Westend faucets into nostalgia with out getting caught there on his new single ‘Lighter.’ Out October 3 by way of Insomniac Data, the observe finds the New York producer marrying early-2000s progressive home euphoria with slick, fashionable dancefloor element. It pairs Westend’s membership honed manufacturing: looping synth ostinatos, swelling pads and piano motifs, with Darla Jade’s ethereal, emotive topline, leading to a music that sounds each anthemic and intimate.
Constructed from a chord development that nods to the period that first hooked him, Westend shows that fondness for giant room emotion inside a tighter, tech home leaning association. A sort of hybrid that’s turn out to be his signature since breaking by means of on tastemaker labels.
“‘Lighter’ was born out of me chasing the identical feeling I had after I was 17 and first falling in love with digital music. Artists like deadmau5, Kaskade, and Avicii formed my earliest connection to the scene. I’ll always remember coming residence from Electrical Zoo in 2011 and placing ‘I Bear in mind’ on repeat till the solar got here up.“
Darla Jade’s contribution elevates the only. The Stoke-on-Trent singer-songwriter has earned BBC Radio 1 assist and located excessive profile collaborations with producers like Kaskade and Gorgon Metropolis. Her melodic sensibility helps steer ‘Lighter’ towards pop-tinged indie dance territory with out sacrificing membership efficiency.
Westend’s dwell momentum has matched the tempo of his studio work. After launching his label, Hint Quantities, in late 2023 and finishing his first solo headline tour, the New York native has spent 2025 turning hype into field workplace proof. This 12 months alone, he bought out reveals in marquee markets like Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, New York and San Diego. With current releases touchdown him on the duvet of Spotify’s noteworthy Housewerk playlist, Westend’s tour schedule has turn out to be a showcase for a quickly rising artist who’s constructed a motion as a lot as a catalog.
Whether or not you favor the frenzy of basic progressive home or the grit of recent tech home, ‘Lighter’ lands in a candy spot: nostalgic in feeling, up to date in execution. It’s one more robust second for Westend’s discography and a outstanding new highlight for Darla Jade as she continues to cross from UK electropop into the broader dance world. ‘Lighter’ is on the market on all main platforms October 3.
