Bingkai Karya – Orlando’s breakout singer-songwriter and producer, rouri404 announced the anticipated release of his next EP, ‘crows,’ coming June 21 on Red Bull Records. Coinciding with the news, he delivered his new single, “skin”, cementing his place in the alternative/emo genre. Following the intensity of “shotgun carousel,” he debuts a stripped-back sound driven by acoustic guitar riffs and poignant lyrics. His formative hyperpop stylings surface throughout, in bouncy, glitching synths.
rouri404 shares, “On ‘skin’, I just wanted to touch on the feelings and thoughts of losing people in life on terms that you can’t really control. As simple as it is I think there’s a beauty in learning to let go and being able to find ways to cope and still move on with life, rolling with the punches instead of trying to always fight back.”
Since emerging from the SoundCloud scene, rouri404 has continuously evolved his sound, expanding his range as an artist. He embraces elements from a variety of genres and cybercultures, proving that he’s not bound to one style. Most recently, he launched a series of emo covers on TikTok, putting his spin on pop-punk classics like The Story So Far’s “Clairvoyant”. His latest work on Red Bull Records showcases his
ability to turn introspection into art, with tracks like “spit” and “numb” pulling back the curtain on his boundless production. Stay tuned for more to come from rouri404.
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 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.
