Artists exciting us in 2026 / July

Since starting this as a monthly series in 2024, Mixmag Asia has consistently focused on spotlighting fresh and forward-thinking names from across Asia and its far-reaching diaspora. Now in 2026, that approach remains the same.

From those dedicated to cutting-edge electronic and dance music to the occasional left-field pick from another genre, each edition brings together a selection of artists who are making noise in their local scenes or just starting to reach beyond them.

We’re not rigid about sound; if they move us, they belong here. Some names may already be familiar, others less so, but all are surely worth your time and attention.

Keep a look out for these ones.

MI/EN (pronounced "meen", a nod to her Chinese name 美恩) is just as comfortable behind the decks at a wedding as she is at a warehouse party. She came up through Pioneer DJ EMEA's Start From Scratch programme, started out in London playing rooms like The Yard Theatre, Jaguar Shoes, and Aaja Snakepit, and is now back home in Kuala Lumpur holding it down at spots like Wet Deck and kyō, moving easily between UK garage, breaks, acid house, and heavier techno depending on the room. Over the past six months alone, she's opened for riria and Giorgia Angiuli and closed out for GOTH-TRAD; slots that have gotten her even more attention. She's also one half of the team behind Kosmic Kommune, a psychedelic techno night that sold out its first event and planning a follow-up soon. Part of the Flowstate collective—a DJ community and activation agency partnering with AlphaTheta Malaysia that hosts monthly open decks dojos plus occasional industry talks and workshops—and driven by a genuine love for accessibility in music, she’ll be headed to London and Berlin this September for what she’s hinted as nights of the psychedelic techno kind.

Tujiko Noriko is the Tokyo-born, Paris-based artist who’s been crafting tracks that lean into the glitchy, downtempo pop kind. Her voice floats between Japanese and English over electro-acoustic textures that are equal parts fragile and strange; the kind of sound that built her debut ‘少女都市+’ and pulled in collaborators like Aoki Takamasa, Lawrence English, and Aki Onda on labels like FatCat and Room40. Recently she's moved from glitchy pop into expansive ambient territory, with 2023's ‘Crépuscule I & II’ and this year's ‘PON’ (a tender, cat-dedicated 2LP) showing just how far her palette has stretched. She's dabbled in filmmaking too, but it's always the sound world she builds—warm, human, and a little uncanny—that pulls listeners back in. The most recent release would be ‘.After Again’, the remix companion to her collaborative CxBxT project with Adrian Corker and George Barton, which consists of several dubbed-out, darker-techno-leaning reworks by DJ Trystero, YPY, DJ ojo, and Tashi Wada.

Fifteen years and counting in the culture, Sinqmin keeps finding new ways to grow. Last September, the DJ-producer launched Carve Out Records, which now boasts four releases under its belt. This runs parallel to his own output which includes outings on One Eye Witness, Howl Records and Inthebagg to date. A regular in the regional circuit, Sinqmin’s footprint is about to travel even further with discussions for a series of European dates in the Fall currently in discussion. Before that, though, the Carve Out co-founder will perform in Tokyo, Osaka, and Chiba, as well as celebrate the label’s first anniversary. Also on the label front is a forthcoming compilation—the label’s first on vinyl—which will feature artists from South Korea, Japan, and Europe. Meanwhile, Sinqmin is working on a new solo EP which he also plans to release on wax.

XING XING, aka Kim Byul, is the Seoul-based DJ and model behind HARDPURE, the collective built around showcasing the city's rising underground talent. Chinese/Korean by background, she draws on that mixed heritage in her sets, moving across genres rather than sticking to one lane. You'll find her holding it down at Seoul staples like Kockiri, Ring, and Nyapi, but she's just as comfortable linking dance music with high fashion, having curated parties for Supreme, Bottega Veneta, and Miu Miu. Her résumé already reads like a world tour: Boiler Room Seoul and Tokyo, Supreme openings in Shanghai, New York, and Tokyo, Potato Head Bali, and opening CL’s London show. It's definitely a track record that's earned her a reputation as one to watch in experimental club music, built on sets that shift between emotional restraint and sharp, high-energy turns.

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