Wednesday’s set at Primavera Sound 2023 was one of my highlights of the festival, but I didn’t get to catch Death Grips’ performance that year. If you did, and you remember someone throwing up in the pit, we now have confirmation that it was none other than Wednesday’s Xandy Chelmis. The incident is referenced in the band’s piercing new single ‘Pick Up That Knife’, the latest from their forthcoming album Bleeds. Check it out via the Sara Melosh-directed video below.
“’Pick Up That Knife’ is a song that revolves around feelings of helplessness, when every minor inconvenience hurts double cause you’re close to giving up,” bandleader Karly Hartzman explained. “It’s also about when our pedal steel player Xandy threw up in the moshpit during the Death Grips set at Primavera Sound in 2023.”
With the rise of voice commands, many people don’t type anything anymore. It’s now a skill that’s being overlooked. But believe it or not — it’s nice to sharpen your typing skills. So, typing shouldn’t be boring. Likewise, you can do it with fun on the side. Whether you’re prepping for school or work, there are several keyboard games for Mac to improve your typing speed. From adrenaline racing to story-driven adventures, there’s so much to explore. Let’s boost your words per minute with these typing games!
Top Five Keyboard Games for Mac
Keyboard Warrior: Speed Typing
Keyboard Warrior: Speed Typing is simple, fast, and addictive. Specifically, it’s a 60-second speed typing game. The goal is to type as many words as you can before they exit the screen. Similarly, you only have to type the word and hit the spacebar. Seven levels increase difficulty. It even has detailed information about your performance to gauge your improvements.
TypeRacer
TypeRacer allows you to play without downloading anything. Yup, it’s a browser-based game. At the same time, that means you can play against real people around the world. The game is a massive online multiplayer typing match. Likewise, it gives you a block of words. The player who types it faster with fewer mistakes wins. It’s simple but surprisingly thrilling.
Nitro Type
Nitro Type is another typing game mixed with the thrill of racing. Also, the game is designed to boost typing skill development. Besides that, it offers slick and competitive gameplay. Particularly, you need to type quicker to make your car reach the finish line faster. It’s ideal for those who want to practice typing with a side of turbo boost.
TypingClub
TypingClub may not be a typical game. However, it’s still fun and highly effective. This one is a compelling way to know how to type. It also has structured lessons and mini-games. Plus, it provides feedback on your performance.
Epistory – Typing Chronicles
Epistory – Typing Chronicles is for players who don’t want a straightforward typing game. This one enhances your keyboard mastery without you even knowing. Specifically, you’ll get to play as a muse who needs to uncover mysteries, fight opponents, and collect inspiration. Similarly, you can control everything with a keyboard. And there’s even adaptive difficulty to match your skill set.
Final Key
Let’s remove the notion that typing is like doing homework. With these keyboard games for Mac, you can turn typing into fun finger gaming workouts.
Playing and wanting to play games on a Mac device can be frustrating at times. It’s like trying to cast a spell with a broken wand. Or worse, you don’t even have a magic wand. At the same time, many game developers skip macOS altogether. Likewise, the magical world of Harry Potter hasn’t always been easily accessible on Apple devices. But don’t stress — we’re here to help you! If you’re tired of finding games that will satisfy your love for spells and magical duels, you’re in the right place. We’ll list down some of the best and charming Harry Potter games for Mac.
Top Five Harry Potter Games for Mac
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone captures Harry’s first years at Hogwarts. This action-adventure game allows players to take on the role of the chosen one. Similarly, users will train as wizards and must master the magical world. Also, you’ll get to encounter popular characters from the series and various challenges.
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is also a game that focuses on the early years of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Specifically, it combines puzzle-solving and LEGO humor. You can also learn spells, create potions, and go on wizarding adventures. Plus, gamers can choose to play as Harry, Ron, or Hermione.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery enables you to become an official student at Hogwarts. Yes, you don’t just get to play as existing characters. You’re going to make your own! Particularly, you will experience learning spells, brewing potions, solving mysteries, and a lot more. Players can also try Quidditch and go on quests.
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is the continuation of Harry Potter’s journey at Hogwarts — LEGO style! The game takes players through the dark and more intense chapters of the series. Likewise, you will face new characters and new challenges. Advance your dueling skills and unlock more than 100 characters.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy allows you to experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Also, this title delivers an open-world action RPG gameplay. Specifically, the missions are to be a student, find allies, and defeat dark wizards.
Note: Considering the nature of MacBooks when it comes to gaming, some of these titles require workarounds. To know how, visit: How to Turn a MacBook into a Gaming PC.
