Billy Reader

Portland, OR ➡️ Denver, CO. Hoops, travel, and music

[Billy Reader @breader50]

Proof you can be a @johnsummit fan and not drink

[Billy Reader @breader50]

Hi @johnsummit my friend Mac wants to know when the “Where Have You Been” remix is dropping?

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@Lane8music Tank tops, flip flops, and beer hops. It’s summer time baby

[Billy Reader @breader50]

Yo @johnsummit can I bully you into releasing night 2 of your 2024 Caverns Weekender?

I desperately want to relive that night

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@Embrz Solid pour

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@Griz Are you planning on releasing a vinyl? These 4 songs deserve it

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@Lane8music We’ve been waiting for your return

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@johnsummit Been in the game

[Lane 8 @Lane8music]

RED ROCKS OCTOBER 11
this will be our final childish show in North America for the year. thank you for all the incredible support on this tour so far.
tickets on sale thursday - sign up for first access https://t.co/BPp25AWETH

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@johnsummit Love it

[This Never Happened @TNHlabel]

The wait is over. @robbyeast returns with ALLKNIGHT on ‘Into the Flames.'

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@TNHlabel @_Ashibah_ @Embrz @LeYouth @Grigoremusic @otherwishmusic @MYRNEmusic @robbyeast Red Rocks?

[Billy Reader @breader50]

What a wonderful day

[Lane 8 @Lane8music]

our full b2b set from Petco Park in San Diego is out now on TNH youtube https://t.co/ZSWGyked7P

[Lane 8 @Lane8music]

our full b2b set from Petco Park in San Diego is out now on TNH youtube https://t.co/ZSWGyked7P

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@johnsummit @Clovesdot This song is magic, really connect with this soundscape of your music

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@Lane8music So turns out you made a secret DnB song. Play First Light at the 45 speed on vinyl

Thank me later

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@dancingastro Childish…not even close

[Dancing Astronaut @dancingastro]

Considering @maxstylermusic’s all-time run these past 12 months, it could’ve only ended with him earning DA’s Breakout Artist of 2024 👑

https://t.co/QowOCg2rbA | 📸: Tyler Glasenapp

———

Rhetorical question: Are there more stars in the universe or Max Styler hits? 

We’re fully aware that Max Styler isn’t a new artist. But in 2024, it felt like Styler experienced the surge he’d been working towards for the past decade or so — an ascension that prompted him to become one of the most-talked-about artists in all of dance music this year, and an ascension that would eventually provide the basis for this article. 

Styler’s deservingness of Dancing Astronaut’s Breakout Artist of 2024 title has been well-demonstrated, but if we needed to justify our auspicious sense of how Styler’s year would unfold, let’s remember that he had not one, but two then-unreleased weapons in Dancing Astronaut’s most-anticipated IDs of 2024 list: “Rhythm Machine” with Westend and “Lights Out.” The former landed within the first few weeks of 2024 — and it set off an avalanche.

Before anyone could even finish streaming the latest Styler release this year, it seemed as if three more of his IDs would quickly follow. And even when the identity of the given ID’s creator wasn’t public information, many — including us — blindly assumed it belonged to him. The odds of that high-grade, tech-house production coming from Max Styler’s computer seemed that much more likely, given the rate at which he was releasing music.

12 months later, 13 Styler releases have hit the streaming board since January, where they join a pair of cuts from Habitatt, his and Spencer Howard’s new alias. This release total is one that not many of Styler’s peers could measure up to — and few ultimately did.

But it wasn’t just about quantity. This year, Styler balanced quantity and quality across 15 tracks, with each ensuing record even more fine-tuned than the one that came before it. “On Repeat,” alongside Dancing Astronaut Artist to Watch in 2025, Clüb De Combat, doubles as an example and a victory lap that formally concludes Styler’s year of releases. Ultimately, all 15 of these tracks were undeniably unavoidable in dance music’s live circuit and beyond; it didn’t matter if you were seeing Dom Dolla or Kevin de Vries or Solomun.

We could just end our case there, but — of course — we won’t. While his releases simultaneously traveled the globe aboard other DJs’ USBs, Styler coordinated his own packed-out touring schedule. And as we moved later and later into the year, so did the timing of his sets at events and festivals. The capacities of the venues where Styler would appear (and routinely sell out) grew in size as well, leading to the inevitable announcement of a 2025 tour.

It didn’t just feel like Max Styler’s name was inescapable in 2024, it simply was. Whether it was his latest and greatest ID that people were salivating over or one of his sets that prompted fans’ immediate demands for an upload, it was all Max Styler, all year long. 

We’ve had somewhat of a hunch about his candidacy for a while, but we are now formally putting it in writing: Congratulations to Max Styler, Dancing Astronaut’s Breakout Artist of 2024.

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@johnsummit This would still hit at festivals

[Billy Reader @breader50]

@johnsummit We love to see it

Let’s run The Caverns back