The Australian-born, New York-based electronic producer, artist and vocalist BRUX is known for a genre-bending sound that fuses dark, heavy club grooves with vocal hooks and analog synths on labels like Future Classic, Fool’s Gold, and LuckyMe.
Expanding her sonic palette beyond the club, is a deeply personal, 7-track ambient album shaped by isolation in Australia’s Blue Mountains. A cinematic, tranquil and fully immersive experience from a producer on the rise.
Cinematic Ambient
Liminal Listening
Expressive Nature
Sources artists on influences, creative roots, inspirations, rituals and their releases on the label.
Photography by: Elizabeth Maniscalco
Words by: Jamie Collins-Adams
With no gigs, equipment or clear sense of what was coming next, BRUX’s ‘Halcyon Phase’ began as a personal audio diary during isolation in Australia’s Blue Mountains, 2020. What started as sketches documenting a moment (and the dramatic shifts of the local climate) has gradually evolved into something grander in scale; cinematic and profoundly calm with an experimental production instinct that keeps listeners guessing. ⬤
“A friend described the early drafts as radio transmissions from the spirit world
Stepping away from the club-focused production she’s best known for, ‘Halcyon Phase’ trades shared physical spaces for a softer sense of intimacy and introspection. “The tracks started as mindful improvisations but slowly became something bigger,” she explains. “i was also going on daily hikes around the mountains to cope with a lot of anxiety, I found this new headspace I could take refuge in”. BRUX was shooting stills & video on film at the time to document these walks, a time in my life that I could look back on one day with comfort. A friend described the early drafts as “radio transmissions from the spirit world,” and BRUX kept returning to them over the years to nurture, reshape and refine. The process almost mirrored the natural world that first inspired it, organically shifting with time to bloom and flourish. ⬤
Discussing influences, BRUX references touchstones like ‘Apollo’ by Brian Eno, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s & Alva Noto’s Summvs record and ‘Wind’ by Gigi Masin. But the visual element, filming and documenting her surroundings, also brought cinematic influences into the fold. The blurred sense of time so often found in the work of David Lynch had a big effect (along with the works of Lars Von Trier and the Coen Brothers). “I was casting emotionally to try and capture this sense of liminal time, of these evasive feelings during this period” she says. “Nothing was in front of me in terms of gigs or income, everything felt like it was in flux.” There is a sense of yearning on the record that is hard to describe, but deeply felt between the moments of tranquility. ⬤
“The Blue Mountains are such a special place for me — it’s where I took my wedding vows, a place that holds dear friends and family... and a place rich in indigenous history, it’s so sacred for many reasons”
“Making club music was the last thing on my mind. I had total freedom to create without pressure or deadlines.”
Working with most of her studio packed away BRUX started the record with a makeshift setup, which included a mattress propped-up for soundproofing, a ritual burning of Nag Champa incense each morning with a Dave Smith Prophet 8 at hand. The limitations in some ways helped to liberate the creative process, bringing a sense of restraint that the artist doesn’t often get to exercise on club tracks (although the songs have a lot of depth and layering to them). Adding an acoustic upright piano and Moog One synthesizer in 2024/2025 set the course for completion on this record, which continued to evolve over time. It no longer feels like a snapshot of 2020. “It’s more like a place I can return to,” BRUX reflects. “When I listen now, it still feels like home.” ⬤
BRUX (Elizabeth Maniscalco) is an Australian-born, New York-based electronic producer, artist and vocalist known for her genre-bending sound.
Fusing dark, heavy club grooves with vocal hooks and analog synths, the artist has released music on labels like Future Classic, Fool’s Gold, and LuckyMe, gaining recognition for her raw, innovative approach and energetic stage presence.
Bringing together a myriad of sounds with experimental panache, the boundary-pushing artist has been celebrated in recent years by publications such as DJ Mag, Billboard, and Mixmag.
Taking a detour from club-driven sounds to ambient calm, BRUX’s ‘Halcyon Phase’ invites listeners into a reflective audio diary shaped by nature and time. Written during periods of isolation in Australia’s lush Blue Mountains, the record feels cinematic in scope, at once tranquil, evolving and fully immersive.