We take a look back at the immense musical achievements of Beatport Next’s Class of 2021.
Beatport has a proud history of helping grow the careers of up-and-coming dance music artists. Prominent examples include Grammy-winning producer Zedd, who got his start through a Beatport remix competition back in 2010; and current electronic music stars CamelPhat and ARTBAT, whose tracks were hits on Beatport first.
In 2021, Beatport took this commitment to strengthening and supporting upcoming artists at various stages of their development with the launch of Beatport Next — a platform that provided six emerging artists with a full year of dedicated support.
Hailing from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, all of whom produce and play a wide spectrum of sounds, Beatport tapped Alignment, Logic1000, IMANU, VNSSA Kevin De Vries, and TSHA to make up the Beatport Next Class of 2021.
Over the past 12 months, Beatport championed these talented acts and helped to strengthen their connection and visibility to Beatport’s global DJ community through prime release placements on our store, LINK playlists, editorial features on Beatportal, livestreams and social media support.
We couldn’t be more thrilled with the results of our debut Beatport Next program and would like to thank and congratulate all the artists involved for a phenomenal year of creative success as they continue on their paths to becoming the illustrious dance music stars we always knew them to be.
Below, we recap some of the best moments of 2021 for all the artists involved, including their best releases of the year, in-depth editorial features, and livestreams.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the announcement surrounding the eight artists that we’ve selected for our Beatport Next Class of 2022 — coming in early January 2022.
TSHA
London-based house DJ/producer Teisha Matthews (aka TSHA) is one of today’s most exciting newcomers. Following the release of her Flowers EP in 2020, TSHA signed a three-album deal with Ninja Tune and amassed millions of streams this year for singles like “OnlyL,” “Power,” and “Demba,” along with remixes for the likes of BRONSON, Aluna, Ela Minus, and more. TSHA also played Beatport’s first in-person ReConnect in Ibiza in October (watch it below), and was named BBC Radio 1’s “Future Artist” for January 2021
Check out some of TSHA’s editorial features and top releases of 2021 below!
LOGIC1000
Sydney-born, Berlin-based Samantha Poulter (aka Logic1000) has triumphed since first debuting in 2018. This year, she released tracks like “I Won’t Forget You” and “Like My Way” from the critically acclaimed You’ve Got The Whole Night To Go EP, released on her own Therapy label. She also remixed the likes of Caribou, Lȧpsley, Major Lazer, and Skeleten, and treated us to two additional records — Safe In My Arms/Your Love and In The Sweetness Of You — the latter of which arrived right after she gave birth to her first child!
Check out our recent interviews with with Logic1000, and some of her top releases below!
Read — Introducing: Logic1000
ALIGNMENT
Italian-born, Berlin-based Francesco Pierfelici (aka Alignment) has been steadily making a name for himself as one of Europe’s best new techno talents, with releases on labels like Voxnox Records, Involve Records, Suara, Etruria Beat, and Charlotte de Witte’s KNTXT imprint, including this year’s Power EP. He also dropped the Orderly Chaos EP via Voxnox.
Check out some of Alignment’s editorial features and top releases of 2021 below!
IMANU
Formerly known as Signal, Dutch drum & bass producer Jonathan Kievit (aka IMANU) has been storming the scene under his rebuffed alias which he adopted in 2019. Since then, the 23-year-old has released dozens of records on labels like RAM Records, Sweat It Out, UKF, Critical Recordings and has become a staple of Nosia’s Vision Recordings. In 2021, the Rotterdam artist continued to showcase his unbridled sound with a medley of resounding singles such as “A Taste Of Hope,” “Buried,” and “Gaspin 4 Air, collaborations with bass heavyweights including Black Sun Empire and The Glitch Mob, and served remixes for the likes of Apashe, Zeds Dead, and more.
Check out some of IMANU’s editorial features and top releases of 2021 below!
VNSSA
Vanessa Barnes (aka VNSSA) has steadily worked herself up to become a staple of the Los Angeles electronic music scene. Following a year of releases on labels like Insomniac Records, Higher Ground, Box Of Cats, HotBOi Records, Dirtybird, Trippy Ass Technologies, and more, she’s evolved her energetic, bass-heavy tech house sound and ventured into new and bolder sonic territory. This year, she linked up with Lenny Kiser for the undulating Sinking EP on Dirtybird, turned up the acid with her single “Cuz Of The Beat” on Techne, collaborated with the likes of Steve Darko and OMNOM, and ventured into the techno realm for the first time with her remix of Martin Kinrus’ “Locomotor.” In addition to storming stages at festivals like Dirtybird Campout and HARD Summer, she also participated in Beatport and Wave’s interactive BEYOND series.
Check out some of VNSSA’s editorial features and top releases of 2021 below!
KEVIN DE VRIES
Berlin-based producer Kevin De Vries first emerged in 2015 with a series of climactic EPs that quickly caught the attention of the international techno scene. Over the past six years, he has gone from strength to strength, releasing via labels like Sven Väth’s Cocoon, Adam Beyer’s Drumcode, and Alan Fitzpatrick’s We Are The Brave while earning coveted slots at festivals Tomorrowland, Awakenings, and ADE. His trance-tinged melodic house and techno has also made him a favorite among Tale of Us’ Afterlife fanbase. After pushing out his emotive “Polar Peak” single at the start of 2021, he followed up the year with a deluge of remixes for the likes of Trance Wax, KAS:ST, Middle Earth, and more.
Check out some of Kevin de Vries’ editorial features and top releases of 2021 below!
