Blog - EDM

Control Freak and nikko have joined forces for a new single, "POWER," a rave anthem that delivers exactly what its title promises.

In an electronic music landscape oversaturated with fake-out drops and manufactured dopamine hits, the track feels like a throwback to when club records were designed for dancefloors instead of algorithms. There's no overthinking here, just pure kinetic force wrapped in smart production choices.

Control Freak and nikko, two of today's most promising electronic producers, give "POWER" its backbone with a propulsive Jersey Club rhythm. Meanwhile, distorted synths and serrated basslines carry enough grit to satisfy the warehouse purists while its frenetic pace speaks fluent Gen-Z attention span.

"POWER" is out now via RL Grime's Sable Valley label. You can listen to the new single below and find it on streaming platforms here.

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Indira Paganotto, a standout from the EDM.com Class of 2023, has joined forces with dance music icon Armin van Buuren for a new single, "Dragon."

Arriving just ahead of their anticipated b2b performance at Sónar Festival 2025, the high-intensity psytrance track feels built for maximum impact. Paganotto, known for her dark, high-octane techno sound, steps further into the spotlight alongside van Buuren, whose influence spans decades.

Together, they've crafted a track that thrives on tension, speed and unrelenting energy. After locking into a hypnotic rhythm, "Dragon" intensifies with layers of rolling bass and snappy percussion as serrated synths flicker beneath the surface. The pressure peaks at the drop, which unleashes a storm of psytrance bass and a driving low end.

Out now via van Buuren's Armada label, "Dragon" has already been tested on some of the world's biggest stages with early plays at Ultra Miami, EDC Las Vegas and Tomorrowland, among other festivals.

You can listen to the new single below and find it on streaming platforms here.

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Audien is extending an unusually open invitation to aspiring music producers: submit a demo and you might find yourself sharing the stage at one of Los Angeles' most prestigious venues.

The Grammy-nominated dance music producer has announced a demo submission contest offering DJs a chance to join him onstage during his upcoming concert at the Hollywood Palladium, the storied Art Deco venue that has hosted everyone from Frank Sinatra to The Rolling Stones to Eric Prydz.

For bedroom producers across the globe, it's a chance to see their work come alive in front of thousands at a venue steeped in musical history. Audien is bringing his beloved "Progressive House Never Died" show to the Palladium on Saturday, July 19th.

"Send me a song you're working on and maybe we can play it together?" he wrote on X.

The contest is open to all producers, who simply have to sign up to receive a link to submit their demo.

In other Audien news, the DJ today announced his long-awaited sophomore album, First Love. Scheduled to release in September 2025, it's his first full-length album in six years.

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Audien has announced his long-awaited sophomore album, First Love, his first full-length project in six years. Due out in September 2025 via Armada, it's his first album since 2019's Escapism.

Celebrating the announcement today, Audien dropped a brand-new single, "Slide Away," an evocative house anthem made in collaboration with MAKJ and Julia Church. Driven by the latter's effervescent vocal performance, the lush progressive house track explores emotional growth with a euphoric, upbeat twist.

“It’s an “I-love-you-but-I-need-to-chase-something-else” song – outgrowing someone but knowing greater love lies ahead,” says Julia Church. “I loved working together on this, it feels like the perfect blend of us all musically.”

The concept for First Love was sparked during a conversation on tour when someone told him his melodies encapsulate the intense feelings associated with experiencing a first love, according to a press release issued by Armada. The album, the label added, is Audien’s "most personal and connective work to date."

You can listen to "Slide Away" below.

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Boston-based artist Ryan Borbone, better known as “K1N” (kay-one-en),  is making a thunderous entrance into the bass music scene with his debut WORLD DOMINATION EP.

Out now via Big Night Records, the boutique label spun out of nightlife behemoth Big Night Entertainment Group, the project features six tracks. K1N goes scorched-earth with the production, distilling 15 years of growth and experimentation into a tightly packed arsenal of rave weaponry. Borbone’s path through aliases, genres, and late-night sessions has led to something that sounds not just ready - but inevitable.

The opening track, “TRY AGAIN,” fires the starting shot with acid stabs, hype-charged vocals, and three relentless drops - a sonic biography of everything that brought K1N to life. From there, he wastes no time reinforcing his vision - the previously released “GREED” made waves on Brownies & Lemonade’s Fresh Batch Friday, quickly gaining traction and earning support from curators across the board. “2FAST” followed - a percussion-heavy weapon that lit up repost networks, Discord channels, and rhythm games.

