There is a special type of electronic music that is hard to explain through genre coordinates. Ambient can be too complex and vague. Trip-hop? Complex, unclear, and not everyone distinguishes between ordinary hip-hop and new sound. Downtempo requires technical training and excellent mastery of the art of mixing sound. When Massive Attack released Mezzanine in 1998, critics argued about terminology for several months and didn’t really come to any conclusion. When Thievery Corporation built their career at the intersection of bossa nova, reggae, and electronic sound, genre categories simply gave up and went home. Elevated Focusion, with the album Mind Games, adds to this list of releases where classification becomes a less useful tool than just attentive listening and enjoying the music.

The new album ‘Mind Games’, consisting of 14 tracks, carries the atmosphere of Massive Attack and Thievery Corporation, and this statement needs a bit of clarification because it sounds provocative to anyone who knows what that means. The thing is, these names carry a message, the collective voice is more important than the individual one. You know, no central star around which the others orbit. Instead, there is a space where different voices, different cultural contexts, and different musical traditions come together as equals. The same goes for ‘Mind Games’, you will not find a single electronic sound style here, instead you will find a mix of styles and genres, electronica, world traditions, and electric guitars, as in the opening track ‘Acid Moon’. It immediately tells us, I sound like this world, beautiful and unpredictable. Or, for example, the track ‘Toys in the Static’, which breaks the structure, this is already dark synthpop that could easily be playing in some cyberpunk bar in the lower city.

One of the important features of ‘Mind Games’ is its 14 tracks. Many modern electronic albums in this format start to sag closer to the middle, the idea runs out, but the material goes on. Here, however, cozy and captivating electronics hold the listener through a different mechanism, changing genre and style almost from track to track. If ‘Nightmare Horizon’ is alt rock with elements of punk, theatre, and the 90s, then the next track, ‘Trash’, is heavy metal house electronics where hip-hop takes on a completely revolutionary sound. The same happens in the track ‘Paradox’, where Eastern motifs, closer to Japan to my ear, and folk singing blend with trap sound and dense electronics, and then ‘World Wind’ turns the sound into a synthpop space, adding a touch of funk guitar and moving us across the map toward India and Taiwan, with the hypnotic atmosphere of other cultures. And it sounds revolutionary. An album built from cultural traditions and life experience creates a truly unique and cozy atmosphere. In electronic music, coziness is hard to achieve and easy to lose. Elevated Focusion keeps the balance, and the album’s appeal is built precisely on this equilibrium: the music is complex enough to hold your attention and warm enough to make that attention feel pleasant. You feel that too, right?

The only place where ‘Mind Games’ creates a bit of tension is in its 14-track format. Fourteen tracks are a statement of something epic, and the listener inevitably expects some kind of build-up and climax – which arrives with the tracks ‘Nuclear Calm’ and ‘Blood Reign’. In ‘Nuclear Calm’, open vocals, light vibes of contemporary experimental pop sound, and a slight hint of western music, along with the classic-style vocals, pull you out of the created atmosphere and throw you into a sound experiment. You might even feel uneasy listening to this track, and that’s the kind of effect only music made by a professional can create. The final track, ‘Blood Reign’, completely changes direction. Here, Afro vocals, a heavy dubstep rhythm, thick bass, and intense percussion close the album in an utterly unexpected way, on a powerful and provocative note. This ending is the best description of the entire ‘Mind Games’ album. Elevated Focusion builds the path of ‘Blood Reign’ tracks like a journey through genres, cultures and temperaments, and at the end, turns the map toward a direction you haven’t seen. The opening track says, I sound like this world, beautiful and unpredictable. The last one confirms it: yes, exactly.

Be sure to add your favorite tracks to your playlist and follow Elevated Focusion so you don’t miss even more of these awesome releases. Yeah!

Hey Elevated Focusion! Thank you for releasing such unique and diverse music. In ‘Mind Games’ there are so many styles, stories, and genres that you can listen to it for years and keep discovering tracks that reflect your mood. It’s truly impressive work and very memorable. Make more of these great releases. I’ll show your album to everyone so they can listen to such amazing music too. I love it and want more!

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