Hugo Leclercq, better known as Madeon, has been a known quantity in the electronic music sphere since his Youtube break through with mashup video ‘Pop Culture’ when he was just 17. Following a rapid climb with several strong house and EDM singles, all of which he mixed, produced and mastered himself, he released debut album ‘Adventure’ in 2015. The album was an incredibly fun selection of bouncy, electropop fun borrowing vocal talents from Bastille, Foster The People and Passion Pit, as well as Leclercq himself singing for the first time on closing track ‘Home’. At the time, he said “I don’t see myself as a singer but I thought it would be weird to have anyone else do the song so I kept it the same as the demo on the album.”

After the releases of his hit ‘Shelter’ with frequent collaborator Porter Robinson in 2016 and follow-up LP ‘Good Faith’ in 2019, Madeon had pushed himself out there as the main vocal star of his own music. The boundary-breaking tracks on ‘Good Faith’ drew influences from across EDM, rap, pop and gospel genres, with Leclercq’s gentle, digitally-enhanced singing voice becoming a huge part of the dreamy sound. The touring cycle from ‘Good Faith’ was long and arduous, and after signing off with 2023 single ‘Gonna Be Good’, Madeon took a gap year from producing his own music.

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Since returning refreshed in 2025 with energetic new electronic-tinged indie rock singles ‘Hi!’ and ‘Car Crash Baby’, Madeon has reinvented himself as a frontman, a singer-songwriter – a genre-melding maverick. He announced third album ‘Victory’ in October last year, also confirming it would be the name of his new era of music and theatrics. With all 10 tracks completed in March, he revealed new single ‘Fire Away’ this week, featuring vocal cuts by US singer Slayyyter.

The song is a stomping dance-floor anthem, which Madeon breaks down as “a song about love as warfare, words like weapons of the brokenhearted.” Speaking of the feature, he says “Slayyyter embodied the other side of the story and her voice took the song to another level, her performance has so much confidence and attitude, she’s electric.” Slayyyter has also spoken of the experience, writing “I’ve been a fan of Madeon for such a long time; I am so grateful to have gotten to work with him on this record. I love what we made together.” The track made its debut live appearance during Madeon’s DJ set at Coachella in April on the Quasar Stage.

‘Fire Away’ is out now, ahead of ‘Victory’ releasing on the 26th of June via independent label Mom+Pop. Click here for pre-save and pre-order links, and check out the track list below:

1. Hi!
2. Car Crash Baby
3. Super Platinum (feat. Erick the Architect)
4. Dancing On Your Grave
5. Somebody Else
6. Fire Away (feat. Slayyyter)
7. Chaos Magic
8. Enjoy
9. Red Jacket (feat. Sam Gellaitry)
10. Lonely Space Age

The group formed in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, in 2010, but their big break didn’t come until clean vocalist Nico Sallach joined in 2020. The music they make is a riotous combination of various electronic dance music styles and metalcore, made all the more fun by the band’s wicked comedic themes and humorous co-ordinated outfits. The sound was fully unlocked by Sallach’s voice, which would sound at home in any pop or EDM track, and when his first single with the band, 2020’s ‘Hypa Hypa’ released, it instantly became their most-popular song and opened them to a far-wider audience.

Since sixth studio album ‘Tekkno’ released in 2022, Electric Callboy’s ascent has been unstoppable. Backed by high-energy singles and their brilliant music videos like the 80’s-inspired ‘Hypa Hypa’, ‘We’ve Got The Moves’ with its bonkers hardstyle drop, and the outrageous ‘Tekkno Train’, they have over 600 million views on Youtube and nearly 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Their live show full of lights, pyrotechnics and costume changes has also become one of the wildest around, balancing all the features of both a heavy metal show and a rave into one exciting package. Since career highlights including a co-headline set at the UK’s Slam Dunk festival and a sold-out show at London’s Alexandra Palace last year, Download Festival have taken notice and given them a prime main stage slot this year.

In the current climate for recorded music, Electric Callboy adopted the now-common approach of releasing multiple singles over a stretch of time in favour of building to an album, having put out 4 singles and two covers since 2024. After releasing the single ‘Tanzneid’ last October and wrapping up their last world tour, the band took to social media to build suspense for a prospective announcement this week. Behind-the scenes clips showed them tracking vocals in the studio, as well as unboxing clothes to be used in their music videos.

