KUKO BRINGS THE NEXT CHAPTER OF CATHARSIS WITH "NUR WEGEN DIR"

KUKO releases "Nur Wegen Dir," following the widely successful title track alongside Tokio Hotel. As the second single from his upcoming debut album, the release marks another deeper look into the world of CATHARSIS. While KUKO has built his reputation through uncompromising hard techno and large-scale rave energy, "Nur Wegen Dir" signals a defining crossover moment, balancing the raw intensity of his signature sound with an emotionally driven vocal performance entirely recorded by KUKO himself.

At its core, "Nur Wegen Dir", meaning "Only Because of You" in German, reflects the opening chapter of the CATHARSIS story: pressure, memory, fear, and everything buried for too long. Built around relentless percussion, distorted textures and KUKO's unmistakable hard techno production, the track pushes beyond functional club music into something more raw, cinematic and deeply personal. His own haunting vocal carries the emotional weight throughout, exploring obsession, attachment and the lasting imprint one person can leave behind, transforming deeply personal experiences into a visceral release on the dancefloor.

Long before its official release, "Nur Wegen Dir" had already become a standout moment in KUKO's live sets. He has been teasing the record for more than a year at some of the world's biggest festivals, including EDC Las Vegas, Kappa Futur Festival, and other major stages, where it quickly became a fan favorite. Its official release now captures the energy that audiences have already experienced firsthand while introducing a more vulnerable dimension to KUKO's evolving artistic identity.

The release marks another step deeper into the five-chapter world introduced with CATHARSIS, darker and more emotionally exposed than what came before, and a sign that behind the intensity of KUKO’s sounds lies a project driven not only by energy, but by transformation itself.

KUKO will bring the story of “Nur Wegen Dir’ to life with upcoming appearances at Dour Festival on July 16 and Tomorrowland on July 17. This will be followed by dates on his own ALL NIGHT LONG world tour, with stops in Chile (September 17), Madrid (October 11) and Amsterdam (October 23).

“Nur Wegen Dir” is available now on all streaming platforms.

About KUKO
KUKO is the Cologne-born artist translating hard techno into cinema, fashion, mythology, ritual and mass emotion. His foundation is underground rooms, industrial sound, warehouse culture and hard-music communities. His ambition is bigger than the classic DJ lane.

He is building a complete artist system: sound, image, symbols, clothing, physical objects, live ritual, community and cultural positioning. The tension is simple and strong: brutal sound, vulnerable emotional core. That is what separates KUKO from a normal hard-techno act. He is not only scaling shows. He is building belief. He gives the audience something to hear, something to wear, something to collect, something to enter and something to belong to.

CONNECT WITH KUKO
Instagram | TikTok | Youtube | Spotify | SoundCloud

MEES SALOMÉ MARKS FIRST ORIGINAL RELEASE ON PURIFIED RECORDS WITH ‘COLOURBLIND’ FT. CHRIS HOWARD

Marking his first original release on the label, Dutch melodic sensation Mees Salomé returns to Purified Records with ‘Colourblind’, featuring globally renowned vocalist Chris Howard.

Building a slow-burning sonic environment, the track showcases Mees’ ability to fuse emotive storytelling with contemporary club sensibilities. The production steadily unfolds, delivering a compelling journey that is perfectly underscored by Chris’ moving vocal performance.

Speaking about the release, Mees Salomé mentioned:

“"Imagine standing in a room full of people and feeling completely disconnected. Like a wallflower, you're watching the world move around you. Everything muted, slipping out of focus, but feeling a calm sense of serenity. Getting sucked in deeper, and surrendering to it.

The production lives in that same headspace: emotive melodic progressions layered over a driving, hypnotic groove, shifting between raw, atmospheric tension and moments of release. A push and pull between numbness and feeling, between drifting under and catching a small window of clarity."

Reflecting on the record, Chris Howard mentioned:

“Colourblind is about feeling a bit detached from reality and finding the peace and joy that can bring. It can be about losing yourself in music, a good book, or something entirely different. Sometimes the worlds we create inside can be more adventurous than reality. The track portrays that feeling. It's the second collaboration between Mees Salomé and myself and merges our styles perfectly.”

Classically trained in piano, guitar and drums, Mees Salomé brings a strong melodic instinct to productions defined by warm harmonies, evolving textures and immersive grooves. With releases on This Never Happened, Colorize, Purified, Armada and Filth on Acid, his music has earned support from artists including Adriatique, Lane 8, CamelPhat, Nora En Pure, Joris Voorn and Kölsch, as well as BBC Radio 1. Beyond his productions, Mees has cultivated a dedicated global following through his Distant event series, which has grown from a podcast into a sold-out concert experience built around open-to-close sets, storytelling and deep musical connection. As his international profile continues to rise, Mees represents a new generation of melodic artists crafting emotionally resonant experiences that stay with listeners long after the music ends.

Emerging from an indie background as the former frontman of The Brahms, Chris Howard has carved out a distinctive place in the progressive and deep house scene. His signature airy falsetto and understated songwriting bring together minimalist melodies and emotionally resonant lyrics, creating a sound that feels both intimate and immersive. Having collaborated with artists including Helsloot, Nils Hoffmann, Ferry Corsten, Mees Salomé and Corren Cavini, Chris is rapidly establishing himself as one of the genre's sought-after vocalists. His songwriting is driven by a desire to uncover deeper emotional truths, leaving space for listeners to find their own meaning in every song.

