Music opinion: Five 2020s electronic duos that are breaking out of the underground
At the forefront of any advancement within the electronic soundscape is an electronic duo, writes Music News Blitz’s Arwen Lehmann.
Bands such as Silver Apples and Kraftwerk are accredited as pioneers of the electronic genre, forming in 1967 and 1970 respectively.
Since then, each decade in music history has been defined by the work of an electronic duo: Pet Shop Boys in the 1980s, The Chemical Brothers in the 1990s and Daft Punk in the 2000s.
In the 2020s, the ‘electronic duo’ has evolved in the seductive shadows of the underground, reinventing the genre one project at a time.
Here are five electronic duos that are changing the face of electronic music and could be the defining electronic artists of the 2020s in the coming years.
bassvictim
English-Polish singer-songwriter Maria Manow and English-American producer Ike Clateman make up both halves of this dynamic duo.
They recorded their first album ‘Forever’ over the span of two weeks.
The record contains cult hits such as ‘27a Pitfield St’, ‘Dog Tag freestyle’ and ‘Grass is Greener’.
Bassvictim’s sound is very much reminiscent of the indie sleaze scene which glamourised the messy nightlife of the 2000s and 2010s.
Their only album and recently released EP ‘?’ contains an eclectic arrangement of instruments such as the cello, piano, handshakers and, of course, the bottomless bass.
The seamlessness in the cluttered production by Clateman complements the brashness and fragile pitchiness of Manow’s vocals.
Each track sounds as if the two tried to contain the chaos of their relentless party lifestyle inside the sonic boundaries of their music.
This duo, although highly polarising due to volatile interactions with other artists and fans, are considered “London’s Rising Underground Act” by the indie publication Byline.
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Jockstrap
Jockstrap will certainly not be the only duo on the list with a crude stagename.
Black Country, New Road’s Georgia Ellery and English producer Taylor Skye came together to release the experimental ‘I Love You Jennifer B’ record that received worldwide acclaim.
The project appeared on five ‘50 Best Albums of 2022’ lists, which is astonishing for a duo with only one released album under their belt.
Standout tracks include ‘Jennifer B’, ‘Greatest Hits’ and ‘Concrete Over Water’; all monumental works released within the same album.
In the following year, they followed up with a remix album ‘I<3UQTINVU’ which repurposed and reinterpreted songs from their previous project and have been dormant ever since.
Their work is incredibly arresting and memorable as their sound marries Ellery’s soft, airy melodies with Skye’s explosive production, creating an idiosyncratic atmosphere many won’t forget.
Even though they haven’t released music together in 3 years, their debut album remains eternally futuristic and fresh with every listen.
The Hellp
Some might recognise this band from their biggest song ‘Here I Am’, which features the catchy hook that goes “from LA to LA, la la la” as perpetually heard on the TikTok algorithm.
American duo Noah Dillon and Chandler Ransom Lucy reincarnated as ‘The Hellp’ after several iterations of the group since its formation in 2016.
Their two records, ‘LL’ and ‘Riviera’, released in 2024 and 2025 respectively and are what aided their assimilation into the L.A. underground music scene.
Many would categorise the latter, ‘Riviera’, in the same division as bassvictim’s ‘Forever’, projects which revived the indie sleaze electro-pop sound for modern audiences.
Although the two have enjoyed pockets of popularity, they largely loom in the recesses of the electronic underworld.
Tracks that have earned their spots as electroclash anthems include ‘Ether’, ‘Doppler’ and ‘Modern Man’.
“The Hellp are a ridiculous band and they make great music,” wrote AnOther magazine.
ear
American producers Jonah Paz and Yaelle Avtan formed the band in 2024.
These two might be the most seeped in enigma of any electronic duo as their discography and media presence are incredibly limited.
Even their music can be classified as “small, sampledelic pop”, as described by Pitchfork.
Their first album, ‘The Most Dear and The Future’, released only 9 months ago and is a 17-minute-long ambient record of extensive sonic experimentation with little to no lyrics.
Both artists layer their barely-perceptible voices over each other to create atmospheric and hallucinatory-sounding audio, making their singing another element of their music rather than its main focus.
They released their sophomore effort ‘Rumspringa’ almost a month ago, bestowing us with the tracks ‘Coil’, ‘Rumspringa’ and ‘Ne Plus Ultra’.
A little less breezy and a lot more wistful, their second album gives listeners a lot more to chew on.
The duo has introduced more singing and more palpable sonic environments that capture the band’s distinctive offering to the electronic genre.
Snow Strippers
The bizarrely named and EDM-inspired duo consists of singer Tatiana Schwaninger and producer Graham Perez from Detroit.
Snow Strippers’ musical track record is as prolific as it is versatile.
Pulling from various subgenres such as electro-pop, trance and witch pop, their discography dates back to 2021 and includes five main projects.
Much like all of the above artists, the two do not market themselves or appear in the media frequently.
However, this has not stopped their climbing popularity and vogueishness with younger audiences.
For a band with an aesthetic that harkens back to 2010s rave culture, their sound has been wildly appealing to Gen Z listeners, who fill their tour venues year after year.
Songs like ‘Under Your Spell’, ‘It’s A Dream’ and ‘Just Your Doll’ are oozing with blaring bass and sharp synths.
If one thing is for certain, it’s that this duo will evolve and linger with the changing tides of electronic music and embody this 2020s genre as long as they release music.
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