“ROCK” hits next - a dubstep missile with zero filler and maximum aggression. “HOT” draws from techno and hardcore influences, keeping dancers on edge. Then “YOU AND I” arrives - a melodic, emotionally driven closer that still hits but lets you breathe, just for a moment.

But this isn’t just about one EP. It’s about momentum. Ray Volpe—a member of the EDM.com Class of 2022—premiered an unreleased K1N collaboration during his recent set at EDC Las Vegas that’s already catching eyes and ears online. Meanwhile, K1N’s fanbase continues to swell: Discord communities follow every move, notable DJs are rinsing his records, and curators keep surfacing his tracks across playlists, games, and repost networks.

K1N isn’t chasing clout - he’s building legacy. When the dust settles, WORLD DOMINATION has the feel of a producer hellbent on taking that legacy by storm. And this is only the beginning.

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With their latest festival announcement, Breakaway is out to prove that even in the land of "Roll Tide" chants and roadside pecan stands, there's room for EDM.

The Heart of Dixie is getting a serious bass injection after the organizers of Breakaway, the nation's fastest-growing independent festival brand, announced the lineup of their first-ever Alabama edition. The fest lands October 3-4 at Huntsville's Orion Amphitheater & Apollo Park.

The inaugural Breakaway Alabama will be headlined by The Chainsmokers, Kaskade, SLANDER and Shaquille O'Neal, better known in the electronic dance music community as DJ Diesel. The undercard is also impressive, featuring Dr. Fresch, Matroda, Mary Droppinz, Snakehips, Brandi Cyrus and TWINSICK, among others.

Like any good Southern festival worth its salt, Breakaway Alabama champions local talent, as five local acts join 19 national touring artists across the festival's two nights. And as usual, the festival experience extends beyond music with The Launch Pad and a Silent Disco, while sponsors from CELSIUS to Cash App ensure attendees stay properly caffeinated and financially liquid.

Two-day GA, VIP & Ultimate VIP tickets are on sale now. You can check out the full lineup below.

Breakaway Festival

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Martin Garrix has confirmed he is working on a new album.

The Dutch EDM superstar revealed the full-length album, his first since 2022's heart-pounding Sentio LP, in an interview with the French Fun Radio station. "I'm working on an album so I'm very excited," he said.

When pressed for a timeline, Garrix indicated fans could expect the album in early 2026. "I think early next year," he said. "I'm trying to finish it before November [2025] basically, then the team has enough time for the lead-up." 

True to form, fans can also look forward to new material designed specifically for the high-energy environments of clubs and music festivals. Garrix said he recently completed mastering what he described as "a new, very aggressive club song."

"It's not a radio song," he noted before suggesting the track would be particularly effective at major festivals like Belgium's legendary Tomorrowland.

In other Garrix news, he recently announced his debut at Red Rocks, the iconic open-air amphitheater in Colorado. The upcoming doubleheader, which he called "an absolute dream," is scheduled for October 23-24.

Garrix has also stayed busy on the music front, joining forces with Arijit Singh in March to release "Angels For Each Other," a track on which he sang for the first time in his career, before reuniting with the contemporary Hindi music superstar for "Weightless." He then teamed up with chart-topping pop artist Lauv for "MAD," which released in late May.

Garrix has not announced a title or release date of the album at the time of this writing.

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If your idea of a good time includes striped suits, skeletal smiles and a hint of the supernatural, then consider your Friday night plans sorted. A Tim Burton-themed rave is coming to Hollywood this summer, inviting ravers to step into the filmmaker's eerie and whimsical universe for one night only.

Taking place June 27th at Beetle House, a venue located at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea already filled with Burton-inspired décor, the event promises a dancefloor full of costumed characters and cinematic oddities. The event, titled "Nightmare Before Halloween," invites guests to dress in gothic attire or movie-inspired cosplay, transforming the night into a celebration of the strange and supernatural.

Whether you’re channeling Lydia Deetz or Jack Skellington, all corners of Burton’s filmography are welcome. The iconic auteur directed Alice in Wonderland, Batman, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and several episodes of Wednesday, among other influential works.

The atmosphere will be set with moody visuals, themed installations and signature cocktails that look like they were dreamt up in another dimension. On the music front, DJs JPEG and NOIZITH will spin a mix of goth-leaning beats and rave-ready cuts that keep the dancefloor in motion from start to finish.

