Music News

the dance charts, GRiZ revealed the events schedule for his annual holiday charity extravaganza, Beyoncé, RÜFÜS DU SOL, ODESZA and more got nods in the dance/electronic categories at the 2023 Grammy Awards, Gryffin’s “Alive” debuted at No. 3 on Dance/Electronic Albums and we broke down what the heck phonk is, what it sounds like and why you should care.

Beyond all that, it’s a big week for new electronic music. Let’s dig in.

LP Giobbi Feat. Monogem, “Body Breathe”

Have you ever chased an idea or a goal so hard that it only seemed to get further away? Sometimes the best thing you can do for your problems is let them go. When you stop, slow down, free your mind, inhale, exhale and allow yourself to do literally anything else; you’ll often find the solution meets you in a sudden rush of inspiration. 

LP Giobbi’s latest track is an invitation to enter that freeform state; to close your eyes, get lost in the rhythm, and see what you might find. “Body Breathe” is a calming sort of invigorating melody. It’s a little bit psychedelic, a lotta bit dreamy, and it features a magical vocal mantra from Los Angeles-based vocalist Monogem. The two met when Giobbi booked her for a show in LA, with their shared love of jazz leading to this jam.

“I booked Monogem way back in the day to play W Los Angeles after discovering her on a Spotify playlist,” Giobbi says. “I loved her voice, and she turned out to be a really kind and wonderful person. We stayed in touch and set up a studio session in my studio in L.A. My studio doors were open, and I was at the piano playing [Bill Evans’] ‘Peace Piece’ warming up and killing time before Monogem got there. She walked in while I was playing, and we started talking about our shared love for jazz. As I continued to tinker around on those chords, she started singing ‘take all the time you need, open up your body breathe…’  Although those chords weren’t right, they got us to her amazing vocals—and that vocal got us to the track.” – KAT BEIN

Romy & Fred Again.., “Strong”

Back in January, Romy and Fred Again.. (alongside HAAi) made magic with their rousing collaboration “Lights Out,” which set a high bar for 2022. Just as they opened the year, the pair are closing it by teaming back up again for Romy’s new single “Strong.” A nostalgic trance throwback, “Strong” is music that moves your heart before it moves your body. “You’ve been so strong for so long / You learned to carry this on your own,” begins Romy in her wistfully haunting voice. From there, the emotion and sonics build up to a glorious, stadium-sized swell of strobing synths, cascading strings and out-of-body euphoria. With a message as healing as its production is piercing, “Strong” is, quite simply, a bonafide banger.

“‘Strong’ came from a moment in my life when I was processing past grief,” says Romy. “Whilst writing the lyrics I was thinking about my cousin Luis, we both have the shared experience of our mums passing away when we were young. I recognize in him the same trait I have which is to try and hold emotions down and put on a brave face. The song was a way to connect with these feelings, offer support and ultimately find a sense of release in the euphoria of music. Luis is with me on the single cover and in the music video too which was really special.” — KRYSTAL RODRIGUEZ

Gordo & Feid, “Hombres y Mujeres”

Having retired his Carnage alias, the producer born Diamonté Blackmon hasn’t waded into his new Gordo project so much as cannon-balled. On the heels of co-producing multiple tracks on Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind, Blackmon is back and collaborating with another global star, Feid, on new single “Hombres y Mujeres.” The Colombian singer talks naughty over Gordo’s tech-house production, which bumps hard and feels appropriately grimy, like a club floor at 4 a.m. with its sticky percussion and eerie synths. According to Gordo’s Twitter, “Hombres y Mujeres” is the first single from his forthcoming third studio album, which he says has been four years in the making. — K.R.

Nico Losada, “Waking Love”

Wait for it. After slowly coming to life with a full minute of shimmery synths and then a lightly tapped hi-hat, “Waking Love” by Colombian born, Brooklyn-based producer Nico Losada then explodes into bright complexity with not just the addition of a beat, but handclaps and a pair of vocal samples that both chant and sing. Altogether giving Sixteen Oceans-era Four Tet vibes (which is to say it’s very good), the song comes from Losada’s debut album Nueva Generación set for release via Ultra Records on in March 2023. — KATIE BAIN

Tibasko, “Hawt”

It was only a month and a half ago that U.K. duo Tibasko dropped its debut EP, but there’s already more where that came from. After teasing the euphoric-rave vibes of “Hawt” on social media, the energetic anthem is officially unleashed, bringing with it a saucy mix of melodic bounce, pitched-up vocals and pumping rhythms. It’s spicy, but it goes down smooth, and it was directly inspired by the rush of excitement Tibasko’s Ken Petalcorin and Andy Bowden felt while traveling the U.S. on their first Stateside tour. “We’re finally dropping our most requested track to date,” the duo says on Instagram. “We’re so excited to share this track to the world, this has been an absolute weapon in our sets.” – K. Bein

NERVO Feat. Ace Paloma, “Is Someone Looking For Me”

This past summer NERVO dropped an unreleased song during their Tomorrowland set that featured the refrain “is someone looking for me?” Not only were the lyrics delivered by Liv Nervo’s three-year-old daughter, Ace Paloma, the question she posed in the driving progressive house production alluded to the track’s deeper meaning. Now out in full, “Is Someone Looking For Me” is a collaboration between NERVO and Hopeland, a New York-based organization that works to prevent children from becoming separated from their families and to help prevent children who’ve experienced such separation from being trafficked. Released via SPINNIN, the track comes ahead of UNICEF’s World Children’s Day this Sunday (Nov. 20), with all proceeds from the song (and a NERVO show VIP experience being raffled off in conjunction with its release) going to Hopeland. — K. Bain