Spotlight: Five artists to check out in November 2024

Every month in our new Spotlight series, we profile five emerging artists from across the globe. Up this month is Belfast's GHSTGHSTGHST, Nairobi's KNVL., Bogotá's Maria Manuela, London's Stella Z, and Milan's Tadleeh.

Raised on a cocktail of UK bass-adjacent genres like garage, grime, and jungle, masked DJ and producer GHSTGHSTGHST has remained true to his inspirations through the years while paying homage to the greats who came before him. The East London-raised, Belfast-based artist keeps the tempo up with his unique blends of house, trance, and rave, with a mission to champion the oft-overlooked Black divas of dance music through sampling with appropriate credit given. With loyal backing from BBC Radio 1 tastemakers Jaguar and Arielle Free, GHSTGHSTGHST has been on a swift rise in recent years with the release of certified bangers – including last summer’s ‘Spicey’, which was played all over Glastonbury by the likes of Mel C and Jodie Harsh.

In recent months, GHSTGHSTGHST has actualised a goal of releasing with a US record label, landing on Hard Recs with his infectious double-tracker 'Lyrical Miracle / Go Down', picking up support from the likes of Solomun, Sarah Story, and KILIMANJARO along the way. “After a recent series of shows at DRUMSHEDS, Ministry of Sound, Night Tales, and Beat Herder Festival, my next sets will be in Leeds and Manchester and I can’t wait to connect with the northern crowds again,” he explains. “As we head into 2025, I’ve been working hard on a bunch of brand new tracks, focusing on production and creativity. I'm extremely excited to share them with the world!”

Recommended work: GHSTGHSTGHST ‘The What (Extended Mix)’

“I'll always be about the club first, and something that has all the tension, making the crowd wait for the release of the drop. ‘The What’ is my most recent track on Techne, and shows the vibe and atmosphere that I'm always trying to create with my music.”

Catch KNVL. in the mix and you’re sure to hear the deep, sultry sounds of Afro house, oozing with satiny vocals and influence from qgom, techno, and amapiano. Fresh off the back of his debut set in Mixmag’s The Lab Nairobi, the Kenya born-and-raised DJ and producer is hitting high levels of success in 2024, splicing together “different genres and cultures which often dip into traditional rhythms and vocal styles from my homeland and beyond," he explains. Those influences derive from traditional sounds that KNVL. was surrounded by growing up, such as soukous, benga, and taarab, all of which have “significantly contributed” to shaping his musical palette.

A frequent collaborator with Punjabi-Dutch DJ luminary Jyoty, KNVL. has picked up shows across prominent radio stations including Balamii and Rinse FM over the past two years, even landing a guest slot on NTS alongside Touching Bass’ Errol and Alex Rita delving into the resonant, textured sounds of Afro house. “Right now, I’m especially excited to be out there, playing and connecting with people who love music the way I do,” KNVL. says. “I’m also working hard on new music for the coming year, some of which I’ll be sharing in my sets over the next couple of months.”

Recommended work: KNVL., Kwamzy, TonicMotion & MOJVKI ‘PHUMELELA 2.0’

“This track is one I just released in collaboration with friends from across the continent, all of whom are making waves in their own scenes — Kwamzy, TonicMotion, and MOJVKI. I feel it really reflects my musical philosophy: bridging the gaps between different genres and cultures.”

In a love letter to her motherland of Bogotá, Colombia, Maria Manuela is delivering ferocious dembow and guaracha influenced by noughties pop and old Spanish ballads. Drawing inspiration from various genres of Latin American club music, the DJ, producer, and fashion designer weaves funky elements and often trance-inducing styles through her raucous and ever-energetic DJ sets as Bogotá secures its place as a dance music oasis. “I’m inspired by old music, the kind my mother listens to,” she says. “I listen to many women in music, they’re a significant influence on what I do."

Through a collaboration with Colombia’s own Brenda, who she recently went back-to-back with in her debut Boiler Room set, the pair are laying down rapid rhythms with their hardy, club-ready productions, which include 2023’s high-energy EP ‘Minilatin Summerhits’, and 2024’s follow-up four-tracker ‘Basalto’. “I’m currently working on a new EP that I'm excited to announce next year, as well as some new gigs that I'll be posting soon on Instagram,” she explains.

Recommended work: Maria Manuela ‘Teresita Cantora’

“My latest track, created with a lot of love, represents me at my best. It’s a song you can dance to on the dancefloor or enjoy during a self-care session in the bathtub.”

Making music for the more spiritually tuned dance music fans, China-born, London-based DJ and producer Stella Z finds solace in the slower tempos, inspired by nature, film soundtracks, and textured soundscapes. “I always love to create a synaesthetic effect in my music — you can smell the forest or feel my dog's dream,” she explains. After being selected as one of six artists to take part in a mentorship programme from Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section, Stella Z has earned her stripes in the downtempo underground, picking up support from the likes of Ben UFO and Ciel along the way. “Not just in production but also as a DJ, I embrace improvisation and unplanned surprises,” she says. “I'm somewhat obsessed with B2B sets – most of my DJ inspiration comes from the brilliant B2B partners I constantly learn from on the fly. The more adventurous the set, the more I enjoy it.”

When she’s not producing fuzzy textures and ambient, downtempo sonics, Stella Z heads up Quiet Chaos, a “sound curatorial” project with a residency on independent Chinese station Baihui Radio exploring unusual soundscapes, while her other radio appearances have taken her from Kiosk Radio to NTS. “I'm currently working on a new EP set for release early next year, diving deeper into my passion,” she says. “Alongside that, I'll be starting my residency at the one and only JUMBI early next year, where I’m excited to curate some special nights and connect with the community.”

Recommended work: Stella Z ‘In The Woods, Will Be Late’

“I always aim to create something meaningful to myself first before anything else. My debut LP, ‘In The Woods, Will Be Late’, is a good reflection of my organic, ambient and tribal sound as well as my deeply personal narrative style. These tracks transport you to my mountainous seaside homeland of Fujian, China, which I left 19 years ago. It’s a gift to my family, including my childhood dog, and conveys messages I wish I could tell my teenage self.”

Deeply indebted to the sounds of a dark and moody club room, Tadleeh’s unique sound experiments have taken her from strength to strength in the short five years since the release of her debut EP ‘Ego Will Collapse’ in 2019, a dystopian and emotionally charged project spanning six tracks with a nod to her Indian roots. Quickly followed up by a remix pack featuring the likes of CRYSTALLMESS and Slikback, Tadleeh’s recent projects have swung more leftfield, with an experimental practice in her productions and live performances, and a bass, dub, and club influence in her DJ sets.

“During my live performances, I normally play broken beats, vocals, and soft techno tunes,” says the Milan-based DJ, producer, and sound artist. “It always depends on the current mood, sometimes it’s darker and sometimes sunnier, but I love to move through a really deep pasture in general”. Nailing down a full-length release on Youth in 2024, ‘LONE’, as well as radio shows and mixes on Noods, XLR8R, Crack, and NTS, Tadleeh is moving into 2025 with more music under her belt. “An accident in April forced me to stop for several months, and I conceded some time to work in my studio on some new works and collaborations,” she says. “I hope to release some new stuff in 2025.”

Recommended work: Crack Mix 563: Tadleeh

“I'm a really eclectic artist and it's pretty hard to define myself and my taste in one single album or specific genre. I always love to combine mood and rhythms in the same mix or dancefloor DJ set. I really enjoy surprising people who are listening to me, no matter how. I normally follow the flow that I feel right in that very moment.”

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