Hosted by CLUB01, "Nightmare Before Halloween" taps into the growing trend of pop culture-themed raves, where nostalgia and fandom collide with high-energy party experiences. Burton's idiosyncratic world, full of fantasy and darkness, fits that mold perfectly and follows in the footsteps of raves inspired by Shrek, Pokémon, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and more.

You can RSVP to "Nightmare Before Halloween" and find tickets here.

GRiZ has launched a new video game that gives fans early access to unreleased music from his upcoming mixtape, Sidequest Vol. 1.

The game blends nostalgic, fantasy-style visuals with a turn-based mini adventure. Players are prompted to face off against a dragon and select between actions like fight, hide or run. A digital 20-sided die then determines the outcome.

If you roll high enough, you’ll unlock a preview of one of 12 new tracks. The game is fully replayable, offering fans the chance to collect every song ahead of the full release.

The launch is the final piece of an elaborate breadcrumb trail GRiZ has been building for weeks. The campaign kicked off with a GRiZ-branded newspaper dropped across Chicago and the Bay Area, packed with cryptic messages and visual puzzles. One of those clues revealed the word "sidequest" when the flyer was folded in a specific way. Typing that word into GRiZ's website uncovered a countdown screen with a dice graphic and subtle references to the forthcoming game.

The project was brought to life with the help of Tiffany Newman and her team, with whom GRiZ collaborated closely. From gameplay mechanics to the overall design, their work helped turn the artist's puzzle-filled vision into an interactive experience that fans could explore and enjoy.

Scheduled to release Friday, June 14th, Sidequest Vol. 1 follows GRiZ's recent GEMiNI EP and "Chaos Theory," a hard-hitting collaboration with Wooli. The new mixtape marks a return to form for the electronic music superstar, who recently ended a two-year hiatus from the music industry. His comeback will culminate this fall at Seven Stars, his own curated festival in Virginia. He's also set to headline two-night runs in both San Francisco and Chicago later this year.

Fans eager for a first listen can start rolling the dice here.

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Here's what you missed at Movement Festival 2025.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, thousands from all over the world gathered in the birthplace of techno, Detroit, for the legendary festival. Across Movement's six stages, pioneering acts took the stage to showcase the sounds that started it all alongside rising stars and performers from outside the world of techno.

In case you weren't in the crowd for another entry in the historic saga, we've compiled some of the most unforgettable moments at Movement Festival 2025 to prepare you for what to expect next spring.

Just under three months before the gates to Movement Festival were set to open, attendees received the unfortunate news that Carl Cox would not be able to take the stage for his headline booking until 2026 due to scheduling conflicts.

While this presented a massive challenge for organizers, as Cox was set to close out their largest stage, they delivered with a pioneering artist of the same caliber via the hometown icon Jeff Mills.

Stephen Bondio

With less time to prepare than any other artist on the lineup, The Wizard hosted a masterful showcase of his futuristic sounds over four decades in the making.

Wearing a reflective spacesuit and often with his back to the crowd, he manned the decks as if he was in the driver's seat of a spaceship and those in the crowd were his passengers on a trip to another galaxy. The experience was truly otherworldly and one of the most talked-about moments of the weekend.

While many festivals take place in a city, very few fully embody the city's culture as well as Movement Festival. This is reflected in the festival's branding, artwork, messaging and, most importantly, the lineup.

In addition to the aforementioned headliner, the main stage featured performances from Detroit natives, Claude VonStroke and DJ Holographic. Also featured on the Movement Stage was a standout performance from the Detroit duo Octave One, who shared an entirely live set that was one of the finest of the weekend.

Stephen Bondio

On the first day of the festival, the Stargate Stage hosted a Detroit Love stage takeover that featured several Michigan artists like Father Dukes, Stacey Pullen and a special group performance from Carl Craig, Moodymann and Mike Banks.

Belleville Three member Kevin Saunderson also hosted a showcase via his KMS Records label, which concluded with a B2B with his sons Dantiez and Damarii. He would also return to the stage to close out the festival on the final night with a last-minute B2B with Detroit's DJ Minx after Ricardo Villalobos was unable to perform due to travel issues.

In addition to the Detroit artists sprinkled across the other five stages, a special Detroit Stage was bumping all weekend long with a lineup made up entirely of artists from the birthplace of techno.

Sam Siegel

While Movement Festival is known for focusing primarily on the sounds of techno and house, those were not the only genres represented this year. Primarily on the Waterfront Stage, fans were able to step away from the hometown sound and into the worlds of drum & bass, hip-hop, dubstep and more.

