Top 100 Artists of the Decade: #36 Matthew Dear

The Top 100 Artists of the Decade list will be posted over the course of 100 days. On September 23rd, we will post one artist and continue every day until December 31st, when we will unveil our #1 artist of the decade!

Please read our introduction to learn about our nominating and ordering process.

#36 Matthew Dear

Matthew Dear brings a vocalist's sensibility to layered progressive Detroit Techno. Not surprisingly, he got his start in the Detroit scene with his first single "Hands Up For Detroit", with Disco D. (Under the name Daisha; he's also performed under the monikers Audion, False and Jabberjaw.)

Dear was one of the early artists on the seminal label Ghostly International, home to some of the strongest electronic acts in the biz. He actually began on Ghostly's imprint, Spectral Sound, which lodges the label's progressive dance artists.

As an indication of his musical style changes, he has since moved over to Ghostly's main label, as he experiments beyond the Detroit sound and begins to lay down more straight forward melodies and vocal tracks. He also became one of the first artists to rethink the mid 70s Bowie/ Fripp/ Eno sound, so popular in the independent music scene these days. Songs like "Pom Pom" and "Untitled" borrow liberally from the Berlin period albums (Lodger, Heroes, and Low). There are also strong nods to the Remain in Light Talking Heads in the both the lyrical content and compositional thinking (e.g., "Death to Feelers"). But Dear takes this mix of influences and adds his distinctive beats, which ultimately keeps his project relevant to both the dance floor and the hard wood floor in the living room.

[ play ] | [ download mp3 ] Matthew Dear - And In The Night

[ play ] | [ download mp3 ] Matthew Dear - But For You

[ play ] | [ download mp3 ] Matthew Dear - Pom Pom

Check back tomorrow for the next artist! To see the full list of the Top 100 Artists of the Decade, click here.