Dancing Astronaut’s 5 Under 5k: Vol. 18

by: Toby Reaper Mar 9, 2017

5 Under 5k is a feature on Dancing Astronaut dedicated to spotlighting talented upcoming and undiscovered artists who we believe deserve more exposure. Each edition of 5 Under 5k will highlight five artists from a wide variety of genres with under 5,000 followers on SoundCloud (at the time of writing).

A SoundCloud playlist of the tracks featured can be found at the end of the article.

Crush Effect (1,614) is a duo made up of the saxophone player for Panic! At The Disco, Jessy Molly, and the keyboard player for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, David Veith. Fans of GRiZ and Pretty Lights need look no further for new music, as the first-rate future funk that these two talented musicians make together is right along the same vein.

Hidden Empire (2,529) is another duo, though with music tastes more on techno side of the spectrum. The track below, “Trumpet Bug,” was released as a free download at the end of 2016, though was created during the duo’s very first studio session two years ago.

Although much of Vorsa‘s (2,674) music is in the realm of melodic dubstep, his newest track, “Bleed,” is a deep vocal selection that treads more along the lines of M83 or Tycho. Ambient and powerful, with layers of both organic and electronic sounds moving to a slow rhythm, this style could easily be what ends up putting Vorsa on the map in the near future.

Thalab (4,788), continues the ambient trend, though it takes a much more care-free approach than the prior track. The outfit’s laid-back indie style mainly consists of guitar, vocals, minimal percussion, and subtle electronic elements, though their songwriting combines these facets into a cohesive whole that is at once fun and relaxing.

Just over the boundary into the realm of future bass is Swedish producer Afterclap‘s (1,577) new single “Find My Way.” With an overall minimal production style, Afterclap’s futuristic jazz-inspired sound perfectly complements Leo Smith’s R&B-style vocals, and is a great debut for the young ex-professional free-skier.