Final Spell
There may be fewer options, but there are still some awesome Harry Potter games for Mac. Anyways, there are also workarounds to access the Windows-only games. So, the wizard gaming continues!
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 Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
Flock of Dimes – ‘Long After Midnight’
Flock of Dimes, the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and producer Jenn Wasner, has announced a new LP, The Life You Save. It’s led by the tender and twangy new single ‘Long After Midnight’, which comes paired with a video by Spencer Kelly. “I live my life among the lucky ones/ When things are bad I never let them know,” she sings. “When you come from where I come from/ There’s only so far you can go.”
Rachel Bobbitt – ‘Hands Hands Hands’
Toronto singer-songwriter Rachel Bobbitt has announced her debut album, Swimming Towards the Sand, arriving October 17 via Fantasy. Leading the record is the sweepingly cathartic ‘Hands Hands Hands’, which reminds me of a gritty Samia ballad. “’Hands Hands Hands’ is equal parts dream and experience—the first verse built around the experience of losing a loved one from afar, and the second verse a surreal depiction of the feelings of helplessness and horror that can accompany grief,” Bobbitt explained. “The chorus is borrowed from a children’s song from the 1870s—a song my grandfather used to sing constantly, called ‘Reuben and Rachel’.”
C.Y.M. – ‘Catania’ and ‘Justify’
C.Y.M. is the duo of Vampire Weekend’s Chris Baio and electronic producer Michael Greene (aka Fort Romeau), and they’re back today with two new songs, ‘Catania’ and ‘Justify’, which are slinky and enveloping. “‘Justify / Catania’ is the first taste of a journey that began in January 2020,” the band shared. “This journey involves many places (Los Angeles, London, Glasgow, Paris & Lagos) and many extremely talented collaborators (we’ll be telling you all about them soon). There’s a long road ahead, for now we hope you enjoy the beginning of this ride. ”
Daniel Avery – ‘Rapture in Blue’
London-based producer Daniel Avery has detailed his first album for Domino, Tremor, which features Alison Mosshart (The Kills), yeule, Walter Schreifels, and more. The shimmery, hypnotic lead single ‘Rapture in Blue’ boasts vocals from Cecile Believe and guitar from Andy Bell of Ride and Oasis.
Avalon Emerson – ‘Sort of Like a Dream’ [feat. Anunaku] and ‘You’re My World’ [feat. Priori]
Avalon Emerson has shared two new songs, ‘Sort of Like a Dream’ and ‘You’re My World’. Kicking off her just-unveiled Perpetual Emotion Machine EP, they’re both thrillingly kinetic.
Ada Lea – ‘midnight magic’
Ada Lea has shared another offering from her forthcoming album when i paint my masterpiece. ‘midnight magic’ harbours a cosmic intimacy, and Alexandra Levy had this to say about it: “I felt like I was taking a leap of faith with this surreal approach — and it felt good to trust that the song knew best. In an artist talk, Margaux Williamson said her new body of work took her 8 years to complete, and said ‘I am constantly needing to remind myself that the hand knows better than the brain.’ I nodded Yes. When it came time to record the vocals, a lot had happened since the initial recording session, the most significant being a second trimester pregnancy loss. It was grueling. As soon as I physically could, I started singing and resumed working on the album again. As I sang the first lines of this song, which go ‘angel, promise me this,’ I immediately burst into tears because I knew that the song was for my baby.”
Kieran Hebden and William Tyler – ‘Spider Ballad’
Kieran Hebden and William Tyler have unveiled ‘Spider Ballad’, the second single from their collaborative 41 Longfield Street Late ‘80s. Following their cover of Lyle Lovett’s ‘If I Had A Boat’, the track ebbs and flows with beautiful subtlety.
WILDES – ‘All I Get’
London-based singer-songwriter WILDES, born Ella Walker, has announced her sophomore album All We Do Is Feel – out September 12 – with the stirring ‘All I Get’. “Writing ‘All I Get’ really took me on a path I wasn’t expecting, both in its messaging and how the production emerged,” WILDES reflected. “It was a liberating song to write – I had spent months musing on how little I had, how so much had been taken from me emotionally, leaving me feeling bereft – but I realised in writing it, that ‘all’ I had left was in fact abundant and rich. Left in the wake of that break-up was evidence that I had really lived and loved, I had received so much support from those around me, and I had made it through a transformative period that pushed me into becoming a better person. This song makes me feel like a living thing.”
