Music
6 artists pushing electronic music forward worldwide
From hard techno to afro house and drift phonk, these six artists are reshaping electronic music worldwide - reviving scenes, launching new sounds and amplifying global influences.
If live music is in your veins - especially if it comes with a pulsing bassline - you're going to love Red Bull Midsummer, a one day, 28-hour global sync up of some of the best DJs in the world, all going down on June 20. Beginning in Tokyo, it’ll celebrate a diverse range of international headliners and local artists that reflect the best of the most diverse genre in the world. Think Australian DJ and producer FISHER owning the decks in Vienna, Swedish party-starter DJ Seinfeld leading crowds in Berlin, and LINK UP! founder Andre Power distilling the party essence for fans in New York.
Yes, it’s going to be truly epic, but electronic music is bigger than even the biggest of events. It’s richer, deeper, more steeped in history, more innovative, than any one festival, any one DJ, or even any one fan can capture. Which is why we’ve created this list of some of the most exciting electronic artists out there. Some you’ll have heard of, some might see you rushing to Spotify to find out more. All of them are pushing the genre (and its many sub-genres and niche scenes) forward in myriad ways. Whether they’re reviving a beloved sound, creating a new one, or bringing the music of an entire sub-continent to the forefront, they all deserve a place on your playlist. Join us in giving them their flowers.
01
Fred Again..
Or, Fred Again, Again, Again, Again, Again as his Instagram handle jokingly reads. At 32, Frederick John Philip Gibson can arguably be cited as the reason an entire generation of young people are flocking to festivals, building a life-long love of electronic music in the process. For many, he’s their first taste of the genre. Yes, we know that popularity doesn’t necessarily equal talent, but he’s far from a flash in the pan; Mr Again is a bona fide multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer, alongside being a world-renowned DJ. It’s this all-round ability that’s seen him win the respect of some of the biggest names in the business, dropping collabs with everyone from Skrillex to Anderson .Paak, and Lil Yachty. All of this after breaking out with Boiler Room appearances just four years ago in 2022. Since then he’s hit two major milestones, winning a GRAMMY for Best Dance/Electronic Album and Recording in 2024 and headlining Glastonbury in 2023. Love him or not, his influence on the scene looks set to last for many, many years to come.
02
Sara Landry
We’d be foolish to talk about electro without mentioning the ‘High Priestess of Hard Techno’. At 32, Mexican-American DJ Sara Landry has perhaps done more than anyone to popularise the all-black, gothic party-girl aesthetic of the genre. But she isn’t just a trendsetter, Landry is genuinely pushing the genre forward. Reaching out to a whopping 1.4m Instagram followers, she’s frequently credited with driving the resurgence of hard techno across Europe and North America. She has the accolades to prove it. Ranked #1 in DJ Magazine's 2025 poll of Hard DJs, she’s a mainstay of other DJs’ festival sets with tunes like GIRLBOSS, Heaven and Because They Want Our Seat. And, while Landry may be a legend behind the festival turntables, she’s also passionate about giving back to the community and bringing others with her, via her Austin-based record label, Hekate Records which features up-and-comers like CARV and SIKOTI. All hail.
03
Black Coffee
Black Coffee is a leading light of Afro House
© Jonathan Ferreira/Red Bull Content Pool
Afro House is having a real resurgence at the moment, with DJ Black Coffee’s reach even inspiring producer Travis Barker on pop punk pioneers blink-182’s last album. It doesn’t get more mainstream than that. What’s surprising is that the genre has only really been in ascendance since 2023. Since then it’s launched mainstream stars like South Africa’s aforementioned Black Coffee (Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo to his mum). Among his achievements are eight South African Music Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. But the best thing about the rise of Afro House? That would be how it’s also lifting other Sub-Saharan African genres like Amapiano and Gqom, offering a vital counterbalance to Euro-centric electronic music.
04
Sammy Virji
At just 29 years old, DJ Virji from north-east England is pushing the new wave of UK Garage, a genre making a significant comeback after its peak in the 1990s and early 2000s. It’s Virji paying homage to the music that shaped him. By bringing Garage back into popularity, he’s keeping the genre going with a new influx of younger fans as part of a recent UKG revival. And while Garage isn’t quite as influential in British music as, say, rock ’n’ roll was in the ‘60s, it still remains a key part of UK rave culture, and one of Britain’s biggest musical exports. Plus, a rising tide lifts all boats. It isn’t just Garage that’s making a comeback, though; jungle, speed garage, bassline and breakbeat are all back in the dance charts. Time to break out that whistle and bucket hat again.
05
Polygonia
According to Clash magazine, Munich-based multidisciplinary artist Lindsey Wang is one of the best electronic live acts in the world right now. Performing as Polygonia, she’s so talented it’s almost infuriating. Already accomplished as a graphic designer, photographer and illustrator, it’s her work as a DJ, instrumentalist and producer that has propelled her to the cutting edge of electronic music. Her songs mix techno, ambient and downtempo, cumulating in a sort of sonic mindscape influenced by the mystical and the natural world. This would be enough to mark her as the most exciting part of the next generation of electronic DJs, but Polygonia doesn’t sit still for labels like that. No, she’s blazing her own path as the founder of QEONE Records, and the brains behind an immersive live experience of her album, Dream Horizons, which aimed to turn life performance into 12 varied “dream scenarios.” It’s truly electro on the next level and a glimpse into the future.
06
Kordhell, INTERWORLD, DXRK ダーク
Meet the unofficial figureheads of electronic music’s most exciting genre. It isn’t house, electronica, or techno with the biggest Spotify playlist, but Phonk, with over 11.5m saves. To give it its full name, Drift Phonk is a constantly adapting genre of electronic music, believed to have its roots in – of all places – 1990s Memphis rap. Think half-time beats, melodic samples, and lo-fi, half-time rhythms. There’s an irresistible DIY aesthetic to the genre, even as it’s grown to encapsulate parts of the wider hip hop scene, alongside house and EDM. Drift Phonk, originally a Russian variant on the genre, has become a cross-cultural phenomenon, with videos taking inspiration from anime and car racing. The beauty is that it’s an amorphous, ever-changing genre, with emerging scenes in Argentina, Brazil, India and beyond all putting their spin on it. British producer Kordhell, Russian producer INTERWORLD, and Algerian artist DXRK ダーク are your way in.