Label: Fiakun
Genre: Soul-House
Members: Aitor Etxebarria
Based: Basque Country, Spain
Sounds Like: Robin Masters Orchestra, T.W.I.C.E., Maya Jane Coles
Links: Soundcloud, Facebook
Hailing from the Basque Country, 25-year-old House producer El_Txef_A probably hasn’t hit your radar just yet. His debut album, Slow Dancing In A Burning Room, was released this March on his own imprint Fiakun – a mecca for contemporary House music. Not being much of a dance music fan himself, El_Txef_A has drawn inspiration from a host of different musicians, especially A$AP Rocky and John Mayer (the title of his debut album is a reference to a song by John Mayer of the same name). As a classically-trained musician, his creative approach to music-making revolves around intricate chord progressions and beautifully dark vocal melodies (sung by himself). Think James Blake, pitched-down and post-House. You can buy Breath here, and also check out his edit of Bon Iver’s Calgary right here, it’s a free download as well!