By: Jordan Calvano

As the EDM scene continues to blossom and gain more attention in the U.S., it has become pure fact that blending emotive vocals with pulsing synths and heavy drops can turn a good song into a memorable masterpiece. Artists who can find the right original acapellas, samples, or even the perfect songs to remix are gaining more and more attention for their ability to create heavy and proactive cuts with emphatic lyrics woven delicately into the fabric of their productions. Mike Quiroz exemplifies this sentiment to a “t.”

San Diego’s Quiroz performs and produces under the moniker Phrenik. He has a knack for creating hard-hitting tracks that could smash any dance floor, but also feature soulful immersive vocals. He has put out crowd pleasing remixes of artists like Shotgun Radio, Mimi Page, and Jillian Ann, but has attained the most notoriety for his originals that fuse dubstep, glitch-hop, and drum & bass.

Phrenik’s most recent release, Spy Games Chapter 1, takes his veteran production skills to the next level, and adds three more cuts to his lengthy catalog on Aaron Simpson’s Simplify Recordings. The opener, “Broken Away,” drizzles syrupy vocals courtesy of Christine Baar over a healthy portion of otherworldly synths. “Circles,” is a bass driven sound wave that seems to pulse from the depths of the ocean. Featuring heavy drops and rapid-fire drums, Quiroz throws in more vocals to spice up the already zesty track track.

The last track is appropriately dubbed, “Losing Control,” and will make any crowd lucky enough to hear this drop live do just that. The opening chords load the cartridge of a 9mm, then slowly cocks and unleashes as the song progresses into a wild ride driven by the powerful lyrics, “With every step I take, I’m running out of control.”

Simplify is already on board with Phrenik. As more releases are added to the Spy Games series, more and more EDM fans will catch on, too.