After a year that reshaped both his life and sound, ZHU is back with a new full-length project. BLACK MIDAS is out now (April 24), and it leans fully into the darker, club-driven side of his catalog.

Framed as “techno as an attitude,” the album marks a clear return to the dancefloor, but not in a straightforward way. Instead, it plays out like a late-night narrative, built on atmosphere, tension, and space.

A Project Built From a Reset

The story behind BLACK MIDAS is just as heavy as the sound itself.

Following the Southern California Palisades wildfire, ZHU was displaced and spent much of 2025 living and creating on the road. With no permanent studio, he built the album piece by piece while traveling across the country, collaborating remotely and tapping into different environments along the way.

That experience ended up shaping the tone of the project. ZHU tells LA Weekly:

“2025 was survival mode… This album represents surviving.”

That context hits a little harder once you know what went into making the album.

Not Just Techno — Something Looser

While BLACK MIDAS sits in the techno lane, it doesn’t stay there the whole time.

Across 14 tracks, ZHU moves between deep house, melodic techno, and more experimental moments. Tracks like the title cut ‘BLACK MIDAS’ lean into heavy, driving energy, while others pull things back into slower, more introspective territory.

There are also a handful of collaborations scattered throughout, including Mahmut Orhan, THEY., Joyia, and GCBestBelieve — adding different textures without taking away from the overall mood.

Built for the Club, But Not Only the Club

If anything, the album feels like it was designed for a very specific time and place somewhere between a warehouse set and a solo late-night listen.

That lines up with ZHU’s recent BLACKLIZT concept, where he’s been focusing more on stripped-down DJ sets and darker club environments.

Instead of trying to balance radio-friendly tracks with club music, BLACK MIDAS commits to one lane at a time.

“If I’m going to make music for dancing, everybody better be dancing… I don’t want to do two things at the same time.”

A Different Kind of Comeback

ZHU has always moved a little differently than most artists in the electronic space and BLACK MIDAS continues that.

It’s not trying to be a big crossover album or a festival anthem collection. It feels more like a reset. Something more focused, more intentional, and a bit more raw.

And after everything that led up to it, that approach makes sense.