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Top Legal Online Sweepstakes Casino Platforms 2025 Guide

Sebastian Bickley
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Top Legal Online Sweepstakes Casino Platforms 2025 Guide

As real-money gambling laws tighten across the U.S., legal online sweepstakes casino platforms are becoming the preferred way to play safely and legally. They let users enjoy casino-style games and redeem real prizes without risking actual money. 

These platforms follow federal sweepstakes laws, meaning all purchases are optional and players’ gameplay remains transparent.

However, with over a hundred active operators, choosing the best online sweepstakes casino can be tricky, so we’ve rounded up the safest, most rewarding, and fully legal options for American players this year.

Let’s explore how these platforms work and what makes them the top picks for 2025. 

What Are Legal Sweepstakes Casinos and How Do They Work?

Sweepstakes casinos online are legal gaming platforms that look like regular casinos but operate under sweepstakes laws rather than gambling laws. 

Instead of betting real money, players use two virtual currencies: Gold Coins (GCs) for free play and Sweeps Coins (SCs) that can be redeemed for real cash prizes. You can get SCs for free through daily bonuses, social giveaways, or when purchasing GCs.

To participate, players simply register, play games, collect winnings, and redeem prizes through the platform’s verified withdrawal system. 

This makes legal online sweepstakes casino platforms a safe, compliant, and fun alternative to traditional gambling.

How to Identify a Legal Online Sweepstakes Casino Platform

Knowing how to spot a legal online sweepstakes casino helps you play safely and avoid scams. Here’s what to check:

Licensing & Transparency

Legit online sweepstakes platforms clearly display their licensing details, privacy policies, and Terms & Conditions. They must comply with U.S. sweepstakes laws. 

Trusted sites use strong SSL encryption to protect user data and undergo independent third-party audits to ensure fair and random gameplay. 

It is advised to always look for verified payout information and open compliance reports before choosing any sweeps platform. 

Security & Responsible Play

Trusted casinos prioritize player safety through secure logins and identity verification to prevent fraud. 

They also promote responsible gaming with built-in deposit limits, cooling-off periods, and session reminders to prevent excessive play. 

Every reputable site follows U.S. sweepstakes laws, including the Alternative Means of Entry (AMOE) rule, ensuring fair participation with or without purchases.

Redemption & Fair Payouts

Redemption speed is a strong sign of trust. At a legal sweepstakes casino platform, players can convert Sweeps Coins (SCs) into USD cash prizes once their identity is verified. 

Legit platforms support fast and secure redemptions via bank transfer, e-wallets, or prepaid cards. For instance, top sites process payouts within 24 hours to 10 days, depending on the payout method.

Features That Define the Best Sweepstakes Platforms in 2025

The best online sweepstakes stand out for their game variety, software quality, user experience, and reward systems. Here’s what separates the top performers from the rest:

Game Variety and Software Quality

Leading online sweepstakes casinos now feature vast game libraries, often 1,000+ titles, covering slots, table games, bingo, and even themed options like fish shooting or story-based slots. 

But it’s not just about numbers; quality matters just as much. That’s why it’s important to look for platforms powered by trusted developers such as NetEnt, Hacksaw Gaming, BetSoft, and Nolimit City. 

These sites regularly update their collections to ensure fair play, smooth performance, and consistently engaging gameplay.

Bonuses, Promotions, and Free Credits

A big part of what makes the best platforms stand out is their sweepstakes casino bonuses. The top sites welcome new players with generous bundles of free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, often through no-deposit offers or easy sign-up rewards.

The key is transparency, so always look for casinos with simple terms and no wagering conditions to get the most value from every bonus.

Real-Money Play and Mobile Access

Top legal online sweepstakes casino platforms offer a smooth, cross-device experience, whether you’re playing on desktop, tablet, or mobile. 

Most feature instant play through your browser, with some also offering lightweight apps for faster access.

Top 3 Sweepstakes Platforms to Watch in 2025 

Bit Of Gold: A Premium Sweepstakes Hub 

Bit Of Gold stands out as a legal sweepstakes platform that delivers a smooth, multi-platform experience across desktop and mobile. 

Players can explore over 1,000 titles, from classic slots and fish shooter games to progressive jackpots, all powered by RNG-certified software for fair results and transparent play.

Players can enjoy top-rated titles, including the fan-favorite Vegas7 Games, directly on Bit Of Gold’s platform, which is known for its vibrant gameplay, smooth performance, and generous bonus rewards.

With daily login bonuses, free credits, and a user-friendly mobile app, BitOfGold offers a seamless gaming experience. 

Bit Spin Win: Fast-Paced Sweepstakes Casino 

BitSpinWin is a high-performance legal online sweepstakes platform known for its quick load times, real-time tournaments, and smooth cross-device gameplay. 

With over 4,000 games, including slots, table games, and live casino titles, it delivers both variety and speed. 

Whether you prefer progressive jackpots or community slots, you can start playing on Bit Spin Win’s official sweepstakes website to experience fast and fair gaming.

The platform uses provably fair technology, integrates games from multiple top providers, and offers 24/7 customer support for a reliable experience. 

Players can also benefit from crypto-based bonuses, high RTP rates, and fast, flexible redemption options for smoother payouts.

Popular titles like Tai Chi Master 777 make Bit Spin Win a top pick for sweepstakes fans seeking security, rewards, and modern gameplay.

LuckyLand Slots: Trusted U.S. Sweepstakes Platform 

LuckyLand Slots is a U.S.-licensed sweepstakes platform, legal in 40+ states, and widely loved for its easy-to-use coin system and smooth redemption process. 

Players can enjoy exciting slots and jackpots without any deposit requirement, making it perfect for casual players and social sweepstakes fans. 

The platform offers Gold Coins for free play and Sweeps Coins for real prizes, all through a secure and verified system. 