The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die – ‘Dissolving’
TWIABP have delivered another preview of their upcoming record Dreams of Being Dust, which is fuzzy and despondent before erupting at just the right moment. Lead vocalist David F. Bello explained: “Lyrically ‘Dissolving’ is set in the woods late at night, too far from home, alone enough to notice how fuzzy the boundary is between you and the rest of the outside world. You remember that your skin is always shedding into particles of dust, and there isn’t much difference between you and the trees and the dirt. No matter how old you become, you’re still developing, changing, and growing into something new. Even once you are nothing but a memory, you will have evolved and will haunt the air. Donna Haraway’s ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’ says ‘a cyborg would not recognize the Garden of Eden; it is not made of mud and cannot dream of returning to dust.’ You are made of mud and you can dream of returning to dust.”
Case Oats – ‘Nora’
Case Oats, the Chicago-based band led by Casey Gomez Walker, have previewed their debut album Last Missouri Exit with an introspective yet upbeat track called ‘Nora’. “Sometimes you find yourself in a relationship with someone who clearly loves their ex,” Walker said. “You kid yourself, thinking it might not be true, or that they might start loving you. You stick around. But in the end they won’t. So this song is a love letter to my ex’s once and future lover. If they’re meant to be together there’s no use in being mad. I’m genuinely thanking her for releasing me from that situation and celebrating her love. I don’t see why anyone should be mad at real love. It should be honored. So in this song I’m saying I love you to her, I’m glad you’re here now, I can see now.”
bloodsports – ‘Rosary’
bloodsports – the Brooklyn band comprising Sam Murphy (guitar/vocals), Jeremy Mock (Guitar), Liv Eriksen (bass/vocals) – have announced their debut LP, out October 17. The haunting and dramatic ‘Rosary’ accompanies the news, and Murphy had this to say about it: “This song was written about a relationship that I ended, and reminiscing about the feelings months after the fact. Lyrically, it’s a very bittersweet song. It looks back positively on the time that was spent but there’s also a layer of regret about the things that never quite came to fruition. It’s strange to sing live now because the relationship that it’s referencing has since been rekindled but I can still connect to those feelings from back then.”
TOPS – ‘Annihilation’
The latest single from TOPS’ Bury the Key is called ‘Annihilation’, but don’t let that freak you out; it’s still a sleek indie pop tune. Thematically, it’s “about navigating a world on the edge of collapse,” according to the band. “It’s easy to fear the future but in the end nothing is ever finished and you just gotta follow your heart. It’s like a mix of complacency and surrendering.”
Hunx and His Punx – ‘Wild Boys’
Hunx and His Punx throw it back on ‘Wild Boys’, the latest single from their first new album in 12 years, Walk Out on This World.
Silver Gore – ‘Dogs in Heaven’
Silver Gore – the London-based duo of Ava Gore and Ethan P. Flynn – have shared their entrancing debut single, ‘Dogs in Heaven’. It’s inspired by the comfort that Gore found as a child in repeatedly watching the animated film All Dogs Go to Heaven before later discovering that one of the child actors had in fact been murdered by her father. “I spent lots of hours alone, watching this film with our family dog,” Gore recalled. “This song is about making decisions and the unexpected consequences that come from them.”
Peyton – ‘Not Your Girl’
Houston R&B artist Peyton is back with news of her next album, Au. The follow-up to 2021’s PSA is out September 12, and the lead single ‘Not Your Girl’ is out now. “I used to think I had to beg to be loved,” Peyton commented. “Now I know that real love, romantic or not, feels natural and freeing. You don’t have to force it, and you definitely don’t have to shrink for it.”
Joyeria – ‘I don’t know, who cares?’
Speedy Wunderground signee Joyeria has served up a new single, ‘I don’t know, who cares?’, which is caustic yet playful. “Losing your mind is such a terrible thing, and you’ll be the last to know,” it begins.
Far Caspian – ‘Whim’
Ahead of the release of his new album Autofiction on Friday, Far Caspian has offered one more hazy yet driving track, ‘Whim’. It follows the title song, ‘An Outstretched Hand / Rain From Here To Kerry’, and ‘First Day’.
Pynch – ‘Post-Punk / New-Wave’
London-based group Pynch have announced their latest album, Beautiful Noise, out October 3. Lead single ‘Post-Punk / New-Wave’, as the title suggests, is pretty meta. “We wanted to announce Beautiful Noise with Post-Punk / New-Wave because it captures the playful spirit of the record and in a way tells the story of the band through its lyrics,” guitarist/vocalist Spencer Enock explained. “It’s an ironic but sincere take on making DIY music in the modern world and I love that it feels like a pop song without really having a chorus – like a slacker rock Band on the Run.”
