Portland-based producer FENRA continues to carve out his own lane in the electronic landscape with “DEEPCUT,”. The track follows his dreamy downtempo debut “COFFEE,” which earned acclaim from tastemaker Magnetic Magazine. Together, the two singles sketch a striking early portrait of Delusional, FENRA’s upcoming debut EP due Nov. 28 and mastered by Aneek Thapar, whose credits include electronic luminaries like Rival Consoles and Max Cooper.
The Santa Rosa–born artist, known offstage as B Laws, channels a richly lived musical past into his work. Raised around visual art and drawn early to the emotional power of harmony through church hymns with his grandmother, he later taught himself guitar and spent his teens and twenties touring the U.S., Europe, and Asia with various bands. Now, as FENRA, he distills those experiences into a sound that feels both intimate and widescreen. With touchstones ranging from Caribou and Floating Points to Philip Glass and Gloria Ann Taylor, his music meets at the crossroads of the cinematic and the deeply personal.
“DEEPCUT” is his most arresting statement yet. The track unfolds with patient intention, its skewed, glistening synth motif circling over shuffling percussion and weightless atmospheric textures. There’s a sense of continuous motion, but also restraint: the energy never rushes its arrival. By the time the wiggling bassline slips in nearly three minutes deep, the track snaps into focus, revealing a fully formed groove that feels both unexpected and inevitable. The payoff is subtle but powerful, showcasing FENRA’s talent for building tension before letting it bloom.
“‘DEEPCUT’ opens with a skewed synth melody over strings and atmospheric textures, building tension slowly before revealing its full shape. It’s one of the most energetic tracks on the EP, but I wanted it to take its time — the bassline doesn’t arrive until almost three minutes in, when the track finally locks into place.”
If “COFFEE” hinted at FENRA’s penchant for meditative electronic landscapes, “DEEPCUT” confirms his ability to create music that moves, emotionally, physically, and in ways that slip just beyond genre. With Delusional around the corner, FENRA is positioning himself as one of the Pacific Northwest’s most compelling new electronic voices.
