GENESI And WELKER Bring Two Classes Of Dancing Astronaut’s Artists To Watch To Knockdown Center

Every December, Dancing Astronaut picks the names we believe are about to take over dance music, and it is always a good feeling when one of those picks proves us right. On Sunday, October 11, two of them will be sharing the same room. GENESI, one of our Artists to Watch in 2025, is bringing an extended set to Knockdown Center in Queens, and joining him is WELKER, one of our Artists to Watch in 2026. Presented by Gray Area, the night puts last year’s prediction and this year’s prediction side by side, and it shows exactly how fast the next wave of house and techno is moving.

When we named GENESI to our 2025 class, he was already the producer behind one of the most talked-about records in dance music, “Everything You Have Done” with MEDUZA. By the end of 2024 he had 14 releases to his name across labels like Aeterna, REALM, and Tomorrowland Music, with support from Anyma, Vintage Culture, Steve Angello, and Armin van Buuren. We said then that he was just getting started, and he has backed that up.

“Everything You Have Done” hit No. 1 on Beatport and is now closing in on 100 million streams. GENESI followed it with releases on Diynamic, REALM, Truesoul, and Disorder, including the Freak EP with MEDUZA, his solo HyperEP, and a remix of Linska’s “Bad Boy” that topped Beatport’s Melodic House & Techno chart. Linska, fittingly, was also one of our 2025 Artists to Watch. He has climbed into the top five of 1001Tracklists’ Top 101 Producers ranking, made his Coachella debut in the Yuma Tent, played ARC Music Festival, Seismic, and Hï Ibiza with MEDUZA and James Hype’s Our House, and supported Solomun during Milan Fashion Week. He has gone from a promising name on our list to one of the most heavily supported new names in house and techno.

WELKER is one year behind him on that path, and the similarities are hard to miss. The Brazilian-born, Los Angeles-based producer opened his first formal year of releases with “Element” on Diynamic’s 41st edition of Four To The Floor, the same label GENESI has called home for both the Freak and Hyper EPs. From there he landed on Repopulate Mars, When Stars Align, and Three Six Zero, picked up support from Solomun, CamelPhat, Vintage Culture, Gordo, and Innellea, and caught the attention of Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1. When we named him to our 2026 class, we pointed to him as more proof that Brazil has become one of house music’s most important breeding grounds. Watching him step onto a bill alongside GENESI, less than a year later, feels like the next step in that story.

Ahead of the show, we asked GENESI to look back on his year and tell us what to expect at Knockdown Center.

DANCING ASTRONAUT: Dancing Astronaut named you an Artist to Watch for 2025, and since then you’ve hit No. 1 on Beatport, played Coachella, and broken into the top five of 1001Tracklists. Looking back, what’s been the most transformative experience for you this year?

GENESI: All of those milestones have been incredible, but I think the most transformative part has been taking a moment to look back and realize how much has happened this year. When you’re constantly touring and focusing on the next show and the next track to finish, it’s easy to forget to stop and take it all in. This has been my biggest touring year yet, taking me across almost every continent, and seeing how people around the world connect with the music is always the best part!

DANCING ASTRONAUT: At Knockdown Center you’ll share the bill with WELKER, one of our 2026 Artists to Watch, and you’re playing an extended set. What can people expect from the night, and what would you tell an artist who’s where you were a year ago?

GENESI: WELKER is a great artist who’s really coming up, so I’m very happy to have him with me at Knockdown Center, as well as Chellzz and Gabz. I’m really looking forward to sharing the night with them. For my set, people can expect a lot of new music that I’m finishing at the moment and a bit more of a range than usual. I don’t get many chances to play an extended set, so I’ll have more freedom to explore different sounds and take the crowd on more of a journey. To anyone who is where I was a year ago, I’d say to trust the process, stay focused on the music and keep working. A lot can change in a year and you never know when!

What makes this pairing work so well is that both artists have earned the trust of the same circle of tastemakers. GENESI’s productions shift from melodic tension to heavy, percussive club records, and both he and WELKER count Solomun and Vintage Culture among their supporters. Put them together on one night and you get a full picture of where house and techno are headed.

The format is a big part of why this one stands out. GENESI is playing an extended set, which gives him far more room than a festival slot ever could. Expect a patient build through deeper selections and unreleased music before he pushes into the harder side of his catalog. Knockdown Center, one of New York’s most celebrated warehouse venues, is the right place for that kind of night. Local talent Chellzz b2b Gabz round out the lineup.

We picked GENESI to watch in 2025 and WELKER to watch in 2026. On October 11, you can see for yourself why both made the list.

GENESI w. WELKER & More takes over Knockdown Center in Queens on Sunday, October 11, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are available here.