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COACHELLA 04

Someone intimidating and chic told me to listen to this.

By  ,   &  Nicole
8 min read
COACHELLA 04

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I know you come here because you look up to me and find value in my taste, but some of my friends are fully operating on another level. I have good taste, I know, but there are people in my life who do make me question that. Like am I using my algorithm as a crutch? And they're not mean about it. They just, sometimes they make me feel judged or like they think I’m not that cultured and I think good music is sometimes subjective and I’m cool in my own way. Anyway. These are those artists. And honestly receiving this from me is probably easier than receiving it from them directly. You're welcome for that.

¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U

¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U
  • Sign: UNKNOWN
  • For fans of: Change rattling in a vending machine, neon signs buzzing, vinyl, Dad rock

Just because house music isn’t my “thing” doesn’t mean I can’t recognise a talent when I hear one. This was the only DJ set I found memorable AND it was so good I went back for weekend two. I wasn’t in the desert physically, but spiritually I was in the front row. I felt the dust in my lungs, or maybe that was just the lint from my weighted blanket. Does Yousuke know I’m watching? Does he feel my gaze through the lens?

Known as “Your favourite DJ’s favourite DJ”, Yousuke is originally from Osaka, but is now based in Tokyo. His natural command of every imaginable genre has made him a legend and I guess kind of an acquired taste? I have acquired it, obviously. He makes a lot of huge swings from one style of music to the next, like for example weekend one he went from Beastie Boys to Taylor Swift, and some people don’t like that but I appreciate a DJ who let’s you enjoy a track and not just their hyper remix version of it. From his debut at DJ Nobu’s FUTURE TERROR event to performing regularly at clubs like Berghain, Yukimatsu’s sets are a phenomenon. His 2022 Hör Berlin set hit two million plus views in less than 10 months, and his 2025 Boiler Room one surpassed that record in 10 days, which inspired me to finally start my own podcast.

Ok next!

Blood Orange

Blood Orange
  • Sign: Capricorn
  • For fans of: Kevin Abstract, Reading books, Solange, spoken word, Young Fathers, snaps instead of claps

Whether creating as Blood Orange or as a writer/producer in his own name, Devonté "Dev" Hynes is thought of in high regard as one of the more imaginative artists of his generation. Born in London, Devonté has consistently shown a proclivity for making curious art that defies the traditional bounds of genre. Yes, I know the word “proclivity”.

In 2007 he launched Blood Orange, which we’re talking about now, and it looks at his own identity and black identity as a whole, and I just can’t speak to that as a non-black person but I hold so much respect for this project and I found a lot of internal peace watching the set. I’d call his presence very circular. Even though he’s called Blood Orange the aura was more lilac, or like an azure. So many people called this transcendental, and said it brought them to tears, and that’s such high praise because most people at festival performances are actually very busy recording and don’t have the kind of time required to feel things.

It’s a project that he described to Zane Lowe, who I’m not currently speaking to, as "a world for people to be in," which I just love. I have always been someone who believes we should create worlds, and not destroy them. You can hear his fluid but recognisable style best in his fourth studio album Negro Swan, an album that splices together poetry and found sound with layers of R&B and alt-pop. I have it on vinyl but I don’t have a record player.

Ok next!

Dijon

Dijon - Warner Records
  • Sign: Gemini
  • For fans of: Justin Bieber as an adult, hearing a voicemail, Bon Iver, vocal fry for men, Frank Ocean, swimming in the ocean

I knew nothing about Dijon going into his set and I could not turn away. He worked with Justin Bieber on his most recent album, SWAG, and I did know that. I also knew he produced “pink diamond” by Charli XCX. And he went on tour with Bon Iver, I knew that. But nothing else.

His musicians were all positioned around him, not facing out toward the crowd so much, and if you know music like I do you probably clocked that as a unique setup. It made it feel like sitting in on a jam session, and that made me feel special. Very invited. He played at sunset, in conflict with The xx. I have no envy for people who had to choose between them. Two magical golden hour sets! That really is a blessing and a curse, you know?

