May 2025: Beats Round Up

Zara Richards gets down with what’s happening in SA when it comes to hip-hop, house and techno.

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