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Greetings from Neuphoria!
Nothing ignites tribal loyalty and unfiltered rage quite like the current Middle Eastern crisis that is forcing everyone to choose sides.
Naturally, I’m referring to the current Ed Sheeran tour debacle, where Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” was sacked by the NFL owners’ coordinated stadium ban. With the openers and Sheeran’s own backing band stepping away in solidarity, Ed was left to call an audible.
Disappointingly, it lacks the pure bloodsport of Kendrick vs. Drake- with Macklemore
and Sheeran expressing mutual respect- Ho hum….
Neuphoria September 2026 direct playlist links are:
If you wish to vote on the September Playlist, please submit your votes by EOD Sunday, October 12th PT (Monday, October 13th for the Europeans, Aussies and South Americans).
Defy the algorithm. Listen to Neuphoria
D
PS- The only song that didn’t get any votes from the August Playlist was “Bby Wow” by Karol G, which subsequently rose to #1 in the US and Globally. Clearly the vox populi don’t share the Neuphorians’ more refined tastes.
Troye Sivan, Party (Dance/Pop)– Fresh from placing 4th in August playlist voting, the South African/Aussie pop star doubles down on dancefloor momentum by unapologetically sampling the iconic vocoder hook from Madonna’s “Music.” Over a
relentless, club-ready beat, Sivan layers his speak-singing before matching the
madness with an incongruously camp video featuring chainmail battles and medieval debauchery.
Hey Mr. DJ, put a broadsword on!
Yuko Rade & Chase Farley, Sweet Dreams (Pop/R&B)– LA’s masked producer Yuko Rade sends a late-summer love letter to 1980's neon nostalgia with “Sweet Dreams”. Fueled by Chase Farley’s shimmering falsetto, channeling peak vintage MJ alongside brittle Minneapolis-funk guitar chops, this deliciously derivative track splits the difference between Off the Wall and classic Prince. Turns out Sweet Dreams really are made of this.
Thanks to Paddybear for this retro burner!
Cedric Gervais, Gotta Be (House)– Best known for turning Lana Del Rey’s gloom into Grammy-winning dance gold, French house royalty Cedric Gervais proves he hasn't lost his ear for an undeniable hook. “Gotta Be” anchors a bright Chic-meets Afrobeats guitar around a joyful choir chant and an effortless groove. There’s “Gotta Be” room in your rotation for this one.
Clean Bandit, Chlöe & Omah Lay, Company (Afrobeats/Pop)– UK chart-toppers
Clean Bandit preview their next LP by enlisting five-time Grammy nominee Chlöe and Nigerian former Neuphoria Winner Omah Lay for this sleek global crossover. Powered by syncopated polyrhythms and lush vocal trading, this is one “Company” worth investing in.
Dahi ft. Kendrick Lamar & Amber Mark, How To Pray (Hip-Hop)–
Architect of hip-hop classics for Drake and Travis Scott, producer Dahi steps into the solo spotlight with his debut LP, "Black Boy", reuniting with King Kendrick alongside R&B darling Amber Mark. The track pairs intricate, bossa-nova tinged guitar and airy jazz textures with Kendrick’s hushed, talk-track delivery, analogizing romantic vulnerability to religious faith.
Natanya, SHOW ME RIGHT! (R&B)– After opening for PinkPantheress and stacking co-signs from SZA and Tyler, the Creator, genre-fluid 23-year-old Londoner Natanya stakes her claim on her Sept LP, "ATTITUDE ERA!" Opening with a robotic choir citing 12th century Latin poetry, “SHOW ME RIGHT!” melts into a modern reinterpretation of vintage soul, with Natanya’s prime Diana Ross-like delicate vibrato being the showstopper.
Beware fellow Londoners, RAYE, Olivia Dean, Pantheress and Lola Young- Natanya is coming for the UK R&B crown!
Kundo, Shen Mao (Pop)– Locking down #1 on the Danish charts and bleeding across
Scandinavia, 24-year-old Aarhus breakout Kundo delivers an impossibly catchy soundtrack for a late Nordic summer. The track’s magic lies in its breezy chorus, where vocal trade-offs glide over descending acoustic guitar arpeggios channeling the Swedish pop classic “Young Folks”. And no- “Shen Mao” isn’t Danish- it’s an
underground Aarhus ping-pong club/bar.
