Sacha Robotti continues his genre-defying journey with the release of his latest single, ‘The Flood’, in collaboration with legendary producer Blakkat out now as part of the Dirtybird’s 20th anniversary.
‘The Flood’ is one part garage, one part deep house, and all groove. Instantly captivating, Sacha crafts a framework of rhythm and atmosphere that lays the foundation for Blakkat’s dreamy vocals. Their chemistry results in a piece that radiates with emotion and perspective while staying rooted in club culture and dancefloor momentum. As the second single from I, Robotti, the track highlights another side of Sacha’s range, showcasing his ability to move fluidly between moods and styles as he always has throughout his career.
Fime just can’t win, and they’re perfectly fine with that.
The deeply under-the-radar LA band is chasing meaning through melodic fuzz and existential crunch on their new album, Just Can’t Win. Throughout, it captures the comedown of chasing your dreams, and it’s easily Fime’s heaviest record thematically. Musically it channels the multi-faceted rock of bands like Militarie Gun, Glitterer, and Guided By Voices.
Formed by East Bay transplants Beto Brakmo (he/him, vocalist + guitarist), Maxine Garcia (she/her, vocalist + bassist), and Eric Promani (he/him, drummer), with Scott Leahy (he/him, guitarist), later joining the band from the high desert, Fime has spent the last few years shaping their sound into something urgent and quietly devastating.
Just Can’t Win follows suit, capturing the slow-burn of growing up without a map and the band’s own disillusionment with making music.
“I think the record is about reality,” Beto explains. “This is how it is and the only thing you can do is accept it. We will only ever lose money on music, but we drag that boulder back up the hill anyway. Even a band like ours with virtually zero major success can make a work of art despite the lack of ability to win at this game.”
That duality plays out throughout the record, especially with Beto and Maxine’s interchanging vocal dynamic. Their distinct yet complementary voices alternate and overlap like two sides of the same existential coin, bringing tension and depth to every song.
Toronto songwriter and composer Neil Haverty (frontman of alt-folk ensemble Bruce Peninsula, and composer of the Wildhood soundtrack) is back with “Some Days,” a soulful and synth-driven single that dives into the quiet pressures of daily life – the aspirations we wake up to, and the grace we need to let go when things don’t go to plan.
Hitting the sweet spot between indie soul, alt-R&B, and synth-pop, “Some Days” brims with cloud-busting strings from Mika Posen (Agnes Obel, Timber Timbre), broken arpeggiated synths, and “drunk” drums – all filtered through Haverty’s distinctive, slightly skewed lens. Produced and mixed with Leon Taheny (Owen Pallett, Fucked Up), the track blends analog and digital textures, pairing brash yet weary vocals with a groove that’s both unbothered and motivated.
“I wanted to acknowledge the patterns and discrepancies in how a person can approach each day,” Haverty explains. “Some days are just off. Other days are full of promise and brimming with energy. I’m always interested in the spectrum of variables underneath a topic, and mood is an especially broad playing field for that.”
Rising pop/R&B artist Stefanie Michaela releases the music video for her latest single, “Better With Time,” a lush, unfiltered track that pushes back against age expectations and celebrates self-made confidence. Co-written by Stefanie, Nash Overstreet (Hot Chelle Rae, Megan Trainor), and Cali Rodi (Keith Urban, Daya), and produced by Overstreet, the song tells the story of a woman’s life that is just getting started after picking up her dreams from where she left off.
Dunnville, Ontario’s Chore are back after two decades with Oswego Park, a tightly wound, deeply personal fourth album brimming with post-hardcore intensity, progressive structures, and raw emotion. Out now via Sonic Unyon Records, the record follows previously released single “Cowards Can” and highlights the menacing, riff-heavy “King” – a song that channels the pressures of modern life through a lens of chaotic energy and self-reflection.
While “King” may be one of the record’s most aggressive and angular moments, Oswego Park is anything but one-note. Across its sprawling tracklist, the album ricochets from pummeling math-metal intricacies to brooding alt-rock atmospherics, from knotty time signatures to soaring melodic payoffs. Written and recorded intermittently between 2017 and 2022 – and shaped in part by the global pandemic – the record captures Chore 2.0 working purely for the love of the craft.