New album ‘Tanzneid’ was unveiled on Tuesday the 14th of April, with a tracklist including the past singles ‘Tanzneid’, ‘Revery’, ‘Elevator Operator’, ‘RATATATA’ featuring Babymetal, and their cover of Sum 41’s hit ‘Still Waiting’. Further information came on the 15th about their new single ‘Hypercharged’ releasing on the 16th as a promotional crossover with mobile game Brawl Stars, advertising a new character for the game with the accompanying music video.

‘Hypercharged’ released today, and is every bit an Electric Callboy single, from its eurobeat intro that builds to its heavy, screamed pre-chorus, and its saccharine pop-metal chorus. The band’s fearless approach to smashing genres together works so well with the mix of both metal drumming and EDM drum machine tracks here. The music video is one of their less playful, shifting between footage of the band members and footage from the game Brawl Stars. In the 10 hours since it was uploaded to Youtube, it has already been viewed over 5 million times, a popularity unseen for most heavier acts.

In a statement the band spoke about the album, describing how after ‘Tekkno’’s extensive campaign, they refocused themselves for the new material: “With TANZNEID, we wanted to create something special, for our fans and for ourselves. Every track surges with energy. We took what we loved about TEKKNO and pushed it further, adding new elements, new sounds, and new extremes. Heavy beats, explosive drops and moments that hit you right in the chest. The last singles RATATATA and Hypercharged were just the beginning. Now it’s raw, loud and alive, in every pulse, every scream, every melody. We wanted to match our music with your adrenaline, to create a record that pulls you onto the floor, makes your heart race and doesn’t let go.”

‘Tanzneid’ is scheduled to release on the 7th of August 2026, and Electric Callboy say it’s “built for the stage. So turn it up, lose yourself and dance like no-one’s watching.” Physical and digital pre-orders are live now on the band’s website, and new single ‘Hypercharged’ is up on streaming platforms. On the concert front, they’re bringing their one-of-a-kind show to the US through April and May, before a summer festival tour of Europe, finishing with a run of dates in Japan and Australia. UK fans can catch them at Download Festival on Friday the 12th of June. Their final announcement is an album release show at Berlin’s Escalation Fest this August, where fans can book a ride on the ‘Tekkno Train’ to the festival and hear all of the new tracks live.

Since the original video games Pokémon Red and Green launched in Japan in 1996, Pokémon has become an industry all of its own, with it launching lucrative enterprises in television, film, trading cards, toys and fashion among many others. Their instantly-recognisable critters have been a staple of the lives of children worldwide (and a great many adults) since Pokémon fever truly set in at the turn of the millennium, with no sign of it ebbing away.

While the video games are well-known for their iconic soundtracks, ranging from the Game Boy’s chirpy melodies to the modern era’s magical high-definition soundscapes, The Pokémon Company has also forged relations with many stars from the world of music. The franchise marked its 25th anniversary in 2021 with the P25 Music program, producing a full album with an international selection of guest performances by Katy Perry, Post Malone, Mabel, Jax Jones, J Balvin and others. Their collaboration with self-confessed lifelong Pokémon fan Ed Sheeran yielded single ‘Celestial’, which was used for the end credits in 2022 games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Kicking off their 30th year, in February Pokémon bought a Superbowl advert slot, reportedly costing an average of $8 million for a 30-second feature, which they used for a trailer of celebrities interviewed about their favourites from the roster of more than a thousand creatures. Pop-superstar Lady Gaga won hearts with her selection of the Pokémon Jigglypuff, and BLACKPINK’s JISOO chose franchise mascot Eevee. The month also saw them partner with London’s Natural History Museum for exhibits and a pop-up shop, as well as the launch of a Game Boy jukebox, which played tracks from Pokémon Red and Blue’s scores.