With its mobile app, daily login rewards, and constantly updated slot mechanics, LuckyLand delivers a safe, fun, and rewarding gaming experience for every player.

How to Get Started on a Legal Sweepstakes Casino in 2025

Learning to play at real-money online sweepstakes casinos is simple and beginner-friendly. 

  • Register an account: Sign up using a valid email; no deposit is required to begin.
  • Verify your identity: Confirm your details and accept the site’s sweepstakes terms.
  • Collect your currencies: Receive Gold Coins for free play and Sweeps Coins for real prize redemption.
  • Play eligible games: Use SCs to participate in slots, table games, or tournaments.
  • Redeem winnings: Cash out through secure payout methods like e-wallets or bank transfers.

Pro tip: Always choose verified platforms, confirm legal compliance, and play on sites with transparent redemption policies.

Conclusion

Legal online sweepstakes casino platforms offer a safe, fair, and accessible way to enjoy casino-style gaming across most U.S. states. 

They stand out for their transparent redemption systems, diverse game selections, and strict compliance with federal sweepstakes laws. 

These community-driven platforms combine fun with fairness, allowing players to win prizes without risking real money. 

Whether you’re in it for entertainment or rewards, always play responsibly and verify each platform’s legitimacy before you start.

FAQs 

What makes a sweepstakes casino legal in the U.S.?

Sweepstakes casinos are legal because they operate under a promotional sweepstakes model, not under gambling laws. Players can join for free, and all purchases are optional under federal sweepstakes regulations.

Can you win real money at a sweepstakes casino?
 Yes. Players can redeem Sweeps Coins for real cash prizes once their accounts are verified. Redemption typically occurs through secure methods such as bank transfers or e-wallets.

Are sweepstakes casinos safe to play on?
Yes, as long as the platform is verified, SSL-protected, and licensed under U.S. sweepstakes law. Always check for fair-play certifications and transparent terms.

Do sweepstakes casinos require deposits?
No. Players can play using free or promotional coins such as Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, making it risk-free and accessible to everyone.

Which sweepstakes platforms are trending in 2025?
Top names include BitOfGold, BitSpinWin, and LuckyLand Slots.. They are gaining traction for their fast, fair, and engaging gameplay.

Helldivers 2 Launches New Update for Into The Unjust

Prince Addams
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Helldivers 2 Launches New Update for Into The Unjust

Helldivers 2 has just received a new small update for November 2025. This latest patch mainly affects the Into The Unjust content of the third-person shooter title. It also comes at a crucial time. The game has been facing many problems since its big update last September. For version 4.1.1, the developers focused on balance improvements and stability.

Addressing Crashes in Helldivers 2

According to Arrowhead Game Studios, one of the main focuses of the update is stopping crashes. Particularly, it resolved issues that happen during hot joins and weapon customization. In the same way, this was applied to when existing players use stratagems. A rare crash when enemies fall through the ground has also been fixed. Mission stability has improved as well. Specifically, this patch gets rid of problems players experience when triggering encounters in missions. Also, this will no longer be an issue with mission load.

Miscellaneous Improvements in Helldivers 2

Based on the official Steam announcement, version 4.1.1 brings many quality-of-life tweaks. In detail, players will find the extraction shuttle now working properly. It does not force players into the landing stage when they bump into tall structures around landing pads. At the same time, gamepad users benefit from restored haptic feedback when controllers disconnect or reconnect. Players also no longer have to deal with ragdolls falling through the ground during tutorials. Plus, there are light fixes on texture management. The game now stops accidentally loading unused textures into memory on specific planet types.

Optimizations in Helldivers 2

The developers also said they settled the low-resolution texture issue for PC players. In the same way, the game now has an improved FOV, delivering better visibility during combat. It is due to the lowered muzzle smoke flashlight reaction on every weapon. The patch also has more consistent frame rates during the drop-in sequence. On top of that, the destruction of tree assets has been refined.

Availability

Version 4.1.1 of Helldivers 2 is now available to all players on supported platforms. For the complete patch notes, check out its official Steam page.

Looking Ahead

Before this update, players had been sharing all of their concerns about technical issues. This situation forced Arrowhead Game Studios to first deal with recent problems. However, this pushed new content updates to later dates. The good news is that the developer is still improving the game. In fact, they want to know how players feel. So, fans can expect things to run smoothly moving forward.  

Stop ‘Limping’ in Poker: Why ‘Raising’ Is the First Pro-Level Habit to Build

Sebastian Bickley
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Stop ‘Limping’ in Poker: Why ‘Raising’ Is the First Pro-Level Habit to Build

Watch any table of new poker players, and you will hear it: call. One player, then the next, just passively calls the big blind. It feels safe. It feels cheap. It is a way to see a flop without “risking” too much. This move, known as “open-limping,” is also the single most reliable sign of a beginner.

It is the biggest and most costly “leak” in a new player’s game.

We have all done it. But the hard truth is this: limping is not a strategy; it is a surrender. It is playing “not to lose” rather than “to win.” If you are serious about improving, the very first habit you must build is to replace your passive limps with aggressive raises. This is the first, and most important, pro-level habit to build.

The Strategic Sickness: What Is Limping and Why Is It So Bad?

First, let’s be clear on the terminology. An “open-limp” is when you are the first player to enter the pot, and you do so by just calling the big blind. (Calling after someone else has already limped is “over-limping”—also bad, but a different problem).

It seems harmless. For the price of one big blind, you get to see three cards. What could be wrong with that? The answer is: everything.

