Welcome back to On Our Radar, Beatportal’s monthly roundup of the DJs and producers we can’t get enough of.
Check out the On Our Radar Beatport Chart to find tracks from the artists below, along with additional tunes that have caught our attention this month.
VICTORIA MUSSI
Victoria Mussi‘s recent Skins EP on Jujuka showcases her mesmerising ability to twist frequencies and manipulate rhythm, sitting happily alongside her IDM productions which found homes with Be Techno, Recorder Records, In Their Feelings and many more labels. Born and raised in Asunción, the capital city of Paraguay, Victoria’s spearheaded her home country’s underground scene as co-founder of INBETWEEN, a platform dedicated to promoting and representing talent in the urban and electronic music sphere through a radio program, a record label and event series. Victoria also runs a nightclub called Tango in Asunción which has helped establish Paraguay as a key player in South America’s electronic music scene. More than anything, though, it’s Victoria’s deft ability to produce versatile, unexpected electronic music that makes her really stand out, and Skins is just a taste of what’s to come.
LAUREN MIA
Lauren Mia is a Los Angeles-based classical pianist and composer-turned-DJ, songwriter, vocalist and music producer. She produces progressive house and melodic techno that explores themes of opening and healing through orchestral textures and progressive sounds. Her aim is to help people connect with themselves and others, describing her style as “an erotic journey of sound.” Her “Lola Graziano” extended mix on Anjunadeep topped Beatport’s Melodic House and Techno charts in January and cemented her name as one of the freshest and most exciting producers around. She’s just wrapped up her Anjunadeep On Rotation tour where she’s been winning over more hearts, minds and bodies in the US and beyond with her sensual, energising and uplifting house music sets.
DART
Dublin’s Dart originally caught the ears and eyes of music lovers on YouTube. With a four-track EP on Shall Not Fade under his belt, DART produces ecstatic, four-four, snare-heavy tracks that act as dance-floor rocket-fuel. 2019 was a big year. Monki’s &Friends debuted his Nothing 2 It EP, then he won AVA Festival’s Emerging Producer Award, and then he went on a tour of Ireland with Denis Sulta. Since then he’s banged out euphoric house and breaks selections in esteemed venues all over the world from Manchester’s Warehouse Project to House of Yes in NY to London’s Printworks. This month he’s playing alongside Skream in Dublin, solidifying their collaboration on Skream’s “Sad Days,” which Dart remixed into an eerie trance electronica track.
ANNA MORGAN
Anna Morgan’s productions are so bass-heavy it feels like you’re vibrating from within. The Bronx native splits her time between NY and LA, sprinkling her dubby, low-frequency fairy dust wherever she goes. She’s had a big influence on the cultural landscape of both cities, having founded the multi-genre party HEAVY as well as Worst Behavior Recs, a label and party series dedicated to showcasing and supporting new bass sounds. She’s a resident with local collective The Junxion and Brooklyn party Vitamin, with her productions spanning the depth and breadth of jungle, footwork, hip-hop and house. Anna says her aim is to highlight diaspora stories through music. For a taste of the bass, listen to her remix of Strategy and Bell Curve’s track “Spacey.”
RISA T
Born in Tokyo and based in London, Risa T’s break beat productions are a tsunami of energy that’ll sweep away anyone who listens. She describes her productions as “A hybrid of contemporary sounds and textures from hardware instruments and broken beat-influenced rhythms,” and her debut full-length EP Galaxy came out on CoOp Presents on Dec 3rd. It’s a homage to bruk and full of intricate skippy drums laced with vocals, synths and delicate piano melodies. “Lucky” is the EPs, wildcard and a nod to the footwork and future beats of Tennyson, Mura Masa and Sam Gellaitry. Most notable though is Risa T’s ability to turn unpredictable, unexpected, broken beats into smooth and seamless entities, a talent that’s earned her position as a pioneer of the new sound of brukstep.
EVA808
It’s fair to say Eva808‘s a game-changer. Her 2020 album Sultry Venom’s a solid 10/10, with 19 tracks that expertly intertwine minimal and hip-hop to create a catchy tapestry of sound, totally unique to the artist. This month she’s outdone herself with a mix for Ivy Lab’s take-over of Sirius XM. Every track on the mix has been produced, retouched or remixed by the artist herself, injecting a heavy dose of Eva808 flavour every step of the way, including a deconstructed remix of Spice Girl’s “Tell Me What You Want.” What’s most delectable about Eva808’s music is her passion for it. She immerses herself in every track, poring over every beat, break and breakdown with such relics it transmutes directly to the listener. There’s no doubt that whatever’s coming next from Eva808’s gonna floor us all.