It’s the last day of the month and that means it’s time for a fresh Focus Five feature. As always we’re bringing you five under-the-radar artists that you need to know. This month we’ve got a future leaning producer killing the remix game, another incredible French beat maker, a dubstep fanatic from Quebec, one of the most exciting artists in the experimental scene, and an artist who embodies the new wave trap sound that we’re in love with. Get familiar with them all below.
Camoufly
You must have guts to put out a remix of Zac Efron right after a rework of 50 Cent, Kanye and the undisputed Machintosh Plus’ Vaporwave classic ‘02 リサフランク420 – 現代のコンピュ.’ Apparently Camoufly has balls, huge ones, and (spoiler alert) he’s showing them off with one remix after another: all stupidly good! If you’re a fan of happy Kawaii vibes infused in a cocktail of future bass, this is your jam. If not, well, wait 10 minutes and you’ll find yourself whistling to his Brockhampton take and smashing that follow button. Camoufly might be a new project, but it’s extremely satisfying to see that it’s already well structured, with such a clear vision and strategy. If the rumors that he already has 5 or more remixes in the pipeline are right, all we have to do is root for him waiting for his next extravaganza: go boy, fly high!
-AA
enfnt
Surprise! Another top-tiered French beat-maker is here to sweep you off your feet. This month, we’d like to draw your focus to enfnt, a talented producer who first caught our eye with the knocking yet mesmerizing ‘cycles‘ alongside fellow Frenchman tices and who has captivated it ever since with hypnotizing beats such as ‘target‘ and ‘yes, indeed.’ Whether he is resampling classic vocals or orchestrating a fully-instrumental piece, enfnt has demonstrated the ability to grab one’s attention and to keep it for the duration of each one of his tracks, offering a diverse mixture of meticulous melodies and hard-hitting trap beats. Thriving within the hub that is the French production scene, enfnt looks to make his name among the front-runners with his consistent, quality works. Don’t sleep.
-SC
FLIX
Hailing from what seems to be the bass capital of Canada, Québec based dubstep fanatic FLIX has quickly found himself making waves all across the world. Having appeared on industry leader Never Say Die’s Black Label with Calcium earlier this year, Félix-Antoine Raymond can often be found making waves with fellow Monsters madman MOTUS, either touring together or crafting killer collabs. Just as deep as his library of releases, FLIX’s tracks are capable of opening up a black hole while still providing brutally biting bounce (take recent ‘YOU GOT!‘ as an example). Able to wake the dead with his satanic sound design, his power takes many forms through dubstep and other like genres like DnB (see ‘Neuron‘ with MOTUS). Despite countless releases this year, it feels like FLIX is still just scratching the surface with new incensed exhibitions lurking around every corner!
-OJ
IVES
Commanding melodies composed of jagged granular synths and plumes of ominous, seething bass at his fingertips, Nashville’s IVES is quickly developing into one of the most exciting projects of the experimental underground. First revealing the breadth of his audible storytelling capacity in his debut ILLUSION EP via Street Ritual in March of 2017, IVES has grown notorious for concocting mesmerizing euphonies such as the captivating digital lead in ‘Puzzling’ that toyingly prods and pulls at the peripheral senses. More recent experimentation, such as his Aspire Higher contribution ‘Tilted,’ depict IVES layering his signature titillating synth-work with troves of permeating bass that has only further groomed the impact of each track. Be sure to keep an eye out for Tennessee-native and beat puppeteer IVES in the coming year!
-SL
Keeth.
There’s a new wave rising on SoundCloud. A fresh trap sound that combines worldly elements, unrestricted hip hop samples, unrefined creativity and some incredible bounce. Almost every month in Focus Five I’ve been bringing an artist who’s been impressing me within this realm from inimicvs, to olswel, ledim, D0d and more. Operating in a similar space comes Keeth., a beatmaker reminding us that SoundCloud is still filled with gold if you know where to look (hint: Keeth.’s profile). We recently had the chance to premiere ‘Empire’ with Sykotix and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Keeth. has a multitude of slappers just waiting to get you bouncing. Want that raw trap energy? Check out ‘WZRD’. Want to hear Kendrick Lamar samples over a menacing trap knock that progresses into a jazzy future beat soundscape? Of course you do, and ‘SIGN’ is just that. Listening to Keeth. takes me back to the golden days of SoundCloud without sounding dated in the slightest, and that’s a feeling that’s hard to beat.
-CV
