The Greatest Digital Music Producers of 2024

Editor’s Word: EDM.com proudly publishes 4 installments of annual year-end protection: Trade Leaders, Performances & DJ Units, Music Producers and Songs.

DJing and music manufacturing are completely different. However the distinction between the 2 is sort of a wallflower—it hides in plain sight, and it is vastly misunderstood.

Publishing a “High DJ” checklist would undermine the originality, creativity and unbridled creativeness of the artists who dedicate their lives to music manufacturing. To honor their profound dedication to the artwork, the EDM.com workers yearly acknowledges 10 of the yr’s greatest.

In no explicit order, uncover the perfect digital music producers of 2024 beneath.

ISOKNOCK

Armed with generational manufacturing expertise and an unapologetic disregard for conference, ISOxo and Knock2 proved in 2024 that some creative mixtures are merely written within the stars.

By means of reconstruction by deconstruction, their intentionally provocative artistry reduce by means of the formulaic noise of in the present day’s EDM with each industrial precision and visceral intimacy. In a yr marred by TikTok-fueled predictability, they smashed the playbook with nail-spiked baseball bats and introduced anarchy to the algorithm, proving that unfiltered creativity nonetheless has a spot in in the present day’s fractured streaming sector.

The duo, collectively referred to as ISOKNOCK, shocked followers again in August after they surprise-released their debut album, 4EVR. Equal components stunning and belligerent, the mission is a song-cycle of uncooked dance bangers that lock horns with punk’s snarling spirit. One of many yr’s greatest albums, it is an expertise that left us feeling like we would been by means of some form of metaphysical automobile wash—battered and soaked in sound, however in some way cleaner for the expertise.

ISOKNOCK’s music additionally translated like clockwork to their 2024 dwell exhibits, which reworked dancefloors into middle-fingers-in-the-air battlegrounds that demanded bodily and emotional give up. The duo debuted at Coachella, demolishing the competition’s legendary Sahara Tent earlier than daring gravity at Chicago’s North Coast Music Pageant by performing in a transport container suspended by a crane.

^{Phrases by Jason Heffler.}

PAWSA

There is a operating joke in the home music scene that PAWSA’s USB is sort of a genie’s lamp—each monitor appears like a want granted. The UK producer is infamous for teasing followers with unreleased music in his dwell units for years earlier than formally releasing it.

In 2024, nevertheless, various PAWSA’s hotly anticipated tracks hit the airwaves. The frequent thread between his releases—like “DIRTY CASH (MONEY TALKS)” and “TOO COOL TO BE CARELESS”—is a hedonistic mixture of old-school dance music and trendy tech home. He effortlessly blends timeless ’90s vocals with thumping drums and basslines.

Much less is extra for the minimal home virtuoso, and that is the perfect half. His stripped-back model eschews intricate melodies and busy, over-produced beats in favor of uncooked grooves. It is not simply music you hear, however music your physique feels—a direct line to the heartbeat of the dancefloor.

^{Phrases by Saad Masood.}

Martin Garrix

In a banner yr for digital dance music, Martin Garrix reminded us that the way forward for the style belongs to these daring sufficient to reimagine it. Because it quickly advanced all through 2024, he remained a lighthouse—good, influential and perpetually in movement.

Garrix’s music has all the time managed to engineer ageless reminiscences within the minds of his followers, however this yr, he returned to his progressive home roots and fired up the nostalgia machine greater than ever. He was a drive of nature, proving that generally essentially the most groundbreaking moments come from rekindling the spark that first lit the hearth.

Each week it appeared like followers had a classic Garrix banger to stay up for, born from his capacity to weave his roots into a brand new and electrifying imaginative and prescient. He began with the unforgettable “Carry You,” an anthem of hope launched in February alongside Third Celebration, Oaks and Declan J Donovan. Then got here three consecutive singles in as many weeks, a succession that culminated within the launch of IDEM, a rapturous EP that includes larger-than-life collaborations with DubVision, Mesto and extra.

