Our 74th Volume of Focus Five is here! This month features a Finish artist paving a stunning sonic path, a true “sleeper pick,” a trance-step producer, a mindblowing bass talent, and a Japanese modular synth and rhythm machine aficionado. If those samples of what to expect don’t excite or at least interest you, I’m not sure what you’re looking for.
DJ Semitone
Capturing elegance and pure color, DJ Semitone‘s creations are truly to behold. Blessing our ears all the way from Helsinki, Finland, his talents are continuing to pave a wonderful sonic path. And with every given release, they’re touching the souls of many with trance-infused sound design. Completely wrapping listeners in a blanket of bliss and rebirth. Transporting us to an outer realm not yet discovered. From a stunning and peaceful collaboration with Niko Demus called ‘Flare,’ to his newest piece, ‘open heart,’ you’ll truly experience a total awakening from his soft, gentle, and magnificent melodic characteristics. His works are complete dreams you won’t ever want to wake up from. As if you stepped into a distant utopia full of treasures and secrets just waiting to be discovered. His vision is simply cinematic to say the least.
-JD
gallego
The SoundCloud algorithm has done me a solid once again by introducing me to gallego. With a sparse online presence and under 600 followers on the platform at this time of writing, this producer is about as “sleeper pick” as one can get. That said, he’s got some street cred with releases on Hybrid Trap, Holy Trap, SILKENWOOD, and Aunt Molly Records.
Anyone who says you can’t clip on the master hasn’t heard gallego. This discography is filled with some of the grittiest, crunchiest sounds I’ve heard as of late, tempered with some beautiful future beats renditions in between. Tracks like ‘keep falling!’ have some old-school, experimental beat-maker bounce to them. Transitioning into tracks like ‘bump.’ with their quintessential trap flow solidifies the fact that gallego here knows how to groove regardless of genre. My personal favorite so far has been ‘seda rosa (w/cafeína).’ Something about baile and trap just go together like bread and butter. The instrumentation is crisper than a Lays potato chip, almost to the point of making my ears wince, and I honestly can’t get enough of it. I’m really hoping we get to see gallego spread his roots out in the future with some more label releases. There’s some real potential behind these tracks and I’d love to see him make it big, so go check him out!
-BG
Megra
Megra randomly landed on my radar a few months back when ‘The Truth’ found its way into my algorithm, with the chaotically cacophonous yet controlled nature of the track startling me in an intriguing way. While the cut is sinister and abrasive, its construction and meticulous production drew me into listening to it on repeat a handful of times, subsequently leading me to further dive into Megra’s discography. The Swedish artist’s arsenal only dates back to about a year ago, but has earned the support of big names such as Fred again.., Four Tet, Ben UFO and more. Never really falling under a single genre, Megra’s sound ranges from trance, to breaks, to house, with his latest EP 1:M showcasing this diversity. For example, ‘Open Up The Door’ is drastically different than ‘The Truth,’ but Megra finds an interesting way to tie these two tracks into one enthralling project. With unofficial releases on SoundCloud boasting the tag trance-step, it’s clear that Megra is in his own lane doing really cool stuff. Keep an eye out.
-SC
Nikita, The Wicked
Sometimes I spend hours digging for fresh finds for Focus Five, and sometimes they fall in my lap. This month Nikita, The Wicked was the latter, and I couldn’t be more enthused. I came across the San Francisco artist earlier this week through Fabian Mazur’s 5 Favourite Sounds From July when he highlighted the artist’s newest single ‘Like Me.’ The short clip instantly impressed me and after a deeper dive, I was FAR from disappointed.
With a sound self-described as “finding the beauty in the imperfect, the elegance in the twisted, the grace withing the chaos” it’s not hard to see why we quickly have fallen for his sound. If you’ve been sleeping (like I have) ‘Like Me” (feat. BLOODY) is the perfect starting point. The track fuses sunset-inspired guitar riffs, anthemic lyrics, and a mind-bending descent into the darkness that’s gritty yet stunning. From there the iloveitwhentheyrun EP is a great jumping-off point. Mixing a wide range of bass music with cinematic samples and head-spinning arrangments makes for a thrilling listening experience. “bound in solace” mixes melancholy with club-ready explosions as gentle rainfall and pensive keys shapeshift into a brutish bass onslaught. If the darkness isn’t your mood, the Conrad-assisted “get my way” is a sultry summer romp that’ll get your temperature rising. Nikita, The Wicked lives up to his name, delivering some of the most exciting bass music I’ve come across in recent time.
-C
Samuel Smoky Purple
One doesn’t simply release one of the best concept EPs of the year and not at least get a mention on FUXWITHIT. Samuel Smoky Purple might have one of the coolest artist names I’ve seen in a while, but he’s making this appearance on Focus Five because he’s just recently released one of my favourite bodies of work of the year. Maybe it’s because I have a soft spot for modular synths, but with ‘Rave Nocturne‘ (released via Trekkie Trax) it was love at first listen. Samuel is indeed a geek of modular synths and rhythm machines, a connoisseur of these instruments with which he spices all his releases and which he also brings live, according to what can be seen on his social accounts. In terms of sheer numbers he can’t be considered prolific, but his ability to transform electrical impulses into tangible emotions and seductive atmospheres is indisputable. As always, quality wins out over quantity.
-AA
Written by Alessio, Braden, Colin, John & Steph.
