Back by popular demand is Dancing Astronaut’s Artists to Watch Advent Calendar. Each day, we’ll uncover one sweet selection, highlighting next year’s class of up-and-coming talents and burgeoning stars one-by-one. Starting December 1, we’re counting up 25 of electronic music’s most enticing future achievers, sweetening the holiday season with a well-rounded crop of radar-worthy producers to keep an eye on next year. Check this space for daily updates throughout the month. From unique underground wavemakers to soon-to-be festival big shots, spanning bass music to techno with so much in between, we’re proud to continue Dancing Astronaut’s Artist to Watch Advent Calendar for a second consecutive year—enjoy.
STAR SEED
Words by Zach Salafia
Few artists have burst onto the scene in 2021 like Cincinnati-based duo STAR SEED. The group was formed in 2020 by creative minds Drew Marcum and Noah Koroman, who also operate independently under the aliases Drewerybear and 2SCOOPS. But don’t confuse STAR SEED as a side project. All it takes is one song to understand that this project is special.
We first took note in late-2020 when STAR SEED debuted on Ophelia Records with the lead single from the label’s Advent Volume 2 compilation. That single, “Heaven” with Meggie York, was the first sign of what was to come in a banner 2021 for the duo. Their debut EP, Innerspace, was released via Ophelia Records in June and featured the lead single “Ultraviolet” with Tsu Nami, along with seven other dazzling tracks that showed off their production chops. They then paired their impressive debut EP with a spot on Ophelia’s Odyssey mix series.
In total, STAR SEED have released 22 originals in 2021, including standouts like “Chasing Stars,” “Voice From The Sky,” “Rain,” “Reason,” and of course, the aforementioned eight-track Innerspace EP. Their red-hot release run was accompanied by performances in support of Yultron at Insomniac’s Park ‘N Rave show in March, a slot at Lost In Dreams’ inaugural installment in Las Vegas, and several shows in support of Virtual Riot on his ongoing Simulation tour. This begs the question, “what hasn’t this release run been accompanied by?” and the answer is simple: any signs of STAR SEED slowing down. They’ve already announced that they have finished their sophomore EP which, depending on the release date, will ensure a proper close to an already incredible 2021 or a proper start to what is sure to be an even bigger 2022.
Dylan Matthew
Words by Rachel Narozniak
If Dancing Astronaut‘s declaration of Dylan Matthew as our first Artist to Watch (ATW) in 2022 made you do a double take, then we succeeded in our intention to make you think about Matthew’s multifaceted identity as an artist. In recent years, Matthew has lent his singing/songwriting talents to a series of high-profile dance/electronic collaborations such as “Love Is Gone” with SLANDER, which presently sits at 1.1 billion-plus streams. That his presence in the dance/electronic industry has been nothing short of prolific would normally go without saying, but in the context of this argument for his status as an ATW in 2022, it matters quite a bit.
Put simply, in this genre, Dylan Matthew is not an artist to watch—he’s an artist whom just about everybody has been watching. And that’s precisely why Dancing Astronaut‘s classification of our inaugural Supernova as an ATW in 2022 has nothing to do with his collaborative work in the dance/electronic space and everything to do with his development as a solo act in and across genres like electro-pop in the coming year.
2021 saw sides of Matthew’s solo artistry through “One Sided Love” and “Summer 16,” both of which premiered on Dancing Astronaut. Much like his 2020 EP Kalopsia, the two singles offered his dance/electronic listeners a well-tuned look at his creative capacities outside of this genre, underscoring him as an artist with dimension, and importantly, an artist with talents that extend far beyond the parameters of modern dance music.
2022 is poised to be a sort of sonic metamorphosis for Matthew, who will spread his wings as a solo artist to an unprecedented degree in the current context of his career:
“I had said that 2021 would be a huge year for my solo releases, but unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way. Between trying to pick the right songs and find the right fit with a label and many other life things, I only got to put out two originals this year. On a positive note though, I have multiple songs lined up for early 2022 that are some of my absolute favorites, and I can only imagine how many more I’ll get to put out next year. I’ve gotten a lot of the songs sitting in my arsenal finished and ready to be released, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ll also be playing a lot more shows next year and bringing my ‘Dylan Matthew’ live project to light, which I’m absolutely thrilled to show the world.”
To date, Matthew’s solo work has stood within a largely pop- and electro-pop-leaning framework, but his penchant for “acoustic-style ballads [and] R&B music” can be expected to add diversity to his individual catalog in 2022, a year in which streamers will hear a different side of the Dylan Matthew whom the dance music industry has so ardently embraced.
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Source: dancingastronaut.com
