Bass Music Acts To Watch Out For In 2026
With 2026 just starting to hit its stride, we’ve curated a list of bass music acts you should have on your radar if you’re craving fresh and forward-thinking sounds. It’s a great time to be a bass music head in 2026.
With 2026 just starting to hit its stride, we’ve curated a list of bass music acts you should have on your radar if you’re craving fresh and forward-thinking sounds.
It’s a great time to be a bass music head in 2026. We’re in a time where the sheer volume of sonic flavors being served across the bass music spectrum feels like an embarrassment of riches, but sonically, stylistically, and culturally. Right from explosive festival favourites to introspective left-field club experiments, bass music continues to stretch, splinter, and reinvent itself, which makes it arguably the most exciting dance music space to be a part of.
Last year was packed to the brim with fresh, forward-thinking, and scene-defining releases that effectively redrew the boundaries of multiple bass music genres. Now we’re steadily settling into 2026, and it’s time to go again and double down on the thunderous momentum bass music as a whole has built over the last couple of years.
The heavy hitters don’t need much digging and are never more than a click away, dominating front-page playlists, algorithmic recommendations, and mainstage line-ups. However, relying solely on the forced algorithms misses the point. The real depth and joy of being a fan right now lies in the deliberate act of exploration. It is found in following an artist’s individual journey and witnessing their ability to carve out a distinct niche in an already hyper-creative production landscape, creating cohesive, immersive sonic realms.
With that in mind, we meticulously curated a list of names who we believe are poised to make a serious, tangible difference in 2026. Some are just getting started, others are fairly established, but they are on this list because of one common attribute: their output is purposeful, forward-leaning and carries weight. So follow along as we dive into a selection of bass music acts you should have firmly on your radar this year.
BOGDVN
There’s some seriously big bubbling with drum & bass in Romania, and bogdvn is the latest byproduct of it. Alongside a growing circuit of hosting unique drum & bass festivals, the country continues to deliver top-tier talent, with artists like Sub:liminal, Blocksberg, Azotix, and Aragatu pushing their country’s scene forward. What really caught our attention is bogdvn’s debut on Overview Music this month with the ‘Chalina’ EP. Featuring his compatriot Azotix on the EP’s standout cut ‘Anserina,’ alongside two meticulously crafted deep and groovy rollers, the release signals a producer who clearly understands the nuances of underground drum & bass. If this is his opening statement, the next eleven months should be very interesting for bogdvn and he’s one to keep a keen eye on.
T-LEX
With a no-nonsense dancefloor sound that sits right between modern jump-up energy and classic rave DNA, T-Lex has moved rapidly from a rising talent to a defining force in the drum & bass circuit since her debut in 2023. After opening 2025 with a release on Elevate Records and backing it up with a run of heavy hitters on Crucast, Pick The Lock, and Basslayerz, she took that relentless energy to major stages including Boomtown, Glastonbury, Rampage, and Westfest. T-Lex’s 2026 has already begun with a release on Alpha Circuit. The Bristol-based artist, with her studio output matching her high-octane stage energy, is undeniably one of the most essential names to keep on your radar for 2026.
RING NOORD
When Dutch producer Former first emerged via NOISIA’s now-defunct DIVISION Recordings, the level of talent on display was nothing short of staggering. Even then, his finesse and compositional maturity felt years ahead of the curve. While the era of NOISIA has ended, the creative synergy from that time has evolved into something arguably even more compelling.
Following the NOISIA trio branching off into individual projects, that lineage now continues through Former’s partnership with Nik Roos of NOISIA, aka Sleepnet. Together as ring noord, the duo is actively dismantling the boundaries of bass music. Their latest offering is a clear statement of intent: a two-track release that moves fluidly between drum & bass, IDM, bass music, and techno, prioritising atmosphere and texture over straight dancefloor functionality. If you’re drawn to electronic music that’s designed to mess with your head rather than simply move your feet, ring noord should be firmly on your weekly digging list.
CARRÉ
Rooted in the early influence of seminal labels like Hessle Audio, Night Slugs, and Hyperdub, LA-based DJ/producer Carré has crafted a niche that feels strikingly assured for an artist still on the rise. Her music is intense, measured, and immersive, and it pays homage to her formative influences, which has now seen her become one of dubstep’s brightest talents.
With releases on Tempa, Dublin-based label Woozy, and her own Fast At Work imprint, Carré’s take on dubstep is guided by precision and intent. Fast At Work has also evolved as an essential party series in Los Angeles, and it has carved a unique space away from the city’s increasingly commercial dubstep rave culture. Its expertly curated line-ups, spotlighting a wide spectrum of dance music like left-field techno, dubstep, and weighty low-end sounds, have quickly become an important cog of the bass music underground of Los Angeles.
