New year, same great feature. Focus Five is back with its 24th installment. For this month we’ve got a New Zealand producer bringing the feels, an incredible talent with just over 100 followers, some fresh Dubstep and Drum & Bass, and a Canadian producer creating “minecraftstep”. Dive in below!
CORTR
Originating from Auckland, New Zealand CORTR possesses an exceptional ability to weave raw, unfiltered emotion and colorful energy in each of his releases. An equally weighted production hand, CORTR has quickly gained precedence since first exploding onto our radar nearly three years ago with his outstanding collaborative remix of San Holo’s ‘I Still See Your Face’ with swrly. Now toting an even further proliferate arsenal of remixes and originals, including an official remix for Eliminate’s ‘You’re Gonna Love Me’ and ‘Murmur’ by Ian Munro, CORTR continues to surprise and impress as he further ingrains his imprint in the scene.
-SL
KIKFlIP
There’s no better feeling than passively listening to music on SoundCloud and hearing a song that makes you stop what you’re doing and say “What the fuck?” out loud. It’s the feeling that Focus Five was born from and the exact experience I had when hearing KIKFIIP’s ‘daddaam’ for the first time. From the springy, cartoon-like sample that provides its foundation, to the cavernous bass, exotic flutes and chopped stuttery vocals, this is on some other shit completely. It instantly inspired a deep dive into KIKFIIP’s SoundCloud account. With 102 followers, nothing but orange squares for art and the words “just4fun” as their bio, there isn’t much to go on. There is however, a handful of slappers that you need in your life ASAP. ‘Jungle’ mixes together wordly soundscapes, snapping percussion, ASAP Ferg, Rihanna, and Lil Wayne samples for sound that’s glorious. ‘Tuff,’ ‘Bubble’ and ‘Strike’ are all worthy of several playbacks; bringing the bounce that fans of inimicvs, dilip and olswel have come to love. We have no idea who KIKFIIP is or where they came from, but we’re eagerly anticipating their next release.
-C
Millbrook
It may be boring, but my Focus Five year starts exactly how it ended: with some good rollin’ Drum & Bass. This time, from Italy we fly straight to Berlin, where Millbrook is making a name for itself as one of the hottest Viper record’s newest signings. Under the wings of Futurebound’s label, during the past year Millbrok has consistently released dance-floor killers (‘Rituals’ and ‘Hindsight’ remix are my favourites!) which have gained support and endorsements from legends in the scene. Roaming on his profiles you’ll find plenty of BBC premieres, Noisia Radio rips, UKF and Liquicity features. But of course it’s not the big names and announcements that made me fell in love with his music. We are FUXWITHIT, not an average fancy music magazine. Using one word to justify my choice I’d definitely choose: bassline. Those huge, fat basslines that erupt from my headphones every time that I play any Millbrook’s tracks. Raw, funky, adrenaline-filled are also other epithets that can be used to describe his discography, a true concentration of energy that coud move alone a train from Berlin to London at full speed. Anyway, enough with my babbling. Check out Millbrook’s prowess for yourselves below.
-AA
phonon
Only appearing on SoundCloud a little over a year ago, phonon has been a key player in the new wave of dubstep. Part of a community of up-and-coming producers who are always giving each other praise, I first stumbled onto phonon after he remixed ‘Stop Motion’ from Akeos, and he’s been on a tear since then. Finding a recent home on Ōdio Records with the release of the metallic, headbang-inducing ‘RESO BASS’ and more recently with the incredibly bouncy ‘Muntil March’ alongside MAD DUBZ (which was one of my favourite clips from 2019), there’s no denying that the future looks bright for phonon. With his tracks already being played by big names at festivals such as Lost Lands, any fan of heavy bass music should add phonon to their radar.
-SC
plusol
Vancouver visionary plusol first found his way into my ears through a remix on Westwood Recordings’ X imprint in late 2018. His creative chiptune stylings were immediately alluring, especially to the child in me eternally exploring vast environments on my original Game Boy. More than that though, plusol quickly proved his musical aptitude and penchant for engrossing originals with the likes of ‘Solstice,’ a stunning and in turn shockingly powerful affair, and ‘Entity,’ an equally enthralling encounter that caught the attention of one Anthony Fantano. As I write this I question my use of chiptune above, but am heartened in my resolve as plusol thrives through his captivating combinations of countless genres, ultimately encapsulating his sound as “minecraftstep.” Finding room for both banging and feels-driven sections in his tracks, plusol is carving out his own uber cool ecosystem, one which works wonders in his take on Zedd classic ‘Clarity.’
-OJ
Words by Alessio, Colin, Oggie, Sam & Steph.