The ‘Colourblind’ artwork features a macro shot of a spiraled Christmas tree worm, captured by Juan Camilo Mora (@jcmoraphotography). While the ocean’s smallest creatures are often overlooked, understanding them is essential to solving some of our biggest environmental challenges. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences advances research on microscopic marine life, uncovering how tiny organisms shape ocean health, climate systems, and the future of life on Earth.

Juan is a Colombian biologist, UW photographer and expedition leader. He has devoted his life to work as an ocean advocate using his camera as a tool to reach out, educate and share his passion for the ocean. Found in his camera a powerful tool to share that message and show others why it is so important to take care of our planet.

Looking to help further protect the planet? Explore Only One, the action platform for the planet, on a mission to restore ocean health and tackle the climate crisis - with the power of the people.

Connect with:
Mees Salomé | Chris Howard | Purified Records | Only One

VICTOR RUIZ UNVEILS LONG-AWAITED DEBUT ALBUM ‘VICTOR’

Out Now On All Streaming Platforms

Victor Ruiz unveils ‘VICTOR’, the long-awaited debut studio album that redefines one of electronic music’s most recognisable names. Released via his own VOLTA imprint, the 14-track body of work marks the culmination of a creative evolution years in the making - one that sees the Brazilian-born, Lisbon-based artist step beyond the techno foundations that established his global reputation and into his most expansive, introspective and emotionally resonant work to date.

Throughout the rollout of ‘VICTOR’, Ruiz has gradually revealed the album’s emotional landscape. Beginning with the meditative stillness of ‘Silence’, moving through the vulnerability of ‘Alone’, the awakening found within ‘Sundance’ alongside Perry Farrell and finally the colourful acceptance of ‘Technicolor’, each release represented a distinct chapter in a much larger narrative. Now, with the complete record finally revealed, those individual moments find their true meaning as part of one continuous journey - a body of work built not around standalone tracks, but around transformation itself.

At the heart of ‘VICTOR’ lies a simple yet confronting idea: you are either shaped by the world around you, or you choose to shape yourself within it. Across fourteen interconnected pieces, Ruiz traces that movement from unconscious reaction to conscious direction. Pressure gives way to isolation, isolation to awakening, awakening to confrontation, until eventually every contradiction settles into something more complete. This is not an album about perfection or resolution, but about authorship - the point where identity is no longer inherited, questioned or negotiated, but wholly owned.

That philosophy extends far beyond the four singles. Opening with the cinematic sound design and nostalgic undercurrent of ‘110889’, the album immediately establishes a sense of curiosity before unfolding into a remarkably varied sonic palette. ‘Nature Rewards Courage’, with Echo Romeo, explores immersive breakbeat textures and hypnotic vocal interplay, while ‘The Secret’ pairs fractured electronic processing with unexpected organic instrumentation, revealing another side of Ruiz’s songwriting altogether. Elsewhere, ‘Better Days’ with Luke Cusato introduces warm piano motifs and delicate vocal work against intricate percussion, while the reflective instrumental ‘When Words Fail…’ provides one of the album’s most quietly affecting moments.

The second half of the record continues to widen its perspective. ‘Skyfall’, created alongside Enrico Minelli, balances powerful vocal emotion against sweeping melodic landscapes, while ‘Running’ reconnects with Ruiz’s electronic instincts through uplifting, fluid rhythms that favour feeling over intensity. ‘You Deserve It All’, in collaboration with his partner Tao Andra, stands among the album’s emotional centrepieces, pairing hopeful melodies with deeply personal vocal performances that radiate warmth and optimism. As the journey nears its conclusion, ‘Life Is But A Dream’ introduces shimmering, kaleidoscopic textures before the closing collaboration with spiritual teacher Ram Dass, ‘The Great Mystery’, brings everything together through spoken word, evolving percussion and a profound sense of acceptance.

While unmistakably electronic at its core, ‘VICTOR’ rarely concerns itself with the conventions of dance music. Instead, Ruiz draws freely from decades of musical influence, weaving together melodic electronica, breakbeat, house, ambient textures and cinematic composition into something that feels entirely unconstrained by genre. Every track serves the wider narrative, each transition carefully considered as the album moves seamlessly between moments of introspection, release and renewal.

For an artist whose career has been built inside some of the world's most revered clubs and festival stages, ‘VICTOR’ represents an extraordinarily bold statement. Rather than reinforcing the sound that made his name, Victor Ruiz has chosen to present the most honest reflection of himself as an artist - one that embraces uncertainty, celebrates evolution and ultimately finds strength in creative freedom.

More than simply a debut album, ‘VICTOR’ is the sound of an artist reclaiming authorship over his own story. It closes one chapter, opens another and stands as Victor Ruiz's most complete artistic statement to date.

Victor Ruiz - VICTOR (album) is out now across all streaming platforms via VOLTA Records: https://volta.ffm.to/victor

Tracklist

1.     Victor Ruiz - 110889

2.     Victor Ruiz - Silence

3.     Victor Ruiz - Alone

4.     Victor Ruiz - Sundance (with Perry Farrell)

5.     Victor Ruiz - Nature Rewards Courage (feat. Echo Romeo)

6.     Victor Ruiz - The Secret

7.     Victor Ruiz - Better Days (with Luke Cusato)

8.     Victor Ruiz - When Words Fail…

9.     Victor Ruiz - Skyfall (with Enrico Minelli)

10.  Victor Ruiz - Running

11.  Victor Ruiz - You Deserve It All (with Tao Andra)

12.  Victor Ruiz - Technicolor

13.  Victor Ruiz - Life Is But A Dream

14.  Victor Ruiz - The Great Mystery (with Ram Dass)