In the ever-evolving landscape of bass music, there is no perfect blueprint to find your sound.
For rSUN, one of the bass scene’s latest emerging talents, that process of artistic discovery relies on pulling inspiration from every corner of the sonic realm and refusing to box himself into one particular lane.
Balancing heavy, cinematic bass music with melodic arrangements and raw emotion, the Virginia-based producer has never been afraid to follow an idea wherever it takes him or, as he puts it, just keep “throwing things together till something works.”
That approach, alongside his forward-thinking sound design and immersive world-building, has not only garnered the attention of heavy-hitters like Zeds Dead, GRiZ, Tape B, Super Future, and more but helped rSUN carve out his own space within a new generation of bass producers.
A year after landing a slot at GRiZ’s inaugural Seven Stars Festival and making his touring debut on Tape B’s Fall 2025 Tour, he has yet to take his foot off the gas pedal.
Between opening for Zeds Dead at Red Rocks for Deadrocks XII, performing at Of The Trees’ Camp Alderwild, an upcoming appearance at Experts Only Festival, and now making his Deadbeats label debut on We Are Deadbeats Vol. 7, with Floret Loret on ‘Mind,’ rSUN has carried that momentum into a breakout 2026 run.
“Deadbeats has been a label I’ve been wanting to release with for some time now, so it’s really cool to finally make it happen with this song!” rSUN shared in an interview with The Daily Frequency.
As Deadbeats celebrates its tenth anniversary, the 17-track compilation album, We Are Deadbeats Vol. 7, once again sees Zeds Dead’s iconic imprint champion the underground by spotlighting the artists defining the next era of bass music.
Joining a lengthy list of Deadbeats mainstays like Distinct Motive and Smoakland, along with rising underground talent like Crawdad Sniper, Die By The Sword, and Emrys, rSUN teams up with the genre-bending producer Floret Loret for an immersive journey into sound with their new collab, Mind.
“When I started the song, I was trying to make something heavy and energetic because I felt like I was needing something fresh in that style. Shortly after starting it, I connected with Floret Loret over Instagram. He and I sent each other some music we were working on, and we decided to collab on a few songs together. I’ve always been a fan of his music, so getting to work with him was really cool!”
While Mind taps into the heavier side of his production, rSUN has built his catalog from a much broader relationship with electronic music. That wide range of influences has developed alongside years spent learning the craft, allowing experimentation to remain an essential part of the project as his production continues to mature.
“I think there’s a number of different things that helped me develop my sound, but really, I think it just comes down to the plugins I like to use when I make my music. Plus, I love electronic music as a whole, so I think I take influences from all the different styles that I love to listen to, and I just incorporate it into my own music. My sound has evolved a lot since I started releasing music as rSUN, but I think that’s because I was still learning how to produce music when I started releasing it. So if you go back to my earliest songs on my SoundCloud, I think you can really hear that evolution.”
That evolution hasn’t followed a predetermined path, either. Even with the emotion and storytelling that often emerge throughout his music, rSUN doesn’t always enter the studio knowing exactly where an idea will end up.
“Sometimes I have a feeling that I’m chasing when I am making something, but my music mostly just develops over time. I’ve always felt like my creative process can be kind of aimless and throwing things together till something works.”
As the project gathers momentum on the festival circuit, preserving that freedom in the studio has become increasingly important. With bigger stages naturally changing how an artist experiences their own music, rSUN remains conscious of the line between learning from the live environment and allowing it to dictate what he creates.
“I’m trying to not let the growth of my live shows influence me too much. I think I make the best music when I have no clear goal in mind, and if I’m working on a song and I’m trying to make it fit into my sets, I think it only limits myself in what I’m able to make.”
Even as he protects that creative process, the live milestones continue to stack up. Earlier this summer, rSUN stepped onto one of electronic music’s most storied stages to support Zeds Dead at Red Rocks for Deadrocks XII, where he experienced the iconic venue for the first time from behind the decks.
“It was so crazy. I never would have expected I’d ever play at that venue, let alone with Zeds Dead. I had never been to Red Rocks prior to playing there, and I never realized how I’d have to be looking up at the crowd the whole time while playing haha. It was a lot of fun there, though, and it was just a really cool moment for me and my team.”
Opportunities from flagship labels like Deadbeats highlight the critical role established tastemakers can play in elevating the underground. For a developing producer navigating an increasingly crowded bass music landscape, support from artists like Zeds Dead can open doors that talent alone doesn’t always guarantee.
“Getting their support has been a huge help. It’s really hard to emerge as an artist today without a cosign from a label or bigger artist like Zeds Dead, so I’m not so sure where I’d be without their support.”
That growth has also brought rSUN into some new territory on the festival circuit. After recently performing at Camp Alderwild, he’ll next take his sound to Experts Only, joining names like GRiZ, LYNY, and Levity as one of the few bass acts on a lineup largely built around house and techno.
“I’m just trying to bring something fresh to the table, especially at Experts Only. I’m one of the few bass music acts playing there, so I think it’ll be fun to try and bring a different vibe to the festival.”
That desire to bring something different reaches beyond his own project. For an artist whose sound has grown without rigid formulas, originality is what sits at the center of how he sees the future of electronic music production.
And as generative AI becomes increasingly intertwined with music creation and algorithm-driven platforms continue shaping what reaches listeners, he predicts the possibility of a natural pushback.
“I feel like because of generative AI, we’re going to see an interesting counterculture to it. I’m just excited to see what emerges from this counterculture since pretty much everyone doesn’t want to hear anything generated by AI. So I feel like we’ll see people intentionally producing in a way that won’t sound like AI made it since it seems to have its own style of producing music. But I think because of all of that, the scene will start to favor originality and artistry over easily digestible songs.”
But for rSUN, originality doesn’t come from trying to manufacture something different, but from staying true to your authentic self. As the stages get bigger and expectations begin to follow, he continues trusting the same process that helped him get here: experiment, leave room for ideas to develop, and don’t force the destination.
With his first Deadbeats release and Red Rocks performance now behind him, the next chapter is already beginning to take shape, with major announcements on the horizon.
“My team and I are planning for my own headline tour for 2027, so I’d say that’s the next goal I’m looking to check off. Outside of that, I have another EP that I’m getting close to finishing up, so I’m hoping I can get that released pretty soon!”
