Matthew Dear

Though Matthew Dear’s extensive, intensive take on modern electronic music has brought remix commissions from the higher-profile likes of Spoon, The Postal Service, and The Xx—and despite his co-founding of IDM hub Ghostly International—the DJ-producer continues to craft his solo work in relative obscurity. Dear’s critical notices glow brighter with each new release, however, and his latest, Black City, caught a much-deserved “Best New Music” tag from Pitchfork. Infused with an urban paranoia borrowed from Berlin Trilogy-era David Bowie, Black City crackles and moans through several dazzling synthetic soundscapes. But even as it considers dystopian alienation, Black City never neglects the dance-floor heart beating below its surface.

Updated 10/04/2011