Why Limping Is a Beginner’s Trap

This passive, “hope-based” strategy is a leak that bleeds chips over the long term. You are hoping to hit a miracle two-pair or a flush draw on the cheap. But poker is a game of skill, not just hope. Serious players do not rely on luck; they make decisions that have a positive expected value. When you are playing, whether at a home game or on a competitive platform like https://fortunica-online.com/en-gb, the goal is to put yourself in profitable situations. The online environment is tough, and passive, predictable players are the first to get exploited by aggressive opponents. Limping is a blinking neon sign that tells the table, “I am a new player, and you can take my chips.”

The strategic damage it does to your game is immense, and it happens in four distinct ways.

The Four Ways Limping Destroys Your Win Rate

Let’s break down the specific damage that limping causes.

  1. You surrender the initiative: The single most important advantage in poker is “the initiative.” This means you are the player driving the action, forcing others to react to you. When you limp, you hand the initiative to anyone behind you who decides to raise. You are instantly on the defensive.
  2. You invite too many players: Limping gives the rest of the table fantastic pot odds to call. Soon, you have four or five other players in the hand. Your “strong” hand, like A-K, loses a massive amount of its value when played against five random hands. It is incredibly difficult to win multi-way pots.
  3. You cannot win the pot pre-flop: When you limp, you have exactly zero per cent chance of winning the pot right there. A raise, however, gives you a second way to win: everyone else folds. This is called “taking down the blinds,” and it is a core part of any winning player’s strategy.
  4. You play “Face Up”: Limping makes your hand range obvious. When you limp and then suddenly bet big on an Ace-high flop, everyone knows you have an Ace. If you limp and then fold to a raise, you have just given away your blind. You become predictable and easy to play against.

The Power of the Raise: Seizing Control

Now, let’s look at the powerful alternative: the “open-raise.” This is when you are the first person to enter the pot, and you do it by raising (typically 3x or 4x the big blind).

This simple switch, from a passive call to an aggressive raise, fundamentally changes the dynamic of the hand in your favour.

The Three Reasons Raising Is a Pro-Level Habit

This habit is not about being a “maniac”; it is about being a focused, aggressive, and smart player.

Here are the key benefits:

  • It seizes the initiative: You are now the “aggressor.” You are the one asking the questions. Your opponents must react to you. This allows you to make a “continuation bet” on the flop, even if you do not hit it, and often win the pot simply because you have shown the most strength.
  • It defines your opponent’s hand: When you raise, and someone calls, their range of possible hands is much narrower than if they just limped. You have gained valuable information. If they re-raise (3-bet) you, you gain even more.
  • It isolates opponents: A raise often forces out the weaker, speculative hands that would have limped. This is a good thing. You want to play against one, maybe two, opponents, not five. Your strong hands have a much higher chance of winning.

How to Stop Limping and Start Raising (A Practical Guide)

Knowing why you should raise is the easy part. Breaking the limping habit is harder because raising feels riskier. You must be prepared to fold or bet more chips.

Here is how you can build the habit and start to think like a professional.

Defining Your “Open-Raising” Range

This does not mean you should raise every hand. That is a quick way to lose your stack. This is about replacing your limping range with a raising range and a folding range.

The key rule is: If a hand is not strong enough to open-raise with, it is not strong enough to limp with. It is a fold.

A simple (but effective) way to start:

  • From early position (first to act): Only raise your premium hands (e.g., AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQs, JJ, TT). Fold everything else.
  • From mid-position: You can add some more strong hands (e.g., 99, 88, KQs, JTs).
  • From late position (the “Button”): This is where you make your money. You can “open up” your raising range significantly (e.g., A5s, KJo, QTs, 77, 66, T9s).

This is a simplified guide, but it is a strong foundation. The goal is to enter the pot with a strong, aggressive action that puts pressure on your opponents.

A Clear Comparison

This table summarises the strategic difference between the two actions.

Strategic Factor Limping (Passive) Raising (Aggressive)
Control of Hand Surrendered to others Seized immediately
Ways to Win One (must have best hand at showdown) Two (opponent folds OR best hand)
Information Gained Almost none. Pot gets bloated. Defines opponent’s hand range.
Hand Image Weak, passive, exploitable. Strong, aggressive, respected.
Typical Outcome Plays a small, multi-way pot with a weak range. Plays a larger, heads-up pot with a strong range.

This table clearly shows why one path is for beginners and the other is for players who want to win.

From Passive Player to Pot Contender

Breaking the limping habit is the single fastest way to graduate from a beginner to an intermediate player. It is the very first strategic hurdle you must overcome.

Limping feels safe, but it is a strategic surrender. It bleeds chips, gives away free information, and forfeits all control of the hand. Raising, on the other hand, is an act of aggression. It seizes control, gathers information, narrows the field, and gives you two ways to win the pot.

Your task is simple: for your next five poker sessions, make a firm rule. You are not allowed to open-Limp. Not once. If you are the first player to enter a pot, you have only two options: fold or raise. This one change will be uncomfortable, but it will force you to think critically about your hand strength, your position, and your opponents. It is the first and most important step to thinking, and playing, like a pro.

Book Review: Anika Jade Levy, ‘Flat Earth’

Sam Franzini
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Book Review: Anika Jade Levy, ‘Flat Earth’

Avery, a grad school writer who doesn’t write, is addicted to prescriptions while toiling in the shadow of her best friend, Frances, whose film on small-town psychoamericana is much more revealing than her status reports Avery writes for a right-wing dating app. When Frances sends her the final cut of her movie, Flat Earth, Avery freaks out. “My only accomplishments were a maxed-out credit card I used to cut up stimulants and the initials of a man I hated carved into my chest,” she thinks.