By writing this review, I’m already breaking the first rule of engaging with Don’t Tap the Glass, the ninth album from Tyler, the Creator: “Body movement. No sitting still.” The rap superstar is getting ahead of critics with the second rule, too, as laid out on the opening track: “Only speak in glory. Leave your baggage at home.” (“None of that deep shit,” he adds in the background, making it clear that he’s mostly addressing himself.) The third and titular rule is the most ambiguous, which is somewhat reflective of the overall balance the record strikes: it’s a straightforward rap-party project whose kineticism is undeniable, but, arriving less than a year after the densely packed Chromakopia, it also can’t help but attach itself to Tyler’s self-mythologizing canon in mature, often meta ways. Don’t Tap the Glass should keep longtime fans engaged long after the party’s over, but for at least the 29 minutes that it’s on, it both lifts you up and cools you down. Good dance music not only gets your body moving, but makes you forget yourself for a moment. For an artist as conscious of his ego as Tyler, the Creator, that’s no small feat.
1. Big Poe
Introducing his new character, Tyler, the Creator lists Don’t Tap the Glass’ rules of engagement, though sitting still hardly seems like an option as soon as the party-starting interpolation of Busta Rhymes’ ‘Pass the Courvoisier Part II’ sets the whole thing off. The rumoured Pharrell feature has now been confirmed, but far more unexpected is a Jonny Greenwood credit thanks to a tasteful sample of Junun’s ‘Roked’. So far, it’s easy to hold back the urge to dissect this thing – how much can you say about “Right now, I’m Mario, pipe down” other than to point out the superstar’s resemblance to the red-capped Nintendo mascot in the video for ‘Stop Playing With Me’?
2. Sugar on My Tongue
The opening track bleeds right into the buoyant and frenetic Italo disco of ‘Sugar on My Tongue’, which makes sense, given it’s also an extension of its freaky, lustful vibes. Tyler sure wants to make all the critics and Genius annotators out there look stupid for explaining the titular euphemism, so don’t fall into the trap; just go ahead and dance.
3. Sucka Free
Besides that instantly catchy “I’m that guy” refrain, the track is most memorable for the rapper’s switch to a California accent. It’s breezy and confident, the synths trying less to sound intergalactic than just like thick summer air.
4. Mommanem
Then comes pure heat: a high-pitched string that sounds like a harbinger of chaos, the unfettered id of someone who can’t catch his breath: “Hit it out, spit it out, get it out, huh, that’s on my mama ‘nem,” the chorus goes. The beat thunders, exhilaratingly, for a brief moment, but the resentment simply festers. If nothing else, it keeps you at the edge of your seat before you jump back up.
5. Stop Playing With Me
The only album track to get a music video – with cameos from Clipse’s Pusha T and Malice, LeBron James, and Mav Carter, no less – ‘Stop Playing With Me’ ratchets up the eerie energy of ‘Mommanem’ with rumbling techno bass, taking Tyler’s devilish sneer to the next level. Move with me, he still commands, but keep your distance. “You’re ‘and others’ if I crash this plane,” he raps hilariously. “Hated recess, I don’t play no games.” Still, he sounds like he hasn’t had this much fun in ages.
6. Ring Ring Ring
Even on his party record, Tyler craves space for vulnerability, which means going back to the funk and neo-soul stylings of Flower Boy and the emotional dynamics of phone calling – or, more specifically, the punch to the ego that is an unanswered phone call. “I had to protеct my heart/ And build the wall so tall, I couldn’t look over,” he confesses, sounding as smooth as ever.
7. Don’t Tap That Glass / Tweakin’
Tyler does another 180 with the title track’s bone-shaking New Orleans bounce, as if directly compensating for the previous track’s romantic exasperation with the album’s most aggressive rap song. As has become tradition in the rapper’s discography, it’s a climactic two-parter whose most thrilling moment hits when he drawls the word tweakin’. The most quotable line, though, comes earlier: “You ain’t gotta lie, we can smell the Ozempic.”
8. Don’t You Worry Baby [feat. Mansion McFerrin]
The track is a showcase for Madison McFerrin’s tender vocals, but ‘Ring Ring Ring’ is a much stronger and catchier neo-soul cut, and a project like Don’t Tap the Glass hardly needs two of them. Tyler reiterates its central message – “Damn, girl, you better move yo’ hips!” – but this is the moment where you might find yourself taking a break.