This week they announced ‘Pokémon Night Out’, a one-of-a-kind clash of Pokémon, EDM and illumination, targeting adults who grew up with their media. Their two events at Los Angeles’s Intuit Dome and London’s O2 Arena this autumn will be “the ultimate fusion of electronic dance music (EDM) and the vast and eclectic world of Pokémon, curated for audiences seeking a deeper connection with the brand.” They also describe it as “an unforgettable musical experience for attendees, featuring cutting-edge technology and animation to bring Pokémon to life in ways you’ve never seen before.”

Musical entertainment for both shows come courtesy of Alison Wonderland and headliner Marshmello. American DJ Marshmello did a Q&A video to promote the gigs, and when asked why he chose to sign up he said “honestly, I grew up with Pokémon, and when you guys asked me to do this, especially on the 30th anniversary, it’s just such an honour, and I’m just so excited to be a part of that.” He then hints that he will be playing “a very special, very curated unique set for everybody there.” Most importantly, he claims that his favourite Pokémon is Mewtwo, one of 1990s cinema’s most iconic villains.

‘Pokémon Night Out’ Los Angeles is on the 24th of October, with the London date at the O2 falling on the 10th of November. Tickets for London go on sale at 10AM local-time on Friday the 17th of April, through the O2’s website. Also in the announcement were their ‘Days Out’ events, which they call an immersive, “more family-focused celebration” – these will be happening in New York City, Dresden, Bordeaux and Mexico City this summer.

This will be the second time Ninajirachi will be visiting the UK after having only played a few special UK/EU shows in 2025. This year, she’s spoiling fans with tour dates across major capital cities including support from Kavari and Laces.

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Tucked in her room in New South Wales with her headphones on, Ninajirachi is rebooting the scene of electronic dance music with her sixth studio album ‘I Love My Computer‘ – a tribute to a girl-ified experience of living in a digital age reminiscent of Y2k technology, treble-boosted mini speakers, and the incomparable bond of feeling like no one gets you like your computer does.

Since the album’s release in 2025, she has broken through the digital realm and – if it were 2009 – would be on the iPod touch systems of thousands worldwide. Popular tracks ‘iPod Touch’ and ‘F**k My Computer’ have seen her gain 1.2 million listeners on Spotify, the album alone accumulating 38.5 million stream across streaming platforms. She’s established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the new age of Girl-EDM.

The tour is set to start in less than a month, and the countdown has begun. Ticket sites have been raided and left bare from fans eager and waiting to log on and party with a girl who loves her computer. Known for sets that are as high-energy as they are high-volume, Ninajirachi is a digital girl inviting you to come party in a digital world.

Don’t miss her at:

• March 21st – SWG3 Glasgow, Glasgow
• March 22nd – Opium, Dublin
• March 25th – Gorilla, Manchester 
• March 26th – Concorde 2, Brighton 
• March 27th – Colour Factory, Manchester 
• March 28th – Strange Brew, Bristol 

Further details upcoming Ninajirachi shows and ticket availability can be found here.

Emerging in the mid ’90s, Faithless’ core members, comprising of lead vocalist Maxi Jazz, musician Sister Bliss and producer Rollo, played a key role in shaping the electronic dance music scene, with iconic tracks such as ‘Insomnia’ and ‘We Come 1′.

‘Forever Free’ which was released on Friday 6 June, will be the opening track in their new album ‘Champion Sound’, their first since 2020’s ‘All Blessed’. ‘Champion Sound’ will be the first studio album to feature Maxi Jazz’s vocals since 2010’s ‘The Dance’. The 17-minute-long track takes listeners on a journey through echoed, distorted synths, energetic beats and evocative spoken word. Jazz’s segment in the track nears the beginning, and goes as follows: “When time come/Beneath the fearsome sun/My daughter my son/Be as completely you/As you can be.”

Maxi Jazz passed away in 2022 at the age of 65 after battling a long illness. Faithless had split in 2011, and when they reformed in the midst of the Covid pandemic, Maxi hadn’t joined them, as he’d formed his own band, Maxi Jazz and The E-Type Boys. A complete stylistic departure from his work with Faithless, the band described their sound as “melodic funk and blues mixed with reggae beats, dub basslines and Jamaican melodies.”

In a 2024 interview with NME, Sister Bliss shared some insight into the new album, and discussed missing Jazz and honouring his legacy. She described going on stage without their former frontman as “like going out there and just pulling your pants down.”

