In a few short years, Marshmello has gone from an unknown act with a billboard outside Coachella to one of the most iconic and recognised artist brands in the world, penning multiple hits, accumulating billions of streams, and achieved global stardom working with biggest artists in Pop, Dance and Hip-Hop. Now he’s turned his sights to the next generation of talent seeking to help them follow in his path through re-launch of his label Joytime Collective, starting with Papa Khan.
The majority of Marshemllo’s music, including his three albums, has come through Joytime Collective. Now, Mello’s opening up the label, handpicking his favourite rising talents and giving them a platform to reach the masses. He starts this week with Indonesian producer, Papa Khan. The talented 19-year-old who also just announced a partnership with booking agency UTA has garnered attention from across the dance music community with rapid intensity in the past 6 months, having been recognised for his unique sound and innovative productions that have breathed new life into the scene.
“I knew the moment was right when I came across Papa Khan’s music. He’s bringing something fresh and new to dance music.” – Marshmello
Speaking on the signing Marshmello told us “I’ve always wanted to use my platform to help up and coming artists. Using Joytime Collective as the vessel of introducing talented artists to the world. I knew the moment was right when I came across Papa Khan’s music. He’s bringing something fresh and new to dance music.”
Papa Khan’s early buzz has come from his unorthodox glitchy melodic style that is best described as synthesized cyberpunk. This has led to — seemingly — every EDM forum talking about him and sharing of all his snippets and teaser. The best example of this buzz comes from “Rain”, which saw a teaser clip on Twitter, amassing over 180,000 views, and more than 6,400 interactions including from some of dance music’s biggest players. With the EDM world watching his every move, Papa Khan continued to tease the track and dropped the record in his debut set on Marauda’s Insomniac BassRush presents Malignant showcase. The anticipation for “Rain” hit the stratosphere when Marshmello posted a video of him playing the record in a live set and announced the release, the dance community went wild, even catching the attention of dance legend Skrillex.
next wave 🌊 @papakhanmusic’s “Rain” dropping Oct 9 via @JoyTimeCollectv pic.twitter.com/VHB6aVSrau
— marshmello (@marshmellomusic) October 2, 2020
Now “Rain” is officially out, a new era of Joytime Collective has begun, one that sees Marshmello serve as a label boss with a platform to launch careers and further imprint his mark on the dance scene. Papa Khan scores a massive success that brings a fresh sound filled with electricity and sonic poignancy. It brings about a vibrancy that we often don’t see from EDM. One that is enthralling and tanalizing, which bodes well for the young producer from Indonesia.
With the support of Marshmello and an already tight-knit fanbase, it’s only a matter of time for Papa Khan to become a household name. Keep a close eye out for Papa Khan’s next moves as he breaks boundaries as the new wave of EDM.
To stream “Rain”, follow the link here or continue below.
