"I wanted to return to the blues-electronic style I was experimenting with in 2013, which led to this tune. I love combining classic blues sounds with modern synth elements! " - Manic Focus
Denver-based producer Manic Focus has many tricks up his sleeve. As a trained magician and seasoned electronic music veteran, the artist has learned how to execute seemingly impossible acts, translating his sleight-of-hand wizardry into vibrant, genre-defying soundscapes.
Manic Focus’ unique style —defined by a hybrid of electronica, funk, soul, and new-era hip-hop— has helped the producer cultivate a fervent fanbase enraptured by his immersive studio trickery, and led him to performances at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Hulaween, North Coast Music Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Camp Bisco, Wakaan Festival, Summer Camp Music Festival, and multiple opening slots at Red Rocks in support of Zhu, Emancipator, Pretty Lights, and more.
Now, Manic Focus is revving up toward his 7th studio album, Never Not Blue, a new full-length project that sees the producer returning to the blues-inflected electronic style of his earlier work. Having consistently evolved over the past decade, fleshing out his sound to incorporate new approaches to genre, songwriting, and composition, Manic Focus’ new album pays respect to the producer’s original musical identity while retaining the grand, lavish presentation he’s grown accustomed to. In many ways, Never Not Blue is a career retrospective - a look back at where Manic Focus began, and just how far he’s come.
Listeners can get their first taste of Never Not Blue with the album’s lead single, “You Do You,” an epic bass-infused cut that introduces this new Manic Focus era in explosive fashion. Melding blues melodies with hip-hop beats and dubstep wubs, “You Do You” showcases Manic Focus’ endlessly versatile skillset.
“You Do You” kicks off with acoustic guitar struts, bluesy keyboard chord progressions, and a soulful vocal sample before transitioning into a section full of head-bopping drum patterns, bruising horns, twangy guitar licks, and various colorful textures over an infectious central vocal refrain.
“Boy, imma do whatever I want/you just do you/and imma do me,” the song repeats, cementing its philosophy into the track’s DNA. “You Do You” then drops into raucous dubstep bass riffs, a head-turning, liberating transition that embraces Manic Focus’ free-spirited message.
This seamless sonic blend also acts as a magic trick in and of itself, making listeners ask of Manic Focus’ mesmerising studio prowess: “Just how does he pull it off?”
Manic Focus tour dates
1/27/23: Shipwrecked Music Festival | Tampa, FL
2/25/23: The Concourse Project | Austin, TX
4/8/23: Red Rocks Ampitheatre | Morrison, CO
5/5/23: Bama Slam | New Brockton, AL
5/26/23: Summer Camp Music Festival | Chillicothe, AL