May 2025: Beats Round Up
Zara Richards gets down with what’s happening in SA when it comes to hip-hop, house and techno.
Image supplied
You Should Listen To
Motez – ‘Extra Hard’
Motez never misses. Returning with his first track for 2025, the Adelaide-based producer (who has amassed more than 20 million streams and sold out tours across Aus) turns the heat up to eleven on 'Extra Hard'. Pulled from Bad Boombox’s fourth Hot Meal Brigade mixtape, the two-minute-58 track demands you delay your seasonal hibernation. This hard-groove cut is dynamic and fresh, pulsating with enough energy to conjure damp, dense nightclubs – no matter what time of day it spins. Irresistibly bouncy, this hedonistic track is built for dancefloors at 2 am.
You Should See
Mount Kimbie (UK)
Headlining new festival Porch & Recreation this June, UK duo Mount Kimbie touch down in Australia for the first time since 2018. Born from London’s electronic underground, the two-piece have built a reputation as sonic shapeshifters, folding in “found sounds” that pull from electronic, indie and shoegaze influences to create “ambiguously danceable” tracks. A must-see.
June 1 | Burnside Ballroom | Tickets
Mall Grab
Marking 10 years behind the decks, Mall Grab embarks on his largest headline tour to date. The Australian-born producer and DJ is one of the most influential in the last decade, drawing on techno, trance and lo-fi house to build a noise that’s entirely singular. And with his highly anticipated second album on the horizon, there’s never been a better time to experience his deep cuts and future anthems live.
June 12 | Hindley Street Music Hall | Ticekts
Four More
2BSCENE x CMMONPPL x ACETIC
The beloved alleyway of Nevermind will play host to the union of these three platforms, plus selectors Ivy, xla (BER/MEL), Harry Prider b2b cu.b.
May 3 | Nevermind
Signal + Synthesis
Expect “an exploration of sound texture and communication,” when Passport Duo (ITL/USA) headline this immersive evening, ft. visuals by Joe F and stage design by Hari Koutlakis.
May 9 | The Lab
Mellow Magic Sunday
If you haven't made it to one of these intimate celebrations of SA’s DJ community, take this as a sign. The 2025 season kicks off with Gratts, Tory Kennedy, Ed Temple and more.
July 5 | Brighton & Seacliff Yacht Club
Kiasmos
The Faroese-Icelandic experimental duo will ignite Adelaide’s electronic scene with their minimal techno and orchestral edge this Illuminate Adelaide.
July 18 | Hindley Street Music Hall
The Note goes national via Teen Spirit – distributed directly into Schools around the nation, thanks to the support of the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia.
The trio is currently touring the country supporting Yungblud.
The German goth metal heroes land at Lion Arts Factory next month.
Peach PRC will be supported by special guests Maude Latour (USA) and Salty (AUS) on tour.
Catch GAYC/DC performing in Adelaide for the first time in March.
These tracks are the final preview of Gorillaz’s upcoming studio album The Mountain.
Meg Mac has also released new single, ‘Outdone’.
The band’s Australian tour also kicks off this weekend.
Applications are now open for the fourth year of the transformative music program championing gender-expansive creatives.
This will be Pulp’s first Aussie performance in 15 years.
WOMADelaide’s flagship three-day forum returns to the festival’s Frome Park Pavilion.
Catch the alt-rock five-piece performing with Adelaide’s very own Placement at Ed Castle in March.
The immersive exhibit ICONS: Behind the Velvet Rope showcases Hicks’ early photography and includes images of David Bowie, Bob Dylan and more.
‘River (گلریز)’ is the third single taken from Parissa Tosif’s upcoming debut, I have this memory of you.
The lineup also features Split Enz, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sublime, The Black Crowes, The Pouges and many more.
‘Take It Slow’ is the latest taste of The Sooks’ upcoming EP.
This year’s Laneway Festival features performances from Chappelle Roan, Alex G, The Dare, PinkPantheress and many more.
The Detroit legends have locked in a whopping 13 shows, including a stop in Adelaide at the Ed Castle in October.
This is the second new single from Airling, following last year’s ‘Mona Lisa’.
‘Better’ is the final tease of Kisschasy’s upcoming The Terrors Of Comfort album.
The run of shows arrives in support of Velvet Trip’s sophomore album, Glimmers Continued.
The South Korean boy band’s world tour includes shows in Melbourne and Sydney.
Catch the UK duo at Hindley Street Music Hall in April next year.
This is marks González’s first album since 2021’s Local Valley.
This is Rotten Sound’s first Australian tour in over a decade.
This year’s stacked lineup features a total of 14 incredible metal bands performing across the day at the Prince Albert Hotel in Gawler.
The Aussie greats are hitting the road to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their mega hit ‘Funky Town’.
The majority of musical artists have pulled out after the removal of Palestinian author Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from Writers’ Week.
The indie folk artist returns to Australia for the first time since 2018.