Kicking off 2026 with a return to Tempa alongside Bbyafricka, and with Fast At Work already gaining momentum into the new year, Carré is an artist worth watching closely.
SAKA
Spend enough time crate digging Saka’s back catalog and a strange but satisfying realisation starts to set in: you stop trying to contextualise it against scenes or sub-genres and instead think, “yeah, this does sound like Saka,” which also happens to be his Instagram handle. While he has carved out a lane championing the gritty, tension-heavy narratives that define the cutting edge of experimental bass, but what elevates his work is the emotional subtext running beneath it.
Take his ‘Cloudburst’ EP, for example, which the artist released towards the end of 2025, alongside a host of tunes that he released throughout the year that fully defined the Saka sound. It arrived as a statement piece and closed out the year, defining what the ‘Saka sound’ actually means. The EP has a sense of warmth, pacing, low-end structure, and a versatility that allows each track to occupy its own emotional pocket. When the rowdiness does hit, Saka delivers it with an irresistible appeal.
What makes the EP compelling is how naturally these contrasts coexist. The introspective moments work with the heavier passages that don’t bulldoze the emotion; an art form that is incredibly difficult to achieve. Having effectively bridged the gap between the cerebral and the physical, Saka is carrying that momentum into the new year. He sits at a point where he knows exactly where his sound sits and how far he can stretch it without losing its core identity. If you’re drawn to experimental bass music that doesn’t just hit hard but shines with intent, texture, and emotional weight, Saka is the one to watch out!
VIER
VIER is yet another natural byproduct of the head-twisting, future-focused music first championed by NOISIA, both during their reign as a trio and in the boundary-pushing individual paths they’ve taken ever since their split. It was Nik Roos who formed ring noord. At the same time, Thys (Thijs de Vlieger) has gone almost berserk in the best possible way, and gone on a relentless run of solo and collaborative releases over the past couple of years that pushed rhythmic complexity and sonic detail.
That exploratory spirit ultimately crystallised into VIER: a bass music supergroup that brings Thys, Machinedrum, Holly, and Salvador Breed, four of the most inventive minds of bass music, conjured into one space. With their individual deep-rooted sonic language, each act came together, mutated and re-emerged as VIER with a sharper musical language. The project fully announced itself in 2025 with ‘IIII,’ an explosive eleven-track statement that bends and re-wires drum & bass, breakbeat, jungle, and footwork into a work of art that is restless, unpredictable, and one that thrives on rhythmic agility and microscopic attention to texture.
We don’t know what’s planned for the year, but one thing is for certain: VIER is HIER, and these four freakishly talented producers will at some point in 2026 decide to release music that will blow your mind, so keep your eye peeled for this one.
CASEY CLUB
There’s a renewed sense of freshness that Casey Club injected into dubstep at a time when the genre has splintered into countless interpretations following its roaring comeback over the past few years. Rooted very much in the old-school dubstep sound, but with a weighty sub-bass, garage-derived swing and off-kilter influence, Casey Club delivered some of the biggest dubstep releases of 2025 like ‘Sofa Soup,’ ‘White Claw Wobbler’ and more. The string of releases Casey Club on labels like Southpoint, CruCast, and eventually Deadbeats showcased his ability to balance gritty sound design with a serious dancefloor appeal.
2025 also marked an important year for Casey Club with his live presence and internal structure, expanding from Bristol clubs to major international stages, including Shambhala, Bass Canyon, and Ohlala Festival. It was a transitional year for Casey Club when Chelsea from the duo stepped away after a final joint performance at Boomtown, leaving John to carry Casey Club forward as a solo project by the year’s end.
Now well and truly in 2026, the year has set the foundation for a bigger impact, starting with his Borehole EP on Deadbeats, and it will be fascinating to see Casey Club’s rise to the top of the dubstep helm come 2027.
VISLA
Over the course of 2023, 2024, and 2025, VISLA showcased his unique range, evolving from a purveyor of deep, rolling sonics into a producer capable of delivering drum & bass music with skull-shattering impact. This trajectory was defined by a series of high-octane releases, most notably the ‘Panopticon’ and ‘Ultraviolence’ EPs on Critical Music and Overview Music, which collectively highlighted his ability to balance technical precision with raw, dancefloor-destroying power.
What makes that run particularly compelling is the narrative it builds around VISLA as an artist. There’s pace and power in his music, yes, but also a feeling of intent, like each release is adding a layer to a bigger story. He’s become one of those figures you instinctively look to when you want your brain twisted upside down, and 2026 is the year where it feels like VISLA will fully capitalize on the momentum of the last three years to redefine his sound and solidify his status as a leading heavyweight in the scene.
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