Ephixa
Ephixa, the alias of Ontario-born producer and DJ James Leusink, who began making electronic music in 2007 after being drawn to hardstyle artists including Alphaverb and Showtek, then launched a YouTube channel the following year to share his work. He became known for a viral dubstep remix built around Charlie Sheen's "bi-winning" interview clip, which drew more than 700,000 views and over 7,500 likes within two days of its release, alongside a series of remixes drawn from The Legend of Zelda game franchise.
In 2011 he co-founded the Canadian label Monstercat and released "Dubstep Killed Rock 'n' Roll" as the very first track on the label, a release that anchored his standing within the label's early roster and the wider Monstercat community. Leusink peaked at number 11 on Billboard's Next Big Sound chart in November 2011, a data-driven ranking that reflected his fast-growing online audience at the time.
He left Monstercat for roughly four years following a falling-out with staff before returning in July 2016 with a collaborative track alongside Stephen Walking. Ephixa has continued releasing music on labels including Ninety9Lives and GameChops, and he remains active as a live streamer and producer from his base in Ontario, Canada.