25 artists to watch in 2022
2021 was a unique year in more ways than one, it was the year that Daft Punk decided to part ways as a duo, Annie Mac stood down from BBC Radio 1 after broadcasting on the station for almost two decades, and the pandemic continued to fuck us over in continuously aggressive waves.
Though it wasn’t all doom and gloom, with one of the major highlights being the incredible amount of music that we got to enjoy, in part due to producers being confined to their studios by way of mandatory lockdown.
Albums came from BICEP, Black Coffee, Stimming, Joy Orbison, DJ Seinfeld, and Alan Fitzpatrick, and between the cracks of top shelf success, we saw some of our industries future stars appear.
With a list that drops pins in Belfast, Sydney, Dublin, Manchester, Florance, Istanbul, Madrid, and even Orange County, California, here are our 25 artists to keep an eye on come 2022…
Richie Blacker
Location: Belfast, Ireland
Perhaps the most promising name in Belfast club music right now. After years of work in the studio, Richie Blacker has found the sound that’s given him passage to releases on Above & Beyond’s Anjunadeep and Skream’s Of Unsound Mind, as well as sets at clubs like London’s iconic Printworks venue.
2021 Highlights: Anjunadeep debut, set at Printworks London.
Indira Paganotto
Location: Madrid, Spain
Indira Paganotto had one of the best years of anyone in 2021, following her debut for labels like Pan-Pot’s Second State and Charlotte De Witte’s KNTXT, she went on to deliver a HÖR stream, and built an Instagram following that even your favourite EDM DJ would be jealous of.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Charlotte De Witte’s KNTXT and Pan-Pot’s Second State.
Space 92
Location: Carcassonne, France
After being the top selling artist on Beatport in 2020, expectations were exceedingly high for Space 92 coming into this year, though releases on Form, Kneaded Pains, and Filth On Acid, including a remix for British legend Eats Everything, smashed the goal posts with ease.
2021 Highlights: Remixed Eats Everything, releases on Kneaded Pains and Filth On Acid.
Mark Blair
Location: Belfast, Ireland
Already a local hero among Belfast’s growing club scene, Mark Blair put his sound on labels like Shall Not Fade and Patrick Topping’s Trick this year. Now launching a label, podcast, and club promotion of his own in Barbed, we’re excited for what 2022 has in store for Mr. Blair.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Patrick Topping’s Trick and Shall Not Fade, set at AVA Festival.
DART
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Dublin-based DART’s contributions to Last Night On Earth, HOMAGE, and &Friends have impressed us time and time again, and he’s a regular inclusion in our own personal Spotify playlists. He even dropped an official remix for Skream this year.
2021 Highlights: Remixed Skream, releases on iFEEL and Remmah, sets at Sub Club and AVA Festival.
Pina Tesla
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Coming out of Istanbul, Turkey – Pina Tesla has built herself up to a point where it’s impossible not to notice her. 2021 saw her release on Frequenza and Jeton Records, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for this emerging young talent in 2022.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Frequenza and Jeton Records.
Archie B
Location: Oxford, England
Archie B has been on our radar for a few years now. With a unique twist on deep and tech house, the UK producer has made appearances on a number of top labels, including Champion Records and Freakin909, he also made his debut with Mark Knight’s esteemed Toolroom Records in 2021.
2021 Highlight: Toolroom debut.
Transcode
Location: Manchester, England
Previous releases for Respekt Records, Gem Records, and Filth On Acid put a lot of attention on Manchester’s Transcode coming into 2021, and his sophomore appearance on Monika Kruse’s Terminal M exploited that attention in the best way possible. UK techno could have a new ring leader on its hands.
2021 Highlight: Release on Monika Kruse’s Terminal M.
Sempra
Location: Bristol, England
We came across Sempra a few months back after his track ‘B Mine?’ appeared in a random playlist we were listening to on Spotify, it instantly caught our attention and we’ve been fans ever since. He releases all his music on his own Draconian Audio label, but we have no doubt it won’t be long until labels are busting down his door to sign some music.
2021 Highlights: Multiple releases on his own Draconian Audio imprint.
Marie Montexier
Location: Leipzig, Germany
The only ‘non-producer’ on our list of ones to watch in 2022, Leipzig’s Marie Montexier is a glowing example that you don’t need to be on the Beatport charts to get bookings as a DJ. Besides launching her own Paryia imprint this year, she also played at Berlin’s Berghain.
2021 Highlights: Launched her own Paryia imprint, set at Berghain, streams for HÖR and Boiler Room.
Elli Acula
Location: Berlin, Germany
There’s absolutely no doubt that Elli Acula is on the cusp of making serious waves in European techno, in a year when clubs were closed more than they were open, she managed to play at spots like Berghain, Printworks, Funkhaus, and ://about blank. She also collaborated with techno A-listers FJAAK for their SPANDAU20 label.
2021 Highlights: Collab’ with FJAAK, SPANDAU20 debut, sets at Berghain, Funkhaus, and Printworks.
Raven
Location: Berlin, Germany
Berlin-based techno head Raven made a big statement when she debuted on Radio Slave’s seminal Rekids outfit with her Flames EP back in 2020, and she pushed the bar even further with a return to the label in September of this year. 2022 will definitely be a big one for Raven if things continue as they have.
