Rising genre-bending artist rouri404 released his second single of the year “body (i want you)” today on Red Bull Records. 
With futuristic synths, plucky soundboard adlibs, and a track composition that honors the best parts of EDM – rouri404 is redefining the space between emo-adjacent hyperpop and classic electronic music as he modernizes the genre. Lyrically, “body (i want you)” is an honest exploration of self, encompassing the challenges that can stand in the way of growth and embracing the journey for all its parts.
When asked about the story behind “body (i want you)”, rouri404 shares, “After getting sober in 2020, I began experiencing anxiety and stress-related seizures. It became difficult to hold a full-time job because I was constantly afraid that my mind or body would shut down on me. I felt like I had no control, like something could possess me at any moment and I’d be completely powerless. For a long time I blamed myself. I thought choices I made when I was younger had ruined me, permanently”.
“But with time I started to see things differently. I’ve come to believe that all my flaws for better or worse, have shaped who I am. They are still part of the story. I realized I’ll never feel truly comfortable in my own skin until I can treat the worst parts of myself as equal. “body” is my attempt to move through all of that, to sit with those thoughts and feelings as honestly and openly as I can,” rouri404 adds.
While his affinity for raw vocals and his layered, glitchy production are consistent with previous releases, rouri404 has entered into a new chapter of his personal sound. Drawing inspiration from legacy artists like Skrillex, while also sharing a lane with newer acts like 2hollis and ISOxo, rouri404 is taking different facets of the genre and arranging them in a way that only he can.
Following a transformational cross-country move from Orlando to Los Angeles earlier this year, rouri404 has hit the ground running with new music and a fresh direction, showcasing the evolution of his sound to fans and new listeners alike and is ready to make 2025 an unforgettable one.
Art and the internet are society’s last true equalizers, a refuge for the disadvantaged and dispossessed to take on an alias or avatar, rise above their circumstances and become whoever they want. Indeed, for most of his life, Orlando native Joseph (Joey) Cash thrived in the grids and waveforms of Logic and SoundCloud when more traditional structures failed him – a high school dropout at 16, Joey’s future was clouded by substances and self-doubt. By the beginning of 2021, Joey realized that he could not half-step his way towards transcendence.
Expanding beyond his early incarnation as a hyperpop artist, Joey took on the name rouri404 and finally became himself. Following 2022’s striking ‘GORE’ EP, rouri404 leans even harder into guitar-driven rock and emo, a showcase for his emerging talents as a lyricist, arranger and executive producer.
He’s coherent and concise, inspired by the duality that comes with creating art in online spaces – how does one reconcile the unlimited capacity for self-expression with the unlimited capacity for self-invention? rouri404 sees artists like the prolific Bones and the perfectionist Daft Punk as his two guardian angels; “I’ve found myself struggling between being mysterious with perfect visuals and perfect aesthetics and the other side of, I want to get as much out as fast as possible”. Yet, as rouri404’s skills and stature escalate, the creative process remains true to his origins as a lost soul with a lifeline to his audience, representing for people like himself – the misunderstood teens, the budding lyricists stuck behind the cash register of a dead-end job, the overwhelmed music nerds searching for something permanent in a time where everything feels disposable.