Sound familiar? There are two genres of literary fiction that irk me: the MFA novel, a usually tender work of family and placid conversations that feel reworked to catch Oprah or Reese Witherspoon’s eye for a movie adaptation, and the New York novel, a disaffected, bare thing of skeletal prose about a narrator’s dissatisfaction with life. Anika Jade Levy’s debut falls into this camp, with Avery tottering around art shows, following Frances around, going on dates with older men and feeling bad about it. “I started taking pseudoephedrine and trying to write a few hundred words every day,” one paragraph starts. “I wanted new clothes, but my credit cards were maxed out. I missed Frances, but I only called her to complain. I tried to skim the newspaper, to concern myself with world events, but I had forgotten how to read without stimulants.” After a while, this can get sort of numbing.

Levy’s style is punchy but bare — “When I did manage to write, there was no plot, just prose,” Avery writes. “I told myself this was because I was a socialist or something, uninterested in the commercial potential of books.” Later she mentions not being one of those writers who insists on “colonizing the empty page.” The prose resembles the druggy stream-of-consciousness Ottessa Moshfegh used for her sad-girl blueprint My Year of Rest and Relaxation mixed with quip-laden books by Jenny Offill and Patricia Lockwood, two writers who (with mixed results) try to capture the cheeky ego-melting process of living your life through your phone. But sometimes Avery confuses tweetability with astuteness, and it results in some dull lines: “I imagined all the skyscrapers penetrating me,” she thinks, or “I felt confused because I didn’t really know the difference between love and money,” which feels like a parody of a Lana Del Rey song. When she’s at a party and suggests she “should have double-majored in sucking cock and carrying Narcan,” her conversational partner pivots. 

That being said, Levy does keenly hit on some small doses of contemporary American life — whether in the literary world or not — that feels indicative of the sort of world she’s trying to conjure, one of near-future obliteration via short form video-propagated conspiracy theories and general insanity. The United States is now the land of teaching mothers how to buy Instagram followers, confederate flag bikinis, 3D-printed assault rifles, women who use in-flight entertainment to watch planes blowing up, or a “culturally sensitive globe” on a law professor’s desk that “paid special attention to historically disputed territories.” “I heard that book has a good rape in it,” someone named Forrest says. These images are striking, poky, and often very funny. 

The best moments come when Avery is at her lowest; on her knees, figuratively or literally. She awkwardly tries to demonstrate her Roberto Bolaño tattoo to a man who named the author as one of his influences in an Artforum interview (she herself had never read him). And during one writing class, she turns in a story about a long-lasting magic lipstick that still holds after fifty blowjobs. “Can I give you a piece of advice?” the teacher tells her. “I don’t think you should write about your own life.”

At the beginning of the novel, when Avery is touring around middle America with Frances to gather footage for her documentary, the vignettes are free-flowing, capturing something vague and essential. “I feel like I’m really learning something about America,” Alexandra Tanner writes in Jewish Currents for her Covid-induced mommy-blogger internet spiral, a line I use frequently and one I thought about while Levy depicts people on the edge whose lives have been rattled by politics and/or the internet. Avery and Frances wander around “postindustrial towns ravaged by QAnon and synthetic opioids and dead factories,” speaking with eugenicists or radicals, learning each others’ rhythms, like which books they keep on their hotel nightstands and don’t read, and “trying to make something really American,” which sort of mirrors Tanner’s line. It works — these scenes are vivid and lush, even if they are describing relative depravity. But back in the city, the worldview seems to fizzle. If this is a strategy — mirroring Avery’s own resentment with her own life — it is not a particularly exciting one to read, even if it is clever. The high dissipates in New York, and you’re left wishing you could come back.

Maybe we are just inundated with novels about New York City life that a new one doesn’t, on first arrival, seem to present anything new to say about the area or culture. There are pretentious sculptors and bad friends and awkward sex, this we know. Flat Earth, Frances’ documentary, is something special; we sense Avery’s jealousy as she goes from event to event, trying to re-create the magic of discovering something new. “I wanted something to happen to me,” Levy writes at one point. “The essential thing was to get out of New York.” Seems like a good place to start.

Flat Earth is out now.

8 AV Musts for Music and Film Festivals in 2025

Abbie Wilson
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8 AV Musts for Music and Film Festivals in 2025

When organizing music and film festivals, the magic isn’t just on stage or screen. It’s behind the scenes where technology makes every moment unforgettable.

From handling intricate audio setups to ensuring seamless visuals for large audiences, proper AV strategies make all the difference.

Whether you’re managing artist comfort or audience satisfaction, knowing what tools and practices work best ensures everything runs smoothly. Each detail impacts experience—often in ways most people never notice unless something goes wrong.

Here are eight essential AV considerations to keep things perfect.

1. RF Coordination

Wireless microphones, in-ear monitors (IEMs), and communication devices are vital at festivals. However, with so many frequencies at play, interference can derail performances or disrupt communication between crews.

Proper RF coordination prevents this chaos by ensuring every device has a clear frequency to operate on without overlap. Skilled technicians, like a Las Vegas audio visual crew for events, use spectrum analyzers and planning software to manage the crowded airwaves, especially in dense urban settings.

2. Redundant Power

While RF coordination ensures smooth wireless communication, power failures can bring everything to a standstill. Festivals rely on redundant power systems to avoid interruptions during performances or screenings.

Backup generators, UPS (uninterruptible power supply) units, and distribution monitoring ensure equipment stays powered even if the main source fails. Technicians strategically place these systems to cover critical components, such as LED walls, audio consoles, and cameras.

3. Broadcast Mixes for Streams

With live streaming becoming a staple of festivals, creating a broadcast mix tailored for online viewers is essential. The audio needs to translate perfectly across headphones, home speakers, and mobile devices.

Broadcast engineers balance audience noise with on-stage sound, ensuring an immersive experience that matches the in-person experience. They use isolated mixes separate from venue outputs to avoid over-amplified crowd noise or unbalanced instrument levels.

4. Audio-Over-IP

Modern festivals demand complex audio setups, often across large venues or multiple stages. Audio-over-IP (AoIP) technology simplifies this by transmitting high-quality sound over standard network cables.

