The genre-blurring artist opens a new chapter with an album that’s as visual as it is sonic
Julian Scanlan, the genre-defiant producer best known as Slushii, has always toyed with duality: hard drops vs. soft melodies, extroversion vs. vulnerability, the digital vs. the deeply human. But Chrysalis, his new 18-track album released with his ambient alias sapientdream, cracks that dichotomy wide open—and invites listeners into something far more internal.
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Released July 11 via his new label SONICdream, Chrysalis marks a turning point for the Los Angeles-based artist. Best known for viral EDM singles and collaborations with Marshmello and Jauz, Scanlan now presents a body of work steeped in atmosphere, memory, and longing. The record isn’t so much a departure as it is a reframing. It’s EDM, not for the club, but for the comedown. Or the cosmos.
What separates Chrysalis from his earlier releases is not only the shift in sound but also the ambition. Each track correlates with Sapient Dream, an original sci-fi webcomic launching on WEBTOON. The webcomic and album unfold in tandem, each illuminating the other, forming what Scanlan has called a “multi-sensory experience.” If it sounds indulgent, it is. But it’s also surprisingly effective.
It’s worth noting how far Slushii has come since his breakout in 2016. Then, he was the hyperactive newcomer with rainbow hair and festival-ready bangers. Now, he’s a producer crafting emotionally fraught, slow-building ballads under a moniker that most of his mainstream fans still don’t know.
For those willing to step into the dreamspace with him, Chrysalis is a beautiful, aching, and often transportive listen. For anyone who’s ever used music as a way to escape—into memory, into imagination, or into outer space—this album might just be your launchpad.
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