2021 Highlights: Release on Radio Slave’s Rekids, HÖR stream.
Setaoc Mass
Location: Berlin, Germany
Setaoc Mass is certainly one of the more established names here, having put out a ton of huge releases for labels like Figure, Soma, and BPitch, though we’d be pretty shocked if he didn’t go even further in 2022. He also heads up his own SK_eleven imprint, where Matrixxman, and Rene Wise have released music.
2021 Highlights: Awakenings podcast, HÖR stream.
TIBASKO
Location: Hertfordshire, England
Sets at The Warehouse Project and Motion Bristol were the icing on the cake for TIBASKO in 2021, which alongside their multiple releases for Another Rhythm have put them firmly in our minds as one of the top prospects for the new year! Their track Icaro is also one of our favourite productions of 2021.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Another Rhythm, sets at The Warehouse Project and Motion Bristol.
Angioma
Location: Berlin, Germany
Berlin-based artist Angioma has built his Room Trax label into a self-sustaining beast, with releases coming from Setaoc Mass, Rebar, BLANKA, and Kwartz, this as well as his own EP on Planet Rhythm and a stream for HÖR, made him a stand out talent over the past 12 months.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Planet Rhythm, Room Trax, and made of CONCRETE, HÖR stream.
MADVILLA
Location: London, England
We’ve been attentive fans of Madvilla since the very early days of Soundspace, and have seen him grow from being an unassuming bedroom producer into a now fully fledged artist that now boasts past outings on Rawsome Deep, NO ART, CUFF, and Desert Hearts.
2021 Highlights: Releases on hedZup Records, Locus, NO ART, and Rawsome Deep.
Local Suicide
Location: Berlin, Germany
Berlin’s Local Suicide pair had an excellent time this year, debuting on Eskimo Recordings, dropping a live stream with HÖR, and launching their own Iptamenos Discos imprint, they made some big moves for sure. Let’s see how 2022 looks for this German-Greek duo.
2021 Highlights: Release on Eskimo Recordings, launched their own Ipatmenos Discos imprint, HÖR stream.
Made In Paris
Location: Sydney, Australia
In just a few years, Made In Paris has went from being a relatively unknown name to now one of the most exciting artists in Australian club music. Alongside her own Upon Access imprint, she’s also dropped tracks on This Never Happened and XYZ. We can’t wait to see what she puts out next year.
2021 Highlights: Releases on This Never Happened, Of Leisure, and XYZ.
Selective Response
Location: Orange County, California
Despite being just two years into the project, Selective Response has released music on Rudosa’s Moments In Time, launched his Crisis Of Man imprint, and filled it with music from names like Emptyshell and Sara Landry. Exciting times for one of California’s most promising techno producers.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Moments In Time and Crisis Of Man.
KUSP
Location: Manchester, England
Our second Manchester-based name on the list comes in the form of techno duo KUSP. Following releases for labels like Rekids, Kneaded Pains, and We Are The Brave, the pair have made it clear they’re not here to fuck about, and 2022 will definitely be a big year for this club wrecking double act.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Rekids, Kneaded Pains, and We Are The Brave.
Jaden Thompson
Location: London, England
Jaden Thompson looked at other artists taking a break during the pandemic and thought, “nah, not me”. 2021 releases with Defected and Atlantic Records made him an obvious addition to this list, and he even launched his own Midnight Parade imprint back in November.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Defected and Atlantic Records, launched his own Midnight Parade imprint.
Mr. Sosa
Location: Bournemouth, England
Releases for Needwant, Last Night On Earth, Of Unsound Mind, and Anjunadeep have catapulted Mr. Sosa into the spotlight of 2021’s most impressive stints, the British artist certainly has a knack for making club music, and we’re chomping at the bit for more in 2022.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Anjunadeep, Of Unsound Mind, Needwant, and Last Night On Earth.
Matisa
Location: Florence, Italy
As if delivering an official remix of Kim Ann Foxman’s Magic Magic to her Firehouse imprint wasn’t enough, Florence-based Matisa also released music with labels like Permanent Vacation and On Loop. Making her an absolutely massive prospect for club music in 2022.
2021 Highlights: Remixed Kim Ann Foxman, releases on Firehouse, On Loop, and Permanent Vacation.
Ben Champell
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg’s Ben Champell released tracks on Complexed Records, Unity Records, and OFF Recordings in 2021, a run of form which if he can continue into 2022 will bring big things his way. Ben is one name that’s no doubt set to do major things in the German techno scene.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Complexed Records, OFF Recordings, and Unity Records.
Hybrasil
Location: Berlin, Germany
Irish production wiz Hybrasil has been a servant of club music for many years, releasing on labels like Rekids, and his own self-titled imprint. 2021 saw him return to Rekids, alongside his debut on Carl Cox’ Awesome Soundwave, for what were some of his most impressive productions to date.
2021 Highlights: Releases on Rekids and Awesome Soundwave, HÖR stream.
Find our 2021 content here: Premieres – Mixes – Interviews – News
