Matthew Dear

It’s four on the floor with a dash of Detroit techno when music producer/DJ and experimental electronic pop artist Matthew Dear takes to the stage on Treasure Island. The co-founder of Ghostly International has been involved in an insane amount of musical projects, and has been remixed by just about everyone and their mother—one wonders whether he has had time to sleep in the past decade. For those unfamiliar with Dear, he is known for breaking the confines of musical genres. He is an artist who has played between the extreme lines of minimal techno and harder-edged house, finding inspiration in everything from ghetto-tech to synth-pop to the Talking Heads. This year marks the release of Dear’s latest full-length album, Beams, on which he plays the roles of songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, vocalist, producer, and DJ. Beams presents a more musically accessible—yet deep—collection of tracks to his oeuvre. VERONICA YOUNG