Since 2013, Massachusetts natives Willie Watkins and Matt Meier have had one goal: dominate the dubstep and bass music world. Currently residing in Long Beach, CA, the two producers met in middle school and grew up together with a shared passion for music. Under the name Barely Alive, the two have been pioneering their genre for over 10 years and are well known and respected by listeners and fellow producers alike for their unique cross of heavy bass sound design with 80s-inspired synthwave musicality.

The first new act to sign to Disciple, the two have kept the entire scene on their toes, regularly releasing hard-hitting EPs and singles as well as two full-length albums, and releasing on other labels such as Never Say Die, OWSLA, Monstercat, Mad Decent and Dim Mak. Their collaboration credits include Virtual Riot, 12th Planet, Snails and Getter, and they have remixed for DJ Snake, Excision, Zomboy, Eptic and many others. The two are also known for making sample packs that are invaluable to other producers, with all 3 of their current releases hitting #1 on the Splice charts, highlighting their skills in music production.

Touring as a singular box-headed figure, the ever-angry anthropomorphism of the duo's logo, Barely Alive has been seen on festival stages across the globe, including EDC Las Vegas, Lost Lands, Tomorrowland, Coachella and Rampage, as well as headline shows in nearly every continent including Australia, Europe, South America, Asia, and across the US.

Simon James and Ben Hall – AKA bass music masters Delta Heavy – first met at Nottingham University back in ’03. It’s a friendship and partnership that’s proved pivotal to both of them both personally and professionally. As a duo, their respective skill sets were perfectly matched: Simon was the one with the more traditional musical background while Ben had a penchant for sound engineering. Both loved DJ culture though and both spun. United by a love of underground club nights like Stealth and Detonate in Nottingham, their passion for music from drum ‘n’ bass to house was honed after many a night and early morning dancing ‘til dawn. Needless to say, after they graduated, Messrs James and Hall made their way to London. Wasting no time with their electronic ambitions, both acquired computer software. Says Si over coffee in Kings Cross: “Because we both had the same interests in music, we thought we’d align our knowledge.”

The dance-floor-fuelled d ‘n’ b tear-up ‘Abort’ was their debut release on Viper, which made so much noise that the duo duly signed to Andy C’s Ram Recordings. Quickly establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with, ‘Space Time’/Take The Stairs’ solidified their place as low-end bass innovators. But as you’ll soon hear, this is one duo who don’t ever want to be put in a box. Or stand still for too long either. This isn’t an act dwelling on the past, which is why we’re now going to fast-forward to the present day. With a super-successful debut album for Ram Records/BMG (the chart-chomping ‘Paradise Lost’) [Debuting in both the US and UK iTunes Electronic charts in the top #10 and shifting over 250k+ copies worldwide across streaming and physical product] and Winners of Best Producers as the 2016 DNB Awards, the Delta future is all about music and touring. But beyond – and also before – that, what they’re really looking for is their own lane.

“When we started coming through via Ram, the genre barriers had dropped around bass music a lot and we were keen to bridge those gaps and work across different genres: we said to Ram at the very beginning that we didn’t want to just make pure drum ‘n’ bass music, we wanted to do something different. Some people aren’t happy when you do a lot of different stuff so finding a way that incorporates different genres that feels like us took some time. When we made our album, we found that comfortable space.” says Simon.

The American-sounding stuff that we do bridges that Transatlantic divide.” In the end, it’s about balance. “Absolutely,” nods Ben. “We grew up going to dirty little raves! Because we play so many territories, in some places they like it more underground and others more mainstream. Varying what you play to suit your audience is important. A short high-powered festival set can be great but we also love Fabric. I live in the US now and we have been doing some big shows in America and Australia, but this Friday I headline Fabric – so I will get to play some old classics that wouldn’t necessarily fit in at a US festival.” So Fabric still means a lot? “I have been going since I was 16! So yes, it’s still a huge deal for us. It also inspires us to go away and write more music, whether that’s a club banger or a track with real depth.” Both Simon and Ben are wary of DJs who “play the same set for 18 months. The idea of that numbs my mind! I will spend half of Friday preparing songs for Fabric… it’s not a chore.”

