Spotlight: Five artists to check out in February 2025

Every month in our new Spotlight series, we profile five emerging artists from across the globe. Up this month is Amsterdam's Bnnyhunna, Los Angeles' Maude Vôs, Seoul's NET GALA, Melbourne's Purient, and Warsaw's shjva.

Ghanaian-Dutch virtuoso Bnnyhunna picked up much of his musical know-how at church, absorbing the blissful, soul-stirring nature of gospel. It’s where he learnt to play many of the instruments he flaunts on stage today, including the piano, drums, and guitar, combined with a deeply spiritual approach to songwriting that, on his 2024 debut album ‘Echoes Of Prayer’, is described as a “heartfelt prayer or conversation with God”. There’s a sweet sense of calm that oozes from Bnnyhunna’s music, trickling through genres like jazz, hip hop, and downtempo – all equally inspired by his West African roots and visionary artists like Rick Rubin, Herbie Hancock, and Tyler, The Creator. “These artists have shaped the musical landscape in profound ways”, he says. “It’s boundary-pushing artistry with the ability to reinvent themselves continuously.”

From London’s Brick Lane Jazz Festival to countless events across the Netherlands, Bnnyhunna has taken his soulful sound around Europe time and time over, sharing stages with the likes of KOKOROKO, Yin Yin, and Bob Vylan over time. This year, he’s set to embark further afield as he lines up another tour: “It’s always an incredible opportunity to connect with audiences in a raw, unfiltered way,” he explains. “At the same time, I’m deep in the creative process, working on a new project that pushes my sound in fresh directions.”

Recommended work: Bnnyhunna 'Sum Love'

"On my recent album 'Echoes Of Prayer', there’s a track called 'Sum Love' that encapsulates my artistic vision both sonically and lyrically. It embodies the essence of my music — blending heartfelt lyricism with a sound that feels both timeless and forward-thinking. At its core, 'Sum Love' carries a message of unity and the transformative power of love, reminding us that simplicity and connection can cut through life’s noise. This track is a reflection of who I am as an artist: someone who seeks to inspire, uplift, and bring people together through music."

Maude Vôs is a rare type of musical talent. Blooming quickly out of the underground with the release of their debut EP ‘Eyes of Night’ in 2021, the Los Angeles-based DJ, producer, and sound designer has carved out a distinctive sound that brings together the dark elements of bass music, from abstracted dubstep to murky breaks. “I’m inspired by the natural world, my synthesizers, cinematic scores, books, and raw emotion,” Maude explains. With releases on labels including Hotflush, Scuffed Recording, and Woozy, Maude explores the intricacies of bass production and the beauty of the bootleg, with a range that’ll take you from lighthearted fun to dark and serious.

Through their record label, Delusional, Maude aims to platform artists from underrepresented backgrounds, so far logging almost 20 releases from more than 100 predominantly FLINTA*, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC musicians. Their work also extends to non-profit workshops, where they teach young women and at-risk youth skills in audio production, Ableton, and sound design. Next month, Maude Vôs delivers their next EP, ‘5th Generation Angel’, composed of remixes from seven femme and non-binary artists. “As for shows, I'm debuting my new live set this month at The Broad Museum, a contemporary art museum here in Los Angeles,” they explain. “This set will be a live experimental ambient performance of previous and forthcoming works.”

Recommended work: Maude Vôs 'The Dance Of The 7th Veil'

"I've chosen to share my track, 'The Dance Of The 7th Veil', off my EP, '5th Generation Angel'. This track was the first one I wrote for this body of work, and it really ignited the vision for the EP. I continue to love the deep meditative state of this piece. Lately, I've been playing in the 160-170 BPM range, so this track is the perfect fit for a softer moment in a drum 'n' bass set, a late night track for a skittery braindance set, or melding the universes of bass tech. '5th Generation Angel' was about showing my sonic range through the lens of body and mind oscillation."