9. I’ll Take Care of You [feat. Yebba]
Tyler continues to take a back seat, turning a sample of Crime Mob’s ‘Knuck If You Buck’ – as well as drums from his own Cherry Bomb – into something both anthemic and nostalgic. “Wait a minute, I’m goin’ through some shit/ I can tell it’s not beginning to work,” Tyler admits, which is obviously personal, but it’s not hard to read it as a tacit acknowledgment that the edgy lyrics he reignites on Don’t Tap the Glass are starting to feel like vestiges of the past; he’s slipping into self-referentiality even without meaning to, which is typical Tyler.
10. Tell Me What It Is
The party has been winding down for a while, but ‘Tell Me What It Is’ is an emotional send-off that finds Tyler opening up more than he has on the last three tracks. “I can buy the galaxy/ But can’t afford to look for love,” he sings, wondering if there’s traffic to his soul. If half of the record is Tyler celebrating having broken through the glass ceiling of fame, he lends equal weight to the other half, which is still insecure as about affairs of the heart – the thing, of course, that the glass ultimately stands for. Short as it is, the album’s journey is satisfying yet unresolved, an invitation to a party that leaves you with bigger questions than you anticipated. Tyler has asked these ones before, in more elaborate and conceptual ways. But sometimes, the truth hits harder when there’s sweat dripping down your spine and your breath runs thin.
London-based producer Daniel Avery has signed to Domino and announced his first album for the label, Tremor. Releasing on Halloween, the record features contributions from Alison Mosshart (The Kills), yeule, Walter Schreifels, bdrmm, Julie Dawson (NewDad), Ellie, yuné pinku, Art School Girlfriend, and more. The shimmery and enveloping lead single ‘Rapture in Blue’, out today, has vocals from Cecile Believe and guitar from Ride’s Andy Bell. Check it out below.
“This is a living and breathing collective,” Avery said of the new album, which was mixed by Alan Moulder and David Wrench and mastered by Heba Kadry. “Since the earliest recordings, Tremor felt like a studio in the sky, a space in time through which we could all pass as artists. It’s the welcoming spirit of acid house with the doors flung open wider still to allow in every influence from my musical journey: the warmth of distortion, the stillness inside intensity, the transcendental beauty of noise… They have always been there in my music but now it feels like those ideas are being transmitted in Technicolor. This is a record for the post-rave comedown kids, the guitar heads and anyone else who wants to come along for the ride. Everyone is welcome.”
Tremor Cover Artwork:
Tremor Tracklist:
1. Neon Pulse
2. Rapture in Blue [feat. Cecile Believe]
3. Haze w/ Ellie
4. A Silent Shadow [feat. bdrmm]
5. New Life [feat. yunè pinku]
6. Greasy off the Racing Line [feat. Alison Mosshart]
7. Until the Moon Starts Shaking
8. The Ghost of Her Smile [feat. Julie Dawson]
9. Disturb Me w/ yeule
10. In Keeping (Soon We’ll Be Dust) [feat. Walter Schreifels]
11. Tremor
12. A Memory Wrapped in Paper and Smoke
13. I Feel You [feat. Art School Girlfriend]
Flock of Dimes – the project of multi-instrumentalist and producer Jenn Wasner – has announced her third album, The Life You Save, which arrives on October 10 through Sub Pop Records. The follow-up to 2021’s Head of Roses is led by the gentle, twangy single ‘Long After Midnight’, which is accompanied by a Spencer Kelly-directed video. Check it out below and scroll down for the album cover and tracklist.
Wasner recorded the new album at Betty’s in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Montrose Recording in Los Angeles, California. She also produced the LP, with additional production from Nick Sanborn, engineering by Adrian Olsen and Alli Rogers, mixing by Adrian Olsen, and mastering by Huntley Miller.
“My previous records, generally, have been a summary of things I had already been through— experience,” Wasner explained in a press release. “But this record is different. It is an attempt to report from inside of a process that is ongoing and unfinished, from which I will likely never fully emerge as long as I am alive: my struggle within the cycles of addiction and co-dependency.” Read her full statement below, too.
The Life You Save Cover Artwork:
The Life You Save Tracklist:
1. Afraid
2. Keep Me in the Dark
3. Long After Midnight
4. Defeat
5. Close to Home
6. The Enemy
7. Not Yet Free
8. Pride
10. Theo
11. Instead of Calling
12. River in My Arms
13. I Think I’m God
Jenn Wasner:
My previous records, generally, have been a summary of things I had already been through— experiences I had observed and reflected upon, reporting back from some amount of distance. But this record is different. It is an attempt to report from inside of a process that is ongoing and unfinished, from which I will likely never fully emerge as long as I am alive: my struggle within the cycles of addiction and co-dependency.
I set out trying to make a record about other people.
Their problems, their struggles, their addictions.
