Kyle Walker Says to Keep an Eye on These Two House Groups

In an ever-competitive house music landscape, it has become increasingly hard to stand out as a new act. Every month there seems to be a new artist-driven label, or a hot new act hogging the headlines. Below the surface, there are hundreds of rising DJs working tirelessly to catch a break and get their tracks heard.

Kyle Walker exemplifies the grind and hustle it can take for a DJ to simply reach the stage at a large-scale event. After first trying his hand at music production at the age of 13, Kyle toyed with FL Studio for years, experimenting with bass music until hearing Disclosure’s iconic album Settle and pivoting to house.

In 2016 he broke out with his homage to Claude VonStroke titled “Claude VonDeeper,” a funky tech house thumper that was selected as a winner of Insomniac’s Discovery Project. He was subsequently booked on a handful of Insomniac festivals and worked hard to maintain his momentum, subsequently releasing on Jauz’s Bite This! label before the pandemic shut down nightlife. He returned with a bang, releasing a monster EP titled Zilla on Lee Foss’ Repopulate Mars label. The effort garnered critical acclaim and helped him avoid any sort of EDM label from his previous music.

Now, as a true player in the underground scene, Kyle Walker is working hard to stay fresh and continue finding new inspiration. As a relative newcomer himself, it's important to listen to and stay in tune with other upcoming artists. For Kyle, the two acts he feels are making the biggest impact on the scene, and his own music at the moment are ANOTR and Joy Anonymous.

Dutch duo ANOTR have made waves relatively early in their career. Despite coming onto the scene somewhat recently, they have already played in Ibiza and at Amsterdam Dance Event. As noted by Kyle Walker, ANOTR keep their sounds fresh, not adhering too rigidly to the confines of house music.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Joy Anonymous are another duo that have made a name for themselves through community building. The duo was formed around holding “meetings” for their fans in which they crafted a uniquely immersive live show. They started playing free shows during the lockdown, drawing hundreds of people to their spontaneous live performances.

“I think it’s just the feeling of a bunch of people trying to express themselves," say the duo. "It’s not about [us], it’s about the people there.” Although their music does not stay strictly in the realm of four-on-the-floor house music, it still inspires Kyle Walker and is part of the reason why he has been able to maintain a diverse discography.