Longtime dance-music bastion Matthew Dear (just one of his uniquely-flavored aliases) has been entrancing fans since the early 00’s, gaining a massive following in the underground electronic scene as well as a loyal fanbase within the music community itself, having remixes commissioned Hot Chip, the Postal Service, and the XX (to name a few). Also a tastemaker on the business end of the scene, Dear and longtime friend Sam Valenti IV co-founded the esteemed electronic label Ghostly International in 1999, signing artists like Tycho, Gold Panda, and School of Seven Bells over the years, and its dancefloor-offshoot Spectral Sound a year later. For nearly the last two decades, Matthew Dear has carved himself a place in the plugged-in tapestry of underground electronica.
Dear follows-up his goth-pop gem “Modafinil Blues,” released in June, with something a bit sweeter on the ears and lighter on your feet, collaborating with Canadian pop-rock darlings (and Dear fans) Tegan and Sara to glide your 2017 summer soundscape to a soft, prudent ending. Of all the tangible and avant-garde genres Dear and his other aliases garner, this one lands hard in the “minimal techno” zone, but don’t mistake “minimal” for “uninteresting,” this slow-burner possess the perfect amount of momentum to keep your noggin bumping along the whole time, and through the inevitable repeats.
“Bad Ones” is available now via Ghostly International.
-Taylor Wallace// host, Thursdays 8P & Saturdays 2P; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli, SoundCheck Music News, and Song of the Day