The euphoria then bubbled over this summer time when Garrix launched “Wherever You Are,” a hovering competition favourite showcasing each his technical mastery and lyrical depth. Nevertheless it won’t finish there—after Coldplay featured his tune “Breakaway” of their viral Glastonbury set, he hinted that an authentic collaboration with the enduring band may are available in 2025.

^{Phrases by Jason Heffler.}

Jamie xx

2024 introduced the revival of the inimitable Jamie xx, whose launch of In Waves—his first studio album in almost a decade—led to one of many yr’s most compelling digital music tasks.

It was well worth the wait. In a yr the place songs have been churned out quicker than a ChatGPT immediate, In Waves stands as a testomony to taking your time within the pursuit of a daring artistic imaginative and prescient. It is generally joyful and generally hauntingly introspective. A mission masking such a variety dangers feeling cluttered or disjointed, however not within the expert palms of this English beatsmith.

A uncooked love letter to membership tradition, In Waves advised an exhilarating narrative by means of unforgettable tracks like “Baddy on the Flooring” (with Honey Dijon), “All You Youngsters” (with The Avalanches) and “Waited All Evening,” the lattermost of which Jamie produced alongside his former bandmates from The xx, Oliver and Romy. By design, it is troublesome to field these numerous tracks right into a single style classification.

Jamie’s music additionally left fairly a cultural footprint in 2024. Earlier than he even launched In Waves, he returned to his house of London to host a curated occasion, “The Flooring,” and manifested his dream of opening his very personal membership. It was a snapshot not solely of his boundless creativity, but in addition his deep-rooted appreciation of the UK underground.

^{Phrases by Rachel Freeman and Shakiel Mahjouri.}

LP Giobbi

LP Giobbi has constructed her profession on a basis of innovation and empowerment, however she took them to new heights in 2024.

Her infectious vitality and genre-defying sound crept into the bedrock of Dotr, her hotly anticipated sophomore album. The file stands as a tour de drive, mixing her signature piano-driven home beats with soulful contributions from a compelling roster of collaborators, together with Alabama Shakes, Portugal. The Man, Panama, Jacob Banks and Holly Bowling. Tracks like “Really feel” and “Bittersweet” grew to become immediate hits, encapsulating Giobbi’s unparalleled capacity to bridge the hole between classical musicianship and trendy dance music.

She additionally remained steadfast in her dedication to fostering inclusivity within the digital dance music neighborhood by means of her beloved FEMME HOUSE neighborhood, organizing workshops, mentorship and assets to fight trade disparities. The group in March teamed up with Insomniac Data to launch an enormous compilation that includes music by Mary Droppinz, Lisbona Sisters, ZOF, Bexxie and different promising girls in dance music.

^{Phrases by Mikala Lugen.}

Fairly Lights

Fairly Lights’ comeback demonstrated that true innovation takes time, introspection and a fearless leap into the unknown.

Twin Fusion Unity, his first new authentic music in seven years, humbly reminded followers why he stays one in every of a sort. The radiant EP is classic Fairly Lights, a kaleidoscopic journey by means of glitchy digital textures, soulful vocal samples, funky brass prospers and moments of pure analog heat.

On its opening monitor, “Street to the Stars,” Fairly Lights’ reflective monologue serves as a poignant emblem of his extraordinary journey, crystallizing the return of a beloved artist seemingly at peace with creating artwork for its personal sake. “I will fly a starship throughout the universe… and I will be again once more,” he crooned.

Touring as soon as once more with a dwell band, Fairly Lights picked up the place he left off, elevating his dwell compositions into one thing much more dynamic by fusing uncooked instrumentation into his performances. In a style usually seen as saturated with pre-programmed units, his music as soon as once more stood out as deeply human.

^{Phrases by Cameron Sunkel.}

John Summit

Simply if you assume John Summit can’t outdo himself, he does. If 2023 was his crescendo, 2024 was his symphony.

He offered out huge arenas, like New York Metropolis’s Madison Sq. Backyard and LA’s Kia Discussion board; carried out on the world’s largest festivals, like Tomorrowland and Coachella; and curated bespoke occasions for his Consultants Solely imprint, together with a ski journey in Colorado and a luminous Lake Tahoe mountain social gathering.

