Six artists to watch in 2009

Six artists to watch in 2009

16 January, 2009 | 7.01AM

• Written by: Ryan Keeling
• Filed under: Music News: ac slater, boola, kris wadsworth, mount kimbie, robert dietz, roska

With thousands of electronic music producers out there vying for a place in our collective consciousness, Beatportal has decided to name six artists whom we feel deserve to realise greatness in 2009.

Our list comprises mainly of producers who did great things in 2008, and they will, we feel, have their profiles raised to stratospheric levels within the next 12 months.

Last year heralded some interesting shifts in electronic music.

Whether it was dubstep climbing into bed with techno, hip-hop bathing in glitch, or house and techno gloriously colliding, the most interesting records of 2008 were those that staunchly refused to stick to any predetermined blueprint.

What is apparent from our picks is that the cross-pollination of genres is set to continue apace during the coming year.

A tell-tale sign of a standout producer is when it’s almost impossible to put them in a box - to tie them to a single genre tag - as is the case with all of our selections below.

Get involved with your own predictions or tell us how badly ours suck in the comment section below.

Robert Dietz

Spawned from the same little creative pond as Reboot, Marcus Fix and Oslo Records, Frankfurt producer Robert Dietz began to make meaningful noises during the latter half of 2008 through a carefully nurtured clutch of deep house gems.

Although only releasing a fairly modest five records and couple of remixes, the Dietz sound has graced only the high-caliber trio of Cecille, be chosen and Deep Vibes.

The key to the Dietz sound is a dizzying reliance on warm repetition as displayed on his debut for Frankfurt imprint be chosen around the middle of last year.

Perhaps the jewel in the Dietz crown thus far arrived via his double A-side alongside his mate Markus Fix for Cecille Numbers - ‘Shunsower’ (in the player above) set a breezy vocal snatch atop a bombastic bottom-end for a cut that added an anthemic string to Dietz bow.

The seal of approval from Gerd Janson’s Running Back imprint for whom Dietz has an upcoming EP is just another little indication of a producer we feel will go on to greatness.

Boola

Bogdan Barea aka Boola is part of the Romanian collective of DJs and producers that centers around the Bucharest-based Sunrise agency.

Continuing in the off-kilter production framework laid down by compatriots Petre Inspirescu and Rhadoo, Boola’s output to date has been littered with fresh-faced themes and ideas that have managed to mark him out as a ‘one to watch’ after only five (at times extremely limited) releases.

The die was cast from his debut outing alongside his some-time collaborator Demos for the A:rpia:r label; the Anima Tru EP merged slinky house aesthetics with oddball percussion and rhythmic peculiarities.

Perhaps the most telling development in the Romania’s nascent career was when label behemouth Innervisions put out the double A-side ‘Basement Tracks EP’ featuring his cut ‘Predator’ (in the player above); a filthy little jack-a-thon that rightly introduced a wider audience to exactly what Boola was about.

Mount Kimbie

There’s not a great deal we can tell you about London-based duo Mount Kimbie. Having not released a record to date, details surrounding the duo are scant; what we do know is they are both 22 and go by the names Dominic Maker and Kai Campos.

So what’s the big deal, then? Well, if the snippets of their music doing the rounds on the internet are anything to go by, they will be officially heralded as the first fantastically ‘out there’ act of 2009.

Existing in some other worldly micro-chasm of enchanted noise, their sound orbits around the furthest reaches of dubstep, whilst glaring longingly towards jazz and experimental.

UK-based Fact Magazine and Radio 1’s Mary Anne Hobbs are big fans, but please decide for yourself by hopping over to their myspace page for a taste of their debut EP ‘Maybes’ (released February 2nd) on Scuba’s Hotflush imprint.

AC Slater

More of a ‘will go on to bigger things’ than a ‘one to watch’, Brooklyn-based bass merchant AC Slater (Aaron Clevenger, pictured above) spent most of 2008 putting out waves of club-smashing, electro-tinged bangers.

His ‘Jack Got Jacked EP’ (in the player above) - which will either induced crazed-hysteria, vomiting, or both - ruled the Beatport Top 10 last year, spending an impressive three months lingering in the air like the smell of poppers thanks to a vertiginous use of synthesis and karate-chopped samples.

This was duly followed by further party-fueled remixes for his Trouble & Bass label mate Drop The Lime, Pets On Prozac and Hostage; in between was the dizzying ‘Vertigo’ which further staked Slater’s claim for heavy bass domination.

Those who like their house/electro/gabba as full-bodied as it comes would be as well to check out Slater’s new digital imprint Party Like Us that begins its merry dance with a track from the man himself, ingeniously titled ‘Party Like Us’. 

Kris Wadsworth

Cutting his teeth in the art of production aged just 14 has undoubtedly paid dividends for Detroit house slash techno producer Kris Wadsworth.

Now 24, Wadsworth is plying the world with an accomplished blend of the past and the present as first heard on his debut ‘Get Your Wadsworth’ (in the player above) for Morris Audio.

The Wadsworth sound has its roots in both Chicago and Detroit but puts a sleazy, contemporary spin on the both of them.

His debut was later supplemented by a couple of equally heavy-hitting remix treatments for Josh Dahlberg and Hatikvah, further indicating the grubby groove he was finding for himself.

Perhaps his finest moment to date arrived only this week via the Chi-town drenched double A-side ‘State and Griswold/Keep Pushing’ for French label Adult Only.

Keep your beady eyes on him.

Roska

As a former UK garage and grime head, London producer Roska’s take on what you and I might call house music differs wildly - and that’s exactly where his music’s inherent beauty lies.

Producing since 1999 Roska was slowly turned on to house music after years spent listening to, and performing, as a garage MC.

Listen to his debut release ‘Feeline’ (in the player above) and you can sense the sounds of London’s myriad pirate radio stations bleeding into his beats.

All of his four releases to date have arrived via his own Roska Kick & Snares imprint which has served as a fascinating window into what makes him tick as a producer. The Climate Change EP displayed a penchant for dipping his toe into ridiculously funk-filled broken beats, while his latest offering, the Elevated Levels EP had Beatportal’s Zack Rico getting himself flustered recently thanks to its “weird cross between speed garage, dubstep and house.”

Coming up is ‘In Your Handbag’ which is being released February 2nd, so until then cast your eyes over the amusing accompanying YouTube video.

Roska ‘In Your Handbag’ Preview

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