Beatique

Tag: Tomora

  • Nature Is Healing on horsegiirL’s Debut Album (+ My Club Underground Set List 6/05/16)

    horsegiirL Nature Is Healing album cover
    horsegiirL Nature Is Healing album cover

    You might not expect to read this, but I’m way into Nature Is Healing, the new album from horsegiirL. If we’re IRL friends, though, you might think, yeah, Liz would totally be into something that sounds like the rave at an anime convention. And that’s true. But, there’s also a lot more to horsegiirL than DDR beats and pitched up vocals.

    Just to back up a second for anyone who is like, wtf are you talking about? HorsegiirL is a DJ/producer/singer known for wearing a horse mask, or horse prosthetic face makeup, who had a viral hit some time back called “My Barn My Rules.” She’s known for playing hard, fast dance music- roughly equivalent to what ‘90s ravers would know as hardcore or happy hardcore- and has been buzzy for a good while. She played Coachella in 2025, made guest appearances during Wet Leg and PinkPanthress’ sets at this year’s Coachella and will be opening for Robyn at the Forum in September. 

    Nature Is Healing is horsegiirL’s debut album. It dropped yesterday and it’s a genuinely strange and subversive album. Musically, it’s not really something you can categorize. You’ll have something like the single “That’s My Beach!” that brings together a summer party sound with a play on words to talk about respect for the beach or “Only the Best,” which satirizes materialism. Then there’s “An Apple a Day,” with its relentless kick drum and campy, Europop-style lyrics and vocals, and “Fun Guy Fungi,” an avant-garde, new age interlude. Last night, I tried out “Hands Hands Hands,” a synthpop tune with bit of a Kylie Minogue vibe and a touch of house percolating underneath. Hopefully, sometime soon, I’ll have the chance to play “Music Goes On” because I love how it morphs from euphoric rave track to Pure Moods jam. The sounds are all over the place on Nature Is Healing, but it makes sense as an album because the songs all seem to tied to this very My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic-meets-Nausicaä Valley of the Wind message about taking care of the planet and each other. Right now, it’s not too often that we see people making art that’s both light-hearted and serious, so, if you’re looking for something that hits those notes, I recommend checking out Nature Is Healing. 

    Last night’s set list from Club Underground is below. As always, the new-ish stuff links back to previous mentions on this blog.  In addition to horsegiirL, the other brand new song from last night is “Every Single Weekend” from The Avalanches and Jamie XX. 

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  • That HiNRG Madonna Remix From Peggy Gou and More of What You Heard at Club Underground 5/29/26

    Accidental photo from DJ booth at Club Underground on May 29, 2026
    Accidental photo from the DJ booth, 5/29/26. (Pic: Liz O.)

    I’ve never been super into Peggy Gou, but her “Energy” mix of Madonna’s new single, “I Feel So Free,” is incredible. It’s an ‘80s hiNRG throwback that works because it doesn’t sound like what Madonna was doing in that era, so it becomes this crazy speculative fiction mix, like imagine a 1984 where Pet Shop Boys and Madonna collabed and it was all produced by Bobby Orlando in between sessions with The Flirts and Divine. That’s what this Peggy Gou remix sounds like. Anyhow, the remix has been out for a couple weeks and I finally had the chance to play it last night. It was one of those now-or-never moments because I had just played “Blue Monday” and “Living on Video” and figured there wouldn’t be any other moment during the course of the night where a new banger that sounds like an old school jam would work. 

    Two other songs that I tried out for the first time last night are the Fcukers mix of the Angelé and Justice song “What You Want,” which worked really nicely in between new Slayyyter and old Daft Punk, and “Piss Artist,” which is honestly my favorite song on Gelli Haha’s album, Switcheroo. I love it because it’s the sort of NSFW song that you used to only hear in clubs- trust me when I tell you that “Fuck the Pain Away” and “Frank Sinatra” were not radio songs- and that’s a bit of a dying breed of music. 

    Anyhow, set list is below. Songs that are from the past two years are highlighted and (usually) link back to other references on the blog. 

    Next week is Interpol Nite at Club Underground. It’s going to be a vibe, so make plans to go. Advance tickets are online now. 

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  • Listen to the May 2026 Edition of Beatique

    Beatique May 2024 mix cover


    The May, 2026 edition of Beatique is up on Mixcloud right now and I hope you’ll give it a listen. This month’s set includes a few current club hits from the likes of Sextile, Fcukers and Alice Glass, an electroclash throwback and a big ol’ ‘90s club banger. There are also a couple 1960s/early ‘70s jams and new tunes from Tomora, Kneecap, Fontaines D.C. and more.

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  • Tomora, Fcukers and More of What You Heard at Underground 4/17/26

    Fcukers Ö album cover
    Cover for Ö by Fcukers

    Come Closer, the debut album from Tomora, was released on Friday and I’m already way into it. Tomora is Tom Rowlands from the Chemical Brothers and Norwegian singer Aurora and, if you’re into either/both of those artists, you have to hear it. Come Closer pulls a lot of different elements from across the club music spectrum and, in the process, becomes something so strange and cool and completely different from what’s been dominating dance music for the past five or so years. I went with “Somewhere Else,” the second single from the album, last night at Underground and it did pretty well for a first spin. There were more people on the dance floor when the song neared its end than when it began, so it will probably stick around in my sets. That ‘do do do” Aurora sings is such an earworm of the classic rave “It’s a Fine Day” variety. I love it. 

    Last night was Darkwave night at Underground, but I’ve been meaning to play something off Fcukers’ album, Ö, for a minute and I figured that “if you want to party, come over to my house” was electroclash-y enough to work with the crowd. Basically, if they were into Green Velvet— and they were— then they would get Fcukers. The song went over really well, which is a bit unsurprising given how much the resale price are for tickets to the duo at The Fonda. The whole album is killer. I’m impressed at how Fcukers basically fit the arc of a raging party into an album that’s less than a half-hour. 

    The set list for last night is below. Songs from 2025 and 2026 link back to other references on the blog. Thanks for dancing! 

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