As we ease out of the summer, the heat continues with Focus Five. Our 85th installment features a Studio City producer with an inventive style, a pair of cousins killing the bass scene, a Kansas City artist bringing some serious bass, an artist blending future riddim, modern trap, and complextro, plus a gifted artist tapping into multiple realms of sonic capability. Get familiar with all five below.
Handz
Hailing from Studio City, California, Handz recently landed on my radar courtesy of veteran producer bleep bloop. Last month, he slid into my DMs with a preview of HANDZ’s new EP Closer, and I was instantly impressed. The project is out now on Eat the Bomb and offers an exceptional introduction to what HANDZ has to offer. The five-track effort unveils a forward-thinking approach to electronic music, pairing soundscapes of sheer beauty with glitchy aggressiveness, progressive arrangements, and a masterful musicality. Heavy bass and grit are counterbalanced against stunning vocals and delicate piano, creating a beautiful contrast that delivers in waves. If you’re looking for a future bass-leaning sound that actually sounds fresh, look no further.
-C
Know Good
The cousin pair known as Know Good have been dominating the bass scene with a style that is truly their own. With one side of the group repping over a decade of DJing and the other flexing his versatility as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, the two have found the perfect balance. Mixing elements of trap, experimental bass, dubstep, rap, indie, rock, and even pop may sound like a recipe for a disjointed sound, but their work proves to be the exact opposite. The duo effortlessly blends influences and genres with ease, whether it’s flipping between indie and trap on ‘Paranoid,’ fusing the always impeccable combination of rap and bass on ‘Sock’em Bop’em,’ or going full-out rock ballad on the end of ‘Comfortable’. Their All In album is the perfect introduction to their sound, offering the full range of their sonic talents and production mastery, guaranteed to make a fan out of you off a single listen. It’s a little embarrassing that it’s taken us this long to highlight Know Good on our site, but it’s better late than never.
-C
jawnsin
Ever since he burst onto my radar a few months ago, thanks to his collaboration with my dear friend SVDKO, JAWNSIN has been one of my frontrunners for Focus Five. The American artist is clearly on a run at the moment. His second-to-last release, ‘CARRY ME’ is raking up support from high-profile DJs left and right, other than doing quite the numbers and going trending on SoundCloud. But ‘CARRY ME’ is just the tip of the iceberg. In the past months, JAWNSIN has delivered quite a few tunes, all characterized by his belligerent yet self-examining take on dubstep. If you’re looking to witness a new, inspiring story within the bass music scene, you should definitely keep an eye on JAWNSIN.
-AA
REKON
Surprising yourself with your own SoundCloud likes is among life’s simple pleasures. When searching for this month’s pick, I decided to go back into the crate to see which artist stood out the most across my wide, random range of liked tracks. To be honest, I haven’t been listening to, or searching for, much dubstep in recent months, but when I landed on REKON’s ‘SMOKE’ from ALL NIGHTER VOL.8, I knew I had to check out more of his material. I was a huge fan of the future riddim movement when it was just popping off, and hearing ‘SMOKE’ again for the first time in a while brought me back to those days. Diving deeper into REKON’s discography led me to discover some incredibly unique bass music falling under a wide umbrella of styles. From his most recent ‘SILICON STARS’ on ALL NIGHT VOL. 10 leaning toward the new wave of trap, to the nostalgia-filled complextro ‘FOLLOW ME,’ to the mesmerizing ‘DIGITAL VAPOR,’ REKON’s output is frequent, consistent, and exciting. I haven’t been this excited about an artist in a long time. Don’t sleep.
-SC
vistuh
The impeccable range of vistuh is simply astounding. Not only has he tapped into multiple realms of sonic capability, but his skills are continuing to pave multiple paths of success for his future. From heavy bass-styled arrangements to pure melodic wonderlands full of mystery and complexity, this artist has no fear of the unknown. Always experimenting while separating himself from the rest. Each of his works are purely unpredictable yet has the same impactful way of dragging listeners in and keeping their attention. Crisp drums, angelic to devilish sound design, and environments to become hypnotized to, you’ll always find something fresh and addictive. You only have to check out his most recent releases, and it’s pure proof of how adaptive he can really be. From a groovy and dark-infused track called ‘place like this,’ to his most recent and stellar release on Quality Goods Records called ‘leftuOUT,’ the power this artist contains is simply jaw-dropping. The production on both of those tracks will automatically have you hooked. Wanting to dive into his full discography to hear what else he’s presented to the world! We’re very excited to hear what else he has up his sleeve for the future!
-JD
Written by Alessio, Colin, John & Steph