2024 was the yr Summit unveiled his debut album, Consolation In Chaos, an anthemic but intimate masterstroke wherein he took his songwriting to new heights. His HAYLA-assisted competition anthems “The place You Are” and “Shiver” remained staples, however he additionally took dangers, wading into the waters of drum & bass (“palm of my palms” with venbee), breakbeat (“Keep With Me” with Of The Timber) and techno (“Resonate” with Kaskade and Julia Church).

Nevertheless, he did not cease at Consolation In Chaos. He emerged as a Renaissance man, someday remixing The Mood Lure, the subsequent Inexperienced Velvet. He even dropped one of many yr’s greatest dubstep tracks alongside Subtronics and Tape B.

2024 wasn’t simply one other chapter for John Summit—it was the yr he rewrote the rulebook on what an digital music artist can obtain.

^{Phrases by Saad Masood.}

Sara Landry

There are lots of, many explanation why Sara Landry holds the nickname “Excessive Priestess of Onerous Techno.”

However essentially the most convincing one—even in a yr that noticed her etch her identify in Tomorrowland’s historical past e-book as the primary arduous techno DJ to play its storied Mainstage—was Non secular Driveby. Posing life’s best questions at blistering BPMs, Landry’s outstanding debut album successfully crystallized probably the most explosive digital music breakouts in latest reminiscence.

Identical to her ferocious DJ units, the EDM.com Class of 2024 famous person dragged us right into a vortex of brutal euphoria along with her uncompromising strategy to techno manufacturing. Teetering on the sting of avant-garde and vocal-driven techno, the 12-track opus noticed her staff up with a compelling group of collaborators, like Nico Moreno, Shlømo and the illustrious Mike Dean. The album even contains a haunting soliloquy from her private hypnotist.

Landry soared to new heights and emerged as probably the most in-demand names in music, incinerating dancefloors and cementing herself because the plain “It Lady” of techno in 2024. And as she weaponizes her arsenal for her Coachella debut subsequent yr, all we will do is maintain on for pricey life.

^{Phrases by Mikala Lugen and Jason Heffler.}

Justice

From the opening bars of Hyperdrama, Justice’s first new album in eight years, the duo reminded us why we fell in love with their timeless electro within the first place.

Whereas it is nonetheless anchored within the gritty analog tones that made them icons, the album discovered Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé exploring uncharted territory with a renewed sense of journey and emotional depth. They transcended the straightforward pleasures of physique music to talk to the tragedies, triumphs and bittersweet complexities that loom over the dancefloor’s euphoric launch.

Eschewing the aloof digital stoicism that outlined Justice’s earlier works, Hyperdrama bleeds candor and stressed craving with out abandoning their roots. Tracks like “Generator” and “Neverender” (with Tame Impala) have already earned their place as trendy dance classics, reinforcing Augé and de Rosnay’s ageless knack for crafting generational music.

Nevertheless it’s not simply the music that made Hyperdrama stand out. They’re stated to have spent months working with a staff of laptop scientists to provide the album’s accompanying dwell present, finally elevating it right into a groundbreaking, multi-sensory expertise that captivated crowds at Coachella and the Hollywood Bowl, amongst many others.

^{Phrases by Jason Heffler and Rachel Freeman.}

LSZEE

Good luck discovering a extra distinctive, but refined, digital album this yr than LSZEE’s self-titled debut.

Fusing CloZee’s globe-spanning sound with LSDREAM’s religious funk and bass, the album is a transformative expertise. There exists no collaborative partnership within the digital music scene fairly like this one; LSZEE sounds distinctly like LSZEE.

The album’s songs cowl quite a lot of floor sonically, however move seamlessly along with an overarching sense of surprise. Pay particular consideration to “NIGHTHAWK,” an absolute showstopper on the duo’s dwell units all year long.

LSZEE at the moment are embarking on what they declare to be their solely tour in 2025. Do your self a favor and see them earlier than it is too late.

^{Phrases by Shakiel Mahjouri.}

Honorable Mentions:

Rezz
Peggy Gou
Odd Mob
Coco & Breezy
Syzy
Jon Casey
Eptic
TSHA
longstoryshort
Sammy Virji