I struggled for many years to give myself permission to write about this subject–worried that I was telling someone else’s story, a story that was not mine to tell. The work felt hazy and obscured; I was confused, and I struggled. The beauty of songwriting, at its best, is that it puts you in touch with your subconscious–a place where you can only tell the truth. Many of those truths were hard to accept. Some I don’t, even now, feel fully ready to say. But through this process, I came to understand that I was struggling with this record because I wasn’t being honest with myself. I was so deeply entrenched in the system in which I was raised that I thought I was outside of it, and the ways in which I continued to participate remained invisible to me.
But slowly, painstakingly, through this work I began to realize—I am not apart from all of this. I have been performing my role from a distance, but I am still engaged, still connected:
I’m inside it, after all.
As it turns out, this record is not someone else’s story–it is mine, the story of my life. A life spent believing I had escaped, and that I deserved to feel guilty for doing so. A life in which I believed that the right combination of words, actions, effort, and expense could somehow change others’ behavior. And a life in which blindness to my own patterns caused me to hurt others, and prevented me from finding the true love and acceptance I yearned for.
The belief that you can rescue others comes from more than one place, internally speaking. The part that is easiest to see and acknowledge is the one that stems from love, good intentions, and a genuine desire to offer care and support. But there’s an uglier side, and that part is harder to look at—the ego, the pridefulness, the belief that you are better, stronger, somehow more deserving than all the rest. That through your attempts to control others’ behavior, you can somehow secure a sense of safety for yourself.
I know the rules, but I ignore them, I think I’m good enough to pull this off.
Or, more simply:
I think I’m god; I know I’m not.
For me, that was the puzzle piece that finally made it all make sense. But it was also the piece that was the hardest to hold. It took a long time for me to build up enough love—not for others, but for myself—that acknowledging this truth would not break me. I understand now that I’m not the savior, not the hero, not the chosen one. I’m spinning in my own wheel, a bundle of addictions and adaptations and blind spots, just like everybody else. And there is a beauty to that, along with a kind of freedom.
In the end, it is my hope that this record exists as a testament to the depth of my love for those I cannot save, and that it might provide some comfort for anyone who is still learning how to love and live for themselves.
In a contemporary art landscape often driven by interpretation, clarity, and symbolic capital, Ruoyu Zhang’s work offers a compelling counterpoint. Her practice unfolds not through narrative construction, but through gestures that vibrate—marks that do not seek to communicate, but to resonate. Working between painting, printmaking, performance, and ecological thinking, Zhang constructs what she calls “asemic ecologies”: rhythmic constellations of language, matter, and body that do not speak in words, but in atmospheres.
Born in Chongqing in 1999 and educated at the Rhode Island School of Design, Zhang draws upon diverse conceptual lineages—material ecocriticism, posthumanism, asemic art, biodynamic agriculture—to articulate an artistic language that is less about symbolic meaning and more about relational presence. At the heart of her practice lies an ongoing engagement with asemic writing, a form of mark-making that suspends semantic intention and foregrounds the gesture of writing itself. “Asemic writing,” she notes, “does not attempt to communicate any message other than its own nature as writing, which is a shadow, an impression, and an abstraction.” Yes, asemic writing is not meaningless—it is meaning deferred, dispersed, translated into rhythm and form.
butterfly Mixed media on canvas 20 x 15 inches
Zhang’s artworks operate as sites of negotiation between material agency and perceptual ambiguity. In her recent exhibitions, Collective Marks and Strokes of Imagination and Collective II, two major pieces—butterfly and Celestial Kinship #2—embody different stages of this unfolding language. Butterfly is spontaneous and intuitive, a raw dance of line and color that hovers between abstraction and recognition. Celestial Kinship #2, in contrast, is more refined: a layered field of asemic scores where visual rhythm, ecological texture, and bodily inscription converge into a shared poetic structure. These works mark a transition—from expressive authorship toward a form of co-composition where pigment, gesture, and environment write together.
Zhang’s distinct contribution to contemporary art lies in her ability to bridge rigorous theoretical frameworks with a materially grounded practice, in which her choice of substances embodies both tactile complexity and cultural memory. Substances such as wine, coffee, cochineal, and soil are not just pigments; they are time-bearing entities, embedded with processes of fermentation, decay, and transformation. Informed by biodynamic philosophy, she treats matter not as medium, but as co-agent. These substances behave, resist, participate. They crack, bleed, settle. And in doing so, they speak—not in words, but in pulses, temperatures, and durational rhythms.
