Best of 2014 The DIY List 2014: The mystery machine: does the idea of the ‘anonymous artist’ still appeal?

Musicians have always been surrounded by mythologies. Tales of rock’n’roll excess followed The Rolling Stones around the globe; rumours of Slipknot’s onstage antics far preceded their actually-not-that-murdery-after-all live show; even the posthumous publishing of Kurt Cobain’s scribble-covered journals incited mania as people attempted to decipher the ramblings of a man who to many is still more a prodigy than a person.

As the digital age reared its head, things got madder still. More than ever, it was the artists as much as the art who were exposed through the world wide web – for better or worse? Depends on who you ask. It’s little wonder that many saw this as impetus to step out of the spotlight. The cliché of the ‘mysterious artist’ is nothing new, but with the internet’s prying power more prevalent than ever before, the ability to project something into the world whilst obscuring your identity is something that, until recently, was widely celebrated. Daft Punk’s technologic was all the more special for coming forth from smooth-faced robots, even managing to maintain their myth after several accidental unmaskings. Likewise, Deadmau5, SBTRKT and the recently defunct The Knife have built huge careers that are completely unassignable without their respective disguises.

2014, however, appears to have sewn the seed of change. Artists who previously existed solely behind a curtain have drawn it back with little to no fanfare. As we move into the latter half of the decade and the fog continues to clear, DIY asks: does mystery still hold the same appeal?