On the first night of the weekend, EDM.com Class of 2024 artist Hamdi closed out the stage overlooking the river with a monstrous performance featuring some of his high-profile collaborations and special guests.

Karl Baker

The second night of the Waterfront featured the pioneering sounds of Goldie B2B Photek with help from the legendary MC Armanni Reign. The final night closed out on an explosive note with one of drum & bass' biggest acts, Chase & Status.

With a rare sighting of both members together onstage, the duo threw down a massively heavy performance that could be heard across the river in Canada. In case that wasn't enough, immediately following their performance was a platinum-selling hip-hop showcase from A$AP Mob's own FERG.

While Claude VonStroke was physically present at last year's Movement Festival, he was at Hart Plaza under his alter ego, Barclay Crenshaw. Not long after that, he would announce that his Claude VonStroke hiatus was coming to a close this year, and this year's Movement would mark his grand return as Claude VonStroke.

While this news already helped pack the main stage on the final day of the festival for his performance, a surprise appearance from Reggie Watts was the icing on the cake.

Doug Wojciechowski

Midway through the set, Watts joined VonStroke on stage for an unannounced performance of an upcoming track the duo is set to release. As confirmed by VonStroke in a post that followed the performance, the hometown producer and multi-talented artist effortlessly meshed their sounds to the delight of the crowd.

While the weather was unusually chilly for Memorial Day Weekend, one wouldn't know it in the Underground Stage. Nestled beneath Hart Plaza, the Underground Stage gives attendees the warehouse rave experience in the middle of a festival. 

Surrounded by concrete in every direction, attendees were welcomed to pack into the enclosed space to witness some of the hardest-hitting artists on the lineup. The temperature was easily 20 degrees warmer than the outdoor stages, and the air was thick from the packed-in crowd and nonstop dancing.

Christian Najjar

When festivals try to cater to the underground scene, it usually comes off as an inauthentic, gimmicky experience. This was not the case at Movement Festival, as just a few moments at the Underground Stage made those in the crowd think they were in some late-night warehouse party soundtracked by D.Dan, Boys Noize and Klangkuenstler, and not the grounds of a major music festival.

Katie Laskowska

While Movement Festival is careful to honor the pioneers of the sounds on display, the festival also brings out plenty of modern-day electronic music's biggest stars. This was the case on the festival's final two nights as Charlotte de Witte and John Summit closed out the mainstage. Both superstars were born nearly three decades after their fellow headliner, Jeff Mills, and are seen as two of the leading names in the festival circuit.

Steve Thrasher

de Witte's return to the Movement Stage was hotly anticipated. Back in 2022, she became the first female artist to close out the mainstage at the event. As one would expect, their performances were properly epic, with some of the biggest crowds of the weekend at their sets as they played a selection of new music and classics that helped propel them to major bookings like this.

In the former home of the Underground Stage, fans were welcomed to an informational art exhibit, "Respect the Architects". Each year, organizers honor the artists who helped techno become the powerhouse genre it is today.

In collaboration with Resident Advisor, Detroit Techno Foundation and Underground Music Academy, portraits of these pioneering artists were displayed with stories about their important contributions to electronic music. On the festival's website, the Underground Music Academy shared the purpose of the interactive exhibit.

Movement Festival

Much has been written about the first wave of Detroit techno artists and as pioneers of one of the most impactful genres in the world. This list is designed to shine a light on the unsung heroes who ghost-wrote classic records, created the structures, spaces, and scenarios that allowed techno to grow beyond the wildest dreams of its inventors, and the mentors who have supported and inspired the subsequent waves of Detroit techno artists in finding their sound and place in the musical world.

If you recognize these names we hope you will join us in telling their stories and celebrating their impact, if you don’t - we hope you take the time to listen and learn about the people who built Techno City.

Those who had enough energy to continue dancing after 10 hours at the festival had plenty of choices on where to keep the party going. There were countless pop-ups in warehouses, bars, venues and even outdoor parks all weekend long that gave attendees the opportunity to party for nearly 72 hours straight if their bodies allow it.

Festival organizers, Paxahau, hosted over 10 afterparties themselves over the weekend which included appearances from festival performers and others like Green Velvet, Nina Kraviz, John Summit, Walker & Royce, Richie Hawtin, Joseph Capriati and many more.

Jacob Mulka

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