How a Young Girl's Rave Obsession Evolved Into Jessica Audiffred's Breakout Debut Album

Thursday, 1 May 2025 00:03

We often talk about electronic music as if it's all about the future, but Jessica Audiffred's "RAVE NEW WORLD" album reminds us that sometimes looking back is the only way to move forward.

The first time Jessica Audiffred experienced a proper rave, she didn't know she was peering directly into her future. She only knew she'd never be the same again.

The Mexico City-born DJ and producer today dropped her long-awaited debut album, RAVE NEW WORLD, which functions as a sonic autobiography tracing her evolution from wide-eyed raver to genre-defying artist.

From an early age, the EDM.com Class of 2025 star says she immersed herself in rave culture alongside her brother, forming a deep, almost spiritual connection to the scene long before dreams of DJing ever surfaced. What began as a pure obsession with trance music evolved into a boundless love of other sub-genres like techno and dubstep, shaping the artist Audiffred would become.

"My love for music grew so much that I wanted to be part of it, though it never crossed my mind that I could become a DJ and tour the world because of it," Audiffred recalls. "This album is an ode to those early rave experiences and everything good they’ve brought to my life. Raving is like a comfort zone for me, and I know it’s the same for many ravers around the world—a place to escape."

RAVE NEW WORLD opens with "Keloke," a collaboration with fellow Mexican producer urboi. that immediately establishes Audiffred's cultural roots. The sound of Mexico City's underground bubbles up through the cracks of a filthy bass track as Spanish-language vocals weave through acid-tinged synths.

"Rave On" emerges as one of the album's emotional highs, a euphoric freefall where chae's wistful lyrics ("My sweetest escape, take me back to the day when the journey began") shimmer under crystalline synthscapes before Audiffred detonates a thunderous dubstep drop. The track is nostalgia at full speed, conveying the spiritual experience of her formative rave days.

What makes RAVE NEW WORLD particularly compelling is Audiffred's willingness to venture beyond her comfort zone. "Goes Like" and her collaboration with Nostalgix on "Afterparty" see her pivoting toward bass house and techno with remarkable dexterity. These aren't dilettantish experiments but confident expansions of her sonic palette, suggesting a producer more interested in artistic growth than entrenchment.

The most revelatory moment comes with "I Wanna Be Free," a liquid drum & bass track where she trades brute force for raw vulnerability. Leah Culver's aching vocals capture the desperation of self-reclamation as Audiffred delivers the album's heaviest track, not by weight, but by heart.

The rest of RAVE NEW WORLD is vintage Audiffred: unfiltered bangers that make you want to run through a wall, like "Unleashed" (with JEANIE and Dani King) and "Destiny" (with AlienPark). To that end, the album reminds us of the unifying power of a well-crafted drop and the enduring appeal of dance music that makes you feel something visceral.

You can listen to the new album below and find it on streaming platforms here.