This approach replaces bulky analog wiring with lightweight Ethernet connections, enabling faster setup and greater adaptability. AoIP systems also enable centralized control of audio routing, allowing engineers to make real-time changes without physical rewiring.

5. LED Wall Specs

LED walls are central to delivering stunning visuals, especially at outdoor concerts and festivals. However, not all LED panels are created equal. Pixel pitch, brightness levels, and refresh rates directly impact how well audiences can see the display.

For large-scale events, lower pixel pitches ensure sharp images even at close range. High brightness is crucial to combat sunlight in open-air settings. Meanwhile, higher refresh rates prevent flickering during video playback or live streaming.

6. Show Calling and Comms

Festivals rely on precise timing and coordination to keep schedules on track, especially during tightly packed lineups. Show calling, supported by robust communication systems, ensures every cue occurs exactly when it should, without disruption or delay.

Show callers use detailed run sheets to guide lighting changes, video playback, and stage transitions down to the second. Clear comms systems with wireless headsets allow technical crews spread across large venues or multiple stages to receive real-time updates effortlessly.

7. Timecode Sync

For music and film festivals featuring intricate visuals, lighting effects, or pyrotechnics, timecode synchronization is a must. This technology ensures every element aligns perfectly with the performance.

Timecode acts like a universal clock, keeping video playback, lighting cues, and special effects in sync with live audio or pre-recorded tracks. Technicians program each cue to trigger at precise moments down to milliseconds.

8. Sustainability-Friendly Gear

Finally, the industry’s push toward sustainability makes eco-friendly AV gear essential in 2025. Festivals are adopting energy-efficient equipment and renewable power solutions to reduce their environmental impact.

LED lighting with lower power consumption, battery-operated wireless systems, and recyclable staging materials contribute to greener operations. Some crews even use solar-powered generators for certain operations or partner with green-certified suppliers to further enhance sustainability while efficiently meeting modern production demands.

Conclusion

As music and film festivals evolve, so do the tools and strategies that make them successful. Behind every stunning performance or cinematic moment lies a world of technical precision, shaping the experience for audiences and artists alike.

Whether it’s ensuring seamless sound, perfect visuals, or eco-conscious production methods, these AV essentials define how events thrive in 2025. The details may be invisible to most, but their impact is undeniable.

Jiaxin Chen’s City in Dual Exposure: When Photography Becomes an Act of Perception

Abbie Wilson
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Jiaxin Chen’s City in Dual Exposure: When Photography Becomes an Act of Perception

At the Photobook Cafe in Shoreditch, Jiaxin Chen’s City in Dual Exposure: Between Memory and Present, re-imagines the use of the language of Urban Photography. Through a series of illuminated panels, layered prints and other techniques the city of Hong Kong is presented as a subject of temporal collapse, rather than as a static entity. The city’s image is broken apart, put back together again, and finally, undermined.

Jiaxin Chen’s method of working destroys the idea of the photograph as a static representation. She views the photographic medium as an active surface — one in which the processes of perception, material and time come together. Using photographic experimentation (double exposure, cyanotype staining, montage, and physically manipulating) Jiaxin Chen questions the way a city can be simultaneously remembered and continuously rewritten. As such, her photographs exist somewhere between the realms of documentation and abstraction, just like the instability of memory itself.

Recurring throughout her photographs are familiar fragments of Hong Kong, (the red taxi, neon signs, and mirrored tower skyscrapers), however Jiaxin Chen resists framing these fragments as icons. Rather they appear as disjointed moments, layered and re-layered, until their ability to create a coherent narrative is lost. Buildings fold over onto one another, streets move from one location to another within the confines of a single frame, and light fractures across the surface of her photographs. Jiaxin Chen’s compositions vacillate between order and chaos, and represent the fragile balance between history and speed of development in Hong Kong.

The center cube installation is the exhibitions’ most dominant feature. Each face of the cube has a densely composed photographic collage displayed in the interior of the cube. Depending upon your position in relation to the cube, you will see conflicting perspectives of the same taxi, for example, daylight on one face of the cube and nighttime on the opposite face. Light leaking through the seams of the cube eliminate all spatial reasoning and encourage the viewer to walk around it. Functionally the cube serves both as sculpture and lens, destroying the difference between photograph and space.

Jiaxin Chen’s manipulation of surface — through bending, rubbing, and layering — reinforce her dismissal of photographic purity. The cyanotype tones used in the majority of her photographs are not merely decorative; they have conceptual properties. The tones evoke both the chemical residue of early photographic chemistry and a sense of distant longing. Jiaxin Chen’s material manipulations place her in the company of photographers who are currently concerned with the physical properties of photography, yet her concern continues to be with perception rather than nostalgia.

In her statement, Chen refers to Foucault’s concept of heterotopia and Benjamin’s theory of urban simultaneity — references that underpin, rather than overwhelm, the work. Each composition exists as a heterotopic space — the meeting point of two disparate realities that exist without reconciliation. The city exists as a theater of simultaneity — progress and decline, spectacle and silence, surface and shadow. In this fluid context, the viewer encounters not a single Hong Kong, but multiple versions of Hong Kong, layered and unstable.

Photobook Cafe’s muted lighting heightens the effect of this environment. Each photograph emits soft light off the surrounding white walls, projecting fragmented elements of the city into the space. Reflections cascade into the space creating the viewer’s outline with the image. The soft, mutual encroachment of the viewer’s silhouette with the image, reinforces Jiaxin Chen’s concern with perception — the act of looking is a fundamental component of the work’s architecture.

DONKI is perhaps one of the most striking photographs in the show. A diptych separated by tone and temperature, DONKI presents a woman waiting in relative stillness in cool-toned cyan light on one side of the diptych, and a street performer performing amidst saturated signage on the opposing side. The juxtaposition creates an unresolvable dialogue between stasis and motion, solitude and spectacle. Here, Chen captures the rhythm of a city always moving between action and contemplation.

What sets City in Dual Exposure apart from most urban photography is its refusal to sentimentalize. Jiaxin Chen does not engage in either nostalgic reverence nor documentary neutrality. Rather, she addresses Hong Kong as a condition — a continually rewriting and revising system of images and histories. Hong Kong is neither represented as lost or found, but as forever becoming. Chen’s photographs convey the power of dissonance rather than closure, suggesting that urban memory is an active, fluid process.

In an era characterized by rapid digital reproduction and compressed urban imagery, Jiaxin Chen restores photographic depth of time and material. Her Hong Kong is not a postcard or an archive; it is a space of interference, where memories flicker in and out of focus. The exhibition invites viewers to slow down, to view the city not as spectacle, but as an accumulation — of light, of surface, of time.

Jiaxin Chen has demonstrated herself to be a serious and innovative photographer in the current landscape of contemporary photography. Her work locates itself within critical theory without succumbing to it, and maintains an awareness of form, texture, and perception. These are not photographs to glance at, but environments to be experienced — cities that continue to unfold long after the light fades.

Battlefield 6 Redsec: How to Unlock Safes

Shubhendu Vatsa
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Battlefield 6 Redsec: How to Unlock Safes

Locked Safes are a form of loot chest in Battlefield 6: RedSec scattered all across the map that come packed with weapons, gear, and attachments and can give you and your squad a leg up if you manage to find one, especially early in the match. To open a Locked Safe in RedSec, all you need is a Repair Tool, which also happens to be one of the iconic pieces of Battlefield gear for repairing friendly vehicles or burning through enemy armor. However, it also has a lesser-known function. A Repair Tool can tighten and loosen hex bolts, thus making it surprisingly useful for unlocking Safes in Battlefield 6: RedSec. Since Safes are bolted shut, the Repair Tool can easily bust them open to give you and your squad access to valuable loot. So, if you want to treat yourself to some high-value gear, here’s how you can unlock Safes in Battlefield 6: RedSec.

How to Unlock Safes in Battlefield 6 Redsec

As we already mentioned, to access a Locked Safe in Battlefield 6: RedSec, you’ll need a Repair Tool and since the Repair Tool is exclusive to the Engineer Class, make sure there’s an Engineer in your squad before you go Safe hunting. Once that’s sorted, unlocking a Safe in Battlefield 6: RedSec is fairly simple and all you have to do is equip the Repair Tool, aim it at the Locked Safe, and start cutting through. After a couple of seconds, the Safe will crack open, revealing all the items inside.

Locked Safes in Battlefield 6: RedSec usually contain a number of high-value items, such as rare weapons, Armor Plates, Call-In Gadgets, alongside Intel Cases that offer quick XP. You can find safes in Battlefield 6: RedSec inside buildings at major POIs across the Fort Lyndon map and they are relatively easy to spot, thus making them one of the best ways to get quality loot early with very little to no work, assuming you’re lucky enough to come across one.

11 New Songs Out Today to Listen To: Nothing, underscores, and More

Konstantinos Pappis
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11 New Songs Out Today to Listen To: Nothing, underscores, and More

There’s so much music coming out all the time that it’s hard to keep track. On those days when the influx of new tracks is particularly overwhelming, we sift through the noise to bring you a curated list of the most interesting new releases (the best of which will be added to our Best New Songs playlist). Below, check out our track roundup for Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

NOTHING – ‘cannibal world’

NOTHING are back with the announcement of their next album, a short history of decay, which is led by the frantic and intense single ‘cannibal world’.  It comes paired with a music video directed by Ben Ditto.

underscores – ‘Do It’

It’s ridiculous just how instantly catchy ‘Do It’ is. The latest single from New York-based hyperpop artist underscores puts more emphasis on the pop than the hyper, and it was written, produced, performed, mixed, and mastered by underscores, who also directed the music video.

José González – ‘Pajarito’

José González has shared a short, lovely new single, ‘Pajarito’, his first since 2022. About the track, which was written for his four-year-old son Mateo, the singer-songwriter said: “Now and then, I want to write songs that are timeless, simple, and carefree. ‘Pajarito’ is about growing up, learning things, and eventually becoming independent. As usual, there’s also an existential undertone — the meaning of life is something that can emerge gradually as one gets to know the world, more as something you discover for yourself and not necessarily something dictated from above. This one is inspired by songs like ’59th Street Bridge Song’ (Simon & Garfunkel) and ‘Río’ (Silvio Rodríguez), but also by all the children’s songs that have become part of our everyday life in recent years (Alice Tegnér, Georg Riedel, María Elena Walsh).

“This is the follow-up to Lilla Gumman (Lilla G), which I wrote when I was thinking of Laura,” he added. “Of course, I had to write a song dedicated to Mateo as well!”

deathcrash – ‘Triumph’

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from deathcrash, the slowcore/post-rock quartet whose last album was 2023’s Less. Today, they’re back with a heavy, radiant song called ‘Triumph’. “This song is about fighting the urge to drive into oncoming traffic,” the band remarked. “It marks Patrick’s return to songwriting. It shows that growing up is no ‘triumph’, but an occasionally graceful and occasionally bitter acceptance of who you are now.” Bassist Patrick Fitzgerald also co-directed the song’s video with St.Teilo.

SPELLLING – ‘Destiny Arrives’ [feat. Weyes Blood]

Weyes Blood makes a striking contribution to a new version of ‘Destiny Arrives’, from SPELLLING’s latest album Portrait of My Heart. “Weyes Blood has been a dream artist to collaborate with for a long time now,” shared. “I’m so honored to have her timeless voice on this reimagined version of ‘Destiny Arrives’. She stepped into the song so gracefully and added such an epic glow to the feeling of the song through her own lyrical contribution and very intimate interpretation of the song.” Weyes Blood added, “The strange fantastical universe Tia’s built under the moniker SPELLLING has always captivated me, and when she asked me to sing on ‘Destiny Arrives’ I was there for the ride.”

