Los Angeles, CA · dubstep · riddim

Barely Alive

2 upcoming festivals ↓

Disciple mainstays making precise, sound-design-obsessed dubstep — surgical basses and glitch detail that reward headphones as much as rail-riding.

Barely Alive is the duo of Matthew Meier and William "Watt" Watkins, who met while attending Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Both grew up in households with a rock music background before turning to electronic production. Watkins, performing as Watt, serves as the touring face of the group, while Meier works mostly behind the scenes on production.

They started producing in 2013, releasing early singles through Dirty Duck Audio and Adapted Records and remixing artists including Getter, Virtual Riot and Astronaut. Barely Alive work mainly in dubstep and its heavier offshoots, building tracks from detailed sound design: layered, morphing bass patches, sharp editing and abrupt drops that shift shape rather than simply repeat.

They signed to Disciple Recordings in 2014, and their debut EP, Lost In The Internet, made them Beatport's second best-selling dubstep act that year. Touring across the US and Europe alongside Datsik and Trolley Snatcha followed, along with a run of singles and EPs, including collaborations with Zomboy and Splitbreed. Their full-length debut, We Are Barely Alive, arrived on Disciple in October 2015.

Barely Alive later released music through OWSLA as well, including the single "Back To Back," a remix of SKisM's "Experts," a remix companion album, and the Domain EP in 2017. Their second full album, Odyssey, appeared on Disciple in 2018, followed by the Lost In Time EP, a collaboration with 12th Planet and PhaseOne called "Bubzstep," and the Multiplayer EP, all released in 2019.

Alongside their own releases, they are known for collaborations with other artists on the Disciple roster and for a production style widely imitated within the riddim and heavy bass scenes. The duo's name reportedly comes from a random movie quote, and their logo was inspired by a test card.

Read more

dubstepriddim