A “sprinkle of humour” is the key component of any NET GALA release, according to the Seoul-hailing producer and founder of the now-defunct queer collective Shade Seoul. Paired with more serious tones of reflection on queer identity and body politics, NET GALA’s limitless rotation of chaotic clubs sounds have come to the fore on each of their releases to date, including EPs on NBDKNW and SVBKVLT, and a new debut album, ‘GALAPAGGOT’, on Hakuna Kulala. “Every project of mine starts with a concept, curiosity, and doubting traditional values,” they explain. “It comes together through amalgamating emotional structures with genre-based inspirations, rhythms, and then blending all through distorting the conventional language of electronic music.”

So far, their experimental work has turned the heads of Louis Vuitton, who enlisted NET GALA’s help to soundtrack a 2021 online runway and later again in a 2023 campaign film, and has taken them outside of Seoul to perform in Thailand, China, Japan, and Uganda. Now, they’re gearing up to release their next project in collaboration with Zach from Saigon experimental collective Rắn Cạp Đuôi. “We worked together for a track on my recent album, and our synergy, sense of humour, and a nerdy approach to music really clicked when we are together, whether we are working together or not,” they say. “It seemed stupid if we didn't evolve this into something chaotic that can only be translated through music.”

Recommended work: NET GALA 'GALAPAGGOT'

"I'd choose my debut album 'GALAPAGGOT', which came out on Hakuna Kulala last year. I was initially inspired by the classic South Korean electronic albums from Lee Jung Hyun or Dalparan, they're drawing on this concept of space and geography. Genre-based music is geographical, and I wanted to claim my space where I could talk about what we are or where we are right now. It has all the bits and pieces that I was inspired by since I started making music, and if you know me, you can really see where I'm coming from through listening to this album."

Melbourne-based producer and vocalist Purient is informed by the dynamics of the relationships she’s made in life: “Romantic, friendships, random interactions – I’m obsessed with the subtle ways people shape each other over time, how we meet different versions of people at different points in our lives,” she says. Lending her voice to those feelings, Purient’s music melts soft-spoken vocals into a dizzying array of breaks and club rhythms, based on themes of fantasy, emotion, and desire, with a cinematic approach to production. To date, Purient’s productions have earned her the support of KETTAMA, Eartheater, Pretty Girl, and more, particularly with the release of her latest EP ‘Mwah’ on Steel City Dance Discs.

As one-third of the Melbourne dream-pop band Acopia, as well as solo work under her production alias, Purient’s musical projects always take shape through introspection. “I find that spending time alone gives me space to reflect, and that introspection often leads to writing something I really connect with,” she says. Up next, Purient is set to appear on several features from other artists, while knuckling down on her next solo release. “I’m in a bit of a research and ideating phase, exploring ideas for whatever I do next,” she says.

Recommended work: Purient 'Get Better'

"This is a tough one because I tend to oscillate between genres and connect with different songs of mine at different times. Right now, I’d say my track 'Get Better' feels the closest to me. It feels melancholic but uplifting, reflective yet intentionally vague. I like writing from that in-between place, where emotions aren’t fully resolved but still feel immersive. That’s the kind of feeling I’m always drawn to when making music."

Ukraine-born, Warsaw-based DJ and producer shjva pays homage to her homeland through brooding sonic fusions of glitch, techno, ambient, and dub, coming together in a rich, textured body of work spanning labels like London’s Viscera Transmissions and Berlin’s WARNING. Taking cues from ‘90s and ‘00s minimal, trance, dub techno, and progressive productions out of Argentina, Germany, Italy, and the UK, shjva’s web of inspiration spans a global, wide-reaching range of sounds, from the depths of minimal techno to trippy 303s.

While putting out a cacophony of new experimental productions, shjva also plays her part in Penumbrum, a party series and collective based in Warsaw made up of visual artists, who explore ambient and experimental music through artistic worlds. In 2025, following the release of her recent collaborative EP alongside Pyramid Of Knowledge, shjva lines up not just one but six new releases, each set to land throughout the year.

Recommended work: CXEMA w/ shjva

"I recorded this mix for legendary Ukrainian party and collective CXEMA. I've always appreciated what they do, and their contribution to the scene."

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter