If FRIDAY*’s 2023 debut EP Darling introduced Australia to one of its most intriguing new voices, his latest project rituals is the sound of that voice cracking wide open. Released via G.Y.R.O., the new EP marks a decisive pivot into darker, more experimental territory — a body of work shaped by identity, technology, and the strange loop of becoming someone new while old patterns still cling to you.

rituals is exactly what its title suggests: a meditation on the small, repetitive acts that quietly rewire us. Written through a period of personal upheaval, the EP captures the emotional turbulence of early adulthood — the breaking of habits, the formation of others, and the cycle of reinvention that never really stops. It’s a project that positions FRIDAY* not just as a musician, but as a next-generation creative voice building a fully realised sonic world.

At the heart of it all sits the focus track “braid,” and it might be the most complete statement FRIDAY* has made to date. In his own words, “braid is a song about a love triangle between you, another person, and the internet. I wanted to write about two people’s constructed online personas obstructing their journey to a genuine connection with each other.” It’s a concept that feels painfully current — the way our curated selves get in the way of the real thing — and FRIDAY* delivers it with a light touch that never tips into cynicism.

Production-wise, “braid” lives squarely within an Afrofuturist framework. Electronic textures are treated with organic intent, processed sounds behaving like a band in a room, blurring the line between the digital and the human. “I’ve been told that my music sounds like the internet,” FRIDAY* notes. “This is my first song that is also about the internet.” It’s a self-aware wink from an artist who knows exactly what he’s building.

The momentum around FRIDAY* has been steadily compounding. He’s played Laneway Festival and Vivid LIVE, opened for Paris Texas (USA) and 1300, and pulled consistent support from triple j, Double J, and FBi Radio, alongside DSP placements including Spotify’s New Music Friday AU & NZ and Apple Music’s New Music Daily. Add to that recognition as a triple j Unearthed Feature Artist of the Week, FBi Radio Independent Artist of the Week, and a feature in the ABC Full Circle documentary, and the picture is clear: this is an artist Australia is very much paying attention to.

He’s also firmly embedded in the Full Circle collective, running with Nick Ward, Sollyy, Breakfast Road, Dylan Atlantis, and Zion Garcia, while continuing to collaborate with the likes of Jerome Blazé, Station Hayds, Jack Slade, and Emjaysoul. It’s a community-driven creative universe, and rituals feels like a flagship release from within it.

Where Darling introduced FRIDAY* as a writer with something to say, rituals shows an artist with a fully formed world to invite you into — one defined by contrast, emotion, and forward-thinking production. If you’ve been sleeping on him, this is the moment to catch up.

Stream FRIDAY* on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0blI5gUBCHXkvOYrJ8kRvk

Press play on rituals, sit with “braid,” and see if you can tell where the internet ends and the human begins.