Words by Ross Goldenberg and Zach Salafia.
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times: ISOxo and Knock2’s joint explosion over the past few years gives us a feeling parallel to that of a proud parent, and in 2024, our admiration grew tenfold.
After closing the door on a momentous 2023 — capped off by the release of ISOxo’s debut album on top of their multi-night run at The Shrine — ISOxo and Knock2’s shared Dancing Astronaut 2024 Artist of the Year campaign was in motion just 16 days into the year. ISOKNOCK4 — the newest iteration of their back-to-back performances that originated in 2019 — was not only scheduled, it was happening at arguably the grandest setting in the live music space: Coachella. We could sit here and reminisce about every last detail from Polo Grounds for the next several hours, but we’ll just say that we had the pleasure of becoming a first-hand witness to the absolute bedlam that ensued under the Sahara Tent.
Before the two would even travel out to the desert, though, ISOxo would add a debut album tour to his 2024 record. And although they had more than a few collective feats this year, both artists also held their own, individually topping festivals like Ultra, Electric Forest, and Lightning in a Bottle while bringing their ISOKNOCK branding to North Coast Music Festival and Ultra Japan.
Shortly after his kidsgonemad (which would be later followed by a deluxe edition) tour, ISOxo would reunite with his San Diego counterpart to give those who couldn’t be at Coachella the opportunity to experience ISOKNOCK in Seattle, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Japan—their first-ever international date under the duo name—or ultimately during a homecoming weekend that requires its own section of this article.
But that’s enough rambling about their live show conquests for the time being. A month after their ISOKNOCK excursion beneath a bridge in Brooklyn, ISOxo and Knock2 etched a chapter in trap’s history books with the deployment of “SMACK TALK.” Little did anyone know, ISOxo, Knock2, and RL Grime’s Ultra ID-turned-trap-anthem would be the first peek at 4EVR, an eight-part ISOKNOCK album that they would unsuspectingly set loose on streaming platforms in August, and a project that would earn a place among Dancing Astronaut’s Top Albums of 2024.
Yet both ISOxo and Knock2’s comment sections — and even a few billboards around the city — were littered with one prevailing question: When were they coming home? They didn’t just answer it in early December — they wrote a love letter to the city of San Diego. ISOxo and Knock2 reimagined the outskirts of Snapdragon Stadium, hosting a weekend equipped with festival-grade production, an A-list undercard featuring RL Grime and Madeon, two rowdy ISOKNOCK showings, and a concluding reveal of their new event, Niteharts Fest, for 2025. The full-circle weekend felt like a definitive victory lap that further closed their case for Dancing Astronaut’s 2024 Artist of the Year crown.
One would think that’s where their overarching argument comes to a finish, but it was not. Not long after their SD 4EVR blowout, Knock2 formally scheduled nolimit, his long-awaited, 17-track debut album, for the top of the new year.
Of course, we have to take a brief moment to reflect on Dancing Astronaut‘s personal ride alongside ISOxo and Knock2. Watching the duo climb from Dancing Astronaut’s Artists to Watch in 2021 class to Breakout Artist of 2022, and now, to Artist of the Year, is what every music fan dreams of when discovering what they believe to be a soon-to-be superstar—or superstars in this case.
Simply put, their chokehold on the scene deserves a standing ovation in and of itself. It’s what has truly set them apart from other acts in the dance scene, from their rockstar-like showmanship to the ceaseless energy of every crowd at every show, to their genre-blurring outputs to receiving the ultimate stamp of approval from their idols, like Skrillex, RL Grime, and Zedd. At every turn, they’ve managed to somehow one-up themselves, from their performance inside of a suspended shipping crane to their curation of a mini-festival for and within their hometown.
This year, ISOxo and Knock2 elevated themselves even further, into a no-man’s-land-esque level of dominance that feels incomparable to anything we’ve seen in recent memory, and we’re recognizing their impact by bestowing upon them our highest honor.
Congratulations to ISOxo and Knock2, Dancing Astronaut’s 2024 Artist of the Year.
Featured image: Eric Dew
Categories: Features