The album’s title is a nod to a small rural subdivision halfway between Dunnville and Smithville, Ontario – a hub of childhood mischief and friendship for brothers Chris (guitar/vocals) and Mike Bell (bass guitar) and a point of connection with Dunham. “We’ve always waved a little Dunnville flag in our work,” says Mike. “This album really drives it home.”
world-renowned composer, producer and rock icon YOSHIKI (X Japan) debuts a music video he directed, starring the cast of Bride Hard: Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Colleen Camp, Gigi Zumbado and Academy Award winner Da’vine Joy Randolph.
The video features “Butterfly (Acoustic Version),” the latest single from rising J-Pop sensation Bi-Ray, available to stream today – Listen Here. The original version of “Butterfly” soared to #1 on YouTube (9M+ views) and the iTunes Pop Chart in Japan and was also featured in the trailer for the summer action-comedy Bride Hard.
The song showcases Bi-Ray’s stunning vocals and collective depth. The group made their U.S. debut earlier this year with a powerful performance of the national anthem at Dodger Stadium during Japanese Heritage Night. Bi-ray’s four members—Emi, Hinata, Cocomi, and Michelle—were personally handpicked by YOSHIKI.
YOSHIKI shares, “The moment I heard their voices, I knew they were something extraordinary. Each member has a unique sound and together they’re a force ready to change the future of J-Pop.
“Butterfly (Acoustic Version)” is a slow-burning, emotionally resonant ballad that begins with stripped-down instrumentation before building into a lush, cinematic arrangement. Released globally via Melodee with U.S. distribution by Virgin Music Group, the track highlights each member’s unique vocal identity. With origins in Japan, Canada, Russia and the Philippines, 美麗-Bi-Ray embodies a new era of multicultural J-pop, delivering a unified and heartfelt performance.
The best new American rock band, Liquid Mike, is back with their sixth and most anthemic record yet, Hell Is An Airport––out everywhere September 12. A perfect soundtrack for life’s uncertain layovers, Hell Is An Airport is all about the in-between moments spent waiting on a plane that never leaves the ground. Liquid Mike channels this frustration brilliantly while also celebrating the fact that it’s gotta take off eventually. Right?
“Airports are these weird, intermediary spaces that have always made me feel like I’m stuck in limbo,” vocalist/guitarist Mike Maple says. “This album deals a lot with themes surrounding feeling stuck and unable to crawl out. Airports are stressful and congested and bureaucratic and never sleep; I imagine hell operates very much like an airport.”The brilliantly titled record draws from staples like Guided by Voices and The Replacements while channeling the guitar-driven energy of Maple’s youth—Nirvana, Ramones, and AC/DC—resulting in a sharp collection that turns self-deprecation into catharsis. Throughout, Liquid Mike continue to cement their place as one of today’s most compelling alt-rock bands. 
On the enchanted shores of São Miguel dos Milagres, where emerald jungle dissolves into turquoise sea, a call has been heard. It drifts through tide and canopy, through silence and rhythm, summoning the faithful to witness the dawn of Day Zero’s first Brazilian chapter. Conceived by Damian Lazarus, the globally revered gathering expands its storied legacy to the mystical coastline of Alagoas on January 3, 2026. Day Zero is a rite of passage—an avant-garde collision of sound, ritual, and nature that draws the underground’s most devoted from across the globe.
For this inaugural edition, Damian Lazarus unveils a lineup that reflects both Brazil’s surging electronic renaissance and the visionary voices shaping dancefloors across the globe. The innovative billing features South African luminary Black Coffee, globally renowned icon Honey Dijon, groove architect Dennis Cruz, avant-garde live trio WhoMadeWho, and French minimal craftsman Traumer. The lineup continues with Collecting Dots labelhead OMRI., cosmic voyager Deer Jade, Canada’s Unfazed, and rising star Meera.
Echoing Day Zero’s commitment to showcasing local talent, Brazil’s own electronic vanguard stands at the forefront of this coastal gathering including superstar Vintage Culture, breakout sensation Mochakk, dynamic veteran ANNA, melodic powerhouse duo Maz x Antdot, and rising talents Bhaskar, Malive, and Jackson. Together, they embody the fearless experimentation and innovative pulse that have placed Brazil at the center of today’s electronic awakening.
