Music
Matthew Dear
born 1979 · electronic producer, DJ, singer
Texas-born, Michigan-raised producer who co-founded Ghostly International and blended Detroit-inspired minimal techno with pop songwriting.
- Born
Kingsville, Texas
age 47- Also known as
- Audion · False · Jabberjaw
- Detroit years
- 1990s–2000s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Matthew Dear was born in Texas and moved to Michigan as a teenager, where the sound of Detroit techno captured him. At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor he met Sam Valenti IV at a party, and together they launched Ghostly International. Dear's first single, “Hands Up for Detroit” (1999), co-produced with ghettotech pioneer Disco D under the name Daisha, was the label's first release. On Ghostly's dance offshoot Spectral Sound he followed with “Stealing Moves” and, as Audion, the club hit “Mouth to Mouth”. His debut album Leave Luck to Heaven (2003) was praised as a landmark fusion of pop and minimal techno, and its single “Dog Days” became a favorite of DJs such as Richie Hawtin. Moving toward dark, song-based electronic pop, he released Asa Breed (2007), Black City (2010), Beams (2012) and Bunny (2018), while reviving Audion for DJ sets and a 2016 album. He has played Detroit's Movement festival many times.
Highlights
- Co-founded Ghostly International with Sam Valenti IV.
- Debut single “Hands Up for Detroit” (1999) was Ghostly's first release.
- Leave Luck to Heaven (2003) fused pop and minimal techno.
- Records harder techno as Audion; album Alpha (2016).
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · late 1990s
University of Michigan
Where he met Sam Valenti IV and started Ghostly International.