Whitney – ‘Evangeline’ [feat. Madison Cunningham]

Madison Cunningham has recently collaborated with indie folk veterans like Fleet Foxes and Andrew Bird. Today, she guests on ‘Evangeline’, the grandiose final single off the band’s imminent new album Small Talk. “The most crucial moment of writing ‘Evangeline’ came when, after weeks of failed experiments, we leaned into the theatricality of the chorus,” Julien Ehrlich recalled. “Max put midi timpanis and string pads underneath the vocals and the whole sentiment of the song clicked into place for us. In hindsight it was probably the main instance where having a producer in the room could have led us to the finish line a bit quicker but nevertheless we got there. It wasn’t until almost a year later that we had the idea to make it a duet and we are beyond grateful that we got to feature Madison Cunningham as the other half of the vocal. To say that this song is special to us is an understatement.”

Cunningham added: “I’m a genuine fan of Whitney. When the band sent me this song, it was a no brainer that I wanted to sing on it. It’s not often that I’m stopped in my tracks by a song. In fact, the sound of this whole record from front to back is staggering to me. It’s the most beautiful wall of sound where every piece is considered, and the through line is clear. My memory is colored with it being one of the easiest, most joyful sessions.”

Witch Post – ‘Twin Fawn’

Witch Post – the duo of Dylan Fraser and Alaska Reid – have shared an urgent, nostalgic song called ‘Twin Fawn’. Reid reflected, “This song is about chasing memories, or yearning for a misremembered, simpler time. It’s a love letter to Dylan and I’s differing experiences on the West Coast; coyotes, beach glass, driving home at 3am, stuck on the freeway staring at the sunset… As Witch Post, our memories become as fantastical and intertwined as twin fawns.”

Paige Kennedy – ‘Medical Emergency’

Paige Kennedy has announced a new EP, Style Over Substance – out February 6 – with the playful new single ‘Medical Emergency’. “After a life altering breakup, I was sitting in A&E with actual heart problems, feeling sorry for myself,” Kennedy explained. “My coping mechanism, has always been leaning into fantasy, silliness and comedy during dark times, which was how Medical Emergency was born. The persona in the track thinks all the nurses fancy them, and has delusions of grandeur.” They added: “Musically I was inspired by Tupac, The Cardigans and PJ Harvey. There’s an overconfidence in gangsta rap I wanted to emulate. The sound world of the song is grungy with some silly sound design elements which matches the content.”

runo plum – ‘Alley Cat’

runo plum has shared another poignant preview of her upcoming debut LP, patching, ahead of its release next week. ‘Alley Cat’ follows ‘Sickness’, ‘Halfway Up The Lawn’, and ‘Pond’. “Small talking feels like standing on the edge,” she sings as the song spirals inward.

waterbaby – ‘Beck N Call’ [feat. ttoh]

Stockholm-based artist waterbaby comfortably settles into a bouncy, slightly off-kilter piano groove on ‘Beck N Call’, her new single featuring guest rapper ttoh. It follows previous cut ‘Amiss’.

Jordana – ‘Blouse’

Jordana’s Jordanaland EP comes out on Friday, and today we get one more teaser from it, ‘Blouse’, which sparkles in its intimacy. The singer-songwriter describes it as “a song about wanting someone to realize there’s a romantic connection underneath the superficial reasons. Through a one-sided passionate intimacy, shouting into the ether, questioning if tender moments with each other could mean anything more than just a physical relationship.”

Weyes Blood and SPELLLING Team Up on New Version of ‘Destiny Arrives’

Konstantinos Pappis
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0
Weyes Blood and SPELLLING Team Up on New Version of ‘Destiny Arrives’

SPELLLING has enlisted Weyes Blood for a new rendition of ‘Destiny Arrives’, a highlight from her latest album Portrait of My Heart. Natalie Mering’s presence doesn’t really make itself known until the final minute or so, but it’s breathtaking. Check it out below.

“Weyes Blood has been a dream artist to collaborate with for a long time now,” SPELLLING said in a statement. “I’m so honored to have her timeless voice on this reimagined version of ‘Destiny Arrives’. She stepped into the song so gracefully and added such an epic glow to the feeling of the song through her own lyrical contribution and very intimate interpretation of the song.”

Weyes Blood added, “The strange fantastical universe Tia’s built under the moniker SPELLLING has always captivated me, and when she asked me to sing on ‘Destiny Arrives’ I was there for the ride.”

The Best Songs of October 2025

Konstantinos Pappis
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The Best Songs of October 2025

Every week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with several tracks that catch our attention, then round up the best songs of each month in this segment. Here, in alphabetical order, are the best songs of October 2025.

Anna von Hausswolff, ‘Aging Young Women’ [feat. Ethel Cain]

For the subjects of ‘Aging Young Women’, a family is a disappearing dream: not a thing of the past so much as a reminder of time’s encroaching tide. The fear that looms over it is often internalized if not totally repressed, but on top of the imposing elegance that characterizes most of album ICONOCLASTS, the Swedish musician renders it the most accessible ballad on the album, letting its flurry of possibilities echo out and fold into pop’s nascent reckoning with the complexities of motherhood. More than just a spiritually aligned presence on the song, Ethel Cain marks out the plurality of voices, singing, “In the church, when we cry/ Some fallen angels told us to keep our heads high.”

feeo, ‘Here’

It doesn’t take long for feeo, the London singer born Theodora Laird, to describe what’s happened to the city she calls ‘Here’. “The sun won’t shine/ Not the real one anyway/ Not the sun that once kissed us awake,” she sings over a lone pad that sounds, simply, like a void. As she makes her bid for saying goodbye to this place, a slightly crunchy, fingerpicked guitar opens up the song like a wind that could carry the couple away. feeo curls back into numbness, but her point, like her poetry, is crystal clear: “This place was built to last/ It wasn’t built for love.” As if to demonstrate how much she’s worn the argument, even the feeling thin, ‘Here’ is the longest track of her debut album Goodness, stretching out to seven minutes. But it’s also an absolute highlight, making you feel like feeo does: small, powerless, itching for change.

