February 2026 - New Music Friday
랑 (Rang) - Cloudkreme
Chosen by Mica (@mishckah)
Cloudkreme's 랑 (Rang) arrives draped in sugared vocals and dreamy lines that shimmer like something out of a summer montage, the kind where everything dissolves into soft focus. But linger past that first honey-trap chorus, and the cracks of sadness in the bass line start showing. There's a tremor beneath the brightness of the drums, a quiver in the melody that refuses to settle. The production gleams too perfectly, like a smile held a beat too long before tears start to fall. It's the musical equivalent of swallowing grief with a laugh, of pretending the ending didn't gut you. Let it play in the background, and you'll catch a pleasant melody with gentle beats and mellowed guitar. Lean in closer, and you'll hear something devastating: love that ended before it should have.
CYRRCA feat Lil Cherry, junglë - Iced Americano
Chosen by Jamie Finn
It takes some guts to release a single called Iced Americano during what has been the most bitterly cold, but that is kind of the point here. “Even if I freeze to death, I drink iced Americano,” is the popular phrase in Korea that inspired this disarmingly fun chilltronica track from Cyrcca, featuring Lil Cherry and junglë. Ice Americano is taken from CYRRCA 2.0, a properly genre-smashing album that was released late last year and became a sleeper hit on Korea’s underground electronic scene. With its light rhythmic nod to dancehall and playful lyrics (in five languages no less), Iced Americano provides a reason to revisit one of 2025’s coolest albums. Just hoping it ushers in some better weather.
33pose - Mount Kaliash-Dropped
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
Mount Kailash has a quiet jubilation that is hard to place. The strings and chimes sway and dance around with a twinkle. The counterpoint during the chorus, which is mostly chanting a birdcall and the name Kailash, is delightful in a way that comes from somewhere peaceful and content. This is all fitting given that Mount Kailash is a reverent site for a few different religions. Mount Kailash is a song that is hard to get out of your head, but it feels so relaxing and bright.
RUN - Band Nah
Chosen by Dhira Noor (@shotbydhira)
Kicking off with a punchy saxophone and trumpet-led intro, NAH’s “Run” instantly sets a restless, feel-good pace that makes you want to move the second it starts. Even as the lyrics wrestle with self-doubt, collapse, and the urge to run away (“부서지고 무너지고 / 몇 번을 반복해야 하는 걸까”), the music never loses its momentum, turning that emotional weight into something you can dance through rather than sink into. Personally, I can’t get enough of the trumpet and saxophone throughout the song, they give “Run” its vibrant lift, like a sprint toward freedom even when your heart is still catching up.
Fat Hamster & KANG New - OPINION
Chosen by Ethan Kim (@count.kim)
phantom pain: pain that remains even after its source is gone.
Fat Hamster & KANG New's new song "OPINION" leans a little more towards industrial and EBM influences than their previous works. In an atmosphere characterised by percussion, techno and house reminiscent of sharply turning gears, the duo amplifies their distinctive colours by weaving in their own wit, supported by KANG New's catchy lyrics. Given how strongly the duo have performed throughout 2025, it is perhaps not surprising that there is growing excitement about what they may bring in 2026.
NORIDOGAM feat mei ehara - Hazard Course
Chosen by Jamie Finn (@jamiefinn2209)
What I love most about the music of Noridogam is that it so seamlessly blends quite complex musicality with a kinda of cutesy, accessible charm. Hazard Course is a collab with Japanese singer-songwriter and long-time pal of Chunchu, mei ehara. It’s a tender, sunny hug of a song that has a few lofty moments. This is the second single from his upcoming album, and based on the first two tracks released, it could be an absolute gem.
tell me the truth.. - 나는 또 다시…
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
Bursting with the kind of raw energy and tempo that can only come from youth wrought angst, tell me the truth.. is taking up the banner of emo enlisting as a representative of Korea. Specifically, they are associated with the Midwest flavor of emo; a few tracks do contain the classic movie dialogue mixed with ornate guitar bits that are famous in the genre. Every track has strained vocals and pained confessions, but 나는 또 다시… feels like the most ambitious of the songs: it makes great use of soft and slow to loud and fast dynamics and is the longest recording by far. It’s abrasive and full of feeling. Hearing emo in the Korean indie scene is welcome and we are waiting with bated breath for more. *For any and all inquiries regarding the definition of "emo," please email our chief editor directly or through the Debaser website.
