Dancing Astronaut’s 5 Under 15K: Vol. 31 – Dancing Astronaut
5 Under 15k is a feature on Dancing Astronaut dedicated to spotlighting talented up-and-coming and largely undiscovered artists who we believe deserve more exposure. Each edition highlights five artists from a wide variety of genres with under 15,000 followers on SoundCloud or Spotify (at the time of writing).
Thomas Garcia
House was already a formulaic and metronomic genre before Fisher released “Stop It,” rebranding tech house as the land bridge for dance music neophytes. Yet in that newfound predictable ecosystem, Thomas Garcia has proven time and time again that house music still has a beating heart and a learned soul. As an artist, the four-on-the-floor beat is his canvas, his blank slate that invites his own impressions of different styles including deep house, minimal, dub techno, and more. No wonder in a relatively brief time he’s caught the attention of labels like Elrow, Insomniac Records, and Understated Recordings in addition to launching his own imprint, Vibrascura.
Find Thomas Garcia on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Jon Casey
Coming on the bass music scene around 2017 and only growing from there, South Africa’s own Jon Casey established a bespoke sound that intersects the growing divide between trap and experimental bass. Trap frequently harbors more apparent hip hop influence, while experimental bass often flaunts the producer’s talent for sound design. Casey’s overall sound hones to neither of these definitions. Rather he simply applies the defining characteristics of each as he sees fit. Earlier this year he dove deep into rap by collaborating with DMC champion Craze on “All They Wanna Do”, and just a bit later remixed Blvk Sheep’s grueling hit “Wonksta” full of erratic layers.
Find Jon Casey on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
YOUNG LYXX
Unlike producers, it’s rare for pop vocalists to be shackled to one sound. Hence why Kendrick Lamar can contribute a verse to a Taylor Swift song with little to no rebellion from his loyal following. As long as the vocalist in question has the chops to keep up, they are welcome anywhere and everywhere. Enter YOUNG LYXX, a seasoned talent from the beachy hamlet of San Diego, CA. Just as quick as he puts out his own west-coast inspired solo albums with features by Trinidad James, he’s rapping over an AC Slater EP belonging to the bass house breeding ground Night Bass Records.
Find YOUNG LYXX on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Hairitage
Hairitage is one of those artists who sees the true beauty in the term “bass music.” While most genres are defined by their beats (the most foundational aspect of any piece of music) bass music is defined by the prevalence of a frequency range. Theoretically, anything that heavily features the low end can be considered bass music, and Hairitage features the low end in every which way. Moving between dubstep, hard trap, experimental, and a wide variety of other styles, his sound is built on obscurity and suspense.
Find Hairitage on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Anden
Traversing origins of classical training and roots in hip-hop spinning, brothers Tom and Pete Cuppernull eventual landing in electronic music and their subsequent captivation has proliferated hotly. The Brooklyn-hailing duo, known by the moniker Anden, reference a commonality in love for electronic, a shared passion that has taken shape in the dynamism evident in each production the act lays hands on. More impressively, Anden’s sharply intuitive craftsmanship has won praise across numerous sub-genres—smash hit “Void” dominating Solomun’s DYNAMIC label, finding remix duties for Diplo, and accompanying Grum on his Deep State tour.
Find Anden on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Selected by Jessica Mao)