Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From Rebecca Black, Knock2 & RL Grime & More

This week in dance music: Lightning In a Bottle announced its 2025 lineup featuring John Summit, Jamie xx and Khruangbin, and Electric Forest dropped a 2025 lineup featuring Justice, Sara Landry and Tiësto. Meanwhile, we spoke with jungle boss Nia Archives, EMPIRE signed Palestinian American DJ Habibeats, Depeche Mode said they’re not currently focused on making new music, we went backstage at Portola to see the festival’s hybrid battery system that saved the use of a whopping 6,053 gallons of diesel fuel.

But that’s not all: Charli XCX revealed that she’s frequently in “a lot of pain” due to nerve damage, we spoke with Charli’s Club Sweat tour partner Troye Sivan, electronic pioneers Kraftwerk announced a 2025 North American tour, and Burning Man art car Titanic’s End announced the launch of a new record label, Titanic’s End Records.

And as we see the end of the year in the headlights, these are the best new tracks of the third-from-last Friday of 2024. (And watch this space for our best of the year dance lists, unrolling right here next week.)

Rebecca Black, “Sugar Water Cyanide”

After a buzzy Boiler Room set in October and standout performances at Portola in September, Rebecca Black is further establishing herself as our new favorite Brat-lite club queen with “Sugar Water Cyanide.” The track is pop on its face via Black’s silken-voiced verses, but ultimately it’s club-coded in its pitched-up vocals laid over a hyper-pop-tinged house production. Coming from Black’s album Salvation, out January 17, the song is one Black says is “like if my drug of choice were a person. This is one of those songs that feels as though it’s been inside of me my whole life and was waiting for the right day and time to be ready for it to pour out. I wanted to make THAT song you could only really hear on 100% volume in your car or busting through the bass in the club.”

RL Grime & Knock2, “come aliv3”

Hitting hard with waves of 2012-era mainstage nostalgia, the latest collab from San Diego wunderkind Knock2 and bass icon RL Grime hits as hard as you want it to, with the pair shifting from a throwback progressive sound to oversized, ride-that-rail trap fare that is both their specialities. “come aliv3” is third single from Knock2’s forthcoming debut album, nolimit, coming on 88rising, on a date that’s yet to be announced. The 25-year-old producer will tour behind on the album on a run of more than two dozens dates that starts in February and wraps in April all the way over in Australia. This release comes after a three-show residency from Knock2 and his pal ISOxo (performing as Isoknock) at the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco, where special guests included genre titans Hudson Mohawke, Baauer and 100 gecs’ Dylan Brady.

Tokimonsta, “For You”

After pushing the release date for her forthcoming album back in September due to a personal matter, Tokimonsta is back with a new single and a revised schedule. A collaboration with multi-instrumentalist and producer Kaelin Ellis, album single “For You” is a softly gorgeous and soothing but still swiftly moving production that puts crisp, complex polyrhythms at the fore and layers it up with bass and other instruments that create something with genuine soul. “After taking necessary time off to prioritize caring for a loved one, I’ve realized that creating and sharing my art remains my deepest purpose,” the Los Angeles-based producer says. “‘For You’ is a reflection of my journey forward, embracing joy and connection through music. It’s a gift from my heart to the world, and I hope it resonates with everyone who listens.” Tokimonsta’s seventh album, Eternal Reverie, is now coming in 2025 via her own Young Art label. The project will feature collaborations with Cakes da Killa, Anderson .Paak and more.

Bubble Love, “Original Mix”

Bubble Love is a side project from longstanding U.K. producer Ross From Friends, with the artist saying that this alter-ego gives him the ability to harness the wilder and more experimental energy of his clubs sets without feeling pressure to change his de facto sound. It’s a welcome addition to his oeuvre, with the fusion of rap and two-step on his Cameo Lush colla “Close Your Eyes” giving a good indication of the overall sound and spirit of the 10-track eponymous LP.

Storken, “Totoish”

Swedish producer Storken absolutely outdoes himself on the seven-and-a-half-minute nu-disco opus “Totoish.” Weaving in bits of Moroder, Vangelis, Todd Terje and ’80s power pop, this multi-movement production — made in collaboration with fellow Swedish producer Gusteau — melds piano, hand drums and a shimmering, chord-changing synth at the center. “Enjoy this Swedish baked assemblance of the rock n roll hall of fame legacies, a try to unite a lot of bands that never saw daylight,” Storken says of the independently released single.

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