She says: “It’s a very vulnerable experience because Maxi was so iconic and so powerful and so compelling and charismatic as a frontman. You couldn’t not get involved when he’s there being the remaster of it all, and bringing that extra dimension – that philosophical, anarcho-Buddhist-punk vibe – to the live shows.”

Speaking about ‘Champion Sound’, Sister Bliss said working with poets and spoken word musicians that shared Faithless’ vision was key after Jazz’s passing: “That is a real passing the baton from Maxi, which is what he wanted to do. He wanted to slow down on Faithless, probably because he wasn’t very well. So I feel that we’ve been blessed enough to find artists to collaborate with who are worthy of that baton.”

‘Champion Sound’ will be released in four parts over the summer, and is said to feature big names such as Bebe Rexha. The full album is dropping in September. Singles ‘Forever Free’, ‘Fugitive’, ‘In Your Own Groove’ and ‘Peace and Noise’ have already been released, and are available for streaming. You can pre-order ‘Champion Sound’ here.

The announcement of two album releases in 2024 has fans eagerly anticipating the new music that Stray Kids will bring. Known for their unique sound and powerful performances, the group’s albums are expected to showcase their growth as artists and further establish their musical identity. With their previous releases topping the charts, there is no doubt that these albums will make a significant impact on the music scene.

Stray kids have recently unveiled a video clip showcasing their accomplishments in 2023 and outlining their aspirations for the upcoming year, 2024.

Contrary to what their name suggests, Stray Kids did not come from a Charles Dickens novel. Instead, these talented individuals came together on a South Korean reality TV show called “Stray Kids” in 2017. Despite the show’s original purpose of eliminating contestants, all nine young men successfully secured a place in the band: Bang Chan, Woojin, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N.

Stray Kids effortlessly blend EDM and rap, incorporating fast-paced hi-hats. However, what sets them apart is their use of hard electric guitar, which adds a surprising and unique rock element to their music. Alongside their attractive looks and impressive dancing abilities, Stray Kids deliver an electrifying live performance.

The achievements of Stray Kids in 2023, including their debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and their success on the Billboard 200 albums chart, have solidified their status as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Their recognition at the Billboard Music Awards further validates their talent and hard work. With their unwavering dedication and constant drive to push boundaries, Stray Kids are poised to achieve even greater success in 2024.

As fans eagerly await the release of new music, unforgettable performances, and memorable experiences, Stray Kids’ journey in 2024 is sure to be an exhilarating one. The group’s passion for their craft and their ability to connect with their audience will undoubtedly propel them to new heights and solidify their place as one of the leading K-pop boybands in the industry.

Coming off an extremely busy festival season, DJing at some of the largest festivals in the UK and finishing a stint in Ibiza, this rising superstar has 2024 in his sights. Performing his signature mix of house, trance and rave music, Ben Hemsley is sure to excite.

He took to instagram to share his excitement, “Liverpool, I’m coming back for the biggest headline show I’ve ever done… 12,000 of you at the legendary Waterfront with me. You can’t beat this man. I feel so honoured to be a part of this ridiculous event. Without a doubt one of the best shows in the U.K. and we are gunna make it so special for yas.”

For Hemsley, the quick rise to stardom came after his legendary 2021 Creamfields set where he only performed due to another artist backing out because of COVID-19 restrictions. Since this set, he has often lauded Creamfields as the reason for his successes.

“Last year [Creamfields 2022] I ended up crying because of the love,” he stated on social media, “In 2021 my dream became reality and I went from playing shows in front of less than 100 people, once a month to selling out the biggest venues and doing shows around the world and then 2022 took it to another level.”

Ben Hemsley’s conquering of the rave circuit has continued in 2023 after a myriad of career defining moments. Hemsley’s first Ibiza residency saw the Geordie artist gain the opportunity to support monumental names in the electronic music arena: Eric Prydz at Hï Ibiza, and Calvin Harris at world famous Ushuaïa.

Ben has seen similar success and adoration. Manchester’s premiere club, and possibly one of the UK’s biggest raves, Warehouse Project, invited Ben Hemsley to headline their venue with his Connection tour. This show was the first to be announced for The Warehouse Project’s new season which sold-out.