Dijon Duenas isn’t just a “singer” - that word is so, like, reductive and corporate. And anyway, he’s also a songwriter, a producer, an actor, basically he's doing it all. He grew up kind of all over the place, military family, studied literature at university, almost became a teacher. He moved to Los Angeles to work on his music as a solo artist, which takes a lot of courage, and I know that because I also moved to a major city to pursue my dreams and it was really, really hard at first.

I first heard Absolutely while I was doing some heavy emotional work, and it really helped me tap into my empathy. His voice is gruff but tender, and does this thing where it cracks, and it’s so raw it reminds me that artists are also humans. Dijon just knows how to put himself into the record. His vulnerability is a masterpiece. It’s a vibe I’d describe as “I don’t care if you see my pores.” I’m hoping he can come on my podcast.

Ok next!

Clipse

Clipse. Is it pronounced “Clips” or “Clipsy”?
  • Sign: Taurus, Leo
  • For fans of: Pusha T, lucrative side hustles, Jadakiss, an idle Range Rover, William Shakespeare

Listening to Hell Hath No Fury and it’s basically my entire personality now. It’s not just “rap”, it’s like, high-stakes drama but with more like, profanity. So Clipse is a sibling duo starring:

Pusha T - he’s the one with the braids He talks about selling things? In like, bulk? It’s very entrepreneurial. I find his commitment to the “hustle” so inspiring for my own career. And Malice went from being super intense and cool to having this astonishing religious awakening. I totally get it, I also had a spiritual awakening after one yoga retreat in Ojai where I realized I was allergic to limes. His arc is literally so beautiful.

And Coachella?? ICONIC. They did a full hour set on the Outdoor Theatre stage, and Travis Barker showed up on drums for the first few songs - love that. They did all the classics like "Grindin'" but then they also did this song called "The Birds Don't Sing" about their parents and they had family photos up on the screen and I'm sorry but I sobbed. Or I would have if I'd been there.

Ok next!

Ninajirachi

Ninajirachi
  • Sign: Leo
  • For fans of: Minesweeper, Porter Robinson, blue raspberry slushies

Real name Nina Jo Wilson, Ninajirachi, she's Australian, she's 26, and she basically blew up overnight with her debut album called I Love My Computer, which dropped in August 2025. First of all, that title is really something, and second of all it won like every award in Australia. The ARIAs, the Australian Music Prize, triple j Australian Album of the Year, I'm reading this off a list. As a teenager she was so obsessed with the DJ Porter Robinson that she got his logo tattooed on her wrist. One time I was seeing this guy who painted me a watercolor seascape, and I got that tattooed, so honestly we both have made insane and deeply romantic decisions.

Which brings me to Coachella because she was performing her Friday night set on the Sonora stage, and then she goes “Coachella, can I play you a new song?” and PORTER ROBINSON walks out. The crowd absolutely lost it and the song is called “WannaCry” I think, and his website had a whole cryptic countdown leading up to her set specifically. I’m sorry, but this is the girl who tattooed his logo on her! And now they’re friends and she’s sharing her stage at Coachella. That is cinema. Frankly it should be a film and I will star in it.

Ok next!

Little Simz

Little Simz - breathtaking, right?
  • Sign: Pisces
  • For fans of: Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, Tom Hardy, Doechii, articulate women

Okay Little Simz, full name Simbiatu Ajikawo, is a critically acclaimed rapper from North London. She won the Mercury Prize, she won the BRIT Award for Best New Artist in 2022, she has an album called Sometimes I Might Be Introvert that, like everyone acts like it saved their life or gave them purpose or whatever. She makes incredibly layered, vivid rap albums that feel “edgy” but in a way that’s still very aesthetic. It’s for when you want people to know you have depth and that you’ve definitely read a book this year. She also acts - she was in Top Boy - and her range does make me feel a little bad about myself but I just need to breathe and remember that I support women.

She performed on the Mojave Stage and apparently she was just relentlessly good. I only caught some of the highlights, because I was trying to perfect my acai bowl recipe and totally forgot when her set was. The highlight was she brought out JT from City Girls, a dream pairing, and they debuted an unreleased song together. She’s headlining Cross the Tracks in London next month, so if, like me, you missed this one, you better get your life together and get to Brockwell Park.

My therapist said I need to stop looking for external validation but I also feel like she's never built a brand.

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