12 artists who made an Impact on 2016

Impact is a series that's dedicated to profiling raw talent that's about to turn dance music on its head. It's a statement we worked tirelessly on this year, bringing you the brightest underground names that made a splash in the vast pool that is dance music.

As 2016 fades into darkness, we look back on talking with Abyss X about her Greek rioting background, finding out Denis Sulta still "shits himself" before a big gig and the many amazing mixes our artists provided over the year.

Whether it was selling-out events up and down the country or launching his own record label with the sublime ‘Nein Fortiate’, Denis Sulta established himself as Scotland’s next bright light in 2016. At the tender age of 22, we picked him to make an Impact early in the year and he certainly delivered. Following in the footsteps of fellow Scottish dance music pioneers Slam, Optimo and Jackmaster, expect Denis Sulta to feature prominently next year as well.

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The Black Madonna’s right hand man at the legendary Smart Bar in Chicago, Olin played a big part in shaping the legendary club’s sound this year. As the day-to-day talent buyer and resident DJ, the Kansas-native has lived up to his responsibility of keeping the club’s flame burning strong 26 years after it opened its doors. While his role is more behind the scenes, you can’t deny the Impact he’s making on such a hallowed institute.

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DEBONAIR is the alias of London-based selector Debi Ghose, an artist who has thrilled with her cavalier radio shows and live sets. After stints with the BBC, Dalston’s NTS came calling and gave her a bi-weekly slot which has firmly put her on the map.

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Four EPs in one year and Peggy Gou has put herself very firmly on the map. It’s been a sharp rise for the first South Korean-born producer whose 80s-flavoured track ‘Gou Talk’ was voted into our top 100 tracks this year. Having already released on Rekids, Phonica White and Technicolour, we can’t wait to see what the in-demand producer does with another full year.

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Guillaume Berg and Virgil Abloh announced themselves this year in a flurry of new threads and musical knowledge spanning generations of genres. Based in France and the USA (hence the name) the duo were already established as individuals. Berg is the creative director at French label Bromance Records while Abloh has been one of the driving creative forces behind Kanye West. Now they’ve turned their attentions to dance music. Good luck, 2017.

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“People are sick of genre, conformity and homogeneity, and ready for something new.” Enter Endgame, who we spoke to in June. As a 100bpm specialist, the London producer has been turning heads with his low end rollers, emerging from the shadows with a fresh sound from the country's capital. This year he took it to another level, signing with Hyperdub and banging out two well-received EPs. “I feel like music should make you cry, turn up, or both. I want to break hearts in the club,” he also told us. So far, he's living up to that mission statement.

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Mall Grab fever hit an all-time high in 2016. Off the back of the very popular lo-fi sound, the Australian producer became a pin-up for the genre with gems like ‘Can’t’, ‘I’ve Always Liked Grime’ and ‘Let U Kno’. He's also started to gather a reputation for his DJing abilities, taking on a monthly show on Rinse FM and regularly getting tapped up for European gigs. Now immigrated to London and with Europe at his doorstep, world domination awaits.

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Mechatok is at the heart of Staycore and Bala Club, two crews that have risen through ranks together and are now getting noticed on the world stage. What's incredible about that is the producer is only 19 years old. Mechatok’s spent most of the year focused on turning both his crews into musical powerhouses. So far, mission accomplished.

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In just three years since beginning an obsession with Ableton, Canadian native Rezz has become a force unto herself. Signed to Mau5trap and dropping a Skrillex approved debut in 2015, her raw, grinding, explosive, unapologetic sound has won her many followers. Her Impact mix for us in October was the most streamed of the year.

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"Being Greek, riot is deeply engraved in my culture," Abyss X told us in November. It's that kind of energy that's seen the Crete-born, New York artist thrive this year. Her 'Mouthed' EP on Halcyon Veil turned heads with it's visceral nature, a key ingredient in her live shows. Then she dropped her debut album ‘Nushu’ on Infinite Machine, a record that acted as a much-needed escape in such a shitty year.

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After naming Julia Govor one of our artists to watch at the end of last year, we couldn't wait to have her in The Lab for a spot of deep and intricate techno. A smile didn't leave her face for the entire session as the Russian DJ channelled Nina Kraviz, Zip and Mr G's enthusiasm. Since then Julia Govor has gone from strength to strength. Her ‘Open Possibility’ EP featured one of our best premieres this year and her Get Physical and Visionquest releases were top notch. Now firmly in the sights of Pete Tong, Cocoon and Ricardo Villalobos, Julia Govor could challenge for the title of techno's next big thing.

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The Gqom sound absolutely exploded this year with the gritty and minimalist rhythms being described as the heartbeat of Durban. At the front of a pioneering wave is DJ Lag. He's been finessing his sound and building up a following in his home country for years, but 2016 was the year the rest of the world took notice.

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