Charli's Brat Remixes and Feng's Electronic Rise [Stereo Current]

[00:00] Sloane Rivera: The needle drops, the static fades, and the world looks a little sharper. [00:05] Sloane Rivera: I am Sloan Rivera. [00:07] Julian Vance: And I'm Julian Vance. [00:08] Julian Vance: You're listening to Stereo Current. [00:10] Julian Vance: We're digging through the crates of this week's news to find the rhythm in the noise. [00:14] Sloane Rivera: Julian, the pace of the current pop cycle is enough to give even the most seasoned critic a bit of whiplash. [00:21] Sloane Rivera: Charlie XeX is essentially living in a permanent surprise drop state at this point. [00:27] Julian Vance: Yeah, it's brilliant, Sloane. She's turned the brat era into a living organism. [00:32] Julian Vance: Just when you think the discourse is settling, she releases a surprise remix album with her [00:37] Julian Vance: core collaborators. It's rapid fire, it's experimental, and it's keeping everyone on their toes. [00:43] Sloane Rivera: Um, it really is. And Pitchfork was quick to highlight it this week. But [00:49] Sloane Rivera: what actually caught my eye in that same 10 albums to listen to now list was Feng. [00:55] Sloane Rivera: There's something so magnetic about a Shanghai underground artist finally catching that global [01:01] Julian Vance: wave. [01:02] Julian Vance: Fung is the real deal. [01:03] Julian Vance: They've been working that scene for over a decade. [01:06] Julian Vance: The new album is this beautiful, almost haunting bridge between traditional Chinese instrumentation [01:12] Julian Vance: and very modern, very sharp electronic production. [01:15] Julian Vance: It's that East meets West sonic tradition but without the cliches. [01:19] Sloane Rivera: Exactly. [01:20] Sloane Rivera: It doesn't feel like fusion in that forced way. [01:23] Sloane Rivera: It feels like an [01:24] Sloane Rivera: evolution. NPR's New Music Friday also gave a nod to that diverse range of releases this week. [01:30] Sloane Rivera: It feels like a particularly rich weeks for Discovery Julian, from hip-hop to these niche [01:35] Sloane Rivera: electronic experiments. [01:36] Julian Vance: It's a deluge, honestly, but NPR's curation helps navigate it. [01:41] Julian Vance: You've got these emerging artists standing right next to the giants. [01:45] Julian Vance: And speaking of giants, did you see the Spotify numbers? [01:48] Julian Vance: Daniel Eck is calling 2026 the year of raising ambition. [01:53] Sloane Rivera: I saw that. Over 600 million monthly active users globally. It's a staggering milestone. [02:00] Sloane Rivera: They're leaning so hard into the algorithms and international expansion. [02:04] Sloane Rivera: It's a streaming dominance victory lap, essentially. [02:07] Julian Vance: No way. But what's interesting is how the independent side is holding its own. [02:12] Julian Vance: Domino Publishing just reported a 15% revenue increase for 2025. [02:17] Julian Vance: When you have Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend on the roster, you're playing a strong hand, but they're also expanding into Tokyo and São Paulo, though. [02:26] Sloane Rivera: Domino is the gold standard for how an indie label can thrive without losing its soul. [02:32] Sloane Rivera: It proves that you can scale up globally, new offices in all, and still be the home for artists who actually care about the craft. [02:39] Julian Vance: And while the digital numbers soar, the physical world is finding its own lane. [02:44] Julian Vance: Flood Store just launched this new vinyl club initiative. [02:47] Julian Vance: They're doing the exclusive colored pressings and limited editions, which we know the collectors eat up. [02:53] Sloane Rivera: It's more than just pretty plastic, though. [02:55] Sloane Rivera: Their model is really leaning into artist empowerment and direct fan relationships. [03:00] Sloane Rivera: It's about bypassing that traditional label structure where things get lost in the middle. [03:05] Sloane Rivera: Julian, I think it's a savvy bet on the staying power of the format. [03:09] Julian Vance: I'm a