MADDYXP (매디엑스피) - grapefruit
Chosen by Connor Cass (@aminorcharacter)
MADDYXP has been through a few iterations in her music. From her earliest days working with atmospheric electronica to her more recent garage-tinged bangers, every time she puts out something new it's a reinvention. Grapefruit stays true to that with the introduction of her newest form — rapper Maddy. With a hypnotic monotone, MADDYXP spits a stream of consciousness, something she even cops to in the song (“what I’m saying, everything is random”). Her confidence helps her pull off even the most absurd lyrics, all while taming the omnipotent instrumental. Though the track is characterised by hard-knocking bass, colliding percussion, and a nasty beat switch, she remains the central force in this truly exhilarating track.
AHNMARU - ZZYOMYOZZYOMYO (Nirah’s Theme)
Chosen by Cam (@bigbabyclam)
AHNMARU's ZZYOMYOZZYOMYO (Nirah's Theme) is a rush of maximalism filtered through a PlayStation sheen. Drums are pumping and crunchy while samples ricochet around your ears. Vocal fragments shift, collide, and reappear, giving the song a restless energy that keeps the chaos thrilling. AHNMARU shows her deep production mastery in bright textures that balance against a surprisingly cohesive emotional centre. Like an arcade game's attract mode, ZZYOMYOZZYOMYO is the kind of track that makes you want to repeatedly press start again and again.
Basementzerofloor - Lemon Slice
Chosen by Mica (@mishckah)
Lemon Slice hits that perfect sweet spot of unsettling and beautiful. It’s a good blend of dream pop and shoegaze for when reality gets melancholic and bitter. The guitars are crispy and layered in all the right shoegaze ways, building this textured wall of sound that somehow feels close and far away at the same time. But it's the vocals that really sell the whole thing. Dreamy and spacey, they drift through the mix like half-remembered thoughts on a midnight drive, never quite landing on solid ground. They capture exactly what the song's trying to say: what happens when nothing tastes right anymore? When even biting into a lemon slice might not give you that familiar sour kick? This song is perfect for late-night drives, existential spirals, and anyone who's felt their grip on reality is getting a little slippery.
FauloCity - Do Androids Dream of Electric Guitars?
Chosen by Jam Finn
We’re barely out of January, and I think I’ve already found my EP of the year. This came out a few weeks ago, and I’ve listened to little else since. Opening track, Do Androids Dream of Electric Guitar? (slightly daft title, but we’ll let that go) opens with an electronica bassline which, despite its continued presence, proves to be quite deceptive. The track quickly moves to become a crashing blend of indie rock, shoegaze, and synthpop. It’s got a little twinge of early 2000s rock about it that really works. There’s also a surprisingly effective crescendo build in the final third, too. A gorgeous opener to a really great EP. Watch out for this band this year.
ampoff - youretheoneiwant
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
A song that feels like a lawn chair under a mild sun with a comfortable breeze and a cold drink. It’s a much-needed reprieve from the relentless winter winds in Korea. youretheoneiwant is a sincere, simple declaration of love told in just 2 repeating lines. Each of the woozy slacker guitars is drenched in personality. The elaborate bobbing and weaving against the calm patter of drums can feel even sporadic at points, but the movement feels intentional and effortless. Despite a runtime under 2 minutes, it somehow manages to be an hour long.
fIsh dish - kooks
Chosen by Ethan Kim (@count.kim)
Mandong and Jooyoung's new project, fish dish, has released their first album, Missing Tooth, which is a very remarkable work in the Korean post-punk scene. The album is built around desperate cries of different emotions and a subtle interplay between guitar and noise. Among the album's tracks, I would like to highlight “Kooks”, which has a fresh composition and an addictive rhythm. By placing even greater emphasis on the raw sound, the track reflects the atmosphere of underground clubs and effectively represents the band's raw but captivating first steps.
VESTUR - Walking On
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
Audiovisual duo VESTUR’s latest EP guides listeners through an electronic topography informed by French house and synthwave. From the beginning it’s an EP that demands listeners to dance, quite literally with the opening track Don’t Stop, but nestled in between all the rhythmic brilliance Walking On sits perfectly in the middle, courting a rather astral sound. In between all the synthetic slides soaring, there are sparse lines alluding to facing uncertainty: “I don't know what’s up ahead, but still I keep walking on.” VESTUR summons a sombre doubt that it cures with a fuzzy, glitchy parade of synths. Cinematic, danceable, and a bit cathartic, it’s a real treat for electronic music fans.