Eight emerging artists you need to hear: September 2024

London-based Arun Dhanjal lives many lives. He’s a radio host on Voices Radio, drums for a hindustani classical rock band, is a resident DJ at The Standard, is part of the internal team for South Asian collective Daytimers, and as of recently, produces mind-boggling electronic music as Zar. His latest single, ‘Rivulets’, feels like a distillation of these wide-reaching creative capers, pairing turbocharged breaks and highly textured, babbling electronics with percussive sounds and vocals from his South Asian heritage. It’s also the most club-minded Zar’s music has felt to date, injecting the more wistful melodic fibres of his debut EP, ‘Practice Makes Miracles’, released last March on his own ANARP Records label, with the added bass heft of its October successor, ‘Unfurl’, for Tabula Rasa Records.

Zar’s DJ sets are equally explorative, joining the dots between starry, psyched-out sonics and dancefloor beats. Earlier this summer, he was enlisted by Pirate Studios as one of their resident DJs at Wide Awake festival, where he delivered a set of stripped-back movers, ahead of a fiery breaks and bass set at London nightspot The Waiting Room. Zar’s powerful selections also bagged him a big-stage B2B at The Warehouse Project last year, shelling percussive heat alongside fellow Daytimers mainstay, Darama, during the Skrillex-curated night. His upcoming record will further showcase his ability to embrace and thrive in new musical avenues, consistently innovating along the way. OLIVIA STOCK

For fans of: James Holden, SUCHI,  Leon Vynehall