Ben stated, “There’s a video of me in 2017, steaming after a night at Warehouse Project with my mates telling them I’d deadline it in 5 years… It might have taken 6 but on Friday I eventually did it and sold it out… Can’t thank you enough. A night I’ll remember forever.”

Tickets for The Waterfront festival can be found here.

His connection tour is ongoing and you can find the dates here:

27/10/2023 – Royal Highland Centre – Edinburgh
28/10 – The Telegraph Building – Belfast
11/11 – The Telegraph Building – Belfast
22/06/2024 – Liverpool Pier Head – Liverpool

With the ominous caption, “Are you listening?”, the venue confirmed they’ve heard fans’ pleas to save the now iconic venue in a reel on Instagram that announced 2026 will hopefully see the reopening of Printworks.

Back in October, the Printworks team announced on their social media that their final season would be their “biggest season to date” and that “discussions regarding the designs, planning and delivery of a future Printworks continue”. The fate of the beloved venue was up in the air as its owner British Land planned to redevelop the club into office blocks and luxury flats much to the disappointment of UK-based music lovers.

Whilst nothing is set in stone yet, Simeon Aldred, co-owner and head of strategy at Broadwick Live, told the Guardian there are plans in the works. He said he’s heard “the classic gentrification narrative the last few weeks: terrible landlords closing you down, those kinds of negative vibes. But to be honest, British Land invited us in, [the creation of Printworks] was as much their idea as ours. So I want to give them some credit for that. We can’t announce that [the reopening] is definitely happening, we haven’t signed any contracts, but the shape of the principles for a deal are there, and we’re going to be putting in for planning permission in the next few weeks.”

Last bank holiday weekend, loyal Printworks fans collected to bid a fond (but perhaps temporary) farewell to the venue. The four shows, hosted from Friday 28^th April – Monday 1^st May, included the most legendary artists in dance music from around the globe.

Opening the festivities, Black Coffee made his Printworks debut alongside Maya Jane Coles and newcomer AMÉMÉ. Saturday saw a house-heavy line-up including Camelphat, Stephan Bodzin, Adriatique, Mind Against plus Jimi Jules, Carlita, Cassian. Drum n’ bass titans Sub Focus & Dimensions + MC ID, and Kyrist & SP:MC graced the stage on Sunday. The venue’s final night for three years featured sets from Peggy Gou, Dixon, DJ Koze, HAAi, TSHA, Prospa, and a surprise guest spot from breakbeats duo Bicep to close the event.

Printworks first opened its doors to partyers in January 2017. Previously the 6000-capacity venue in Canada Water was home to the largest printing factory in Western Europe – where the pages of the Daily Mail and Evening Standard got their start. The halls filled with machines make the perfect industrial setting for thumping electronic club music. Fingers crossed it will continue to showcase cutting-edge acts in three years’ time.

The venue previously hosted Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 live-stream concert in support of her second studio album, Future Nostalgia (2020), after her tour was postponed due to the pandemic. Special guests included Angèle, Bad Bunny, the Blessed Madonna, Elton John, FKA Twigs, J Balvin, Kylie Minogue, and Miley Cyrus. The Chemical Brothers’ “Free Yourself” music video (2018) was filmed on the premises as well as scenes from The Batman (2022).

The singer will be performing two intimate shows in New York – one in Queens and one in Brooklyn – later this month. He will make his debut UK performance in London on the 9^th May at Here at Outernet and will return the following evening for a second show.

As ever with the tricksy musician, getting your hands on tickets is not as simple as just purchasing them. Tickets to the dates are exclusively accessible through a ballot on his cyber maze of a website. Fans need to register by 10 am BST on the 3^rd May for London shows to be in with a chance of winning tickets and only a maximum of two tickets are available per person. The winners will be announced the following day. For the link to the artist’s website (and tickets) see here.

