Juno Plus: Ones to Watch in 2010

Another year is over – perfect time, then, to not only reflect on the year that was but look ahead to what the future holds. We’ve compiled a short list of the acts we think are primed to break through in 2010 – there’s the usual assortment of sickeningly talented twenty somethings, plus an old hat or two to keep it interesting.

Juno Plus “Ones to Watch” in 2010:

A talented young French producer in the mould of Hudson Mohawke, Debruit blends cheerful, out-of-phase beats with African rhythms and a myriad of other influences: unsurprisingly, the result is fascinating. His most recent EP Spatio Temporel, takes up where Let’s Post Funk left off with its thick layers of syncopated rhythms and squelchy beats, with the occasional nod to his modest roots in a Parisian Congolese basement bar.

Listen to: Spatio Temporel EP

Parisian-born Premier Rang marked 2009 with debut releases on a pair of achingly hip disco labels, Eskimo and Italians Do It Better. The former (“Zoe Et Heine”) appeared on the Eskimo’s Cosmic Balearic Beats Volume 2, while the latter (“Les Corps Humides”) was one of the best singles of 2009 on Mike Sinometti’s New Jersey imprint. Both were blissful slices of Italo disco that belied the producer’s relatively tender age (born in 1986 – you do the math). After studying music for four years in France, Rang went on to DJ in a host of Parisian nightspots, and cites the likes of Two Lone Swordsmen, Musiccargo and Bot’ox as influences.

Listen to: Les Corps Humides

Floating Points is 22-year-old Londoner Sam Shepherd, one of a new generation of producers flirting on the periphery of dubstep, although his newer productions wander thoughtfully into house territory. Indeed, this is deep house for 2010 – classicist in many regards but pushing new and exciting musical boundaries all the same. Already championed by the likes of Benji B, Gilles Peterson and Domu, expect big things in 2010 – who knows, maybe even a full length album…

Listen to: Vacuum Boogie

Azari & III is Dinamo Azari and Alexander III, a Toronto-based duo who shot into the record bags of every self-respecting house DJ in 2009 with their debut single, “Hungry For The Power”, which appeared on the superb Moments of a Crisis compilation from I’m A Cliche Records. This was swiftly followed by another stomper, “Reckless With Your Love”.  Drawing on Chicago House influences, the pair draw on just the right amount of cheese in their productions – not enough to turn off the purists but more than enough to send a dancefloor crazy.

Listen to: Reckless With Your Love

Admittedly a slightly strange contender for an article focusing on emerging talent, but Tevo (35) and his dad Rick (considerably older than that), are relative newcomers to house production, despite a lifetime spent in music. Tevo, who was a teenager living in Chicago during house music’s initial boom, runs the Beautiful Granville record label, while his old man Rick, who has a background in jazz, is now based in Berlin. A quick perusal of Rick’s Discogs page reveals a mere 36 years bewteen production credits. Both father and sun released superb 12″s in 2009, and with more to come next year, these guys could outdo the young guns as the acts of 2010.

Listen to: Can Your Love Find Its Way

Hunee (aka Korean born, Berlin-based Hun Choi) is in many ways the symbol of the deep house renaissance; young, raw and patently not from Detroit or Chicago. But Hunee’s music has soul. Choi clearly – defiantly -favours warm house sounds, in contrast to the stark minimal techno that dominated the past decade in his adopted city. He’s not alone of course – there’s Motor City Drum Ensemble aka Danilo Plessow (Motor City being a dual reference to Detroit and his home town of Stuttgart, the automotive manufacturing hub of Germany), whose Raw Cuts series was ubiquitous in 2009. Hunee’s first 12”s were released last year, and rapturously received by music heads from London to Seoul.

Listen to: Rare Silk

George FitzGerald’s debut release “Don’t Stay” is due for release on Joy Orbison’s Doldrums label in 2010 – not a bad start in the credibility stakes. The track is also set to feature in Scuba’s Sub:stance upcoming mix CD for heavyweight German label Ostgut Ton, alongside the likes of Joker, Shackleton, Marytn and, yes, Joy Orbison. Indeed, comparisons with Orbison are to be expected (and wholly justified), as FitzGerald also has a clear knack for producing tender, ethereal beats.

Listen to: Don’t Stay (From the upcoming Scuba Sub:stance mix)

Words: Aaron Coultate, Bec Crew