As the first light spills across the horizon, Damian Lazarus takes the reins for the sunrise session that has become Day Zero’s most sacred rite. Forever shapeshifting between selector and storyteller, he conjures moments suspended outside of time—where fearless reworks, rare edits, and deep-reaching selections dissolve the boundaries between genres and generations. Each sunrise unfurls as a living tapestry, weaving decades of musical history with an instinctive power to ignite the dancefloor, carrying dancers between night and day, shadow and light, ritual and rebirth.
Day Zero’s ethos has always been about harmonizing with the land it inhabits, forging an experiential dialogue between local traditions, timeless spiritual currents, and a celebration of renewal. Every edition is crafted as a living homage to the region’s heritage: whether through the sacred Mayan symbolism of Tulum or the desert mysticism of Masada. For its Brasilian chapter, São Miguel dos Milagres emerges as a synergetic vessel. Nestled along Alagoas’ picturesque coastline, where crystalline tidal pools meet lush jungle, the region pulses with Indigenous heritage and hypnotic rhythm. In this sacred setting, Day Zero will weave together the natural majesty of Brasil’s northeast with its own signature ceremony—creating a communal rite that honors the land, its people, and the enduring spirit that binds them.
Day Zero Brasil will be held in collaboration with local partners Entourage Live, Plus Network, Tamo Junto, Gaz Events, and BOMA.
Day Zero serves as a sanctuary for seekers of sound, a portal where sonic energy, natural wonder, ancient ritual, and cultural reverence converge. In São Miguel dos Milagres, a new miracle unfolds—one that can only be known by those who step inside its world.
Tickets on sale here.
Kentucky (Jordan Holman) releases “The Archer” today, a non-album single that follows in the wake of his debut record SECOND CHANCE MUSIC. If that album was a map back from the edge, “The Archer” is the quiet clearing where you stop to catch your breath; it’s a song made for moments when words collapse under the weight of loss.
Its tone is tender, almost hymn-like, carrying a weight that never tips into despair. The influence of something classic, like “Let It Be,” brushes against it, but the heartbeat here is Kentucky’s own: unguarded, deliberate, and stitched with the kind of ache that searches for closure but never fully finds it. The final chord doesn’t resolve. It resonates, just like the people we lose and can’t forget.
Hedex’s latest offering features one of the UK’s hottest rap artists in ArrDee—having previously worked together on “Liquour & Cigarettes” alongside Chase & Status—as well as acclaimed songwriter-producer Digital Farm Animals (Dua Lipa, Charli xcx) – one of the most revered UK producers to have risen in the last decade. Continuing to pave the way for contemporary drum and bass and where it can go, “Same Cycle” demonstrates Hedex’s ability in crafting all-out dancefloor heaters, whilst tapping rap talent and production in perfect alignment.
Hedex—aka Jack Hedges— went from discovering D&B through High Contrast’s “If We Ever,” to juggling early gigs across Europe with 5am shifts at McDonald’s. Now the UK figurehead has balanced selling out both the OVO Arena Wembley and LA’s Palladium, underlining himself as a true outlier in the scene and a bona fide a new-gen D&B superstar. With viral collabs alongside Chase & Status, ArrDee, Tion Wayne, and Tiësto already under his belt, the Cambridgeshire-born artist is set to release his MHITR album as both a personal statement and culture-shifting moment—capturing the chaos, energy, and euphoria of the scene he’s helped shape.
The upcoming album blends earth-shaking basslines, razor-sharp percussion, and Hedex’s unmistakable flair, bringing in drum & bass scene legends alongside a widely anticipated return collab with ArrDee, while tapping into the UK’s wider sonic spectrum with Maverick Sabre. It’s a signal of intent: a forward-facing project that stays rooted in rave culture while pushing D&B toward the mainstream spotlight. MHITR continues the explosive rise of Hedex—from streaming anthems like “Liquor & Cigarettes” (79M+ streams) and “Move Your Body (Remix),” to selling out tours across the UK, EU, Australia and North America.
With an innate sense of what moves both bodies and culture, the British artist creates a sound that’s as infectious in the raves as it is on the charts. As he gears up towards his debut album MHITR, Hedex is set to cement his status as one of the most dynamic and exciting new forces in contemporary music.
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
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