10 Dance Artists To Watch in 2022

Arguably the most exciting realm of the electronic scene is the up-and-coming, where fresh artists with fresh sounds build on the aural history of the genre  — and its thousand sub-genres — while pushing the music ever-further into the future.

As we settle into 2022, our eyes are on a crew of new artists doing exactly that — putting their own spin on electronic music and in the process making names that we expect to see rising up lineups and label rosters in the coming months and years.

Get in on the ground floor, with these 10 electronic artists who deserve your attention in 2022.

Having gone from NCAA basketball athlete to a sailor in the U.S. Navy, to now a well-renowned DJ, HoneyLuv is adept in adaptation. So when the COVID-19 forced the entire world into isolation, she was ready for it, coming out the other side a transformed artist. Pre-quarantine, HoneyLuv (real name Taylor Character), was already rocking dancefloors with R’n’B and hip-hop throughout the U.S., but once live stream culture set in, she transitioned to the realms of house and techno. She quickly became a regular artist on prominent channels like Desert Hearts, Groove Cruise, and LP Giobbi’s Femme House, with her connection to funk and rhythm culled from her history with RnB and hip-hop making her a fan favorite in Twitch chats.

She released six tracks between April and December of 2021, and when events started reappearing, fans were eager to hear this music on a proper system. Last year, she played gigs like Audiotistic San Diego and had an opening slot for Chris Lake at Brooklyn Mirage. In 2022, Character’s already got several festivals booked including Beyond Wonderland, Lightning in a Bottle, and Okeechobee. It thus might be hard to catch HoneyLuv on a live stream these days, but in 2022, the masses will have a chance to see her do her thing up close and personal. — HARRY LEVIN 

Nia Archives

Nia Archives’ Twitter bio reads, “I like 2 create stuff.” Simply put, she embodies the DIY spirit. According to a Mixmag profile, the producer, DJ, singer-songwriter and HIJINXX label founder taught herself how to make music using YouTube tutorials when she didn’t receive any responses from potential collaborators. Their loss: Today, she’s one of the many artists opening up drum & bass and jungle to a new generation of fans by combining the genres’ hard-hitting, heartrate-jacking beats with dreamy melodies and diaristic vocals.

From her debut EP Headz Gone West, released last April, the title track and single “Sober Feels” in particular caught fire with listeners; the sound was dubby and melancholy, with relatable lyrics musing about surviving from one day to the next with (or without) the help of vices. On more recent singles “Forbidden Feelingz” and “18 & Over,” Archives seems to shift her focus to the production, going darker and sharper, more severe. With an EP due out soon and support coming from every which way, Nia Archives is in position for a star-cementing 2022. — KRYSTAL RODRIGUEZ