Morgan Wallen, Last Thing You Need (Country)– Country radio's billion stream kingpin returned September 19th to immediately seize #1 on the US streaming charts with "Last Thing You Need". Wallen knows exactly what the audience wants; a formula of a familiar retro guitar riff, toxic-romantic wordplay, and his southern drawl- even if it's the last thing they need...
Stella Lefty & Vincent Mason, Something to Lose (Country)– After riding her smash "Boston" all the way to #2 on the Hot 100, Stella Lefty made headlines when the internet discovered she’s the daughter of a billionaire tech mogul. That left it unclear whether her trimming her surname down to “Lefty” was about standing on her own merit or due to “Lefkofsky” not sounding very Nashville. Teaming up with her real life beau, Vincent Mason, the top 40 hit "Something to Lose" wraps simple acoustic and pedal steel guitars around the terror of letting your guard down.
With her trust-fund riches, Stella’s certainly got something to lose.
Chase & Status ft. Debbie, Gone Too Far (Dance)– Crowned a BBC Radio 1 Hottest Record and surging into the UK Top 40, "Gone Too Far" pairs veteran rave
heavyweights Chase & Status with breakout London vocalist Debbie. Setting aside C&S's usual instant chaos, the duo opens with a tender, stripped-back vocal showcase that lulls you into emotional vulnerability right before a breakneck DnB drop blows the walls out.
Fat Dog, Call It What You Want (Alternative)– Earning an immediate BBC Radio 1 A-list spotlight, South London ’s newest purveyors of controlled disorder preview their upcoming sophomore LP “Cancel Me (I’m Tired)” with "Call It What You Want." The track hurtles on a relentless collision of abrasive post-punk guitars, new wave synths, and frontman Joe Love’s sneering, thick-accented Cockney bark- proving Fat Dog’s bite is every bit as ferocious.
Royal Blood, Swallow the Bomb (Hard Rock/Alternative)– Staying across the pond and keeping the throttle down, Brighton’s BRIT Award-winning rock duo Royal Blood deliver another pre-release taste of forthcoming LP "Dead Company". Relying on their signature trick of coaxing arena-shaking thunder out of just bass and drums via octave splitters, the track throttles forward, alternating between brute force and pitch-shifting harmonics.
JENNIE, Heaven (K-Pop)– Having already topped global charts both with
BLACKPINK and as a solo artist, JENNIE takes a moody left turn on the global top 10 hit, "Heaven." The track trades technicolor K-Pop hooks for a brooding soundscape soaked in reverb, languid beats, and angst usually reserved for sad-girl indie darlings. Forget being Pretty in Pink- when JENNIE visits heaven, she would rather “Paint It Black”.
ADÉLA, Nicole Kidman (Pop)– With “Nicole Kidman” surging to #2 on the US streaming charts and #4 worldwide (and with another song “Ain’t in LA” at #3 globally), Slovakian sensation ADÉLA cements her arrival via her debut LP "Prima". This song is an exercise in glam narcissism, singing shamelessly about corsets, Louboutins and feeling like an Oscar-winning icon over a slick retro R&B sample.
Maybe Warner Bros. hired ADÉLA as a stealth influencer for Practical Magic 2? Just saying….
Tinashe, Pillow Fight (R&B)– Building on the momentum of multi-platinum anthems "Nasty" and "No Broke Boys", Tinashe refuses to play it safe ahead of her new album, Popstar. Debuting at #2 on Reddit's influential r/Popheads chart, "Pillow Fight" pulls off an intriguing structural ambush, setting an almost neo-classical piano ballad backdrop against her soft vocal before a dissonant funk bassline hijacks the chorus into a Phyrgian friction. It turns out when Tinashe throws feathers, somebody’s bound to get bruised.
Bayonne, Forget (Alternative)– Calling Roger Sellers (aka Bayonne) a multi- instrumentalist is an understatement; the former banjo picker now performs as a one-man band juggling electronic looping, live drums, keyboards, guitar and signing without breaking a sweat. With "Forget" from his September LP, "Filters", Bayonne pairs pristine synth-pop with a falsetto that faithfully channels peak Tears for Fears.
Better tie a string around your finger for this one.....
Actress, Overchord (Techno/Experimental)– Leaving formulaism to the amateurs, UK electronic enigma Actress (Darren Cunningham) offers another example of beautiful decay in “Overchord” from his September 18 “Radical Flame” LP. Part ambient fever dream, part rusted industrial house, the track wanders through dissonance before quietly stumbling upon moments of translucent beauty.