ZHU is done playing it safe. The masked auteur has officially announced his fifth studio album, BLACK MIDAS, landing March 20, 2026, and he’s kicking the door open with its brooding, big-room title track. Dark. Club-first. Zero nostalgia bait.
After months of cryptic teasing across socials and whispers ahead of his Ultra Music Festival return, the reveal finally landed. BLACK MIDAS follows 2025’s GRACE and marks a sharp pivot back to the sound that built ZHU’s cult in the first place. Late nights. Sweat-soaked rooms. Bass that hits before you think.
A Return to the Club Core
ZHU isn’t hiding the intent here. BLACK MIDAS is a reset. Not a rebrand. A reminder.
“In the beginning my music was intended for the dancefloor,” ZHU explained. “This record is about returning to why I first made music.”
That philosophy bleeds through the title track. “Black Midas” leans into big room techno territory, pulling cues from the Drumcode universe while keeping ZHU’s signature mystery intact. A low, relentless pulse carries the track forward as his hypnotic vocals repeat like a mantra. The synths feel industrial but polished. Built for peak-time chaos.
There’s also restraint. Instead of maximalist drops, ZHU lets tension do the work. Piano-led breakdowns give the track breathing room before the machinery kicks back in. It’s dramatic without trying too hard. Exactly what hard techno crowds are chasing right now.
The Istanbul Short Film
Because ZHU never just drops a song.
Alongside the single, he released a ten-minute short film, shot entirely in Istanbul. The visual follows ZHU through shadowy streets into a quiet coffee shop where he meets a Turkish fortune teller. What starts intimate quickly turns symbolic.
Their conversation circles identity, transformation, and what gets left behind when an artist evolves. As coffee grounds are read, fragments of “Black Midas” creep in before the film dissolves into dark rave scenes, bodies dressed in black, and strobe-lit release.
It’s less narrative, more mood. A visual thesis for the album’s mindset.
This isn’t a legacy play. It’s ZHU stepping back into the current dance conversation and claiming space. Hard techno is having a moment again, especially with Gen Z crowds chasing darker, faster, sweatier sounds. BLACK MIDAS doesn’t chase trends. It meets them head-on.
With Ultra Miami on the horizon and a full album incoming, ZHU is setting the tone early. No genre tourism. No soft focus. Just club music for people who still believe in the dancefloor.
BLACK MIDAS is available to pre-save now. Expect it to hit harder live.
- BLACK MIDAS arrives on March 20, 2026.
- Yes. It’s both the lead single and the album’s title track.
- The album leans heavily into dark, club-focused techno and late-night dancefloor sounds.