sucker for a colored pressing, Sloan. You know this. But you're right. It's about the [03:14] Julian Vance: connection. Speaking of deep connections, Lord's Homecoming in Auckland sounded incredibly [03:19] Julian Vance: emotional. Her first New Zealand shows in years as part of the ultrasound tour. [03:24] Sloane Rivera: Right. I've seen the clips. The set list was a total retrospective, but with a heavy lean [03:31] Sloane Rivera: into the new material. [03:32] Sloane Rivera: People flew in from everywhere for that one. [03:36] Sloane Rivera: She's one of those rare artists who can maintain that level of intimacy, [03:40] Sloane Rivera: even when she's playing to a massive crowd. [03:43] Julian Vance: And on the other side of the pop nostalgia coin, [03:46] Julian Vance: Hilary Duff is officially back on the road, [03:48] Julian Vance: the Lucky Tour for 2026 and 2027. [03:52] Julian Vance: It's wild to see that early 2000s resurgence hitting this hard, but the demand is clearly there. [03:58] Sloane Rivera: Well, we're all suckers for a well-timed comeback, Julian. [04:02] Sloane Rivera: But let's pivot to something a bit more sober. [04:06] Sloane Rivera: The news about the dropkick Murphy's ending their relationship with Wasserman Agency. [04:11] Julian Vance: That's a heavy one. [04:12] Julian Vance: They're cutting ties over allegations connected to the Jeffrey Epstein orbit. [04:17] Julian Vance: It's part of a much broader reckoning the industry is having right now. [04:21] Julian Vance: The band hasn't been verbose about it, but the action itself speaks volumes. [04:25] Sloane Rivera: It's a massive move for a band with that much legacy. [04:29] Sloane Rivera: They're essentially saying some things are more important than the business infrastructure you've built. [04:35] Sloane Rivera: It's a clean break from a very dark shadow. [04:38] Julian Vance: It's a reminder that even in the indie or punk worlds, those ties can run deep and require a sharp knife to cut. [04:46] Julian Vance: Switching gears to a different kind of industry dominance, Taylor Swift's Eros Tour documentary [04:53] Julian Vance: just broke every streaming record in existence within its first week. [04:57] Sloane Rivera: Are we even surprised? [05:00] Sloane Rivera: At this point, Taylor is her own economy. [05:03] Sloane Rivera: But what it does prove is the massive appetite for recorded live experiences. [05:08] Sloane Rivera: If you couldn't get to the stadium, you're watching it on your couch. [05:12] Sloane Rivera: And apparently... [05:13] Sloane Rivera: Everyone is watching it. [05:14] Julian Vance: It's the most watched concert film in the platform's history. [05:18] Julian Vance: It's a spectacle, even on a small screen. [05:21] Julian Vance: Between her and Charlie and Lord, it feels like a week where the women of pop are just [05:27] Julian Vance: completely rewriting the rules of the game. [05:29] Sloane Rivera: They aren't just playing the game. [05:31] Sloane Rivera: They're the ones building the stadium. [05:33] Sloane Rivera: Whether it's Fang bringing the Shanghai underground to the west or Hillary Duff reclaiming her [05:38] Sloane Rivera: stage, the narrative is shifting toward longevity and global reach. [05:43] Julian Vance: It's a good time to be a listener, Sloan. [05:45] Julian Vance: A bit overwhelming, sure, but the quality is high. [05:49] Julian Vance: And the business is, well, it's ambitious. [05:52] Sloane Rivera: Ambitious is one word for it. [05:54] Sloane Rivera: Julian, I think I'm going to go spin that Fing record and try to find some Zen before the next surprise drop hits the wire. [06:02] Julian Vance: Good call. I'll be checking the mailbox for my next vinyl shipment. This has been Stereocurrent. [06:08] Julian Vance: Check us out at stereocurrent.neurlnewscast.com. [06:11] Sloane Rivera: I am Sloan Rivera. Keep your ears open. [06:14] Julian Vance: And I'm Julian Vance. We'll catch you on the flip side. [06:18] Julian Vance: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. [06:21] Julian Vance: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.