May 2025: Beats Round Up
Zara Richards gets down with what’s happening in SA when it comes to hip-hop, house and techno.
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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 tracks follows Nyassa’s recent collaboration with Hilltop Hoods, ‘Fall From the Light’.
The track is Flea’s first solo release since his 2012 EP, Helen Burns.
The annual American music festival’s massive bill also includes Skrillex, Turnstile, Kesha, Role Model, Alabama Shakes, Geese and more.
The tour announcement coincides with the release of his new single, ‘Open to the Light’.
The two bands will be supported by special guests Landmvrks.
The track is taken from the band’s forthcoming EP, The Dogs Are Barking, which is set for release in early 2026.
Leftfield returns to Australia and New Zealand for the first time in eight years.
Limited signed vinyl are available now ahead of the album’s release on Monday 8 December.
An Evening with Celtic Thunder is a celebration of the group’s greatest songs.
The track is the second insight into Telenova’s upcoming album, The Warning.
The country artist has also released new single, ‘Look At Me Now’.
‘Comet’ is Nate Faker’s first solo release in over a decade.
Sadly The All-American Rejects and Knocked Loose will no longer be performing.
The American rockers are playing Launceston’s UTAS Stadium on Saturday 24 January.
In Verses is out February 6 via Cymatic Records/Sony Music.
Parkway Drive’s curated festival was scheduled to hit Adelaide February 2026.
Catch Control the Sun performing at Froth & Fury Fest next year.
The Aussie electronic act sold over 750,000 tickets to their Inhale / Exhale World Tour
The track arrives as the quartet prepares to play Meredith Festival this weekend.
The Paris festival has announced 14 new acts.
Peking Duk have also been announced as the Thursday night headliner.
The Kiwi singer-songwriter will perform at all shows on the tour.
The Working Class Man will be joined by Jon Stevens, Kate Cebrano, Daryl Braithwaite and many more.
Charli XCX, Raye, Florence + the Machine, Dave, Chase & Status and Fontaines D.C. have all been announced for next year’s festival.
The track is taken from the band’s forthcoming studio album, Easing Out of Control.
The coastal UK festival has gone all out with a stacked lineup of awesome bands for next year’s summer event.
The metalcore act will perform tracks from their fourth album The Truth.
The EP contains the band’s most recent single, ‘Nothing Better’.
The band will perform their seminal sophomore album in its entirety on the tour.
The regional festival also features The Potbelleez (DJ set), Dojo Rise, Funk Me and more.