Matthew Dear / Lee Curtiss / Bella Sarris

Depending on whom you ask, Matthew Dear is a DJ, a dance-music producer, an experimental pop artist, a bandleader. He co-founded both Ghostly International and its dancefloor offshoot, Spectral Sound. He's had remixes commissioned by The XX, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Spoon, Hot Chip, The Postal Service, and Chemical Brothers; he's made mixes for Get Physical's Body Language and the Fabric mix series. He maintains four aliases (Audion, False, Jabberjaw, and Matthew Dear), each with its own style and distinct visual identity. He straddles multiple musical worlds and belongs to none—and he's just hitting his stride.

Matthew Dear's 2003 full-length debut, Leave Luck to Heaven, is a suite of sparse, wickedly funky house laced with Dear's deep, distinctive vocals, and includes the much-loved single "Dog Days" (voted one of Pitchfork's Top 100 Songs of the Decade). The record was met with rapturous acclaim from both the dance-music establishment and the critical press, including a four-star review in Rolling Stone. The 2007 follow-up, Asa Breed, is a considerable departure from Heaven's dancefloor excursions, incorporating the polyrhythms of Afrobeat, the irreverent pop sensibilities of Brian Eno, and the austere beauty of Krautrock. More four-stars reviews followed (Q and Mojo magazines), and Dear subsequently began touring with a live three-piece band, Matthew Dear's Big Hands, in which Dear acted as frontman, commanding the stage with a Bryan Ferry-like swagger and a gentleman's grace.

Today, Matthew Dear finds himself in a unique position. His highly anticipated third album, 2010's Black City, is the culmination of years of hard work and experimentation, a darkly playful sound-world that envelops the listener like the arms of a malevolent lover. After over a decade of exploring pop's outer limits, Matthew Dear now inhabits a rarefied corner of the musical universe: no longer tethered to any one genre, respected by his peers, and blessed with a bottomless well of creative energy. Now is Matthew Dear's moment, and it sounds like nothing else.


Master of the sensual synth, sensitive, pop-inflected songwriter, and all-round label visionary, Lee Curtiss knows how to straddle the dance industry’s many contradictions, in the process releasing hits as exquisitely crafted and mentally twisted as they are in global demand. The musical engine room of Visionquest, the label pioneering the sexier, more carefree sound now trickling into the mainstream, Lee first made his mark as a producer with releases for Spectral, Get Physical, Supplement Facts, and Wolf & Lamb. Through DJ sets that mine the depths of dance music’s history and live PAs that pave the way to its future, Lee has showcased his inimitable sound in the world’s most esteemed clubs—to name just a few: Circo Loco, DC10, and Fabric London...


It all happened really early. Bella was just 15 years old when, she jumped her first fence into an electronic music festival in her hometown Sydney. She just wanted to experience the music. Little did she know that this fierce curiosity would soon lead her to island hop all the way to an even bigger playground, Ibiza, specifically, Space Terrace. This is where she first felt the desire to be on the other side of the decks. This dance floor alone inspired a feeling of wanting to create an experience for people, just like the one she had. Not long after, she began to teach herself a new kind of self expression through mixing.

Her fascination for the dance floor and hunger for musical experience has taken her around the globe, and taught her very quickly how to play with the big kids. With a two year residency at ENTER under her belt, she continues her education, constantly inspired by fellow artists and the dance floors they command. Being a student of her surroundings, her music continues to evolve with age and influence as she absorbs her musical experiences and strives to transmit the same energy in her sets.

In a time where genres blur and overlap, her style of mixing has no rules or restrictions just like her. You cannot put Bella or her sound in a box. Each must have the freedom to roam far and wide. The web of grooves that she weaves, like her musical education is ever progressing.

When she's not dancing, or on a plane or in an airport, she resides in Berlin where she spends her days digging, sculpting her mixes and beginning productions. Her decision to be part of a new, smaller, boutique agency stems from her desire to 'keep things tight'. Working closely with her friends allows independence and freedom of choice, and thus more control over her musical direction. She would rather grow and develop with a slightly dysfunctional but accepting family than be adopted into an already established one.

Bella forges ahead in an limitless environment. Observing what she hears and how the crowd responds to it, she applies the same intensity in her music that she felt when she jumped that first fence.