Asia Rising: 18 visionary artists to watch out for this year

There’s plenty to say about Airbear, but it might just take a few keywords. The part-time promoter and DJ is also a filmmaker and photographer, and there are rumours that his next film projects about Korean culture (produced in English) will appear on Netflix, and possibly feature his own cameo. On the music front, Airbear, whose real name is Aaron Choe, has been busy working on his own label, Downtown Records which steals the namesake from his party series as a promoter. His music vibe is close to the label’s agenda — wide, very wide. He’s been invited by the planet’s best platforms including NTS, Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM, Red Light Radio and Boiler Room. Expect to hear him on the airwaves of Mixmag Asia Radio very soon, but until then, have a listen to his promo mix for Hong Kong-based festival Shi Fu Miz.

Big beats in all forms is what you’ll expect from the aptly named artist, Bowlcut — whether it’s four to the floor slammin’ house, future house, breakbeat, acid or techno, there’s something especially energetic about a Bowlcut set. Catching Bowlcut behind the decks is a guarantee for a dynamic dancefloor, applying scratch and unique technical sensibilities that make him a true performer and entertainer, as well as a profound selector — a balance of a charismatic performing artist that is quickly disappearing in the world of DJs. To be fair, he started out in hip hop and turntablism culture, but it was electronic music that gave him the buzz he was looking for. Off the decks, he fills plenty of shoes, firstly as co-founder of Seoul Community Radio, plus being the founder of lo-fi collective Hazed and Confucius and he constantly experiments with his productions to push his personal boundaries. He’s a community player that has inspired artists that have followed, so, despite his time in the game, we expect to see exciting things happen for Bowlcut in 2020, including the launch of his own record label.

It seems like South Korea is going through a musical renaissance right now. Up next under the spotlight is Closet Yi, who quickly appeared unto all of our playlists after her self-portrait mix set for Stamp the Wax went viral in February this year. That’s not to say she’s fresh in the scene, she’s been grinding and honing her sound for the past few years. Her first release came via Korean record label Honey Badger, and last month saw her first EP titled ‘Tam Tam Land’ on London-based label No Bad Days. It’s floaty, melodic and slightly otherworldly, laden with stylistic drum sequencing. She has more releases lined up Honey Badger Records which we hear will be heavily influenced by her Korean heritage and love for nature, and of course, the dance floor. While we anticipate a killer release for the summer, have a listen to ‘Basalt’ from her recent EP, ‘Tam Tam Land’.

The young Sapporo native initially got her early inspirations and influence in music from her dad playing the piano. Qrion broke away from the societal mould that she was expected to fit into, and is now carrying a high-flying career path on her shoulders. With the attention of the Anjuna label family behind her and a rapidly growing fanbase, there is no denial, or no turning back for the young Japanese rising star, who is now based in San Francisco. She's already garnered high credibility in Europe, Asia and is working on the Americas, but it's become clear that outside of Japan, people have already latched onto her vibes. Qrion recently did a smooth, perfectly harmonic mix for Mixmag Asia Radio, have a listen to the sounds of Qrion below.

We return to the land of the Garuda to talk about Muktito Adhitya, a musician, producer and sound designer who goes by the alias Prabumi. His innate nature and personality could not be more reflective of his musical output, or vice versa. The ideology and meaning behind Prabumi “can be interpreted as a state before man as it is today as a state before man as it is today”, says Prabumi to his social media following, which helps define the approach to his art form as “a movement through music, by responding the sound of nature.“ His music is organic in a novel way, ethnic in a modern way, and positive in all ways. We had the pleasure of meeting him at Wonderfruit festival where he performed a full live set for the like-minded collective, Rainforest Pavilion. Have a listen to his spell-binding productions like slow-techno burner titled ‘Titik’.

The days of dark disco seem to get longer and longer, only because we're listening to more of it these days. Originally from Jakarta, but now based in Singapore, Jonathan Kusuma's presence is that of an untamed yet timid and humble beast, both on and off the decks. He's a musician, songwriter, producer and DJ — his sets have to be some of the most energetic, broody and dynamic that we've heard across Asia for the last couple of years, and promoters have been lining up to book him. The main label that he's been releasing with is Cosmo Vitelli's 'I'm a Cliché' from Paris, where he releases moody and groovy low to mid-tempo frequencies that keep you grinding and churning while still riding on a high. The busy producer also has a number of aliases including Space System and Draculae. Despite the fact that he's been on the circuit for a few years, there are always surprises lurking around the corner from Kusuma, and we hear that he'll be throwing a few shapes of sound our way in 2020. Get stuck into this mix set he did for Deep House Amsterdam.

Risa Taniguchi has already garnered the support of international big guns like Amelie Lens, Maceo Plex and Perc, and it all started on the global stage when she played at SXSW in 2017, the same time when her first internationally signed track was heard and liked by all the right people. The Tokyo-born musician is a classically trained pianist, trombonist and violinist, but she musically expresses herself behind the booths of Tokyo's most prolific venues like Vent, Contact and Womb with techno. Serious techno. Her sound is moody and dark, with powerful acid basslines that set the tone for her sets. Funnily enough, this is the same way she would probably describe her classical music style. Still, with techno, she goes further, making use of her own vocals, while adopting harsher edges and frequencies to productions. Have a listen to her live set from Australia's Sub Club below.

Unassuming might be your first impression of 26-year-old Yaeji, who was born in New York, and her affinity and time spent with dance music certainly speaks that way too. Techno is relatively new to her as an artist, only coming into her life after spending a few years selecting energetic hip hop on radio. But here we are in 2020, and if it's a Yaeji song that's gently freaking out your speakers, it's sure to be warm and colourful. She's been touted by Mixmag.net as one to watch out for since 2018, but with her recent album drop just less than two weeks ago, we think she's going to be hitting more headlines, line-ups and playlists in 2020. Her style is a unique, almost-dreamy, blend of house and hip hop that yields a certain texture of broken beat that is almost unconventional for dance floors, but it's the superficial layers of English and Korean vocal snips, mellow and phased synths that let her music ride with force. Are you a fan of the unexpected? Jump on in into Yaeji's world with her new album 'What We Drew', and we'll see you there.

It seems like the A&R at Korea’s Honey Badger Records know what they’re doing, as Mignon is the third artist who’s been signed to the label that we’ve listed as a hot item in 2020. Mignon is part of the new breed of tech house and breaks producers, having also released on Munich’s Ruffhouse Records, and made a highly appraised appearance at Boiler Room Seoul in December 2019. He is certainly fresh to the scene, but the new wave he’s riding looks like it’s going to go far, and high — just listen below to know why.