Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is where Matthew Meier and William “Watt” Watkins formed Barely Alive in 2013. Friends since grade school, Meier and Watkins started making hip-hop beats in high school, where both took part in the music programme at Monument Mountain Regional High School. They began producing music as Barely Alive in 2013. The Massachusetts duo combines dubstep with trap and drum-and-bass influences, and is also known for dubstep. A remix contest win for Astronaut’s “Apollo” helped the pair build a relationship with Disciple Recordings, the label they signed to in 2014.
That year, Disciple Recordings released the EP Lost in the Internet. The duo’s album We Are Barely Alive followed in 2015 on Disciple Records. Barely Alive later worked with Astronaut on the EP Rivals. In 2018, the duo released the album Odyssey, which includes collaborations with Virus Syndicate, Splitbreed and Iamsu!. The pair’s releases have also appeared on OWSLA, Monstercat, Bassrush and Firepower, extending their label work beyond Disciple. Their collaborations include Datsik, Splitbreed and Virtual Riot, as well as Astronaut. Barely Alive also collaborated with 12th Planet and PhaseOne on “Bubzstep.”
Barely Alive later singles include “Here We Go”, made with Fox Stevenson and released on Disciple in 2019, and “if you wanna”, a 2024 Monstercat single with Skyelle. In 2026, the duo launched Killed It!, a brostep label open to releases by other artists. The label’s first volume includes “Whatever Happened To Dubstep,” a collaboration with Cyclops. Barely Alive also released the Monstercat single “Time Machine” with Zomboy in 2026, followed by “WE SET IT” with Ragga Twins on Killed It!. Their 2019 Disciple singles also included “Warrior (The Prototypes Remix)” with The Prototypes and “Wompum (Macky Gee Remix)” with Macky Gee.