserved, letting ominous undertones send shivers down your spine. Another example of this comes in his trap twist on Dua Saleh’s sensational ‘Warm Pants.’ Both share the same brooding intensity and whereas the former is essentially an all new icy cut, the lush latter maintains much of the original flow. And while I’ve chosen to highlight two of his more down-tempo tracks, OAKK does indeed have a wide array of abilities. With EPs on Aufect and Unchained Recordings, it’s perhaps best to introduce yourself to OAKK by immersing yourself in his latest mix, an offering of his own originals and remixes with a ton of IDs.
-OJ
Words by Alessio, Colin, Oggie, Steph and Sam