Last Saturday (the 15^th April) the California dessert hosted a historic event with the mysterious and flighty singer making his debut live performance at Coachella festival much to the millennial crowd and former MySpace users’ delight.

jai paul
coachella
first ever performance pic.twitter.com/y1vFCS055T

— Brownies & Lemonade (@TeamBandL) April 16, 2023

The first live performance from Jai Paul will remain shrouded in mystery for those not in attendance as it was not officially live-streamed by the festival, unlike other acts on the line-up. Thankfully, fan-recorded footage of the concert is circulating the internet. Jai was joined on stage by his brother A.K. Paul who played guitar for the performance.

The artist shared a message on Reddit ahead of the concert for his cult fans writing, “this weekend I’m gonna be playing my first ever live show and Im not gonna lie I am absolutely shitting it”. He added, “Hopefully it’s all gonna be worth it”.

Yoo it’s Jai
by u/aat_naabat in jaipaul

Jai Paul will also be performing next weekend for the second weekend of Coachella.

See below for the setlist for his debut performance:

“Higher Res”
“He”
“Crush” (Jennifer Page Cover)
“100,000”
“So Long”
“Chix”
“All Night”
“Do You Love Her Now”
“Jasmine”
“BTSTU”
“St8 Outta Mumbai”

The musician from Rayners Lane, London first gained notoriety in 2007 when his demo “BTSTU”, which Paul had posted on his MySpace, began receiving attention on music blogs. This led to the singer being signed to XL Recordings, international press coverage, extensive radio play, and the song being sampled by both Drake and Beyoncé. His second 2012 demo “Jasmine (demo)” received similar acclaim. However, after his aborted debut album Bait Ones was leaked by an unknown source in 2013 Paul took a hiatus from music struggling to deal with the rumours of his own responsibility for the leak.

In 2016, Jai returned to the public eye launching the record label Paul Institute alongside his brother. His leaked LP was officially released under the title Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) in 2019 with a new double single “Do You Love Her Now / He” as the B-side to the album.

See below for Jai Paul’s London dates:

09/05/23 – Here at Outernet – London
10/05 – Here at Outernet – London

“Whenever I Want”, which was released on the 3^rd April, is Mura Masa’s first material released as an independent artist since his 2015 debut EP Someday Somewhere. The track was released on Mura Masa’s new label Pond Recordings. The artist from Guernsey wrote on his Twitter that the single is the “first of a new series of records” and that it is the start of a “new era” for him.

new music tomorrow. Love u x pic.twitter.com/hNxpNMRyeH

— xander (@mura_masa_) April 2, 2023

The song samples vocals from the beginning of American hip hop collective Outsidaz’s track “Macosa” featuring rapper Eminem and sets it to a scatty jungle beat.

Sending the viewer on a nauseatingly dizzy trip, the music video features a 360-degree rotating camera rig and stars fans of the artist spinning in a warm-lit liminal rave setting. The video was shot by London-based directors known as the Reids, brothers Ed and Will, who have previously worked with brands such as Nike, Adidas, Converse, Stone Island, Dazed Magazine, i-D Magazine, and Hypebeast.

Watch the video for “Whenever I Want” below:

Mura Masa, aka Alexander Crossan, takes his alias from the legendary Japanese swordsman Sengo Muramasa. He first started making electronic music using Ableton Live at 16 and later uploaded it to Soundcloud where it was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJs. His self-titled debut LP was nominated Best Recording Package and Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018 and he took home the award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical the following year for his remix of Haim’s track “Walking Away“.

One of Crossan’s best-known tracks is 2016’s “Love$ick” featuring American rapper A$AP Rocky which skyrocketed to number one on the Spotify Viral charts in both the UK and the US. Recently, the artist achieved huge success with the single “Boy’s a Liar pt. 2” he co-produced for Pinkpantheress and Ice Spice, which peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Known for his collaborations, Crossan’s discography is crammed with a variety of other stars such as Charli XCX, Nile Rodgers, Christine and the Queens, Damon Albarn, Slowthai, Clario, Lil Uzi Vert, Shygirl, Ariana Grande, and Stormzy. For his LP demon time, he collaborated with Lil Uzi, Shygirl, & PinkPatheress on his cover of “Baby Cakes”  and with Pa Salieu & Skillbeng on his single “Blessing Me”.

Mura Masa also announced he’ll be playing two dates in California this month in between his performances at the Coachella weekends.