That same dedication goes into their new radio show, which airs Friday nights on Evolution/iHeartRadio. “Again, we just wanted to be in our own lane,” says Ben, “and to enhance that was all about playing music we’re into in an outlet or space where we can play whatever we want to play. I wanted to showcase some UK d ‘n’ b which they might not be hearing elsewhere. We are trying to show everyone tuning in who’ve heard of us, all the different aspects of what we’re into at the moment. DNB from the UK; dubstep from America, trap stuff from Australia and also some bassier, noisier sounds of course! Hopefully what we’re doing isn’t replicated by another show. There’s so much good music being made by so many talented people around the planet, and if we can hear a sonic footprint whatever BPM it’s at, our aim is to tie it all together for a cohesive hour.”

Looking ahead, Delta Heavy have several key releases in the bag, including a collaboration with Dirty Audio which is being released on both Ram and Monstercat from North America.

Are there grand plans? We’ll let Ben have the final word. “When we write these tunes, you never know when things are going to pop up! Are there grand plans? Just to keep writing music! So for now, … the live show, that’s the main focus,” smiles Ben.

Bryan, also known as RZRKT (RE-SUR-RECT) is a electronic bass musician from Laredo, Texas. He brings a melodic twist to the category by combining dark and inspiring melodies into his work inspired by multi-genres, evolving into heavy bass drops that have a distinct and creative sound. Eager for growth, he is trying to bring new life to the genre by experimenting with trap, psytrance, future bass, and dubstep. During the fall of 2020, RZRKT released ‘Heart’ on Excision’s record label, Subsidia. This was apart of the first series of the Night compilations and eventually became a fan favorite for it’s unique character of the combination of future bass with dubstep. Eventually, RZRKT gained support of other major artist like Wooli, ATliens, Marauda, DJ Diesel, Illenium, and more. On October of 2021 RZRKT started a mix series called, “The After Life,” which describes his project as a whole and the vision he has for his music career. Shortly after RZRKT released “UNKNOWN” with LOUIEJAYXX in Space Yatch Records curated by NAZAAR and became apart of the Best of 2021 playlist. In the start of 2022, Excision kicked off his tour and has been playing seven of RZRKT’s unreleased tracks and are becoming fan favorites. MADNESS, DISRUPT, and ATOM (all unreleased) have been flooding social media accounts and are becoming tracks that have been directing fans to RZRKT. RZRKT has substantial amount of goals for this year and has confidence that his music will speak for itself.

Ethan Tinkelman, better known as the Orlando-based, electronic music producer, TINK, has quickly become a name to look out for in the electronic music scene. Born in New Jersey, then moving to Orlando for college, TINK has carved a unique sound of his own, while refusing to be confined by genres. Having amassed nearly a decade of DJ experience before starting to produce in 2018, TINK has turned his passion for music into a fully fleshed-out artist project. With support from publications and labels like Headbang Society, Wubaholics, Aspire Higher, FUXWITHIT, Electric Hawk, YourEDM and HeardItHereFirst, TINK has been growing a loyal fanbase. TINK has performed at festivals such as Forbidden Kingdom Music Festival, Asteria Arts & Music Festival, and Frequency Burst Orlando, as well as venues throughout Florida, including The Vanguard, GILT Nightclub, Celine Orlando, The Ritz Ybor, Bajas Beachclub, Simons and more. TINK has played direct support for artists such as Crankdat, Ray Volpe, Saymyname, Eazybaked, Tisoki, Ookay, Wuki, and Dirty Audio; he has also shared stages with other headlining acts throughout the past few years. TINK's debut EP "Express & Destroy" was released in January of 2021 on Headbang Society. Since then, he has consistently released music and plans to release much more in the coming year, so be sure to keep an eye out for this rising talent.