It didn't take long for Ann Arbor, MI's Matthew Dear to catapult himself into the front rank of microhouse producers, emerging in the early 2000s with a string of high-quality releases for Spectral Sound, Plus 8, and Perlon (under several aliases). Born and raised in Texas, Dear first discovered electronic music at age 16; he later attended the University of Michigan, where he met future Ghostly International label founder Sam Valenti IV. He started DJing at parties and eventually moved into production. In late 1999, he and Daisha teamed up to deliver the inaugural Ghostly 12" release, "Hands Up for Detroit." Dear wound up on Ghostly's more dance-oriented subsidiary Spectral Sound, for which he debuted in 2001 with the 12" "Irreparably Dented"; another, "Stealing Moves," followed in 2002. That year, Dear signed to Richie Hawtin's Plus 8 label under the alias False, and issued three 12" singles of minimalist house up through early 2003, which were later gathered on a self-titled CD compilation. 2003 was his busiest year yet: as Jabberjaw, he released the "Girlfriend" 12" on Berlin's Perlon label, and returned to Spectral Sound for EP1 and EP2 that summer. Late in the year, he released his first-ever full-length album, Leave Luck to Heaven, also on Spectral Sound. Titled after the loose English translation of the word "Nintendo," the album earned positive notice from a number of publications, and spun off the highly acclaimed single "Dog Days." The Backstroke EP followed in 2004, and Asa Breed -- his most song-based release to date -- came out in 2007. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Texas-born Dear moved to Michigan as a teenager, where he was inspired by the sound of Detroit Techno. Dear met Sam Valenti IV at a party while attending the University of Michigan, after which the two created the record label, Ghostly International, based on a shared love of electronic music. Dear’s first single was 1999’s "Hands Up For Detroit" (co-produced by ghettotech pioneer Disco D, who performed under the name Daisha). Successive singles, such as "Stealing Moves" and the chart-topping "Mouth to Mouth" (as Audion) were issued on Spectral Sound, Ghostly’s offshoot that focuses on dancefloor music.
Matthew Dear playing live at Philadelphia's Silk City club, 2004
Dear’s first album Leave Luck to Heaven appeared in 2003 and was praised widely as a seminal fusion of pop and minimal techno. The album’s single "Dog Days" became one of Spectral’s best sellers and a favorite of international DJs like Richie Hawtin[citation needed]. Dear followed the album with Backstroke in 2004 and has also begun working under the harder-edged Audion alias, apart from additional monikers False and Jabberjaw. In an interview he briefly mentioned that the idea for Audion came from a dream and it inspired him so much that he started to piece the tune together based on what he remembered.[citation needed]
In 2007, Matthew Dear released his sophomore full length, Asa Breed. Matthew and his band, Matthew Dear's Big Hands then began a US promotional tour tour and a European tour as the opening act for Hot Chip. 2008 saw the re-release of Asa Breed as the Asa Breed Black Edition. This re-release added 5 new songs, including a remix of Don and Sherri from Hot Chip and the video for the song, shot in downtown New York City.
