Every week at PopCrush, we’re putting the spotlight on one up-and-coming act you need to know about. Why? So you can get on board early before everyone else and their mother jumps on the bandwagon…and so you can be that one friend in the group who’s always like, “Um, actually, I prefer their earlier work.”

After serving as drummer for several metal bands, Finnish artist Perttu Kurttila pulled a musical 180, trading in shredding guitars and hard-hitting drums for the energetic synths and beats of dance music.

Perttu has since delved deep into the genre, recording the majority of his own samples and incorporating unorthodox sounds — such as the chirping noises of his pet cocktail parrot — into his music to create his own unique take on electronica.

Perttu's segue from playing metal to producing EDM ultimately makes sense when you consider the connection to his origins: Perttu developed a love of rhythm and percussion — two important aspects of both genres -- early on, when he took up drumming at the age of six, .

While the producer refers to his crossover as a “rather slow and continuous” process, you wouldn’t guess it from Perttu’s debut single “Waves.” The track, which features his childhood friend Alexandra on vocals, finds Perttu diving headfirst into the kind of breezy tropical house sound infiltrating Top 40 radio -- the perfect soundtrack for the impending summer season.

And although he's just getting started, Perttu is already laser-focused on every aspect of his creative career, from the creating music to playing it live.

“I want to be an artist — a performance artist,” he said. “I’m working on expanding the live aspect of my show, and since I am no singer I will find other ways to make me unique on stage."

Like what you hear? Head over to iTunes to download "Waves."

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