Celestial Kinship #2 Oil, natural wine, cochineal insects, coffee, napa cabbage on canvas 54 x 42 inches
“These materials perform in the work as much as I do,” Zhang explains. “They are alive, porous.”
Fieno oil, coffee, charcoal, coco coir on canvas 20 x 15 inches
This approach resonates with the theoretical frameworks of material ecocriticism and posthumanist thought. Zhang treats language, nature, and the body not as separate domains but as entangled participants in a shared ecology. As material ecocritic Serenella Iovino writes, “The world we write in is the same world we decay within.” In Zhang’s practice, this idea becomes tactile: cracks and sediment become text; surface tension becomes syntax. Her asemic scores, then, are not anti-linguistic but trans-linguistic—modes of writing that do not point to a referent, but instead immerse the viewer in an experience of affective language beyond language.
Her paintings function less as compositions and more as sites of attunement, where the viewer is asked not to interpret but to resonate—entering rhythm rather than decoding symbol. As she puts it: “The viewer is not a reader, but a resonator”—a body invited into rhythm rather than meaning. This shift—from deciphering to sensing—suggests a broader philosophical gesture: a refusal of linguistic mastery, and a reconfiguration of authorship as ecological participation.
Her conceptual rigor is matched by a refined aesthetic sensibility. Each mark in Zhang’s work carries both the immediacy of gesture and the weight of accumulated time. Her compositions do not demand understanding; they invite presence. In doing so, Zhang contributes a powerful voice to the discourse on post-linguistic art, offering an alternative to anthropocentric authorship and challenging the boundaries of language, sensation, and matter.
Untitled Map Oil, coffee, resin, birch concentrate, on canvas 16 x 21 inches
In a cultural moment increasingly shaped by legibility and algorithmic readability, Zhang’s asemic ecologies offer something vital: a space for slowness, for ambiguity, for sensation that exceeds clarity. Through rhythm, material, and untranslatable attention, she composes a living poetics—one that entangles human and nonhuman, text and texture, language and breath.
Cryptocurrency is more than just a currency; it has become a symbol in today’s culture. Bitcoin, in particular is known for its volatile nature. The first digital currency was made available to the public back in 2009 and has had an impact on a number of industries ever since. So let’s take a closer look at how Bitcoin’s history has shaped public perception.
Since Bitcoin was introduced, it has come a long way. Not only have other coins been created, expanding the market even further, but public perception has changed a lot. Now there are more users than ever, discovering the advantages of using digital currency.
The Bitcoin origin story and its early price days
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and was available to the public on January 9, 2009. It was created by an anonymous computer programmer (or group of programmers) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The digital currency’s first real-world Bitcoin transaction occurred on May 22, 2010. Laszlo Hanyecz spent 10,000 BTC on two Papa John’s pizzas.
The bitcoin price history shows just how slow it was in the beginning. The value of Bitcoin was essentially zero when it was first introduced. Its price only started to increase in 2010, reaching $0.10-$0.30. It wasn’t until February 2011 that Bitcoin’s price broke the $1 mark. Bitcoin was the first of its kind, which is why so many people were unsure of it and whether they could trust it. The first few years of the currency were slow as more people were getting their heads around it. However, as technology evolved alongside it, people’s understanding of the currency was too.
Public sentiment through highs and lows
Public opinion has played a huge role in Bitcoin’s price history. While there have always been enthusiasts and skeptics, there have been a number of events that have shaped public perception as a whole. Bitcoin is extremely volatile, so it’s only natural that it has had its extreme highs and lows.
2013 is one of the first examples of this. During this time, there was a lot of discussion surrounding Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole. In previous years, it was a niche topic that not many people understood. However, when Bitcoin broke $100 for the first time, this was a signal that the currency was a legitimate asset.
2017 was another high for the digital currency. It saw Bitcoin going from around $1,000 in January 2017 to nearly $20,000 by December. This was Bitcoin’s first mainstream price explosion and of course, caught the attention of the media and public. Bitcoin very quickly went from being “weird internet money” to a speculative asset.
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the currency. However, this quickly changed in early 2018 as Bitcoin’s price began to plummet. By December 2018, BTC had dropped to around $3,000, which represented an 85% loss. It wasn’t just Bitcoin; a number of other coins dropped too, with some becoming worthless. There were a number of reasons for this, from the hype burning out and scams to market correction and regulatory pressure. However, this drop ended up being quite damaging to Bitcoin’s reputation, as again, many people changed their stance on the digital currency.
Media and artistic portrayals of Bitcoin
Since Bitcoin’s release, it has not only had an impact on the financial world. It’s become used in several industries and is a symbol in media and art too. There have been a number of documentaries like “Banking on Bitcoin” that have not only helped to get the word out on the digital currency, but also educate the public too. The currency has also been featured in popular TV shows, including The Simpsons and Mr. Robot.
