At every turn, DOLO TONIGHT is determined to take his craft to new heights – literally. In 2021, the LA-by-way-of-Jersey artist made history with his single “Higher,” filming the Highest Altitude Music Video in the Western Hemisphere from the basket of a hot air balloon. This skyscraping success came on the heels of his breakout “Too High,” which launched him into the top five of Spotify’s Top 100 Breaking Artists in 2019 and cemented Dolo Tonight (real name Jonah Rindner) as one of the underground’s fastest-rising names. Not bad for a University of Maine food science dropout who bailed on becoming a flavorist (“Did you know you can basically make grape flavor out of plastic gloves?” he asks with a laugh) to chase his musical dreams at the behest of both his parents and college professors. These blessings led to collaborations with Grammy-winning producer and engineer Michael Ashby (Cardi B), a deal with the legendary Epitaph Records, and a global fanbase drawn to his magnetic personality and shapeshifting musical style. That upward trajectory is once again on display on Dolo Tonight’s debut EP for Epitaph, LIFE’S A PARTY THEN YOU’RE DEAD. The six-track set evolves the hip-hop-heavy sound Dolo amplified on 2021’s Back To Earth EP (Asylum) in favor of what he calls “anti-pop,” rooted in the fundamentals of popular music but subverted in all the right ways as he and his Baggage Claim collective of writers and producers twist convention and catchy choruses into an intoxicating, sun-soaked blend of indie, alternative, rock, and hip-hop. “Anti-pop is all about messing around with structure and sounds and being a little more experimental,” the 24-year-old explains. “When we were putting this EP together, we would ask ourselves, ‘What would someone normally do in this situation?’ Then we would do the exact opposite.” Like the musicality underwriting them, the songs on Life’s A Party And Then You’re Dead tell the stories of those a little left of center: the wanderers (“Tucson”), the dreamers (“Pennies”), the outcasts (“People Under the Stairs”) – the people Dolo feels a particularly special kinship toward. He’s been there before, busking and hustling his way to his dreams, and he’s built his musical world to be universally accepting. If life is indeed a party, everyone is invited to the one Dolo Tonight is throwing. It extends beyond just the music as well. While Dolo is absolutely giddy at the prospect of bringing his new EP to audiences during live shows, he’s equally enthused about expanding the stories he’s telling. Whether it’s the short film he developed and shot as a companion to the EP, a series of Roblox concerts, or simply using the iconic eye of Wes Anderson to inform his art’s aesthetic, he’s determined to continue connecting with fans in fully immersive ways. “My ultimate goal is to build a world and create a space that people can endlessly explore,” he enthuses. “You can take the music at face value, but there’s always a next step I’m working toward. I’ve got a vision for everything that’s all connected. It’s like seeing someone drop a wrench in a Spider-Man movie and then pick it up later in a Doctor Strange movie to connect things. Basically, I’m trying to make the DCU: the Dolo Cinematic Universe.” XX
Babebee, pronounced “baby,” the musical moniker of the elusive, Korean American artist (they/them pronouns), is an idiosyncratic soloist who could only exist now, in the modern era: prolific, collaborative, convention-breaking, endlessly ambitious, and impossible to define. Call them hyperpop, and you’d miss out on their experimental dance signatures, their penchant for bedroom pop melodicism. Call them a singer and you miss out on their expert production work. Call them unconventional, and you’re closer to the truth: it’s the reason you might’ve caught them on Twitch, or on their Discord community, The Honeypot, or featured on a series of all-star Spotify playlists, including New Music Friday, the official hyperpop playlist, and Lorem, with its nearly one million likes. It’s also the reason Pigeons and Planes/Complex was quick to name them a best new artist.