Spotlight: Five artists to check out in December 2024

Every month in our new Spotlight series, we profile five emerging artists from across the globe. Up this month is Jordanian-Palestinian DJ GAWAD, New York's No Sir, Bangkok's Pam Anantr, London's Stresshead, and Mexico City's Viiaan.

Decisively proclaiming himself as the best producer in the Middle East, masked musician DJ GAWAD is having fun with his rap experimentations and X-rated productions, bubbling up out of the Levantine underground. Making it his mission to bring Arabic vocalists into the limelight, the Palestinian-Jordanian producer is rolling out off-kilter hip hop influenced by Memphis rap and drill from across the Atlantic – playful in its approach, but meaningful in its lyricism. Plucking knowledge from his heroes – including US rapper and producer DJ Paul and Jordanian rapper-poet Zombi Al Ostora – DJ GAWAD offers his own cheeky style of contemporary hip hop that pokes fun at today’s music scene, with added commentary on life and its hardships.

On his debut album released earlier this year via Richie Culver’s Drowned By Locals imprint, ‘DJ GAWAD Presents: VOLUME 1’, the producer pays homage to the classic mixtape with a 13-track record spanning downtempo rap and sample-heavy productions. Inspired by “political correctness, groupies, Arab artists that insist on singing in English, Spotify’s business model, morality, and selling yourself out to support Arab artists that insist on singing in English,” DJ GAWAD is sure to bring a little humour to his second album, ‘VOLUME 2’, very soon, with a handful of “secret EPs” to be released along the way.

Recommended work: DJ GAWAD '3abbi Lshanta' (feat. Tony Bleng & Fara7)

"I'd recommend the second track from my album for sure. Especially the second verse. Myself and Fara7 are always on the same page about what we want (water)."

New York’s bass scene is bursting at the seams with new talent right now, but there’s one artist helping to take the tempo down a notch with their sub-focused sound. No Sir has earned the respect of fellow bass purveyors from the likes of CCL and Doctor Jeep in the past year, known for their dark and percussive take on 140 with influence from their instrumentalist background. “A question that often emerges when I'm working is how can I use a few seemingly disjunct or even dissonant sounds to create something that feels clean and distinct,” they explain. “This usually means zeroing in on a singular sound and seeing how far I can "push" it before it breaks or becomes unusable. That's a really invigorating line to walk for me.”

Toying with abstract ideas, No Sir’s recent releases have journeyed from the US to Europe, spattering labels like London’s Faux Poly, Turin’s early reflex, and Dublin’s Woozy, all sounding right at home on their respective imprints. But while they’re beginning to break out across the pond, No Sir has made a name for themselves back at home, too, regularly popping up at Nowadays, The Lot Radio, and Good Room, while holding down a residency at New York club night The Level Party. Into 2025, No Sir gears up to release their next EP on Paris’ De la... je l'espère, while “pushing the boundaries” of their sound as a DJ and producer as they enter their experimental era, with music that isn’t just solely geared to the dancefloor.

Recommended work: Magic City with No Sir on The Lot Radio

"I recently took over my friend Jess' show on The Lot Radio (shoutout Jubilee and Magic City!). This recording represents the kinds of sounds I've been inspired by recently – bass-heavy, percussive, and deep. I'd also love to spotlight my latest EP on early reflex! Working with Alec has been such a pleasure and this release feels like a huge step for me in terms of defining my sound and connecting with other artists in this kind of zone."

A dancefloor-devotee first, DJ second – Bangkok’s Pam Anantr draws from those euphoric moments in the club when she’s behind the decks. With an expert precision on blends between jazz, deep house, boogie, and funk, Pam’s style tiptoes through the “older worlds” of dance music, she explains, inspired by digging deep into the crates for long-lost gems, or hunting the airwaves for modern takes on vintage styles. Soulful and spiritual selections are always in her gravitational pull as a selector, constantly paying it back to the club. “For me as an audience member and a dancer, I learn so much from the dancefloor,” she says.

With the launch of her own wine bar and hi-fi sound room, Salon Kiku, as well as her co-founded music and wellness festival Ritual Rhythm Weekend, Pam Anantr is bringing her musical side projects to life as she continues performing across Thailand alongside artists like Sochi Terada, Danilo Plessow, and Gabrielle Kwarteng. Up next, Pam takes her soulful sounds on tour to Australia in 2025, with a quick stop at Ko Mak’s Fly To The Moon Festival.

Recommended work: Straight Honey w/ Pam Anantr on NTS

"I'd recommend my latest mix – and my debut for NTS. I chose this mix because I played all sort of sounds and tempos there, including a lot of tracks from Asian artists from Thailand to Singapore to Vietnam. I think it’s very important to represent the sounds and culture from the place and region I'm rooted in, and most importantly to highlight local artists – especially in South East Asia."

Look deeper than the cinematic self-produced visuals that litter his Instagram and you’ll find Stresshead’s has own aesthetic world reeling with nostalgia and shimmering club music. Creatively adept in every way – from production to film direction and editing – the London DJ and producer has certainly found his niche in the UK underground with a distinct sound that fuses pop, bass, and textured house with bubbling synths and percussion. Inspired by artists who “build a world around their own project”, from producers like Iglooghost to creatives like Gawx and Ethan Uncurated, Stresshead is taking pride in his own artistic abilities where his self-taught skills and humble strive for more have taken him from the ground up.

After embarking on a tour and production trail across North America this year, Stresshead caught the attention of Fred again.., who invited him to support a leg of his recent US tour. Spins on Radio 1’s Introducing shows have also put him on the map in 2024, while his participation in Check Leopard – a London-based producer collective – has helped to circulate his name across the dance music world. January calls for new music from Stresshead: “I’m deep in writing mode at the moment, working on a body of work for 2025,” he explains. “I’ve got Logic open as I’m typing this.”

Recommended work: Stresshead on hedsRADIO

"I recently recorded a set at hedsRADIO in LA and it's my favourite mix to date – it reflects my tastes right now (lots of IDM), as well as where I’m at technically with my mixing and where I see my sets going next year. I’m a huge planner when it comes to DJing, so I was super happy to put together a set that’s entirely mixed in key."

“I always felt attracted to mysticism,” says Mexico City-born, New York-based artist Viiaan. “I think, in a way, it’s similar to sound – you can’t see the music, but you can feel it,” she says. From dark ambient to glossy techno and IDM, Viiaan is producing some of the most left-of-field experimental music on the East Coast, citing the night-time, bodies of water, and her grandad as sources of inspiration. In just a handful of years, she’s broken out on the club scene with her productions on labels like SUMAC and META MOTO, while honing her craft on her co-founded label and platform, Voragine, a home for off-kilter club music and sound design.

While her DJ sets have taken her from Berlin to Montreal and back again in 2024, next year, Viiaan plans to step up her game with new releases on labels helmed by Polygonia and Paurro, some compilation contributions, and a remix or two. “2025 is an exciting year for me,” she says. “I’m also working on another self-release for mid-year, and after my Europe trip, I got super inspired and now want to showcase a new side of my project as a DJ.”

Recommended work: Viiaan 'Marakame'

"I'd recommend my most recent album, 'Marakame', on DJ Plead, Tom Watts, and Morimoto's record label, SUMAC. It showcases all the different styles I'm into at the moment, some forest monkey vibes, club atmospheres, broken drums, and my perception of the other side. It also includes remixes from two of my favourite artists, Siete Catorce & Cassius Select."

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter