You can’t pin down Matthew Deer, so don’t even bother trying. The producer, DJ and avant-pop musician first discovered electronic music as a teenager in his native Texas. In college in Michigan, he began DJing parties, which led to producing and then eventually making his way to the front of the stage to sing his own music. Pitchfork said of Dear’s fifth solo album, Beams, which came out earlier this year: “Each successive release under the Detroit producer’s own name has seen him reveal more of himself as he simultaneously retreats deeper into the shadows.” But make no mistake, influenced by Brian Eno, David Bowie and Talking Heads, Dear (above, playing “Headcage”) makes the kind of music that gets people moving. And you can get moving yourself when Matthew Dear—alongside Light Asylum, Beacon and MNDR—plays Webster Hall on Saturday.
With expertly layered, nuanced music that belies their age, you’d have no idea Daughter, the group The Guardian calls “the progeny of Enya and Eno,” hasn’t even been together for two years. But all that makes this English experimental-folk trio a band not to miss—brooding atmospherics, moody lyrics and a beautiful voice—is revealed in this stirring rendition of “Youth” for The Bowery Presents Live.
