Mysterious artist aliases and the maestros behind them [Magazine Editorial]

The world of electronic music is saturated with successful artists, each with their own unique identity. But despite the abundant opportunity for success, many become somewhat limited by their core brand, and often feel the desire to branch out with a brand new concept. For this reason, we often see leading artists evolve through different projects, sometimes maintaining several identities simultaneously. Though there are many monikers that immediately spring to mind, there are many artists whose side projects are not widely known. In many cases, fans will be aware of multiple aliases, without realising that they are the work of the same artist. In this article we’ll take a look at some of the world’s greatest artist aliases, both known and unknown.

Some artists continue multiple aliases simultaneously, while others ditch one moniker for another as their career develops. When thinking about a-listers with alternative aliases, there are some immediate icons that spring to mind, and some of these identities are rather recent. David Guetta has propelled his reputation to greater heights with his underground Jack Back alias, and Tiësto brought new life to the year 2020 when he unveiled his melodic VER:WEST moniker, with many initially speculating that this may be the beginning of his return to his trance roots. A fresh moniker that saw the artist deviate entirely from their core sound is Calvin Harris’ Love Regenerator project, which saw him delve even deeper into the realm of house music, developing a more authentic, groovier sound that expanded his production spectrum.

Looking back a bit further, Martin Garrix has been making waves over the last few years with not one but three side projects, GRX, YTRAM and Area21 (with Maejor). Similarly, Eric Prydz has also managed to maintain multiple identities, delivering top tier anthems and phenomenal performances under the globally revered Pryda and Cirez D identities.

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