How Mexico City EDM duo RØZ turned Coachella buzz into a bold debut

Hugo Lara and Manolo Cabrera — the Mexican DJ brace amended known arsenic RØZ — casually strolled done Sightglass Coffee successful Hollywood, 1 gripping a half-melted iced coffee, the different an bare Erewhon foodstuff bottle.

To immoderate onlooker, they mightiness look arsenic 2 modular Gen Z Angelenos successful sardonic streetwear: 22-year-old Cabrera flaunted a chapeau that referenced the 2008 fiscal situation portion 25-year-old Lara’s faded tee read, “You don’t imagination of a amended mentation of yourself.”

But implicit the past year, this fresh-faced brace from Querétaro, a tiny authorities conscionable extracurricular Mexico City, has dominated the festival satellite circuit. Spinning heart-thumping physics beats and Latin location rhythms, RØZ has taken the signifier astatine galore a fashionable event, specified arsenic the astir caller Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Lollapalooza Chicago, Hard Summer, EDC Las Vegas and Sueños.

“We’ve had immense crowds astatine festivals, adjacent the workers connected signifier are like, ‘No way, you filled much venues than yesterday’s headliner,’” Cabrera told The Times. “We filled it up and radical started leaving for the adjacent person, which is evidently not cool. It feels awful. But you bash think: good! They worth Latinos and Mexicans now.”

Besides regaling ravers astatine their concerts — which volition proceed for the remainder of the calendar year, including a 20-city North American circuit that kicks disconnected successful Boston connected Oct. 21 — RØZ has landed different large creator goal.

“Everyone volition springiness [the album] a antithetic interpretation, but I deliberation the done enactment is the thought of drama, oregon poetic essence,” said Hugo Lara.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Last Friday, they released their archetypal full-length album, “Se Esta Haciendo Tarde.” It’s a 19-track, introspective debut that solidifies the duo’s lasting successful the EDM satellite arsenic some masterful mixers and vocalists.

“We are neither afloat DJs, oregon afloat singers, but artists,” said Cabrera. “Our shows, with the album, are going to beryllium america playing synths, astatine different constituent singing and astatine different constituent we premix immoderate songs.”

Featuring cameos from Latin superstars similar Peso Pluma, J Balvin and Ryan Castro, the LP itself is hard to specify arsenic simply location music; RØZ is known champion for peppering its EDM with a dense dose of Latino sazon. It’s a sonic look that the 2 erstwhile schoolmates person been mastering since they were nether lockdown from COVID.

This epoch besides saw the commercialized emergence of different Mexican artists successful their generation: Natanael Cano and Latin Mafia were among the astir salient Mexican acts who maximized their creativity during the isolation play and utilized societal media platforms similar TikTok to summation traction.

“It’s similar if Fred Again, Skrillex, Frank Ocean, Mora and Bad Bunny adopted a kid and raised him,” said Cabrera astir their ain music, which they began uploading to the streaming level Soundcloud successful 2022.

At the commencement of their disc jockey journey, they remixed already established songs, from Bad Bunny and Bomba Estéreo’s “Ojitos Lindos” to Bellakath’s “Gatita.” By 2024, they would merchandise their frosty archetypal track, “Cora de Hielo” nether Warner Music Mexico; this featured Natt Calma and Mau Moctezuma, artists whom they met done the section indie scene.

Their consequent releases went viral — including the dark-synth popular “Flashes” with Yng Lvcas and atmospheric “Apaga la Luz” with a alternatively mellowed show from Peso Pluma — which were released nether LT:Vision Records, Queens Road Music and Atlantic Records.

“At that time, emotions were secondary [in the music],” said Cabrera erstwhile looking backmost connected those aboriginal songs. “Perhaps we didn’t resonate with the artist’s lyrics, we mightiness person helped with immoderate ideas. But with this [new] project, we wanted to find much of a equilibrium — we privation to beryllium transparent, portion besides releasing f— bangers.”

Inspired by the transient quality of cherry blossoms, known successful Japan arsenic sakura — which is illustrated successful their medium cover, alongside a acheronian pegasus — overmuch of the LP besides hinges connected melodrama. Glitchy bushed drops successful “Acelero Lento” (featuring Chitra) slice into acoustic ballads. The bouncy freestyle bushed successful “Soho” melts into feverish popular harmonies. There’s besides an interlacing spiritual hymn successful “Yo Gospel” (featuring Rodrii) that showcases the heavenly vocals of an American-style religion choir.

“Everyone volition springiness [the album] a antithetic interpretation, but I deliberation the done enactment is the drama, oregon poetic essence,” said Lara. “Perhaps successful 10 years we volition perceive to the aforesaid opus and person a antithetic interpretation.”

The caller LP is imbued with assorted Latin genre fusions. In “Ya es de Noche” (featuring Rodrii and Olisso) they unfastened with neo-perreo rhythms that dilatory wade successful and retired of a cumbia-guided trance. In “Hanami,” named aft the accepted Japanese customized of observing a floral bloom, RØZ is joined by Colombian shaper Sky Rompiendo, whose pulsating reggaeton beats acquisition a warping process, arsenic their lyrics harp connected romanticist tension.

“Cherry blossoms lone past a while, truthful it was our mode of saying that we indispensable admit the infinitesimal successful which quality exists,” said Lara.

The magnetic propulsion of RØZ — whose signifier sanction is pronounced similar the 2nd syllable successful “arroz” — cannot beryllium overstated. They’ve already sold retired six shows successful their upcoming tour, which volition wrapper up Feb. 27 successful their location authorities of Querétaro. Their popularity comes astatine a clip erstwhile physics euphony was registered arsenic the largest-growing genre successful the U.S. successful the archetypal fractional of 2026, per Luminate’s 2026 information report, which besides recovered that casual monthly listenership successful Latin euphony peaked astatine 54% of streams successful the archetypal quarter.

The increasing admiration for Latin-fused EDM by Latino listeners was astir visually evident during their Coachella debut successful April. One attendee uploaded a video to Instagram showing the jammed entranceway to the Sonora Tent, which reached afloat capableness earlier the duo began their Sunday set: “Coachella underestimating the Latino crowds similar [what bash you mean] I can’t spot RØZ [because] it’s astatine afloat capableness some weekends,” the subtext connected the video read.

Even earlier their breakout year, connected the nighttime of their archetypal U.S. show connected the rooftop of the Fonda Theatre successful Los Angeles past August, the enactment to get wrong stretched crossed the Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk with attendees anxious to perceive the pair’s aboriginal tracks.

Still, it doesn’t astonishment RØZ that a Latino enactment similar themselves mightiness beryllium aboriginal connected the telephone expanse — oregon near to assemble a last-minute unit aft their archetypal squad ran into visa processing delays up of the archetypal Coachella weekend. “In this genre that we’re moving in, you’d ne'er representation a Latino headliner. Latinos are ever enactment down, down, down,” said Cabrera.

But immoderate milestones person fixed them religion that the mainstream satellite is opening up to putting Latino acts astatine the apical of the bill; including the information that Colombian vocalist Karol G was the archetypal Latina Coachella headliner this year. “And with euphony successful Spanish, not English,” marveled Lara.

And alternatively than sulk astir the conditions of Latino artists, RØZ is acceptable to enactment up a fight.

“Just due to the fact that I’m Mexican oregon Latino doesn’t mean that I can’t link with radical the aforesaid mode a idiosyncratic from the United States can,” said Cabrera. “Headlining is possible, without a doubt.”