2018 has been an an amazing year for music. Like every year before it, it was filled with new music, and trends galore. Artists such as Nitti Gritti & 1788-L set the music world on fire with their remixes & original tracks. Others like Estiva & Magnificence also made waves with their debut & signature sounds. Below is our list of 2018’s breakout artist chosen by the editors & writers here at EDMTunes. Did your favorites make our list?
10. Nitti Gritti
Whether he’s releasing Rock n’ Roll, remixing the newest pop track, or creating Dubstep bangers, Nitti is doing it all. His music was played all year long, by the biggest names, check out his track below, and you’ll see why.
9. Magnificence
“You’d be hard pushed to find bigger debuts for tracks than at Ultra Miami, but getting three dropped across the weekend by both Axwell Λ Ingrosso and a reunited Swedish House Mafia is dream factory levels.” – Taken from their label, Axtone’s soundcloud page. Need we say more? Check out their debut track below.
8. 1788-L
Having made his debut at a Brownies & Lemonade show earlier this year, 1788-L has been on a hot streak in 2018. With remixes of with numerous notable acts, his originals are even better.
7. Estiva
When he’s not busy catching flak from Eric Prydz, Estiva is known for his beautiful, melodic music. The man also opened up Tomorrowland’s ASOT stage in 2018, and released loads of music, to include an album of his prior music, so that’s pretty neat. Armin van Buuren has referred to him as one of his current favorites and after listening to his music there’s good reason for it.
6. i_o
i_o has indeed had quite the epic year. While we could break down his live sets, or even his releases on Mau5trap track by track, we won’t. Released under Andrew Rayel‘s radio show, his ‘Find Your Harmony’ set speaks for itself. We think in 2019 i_o will be hacking some big festival stages and we can’t wait.
5. Enrico Sangiuliano
2018 saw Enrico drop his concept album Biomorph, & it goes without saying that it is a work of art. Conveying the notion of evolution, through music, it truly is a musical journey. Enrico isn’t actually a new artist, but in 2018 his music was everywhere in the techno scene. He also performed at a number of big festivals in Europe and has finally confirmed his first USA gig in the Spring of 2019.
4. Kayzo
Kayzo had a smashing year, he headlined multiple festivals, as well as started his own record label, and even made a track with one of his favorite bands. As an artist, and as a person, this sounds like an awesome year for the Texas native.
3. ANNA
2018 is the year of the breakout female techno DJ. Sure everybody is talking about Charlotte de Witte right now, but Brazil also exported its own ANNA to bring us to techno paradise. ANNA has been making waves on the Drumcode label and you could almost say she’s like a female Adam Beyer. Seriously, she kills it.
2. Charlotte de Witte
Charlotte de Witte absolutely blew up in 2018. You can thank Tomorrowland for the meteoric rise of this Belgian beauty, because her hometown festival booked her for a mainstage slot and promoted her heavily. She has since won over the hearts and minds of all who have seen her, and now she is one of the hottest new artists out there.
1. Fisher
Fisher, Losing It, need I say more? The track finally reached billboards #1 spot after 17 weeks on the chart. It’s hard not to be the breakout artist of the year with an Elon Musk co-sign. Despite this, the energy he brings in his sets, is unreal. Expect big things from the Aussie in 2019.
This wraps up our selections for the breakout artists of 2018. Did your favorites make the list? Anyone you think we missed? Sound off on the comments and let us know, see you in 2019.