Hatchie, ‘Only One Laughing’

Hatchie not only delivers a dazzling song about finding herself in a frustrating predicament, but makes it seem like a viable solution. “The only one laughing may well be the only road out of this,” she sings on the latest single from her imminent album Liquorice. So she leans into it, trusting drummer Stella Mozgawa to help her rollick her way out of helplessness over jangly guitars while giving space to the words she most wants to be heard. “Let’s abandon all pretense if only for my amusement/ Would it make any difference when we spend all our lives reminiscing,” she sings as the lights dim; if we can’t control the truth, why bother with a filter? Why not tell it like it is and sweeten it with a laugh?

Living Hour, ‘Things Will Remain’

Before this year, I hardly took many photos; I hated being the one to take my phone out and capture a moment after it’s already passed. But the fragility of life reminded me of the relative permanence of some things, and I now carry a camera with me wherever I go. ‘Things Will Remain’, the gorgeous closing track off Living Hour’s understated new album, Internal Drone Infinity, lands somewhere between a lullaby you remember from childhood and a group photo you’ll cherish for the rest of your life. “Yearn-core” is how the Winnipeg indie rock band has described its music, and what’s more core to the longing experience than a still image? “Almost didn’t take a photo/ But I’m happy that I did,” Sam Sarty sings with a group of friends, “‘Cause it melted all around me/ When I crossed across the bridge.” It refers to a “desperate collage of ice blocks,” but superimposed, as the music drifts into the ether, is everything you might hold dear.

Oklou and FKA twigs, ‘viscus’

The ache in ‘viscus’ is subtle but palpable. It would be easy for Oklou, who sings of letting herself “get lost so deep inside me,” to let it drift into the ether for a wispy, delicate song rounding out the deluxe edition of her widely celebrated debut, choke enough. Instead, she bonded over it – chronic stomach pain, specifically – with FKA twigs, meditating on the body not just as a temple but a home we carry throughout our lives. Their voices intertwine wonderfully, but once twigs’ comes in on its own, it is purely reassuring: “I wanna find a place I feel alive/ The beating of my heart/ Is sure a place to start.” No amount of sunshine, fame, or someone else’s faith is enough to grant you that feeling, but as ‘viscus’ turns these porous thoughts over, it offers an opportunity to recenter – or better yet, restart.

Rosalía, ‘Berghain’ [feat. Björk and Yves Tumor]

‘Berghain’ was always bound to make an impression. As a new Rosalía track; as the lead single from her much-anticipated MOTOMAMI follow-up; as a more substantial collaboration with Björk (most people seemed to have forgotten that ‘oral’ happened) and a high-profile moment for enigmatic experimentalist Yves Tumor. As a song named after the famed Berlin nightclub that anchors in a dramatic string section and Rosalía’s operatic vocals before Björk sweeps in invoking “divine intervention” and Tumor repeats the phrase, “I’ll fuck you ’til you love me,” it was also bound to divide as much as it thrilled. It’s a spectacular single and a giant flex, so insane it makes little to no sense outside the framework of the album. Yet its chaotic conviction alone is enough to sell you on the concept of Lux.

Snocaps, ‘Doom’

Beneath its emotional resolve, ‘Doom’ is about a relationship hanging by a thread. Unassuming though it may start, it turns into one of the most striking songs Katie Crutchfield has written in years, trying to keep casual about “this sentimental rot” but churning out one of her biggest choruses to date. The self-titled album from her and Allison Crutchfield’s new band arrived with little fanfare, and MJ Lenderman and Brad Cook keep their contributions to a minimum. But even the song’s production, stifling rather than amplifying its simple arrangement, serves Katie’s lyrics about running out of breath: “You tell it like it is/ And you’ll suffocate/ Every sight that’s rife/ With a jet black big sky/ Emptiest night,” she sings, almost gasping for air. But she knows she’ll be just fine.

Sugar, ‘House of Dead Memories’

You can imagine Bob Mould writing ‘House of Dead Memories’ alone, ready to turn simmering frustration into another undeniably catchy alt-rock song. “There’s a limit to what I can do/ I cannot make this work on my own/ I need some help,” he sings, and allow me to stretch that metaphor to songwriting: he’s always embraced collaboration in his solo efforts, as recently as this year’s Here We Go Crazy, but there’s something to the fact that he chose this song to be the introduction to Sugar’s reunion. The band may have agreed, in one way or another, to leave the past behind, but here they are after 30 years harnessing the same chemistry as a means of moving forward. Memories don’t die, after all; they just find new places to live.

Westerman, ‘Nevermind’

Westerman hardly lets you in on the voices in his head. But he paints a kind of scene: “She fingered the muddy ground/ And sold me all the luck she’s finding/ I lingered/ As people do/ We fall into a truce that’s binding.” Through the repeated lines and chords, you can taste the exhaustion in the air, the hollowness of whatever resolution the protagonist has wrapped himself into. There was meaning, he tries to convince himself, in the words and feelings he once laid out, mushy and irrelevant as they’ve been rendered. Without filling you in on the details, perhaps even remembering much, Westerman commits the falling to memory; the dissolution of what once seemed valuable but now might as well be left to rot in the sun.

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