Into our 20th installment of our Focus Five series, we bring you a wide array of talents and sounds. This edition features two incredible Australia based bass producers, a producer who’s keeping future bass fresh, some crazy experimental sounds coming out of Wisconsin and a tiny arachnid making some big noise. Get familiar with each below.
AKIRA
14 year old Australian wonderkind producer Akira has been on an absolute tear as of late, pumping out insane releases like no one’s business. Toeing the line between hard trap, ambient, and dubstep ever so carefully, he has crafted a sound that automatically makes the air thicker in the room around you. Having already released an album and multiple EP’s this year, along with being the head of his own Lost Collective, 2019 has been nothing but skyrocket success for this youthful artist. With already jaw-dropping sound design and a wide variety of production types, this sound curator has the chance to bloom into something really special over the next couple years with continued effort and growth. I’ve chosen 2 tracks that masterfully exemplify his overall sound, the first slapper being ‘Arcade,’,which he made entirely using samples from Sonic the Hedgehog and Pacman. The second song is ‘I AM AKIRA, THIS IS MY WORLD,’ a 10 minute long slugfest of a track that incorporates every style he’s had so far in his production career. If these pieces are any inkling of what this Australian artist has in store for us, the electronic world is in for a rude awakening.
-AB
Chopsoe
I’m sorry bassheads, I know it’s been a while since my latest heavy feature on Focus Five, but if you want to get dirty, you just have to scroll down and my colleagues will take care of you! For this 20th installment I decided to do something special and I pulled out of the hat a name straight from my most private favourite producers’ list. I warn you, Chopsoe isn’t that kind artist that immediately traps your complete attention, but instead he slowly wins you over step after step. Let’s be clear it’s not that he lacks personality or something, hell no. The power and the charm of Chopsoe’s art aren’t indeed in fancy announcements or trend-friendly releases, but it dwells in the details. As Leonardo Da Vinci used to say, “details make perfection and perfection is not a detail.” His magic formula can be placed under the Future Bass umbrella, but it holds a kaleidoscopic ensemble of elements picked also from lo-fi, glitch-hop and electro. Do you think you’re ready for the Chopsoe experience?
-AA
MOLOKAI
Wisconsin-based experimental bass mogul MOLOKAI first surfaced within the ranks of SoundCloud’s gifted underground talent pool 3 years ago, teasing two astonishingly innovative tracks titled ‘wurm’ and ‘80.12’ to lay the foundation of his boundary-defying audible portrait, before undertaking a lengthy hiatus while further honing his signature sound. Reemerging with an impeccable rendition of ‘TRANSFORM’ by G JONES, Molokai has rebounded with an impetus as potent as ever before, littering the past 6-months with a sequence of exceptional singles that have only furthered the anticipation for a complete project of his own.
-SL
scullion
Earlier this week The Dog Pound dropped ‘Wake,’ by scullion. Leveraging the powerful vocal sample “pull up in that rooster till we wake the fucking hood up,” this one certainly woke me up. Somehow I’d been sleeping on the Brisbane based talent, but not anymore. After being blown away with the fierce vocal samples, atmospheric breaks and bouncy and brutish bass, I quickly gave the producer my full attention. After digging a bit deeper it was clear ‘Wake’ was no one off banger. Tracks like ‘ambidextrous,’ and ‘fuse’ further showcase his incredible trap sound. But that’s not all scullion has to offer. For a sample of his range check out his filthy deep bass rework of TYNAN’s ‘diggid,’ and then rinse yourself off with the lush beauty of ‘seaweed’ before experiencing a euphoric ‘release’.
-C
smolspider
Speculation always ensues when a highly-talented anonymous project arises from the depths of SoundCloud. The latest to fall victim to this guessing game is smolspider, a mysterious creature that is pumping out spooky beats on a consistent basis. Many think smolspider could be a side project for Saka, yojas., bd hbt, or any combination of these skilled producers due to their early support of the project, but his Instagram suggests that it may even be a Tiësto side project. All speculation aside, no matter the identity of the creepy crawler, recognition is deserved, as smolspider has showcased an incredible production prowess since first posting to SoundCloud about six months ago. Heavy-hitting trap beats and experimental bass jams are present throughout their discography, while also showing versatility through tracks such as ‘if you say “genres are dead” unironically you are corny as hell.’
It’s time people start paying attention to smolspider.
-SC
Words by Alex, Alessio, Colin, Sam & Steph.
