Artists exciting us in 2024 / November

As we've proudly mentioned before, the Asian scene is thriving. Among the plethora of talent spread across the region and diaspora, we keep on excitedly unearthing more and more names that may not be too familiar to some but are definitely worth your attention.

In the spirit of sharing, Mixmag Asia will be featuring a number of arguably under-the-radar artists who are currently making exciting noise in—and freshly out of—their respective scenes.

Prepare to expand your playlists.

Meet Gargoyle Girlfriend—Rachel McInerney’s energetic, genre-hopping alias who’s been spreading some seriously fun vibes across venues and festivals in Hong Kong and mainland China. Expect anything and everything from minimal, funk, house, Italo disco, UKG, electro, EBM, and more, with the occasional live singing and poetry. With creative roots in live band performances, she brings a unique energy to the decks, drawing from her experience as a post-punk vocalist to build dancefloors—she’s now a full-fledged genre-blending DJ and member of local party purveyors Sticky Fried Vibes. Her upcoming gigs include a bass-heavy night with the crew, opening for the iconic DJ EZ plus a stacked show at Minh Club with Rezonate…all while prepping her debut EP.

Kyoto-based Stones Taro has caught our (and the global underground’s) attention with his fusion of 90s house, UK garage, and jungle. His rise took off with the 2020 release of his ‘Word Rush’ EP on London’s YAM Records, a record that sold out quickly, prompting a rare repress due to high demand. Building on that success, his impressive catalogue now spans top-tier labels such as Shall Not Fade, Scuffed Recordings, and Hardline. Known for his technical prowess and genre-blurring style, his tracks have become go-to selections for DJs worldwide. This year, Stones Taro took his creative ambitions further with the launch of his label, NC4K, and his debut album, ‘Dwellers of the Seabed’, which takes listeners on an atmospheric journey through imagined underwater worlds.

One-fourth of Seoul’s influential collective The Internatiiional, Arexibo aka Soma Kim has been catching our ears with her always-eclectic fusion of deconstructed beats, experimental bass, and footwork. She’s set to drop her first official track in years next month, and it’s just as captivating as her mixes. Unapologetically bold, Arexibo is championing this off-kilter, deconstructed sound across Asia with her collective, with recent sets in London, an Asia tour, and an India tour supported by Milkman under her belt this year. She’s no newcomer, but she’s finally receiving her overdue flowers on the global scene. She also curates experimental live sessions with BARAM and her own platform, spotlighting local live talents. What’s more, The Internatiiional are one of the most exciting collectives doing it out of Korea at the moment.

We first heard Shantam spin an all-originals set at a Dance OK Please party in Mumbai and we just knew that there was “more where that came from”, as the cliché goes. It was around the time that the New Delhi-based artist dropped his excellent ‘Out The House’ EP on Krunk Kulture and six months on, we hear that there’s more new music on the way. Featuring five breaks and techno-leaning tracks “inspired by and for Indian dancefloors”, Shantam is set to self-release ‘FreaQ’ at the end of the month. In the meantime, he will join one of Don’t Forget To Go Home’s 12-hour sessions at The Loft in Goa on November 15 and a Dance Ok Please event on the November 28 before headlining an upcoming rooftop party on November 29 that will be captured on camera as well as with a drone. December will be equally as busy with Shantam gracing Bangalore’s Echoes of Earth festival, High Spirits in Pune, and Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa for a live set.

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