There have been a number of artistic interpretations of the currency that can be seen in art pieces, graffiti and even on the coins themselves. It’s media and art that has helped to ingrain the digital currency more deeply into our culture. Bitcoin’s iconic B symbol is becoming as recognizable as the American dollar sign.
How public perception continues to evolve
15 years on and Bitcoin is still very current in our society today. You can now use the currency in a number of different industries, from online casinos to retail stores. It has had its ups and downs, but as the years have gone on, more and more users are backing it. Thanks to technology, cryptocurrency is a lot more accessible, as well as the resources that are helping the public to understand it even more. Of course, there are still a lot of skeptics out there. Especially as the crypto market is a lot less regulated than the stock or forex market for example. There’s a lot more risk as there is a lack of regulation.
However, it’s not just public perception that matters anymore. As the currency became more successful, governments started to weigh in with laws and regulations. Countries like China, Egypt, and Morocco have imposed bans or strict restrictions on cryptocurrency use. There are also still a lot of countries that are undecided about the currency, meaning the future is still very uncertain.
Bitcoin has transformed into a powerful cultural and financial symbol. Its dramatic price swings, from near-zero to nearly $70,000 have not only fueled investor curiosity but also sparked global debate, artistic expression and media fascination. What began as an obscure code has undeniably reshaped how we think about money, technology and the future.
By Anthony Fawcett, the esteemed art critic and historian, once served as John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s personal curator. His illustrious career includes introducing Man Ray to London, collaborating with icons like Andy Warhol, and assuming pivotal roles in leading art institutions. Fawcett is renowned for his 80 historical interviews with legends such as Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Jean Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Julian Schnabel, Gilbert & George and many others.
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
— William Shakespeare
Sofia Segalla is a trailblazing, incendiary artist and fashion designer who was born in Moscow. Multi-talented, her oeuvre includes drawing, collage and fashion, utilizing her digital toolbox. Ceaselessly changing forms, her work is imbued by ‘Post-Soviet’ visual culture.
Segalla trained in fashion design and describes her artworks as rooted in “the intersection of visual art becoming a ‘wearable identity’.” Influenced by early Pop culture, she uses herself and her clothes to create a very personal mythology.
“Human imagination, by the invention of myths, has created a cosmos consonant to our preconceptions, a cosmos in which causation is passionate and is an expression of love or hate, in which there are heavenly powers to be placated by the same means that are found efficacious with earthly monarchs, in which the whole gamut of human emotions is projected upon the outer world in all its variegated confusion.”
— Bertrand Russell, Myth and Magic, 1954
In Segalla’s The Diary Project (2023 – present) she has created over 120 digital illustrations (A4 and A3) documenting the clothes she is wearing every day when she leaves her house.
“My body, my drawings – they are my language. My work doesn’t need to speak – IT IS the speaking!”, she has explained.
In 8/12/24 (100 GBP) we see Segalla in a decidedly Vivienne Westwood outfit accentuated in the painterly digital drawing. Wearing a Westwood-style outsize tartan cape, a flowing pink chiffon scarf, red leggings, with red ‘can’ headphones, and holding in her outstretched right hand an opened flip-phone. In this image she portrays herself as an icon, a muse, and perhaps an ‘influencer’.
Segalla’s myriad changes of exotic costumes bring to mind the performance artist and celebrated icon himself, Daniel Lismore. And before him, the flamboyant Leigh Bowery, whose life is the subject of a retrospective right now at Tate Modern. In many of her ‘poses’ Segalla looks almost doll-like, and behind each digital drawing there are handwritten quotations or poems, all in Russian. She has spoken often of her vulnerability and of being an immigrant, and I suspect that she misses Russia a lot. Recently, she did return to Moscow to work on some new projects.
But now they’re near. Before them glisteningAlready white-stoned Moscow runs,Like fire, with golden crosses quivering,Its ancient domes gleam in the sun.
Oh brothers! How my heart was happyTo see the churches, bell-towers clanging,
The gardens, courtyards, crescents’ sweepBefore me opened suddenly!
— Alexander Pushkin, 1826
Sofia Segalla has deservedly already won several awards, including the “Emerging Virtuoso Prize” given by the Lumen Art Gallery in their Drop the Light exhibition, and been published in numerous international magazines.
“Drawing. Dressing. Not quite speaking. Not quite silent.” A fitting quote from Segalla to end on. I greatly look forward to following her exciting and unique career!
