Matthew Dear

Matthew Dear first attracted attention within the minimal techno community at the dawn of the 2000s, later cultivating a singular experimental electropop approach that appealed to independent listeners and reviewers alike. After issuing a run of inventive club 12-inch releases, he introduced his vocals, styled after David Bowie, on the 2003 album Leave Luck to Heaven, merging experimental techno with pop structures. He continued issuing club-focused instrumentals under the aliases Audion, False, and Jabberjaw, yet his output under his own name grew increasingly focused on lyrics, as heard on the ambitious 2010 album Black City and the 2012 album Beams, which favored reduced tempos alongside more reflective songwriting. Touring with a live band, he supported major artists including Depeche Mode and Interpol across their global routes. Beyond his own recordings and shows, he stays sought after as a DJ and has delivered notable compilations such as the 2017 DJ-Kicks. Following the 2018 pop-oriented album Bunny, which included work with Tegan and Sara, he mined his extensive collection of unreleased tracks for projects including the 2021 country-tinged Preacher's Sigh & Potion: Lost Album.

Raised in Texas, Dear encountered electronic music at age 16 and later studied at the University of Michigan, where he connected with future Ghostly International founder Sam Valenti IV. He began DJ'ing parties before shifting into production work. In late 1999 he partnered with Daisha, known as Disco D, for the first Ghostly 12-inch, "Hands Up for Detroit," whose rapid disco-house style stands apart from the rest of his catalog. He landed on Ghostly's dance-focused offshoot Spectral Sound, debuting there in late 2000 via the streamlined techno 12-inch "Irreparably Dented," followed by "Stealing Moves" in 2002. That same year he joined Richie Hawtin's Plus 8 imprint, releasing some of his most minimal productions as False.

The year 2003 proved especially active. His initial False singles were gathered on a self-titled collection. Under the Jabberjaw name he put out the playful "Girlfriend" 12-inch on Berlin's Perlon label, then returned to Spectral Sound for EP1 and EP2 that summer. In November he delivered his first proper full-length, Leave Luck to Heaven, also on Spectral Sound. Named after the loose English rendering of "Nintendo," the set drew favorable coverage from multiple outlets and was fronted by the widely praised single "Dog Days."

The next year he released Backstroke along with the "Anger Management" single and launched the Audion project, devoted to aggressive and demanding techno, via a pair of 12-inch records on Spectral Sound. Audion shaped Dear's activities for the subsequent period, encompassing the album Suckfish, several singles, and the Fabric 27 mix. Also in 2006 his track "Hands Up for Detroit" was sampled by Netherlands-based producer Fedde Le Grand for "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit," a widespread club success spanning 2006-2007. Asa Breed, presented as the true follow-up to Leave Luck to Heaven, arrived in June 2007 and adhered to sparse, song-centered avant pop.

While maintaining Audion and reviving Jabberjaw, he crafted another set of unusual songs titled Black City, issued in August 2010. The album ranked among his most celebrated releases, attracting enthusiastic notices and placements on multiple year-end lists. Slowdance, released in 2011 and labeled an EP, assembled nine remixes and incorporated "Innh Dahh," the digital bonus track from Black City. In 2012 the four-track Headcage EP and "Her Fantasy" single preceded the album Beams. "Pale Shelter," a joint effort with Tegan and Sara, appeared in 2013.

After issuing a second Audion album via !K7 in 2016, Dear stayed with the label and contributed to its DJ-Kicks series with a volume that surfaced in January 2017. That summer he released the gothy chillout piece "Modafinil Blues" on Ghostly, then a collaborative single with Tegan and Sara titled "Bad Ones." "Love Games," a joint track with Hot Chip's Joe Goddard and Eats Everything, surfaced in 2018. Bunny, his first studio album in six years, arrived in October. Dear then turned to his archives of unreleased material, digitally releasing Backstroke 2 and 3 in 2020. Preacher's Sigh & Potion: Lost Album, an unexpected venture into country-influenced songwriting captured around 2008 and 2009, came out in 2021.