Loco Dice, a defining force in contemporary electronic dance music for over two decades, is back with “Hold Up (You Feel That).” As his first major release and return to Universal Music since 2025’s ‘Purple Jam’ album, the outstanding DJ and recording artist delivers a driving, high-energy cut that wastes no time getting to work.
Running at a brisk tempo, “Hold Up (You Feel That)” is built around dense, intricately programmed percussion and contagious female spoken-word vocals by Alaina Arnez. There’s no reliance on big melodic breakdowns here; instead, the record lives and breathes through its rhythm section, building and releasing pressure in a way that’s engineered for peak-time dancefloors and long, hypnotic DJ sets alike.
It’s the kind of track that rewards a big system and a full room – relentless, physical and precise. With a new single and the touring to match, Loco Dice once again proves exactly why, decade after decade, he has stayed one of the most respected names on the global club scene.
Loco Dice, born and raised in a multicultural household with Tunisian roots, is one of electronic music’s most enduring and distinctive figures – an artist whose style stays deeply rooted in hip-hop. Before becoming an electronic music icon, he was embedded in the Hip-Hop scene: a young DJ in the early 1990s and a rapper who toured the globe both solo and supporting Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and many more, developing the rhythmic sensibility that would later define his productions.
At the turn of the millennium, Dice began moving from Hip-Hop into electronic music. From his 2002 breakout “Phat Dope Shit” to “Heavy Heart” with Skrillex and Fireboy DML, he has rarely left the headlines. His debut album ‘7 Dunham Place’ arrived on his own Desolat in 2008, followed by “Underground Sound Suicide” on Ultra Music (with guests Giggs, Just Blaze and Neneh Cherry), the club-focused showcase “Love Letters” in 2018, and his fourth album ‘Purple Jam’ on Universal Music.
His collaborators run cross-genre and cross-cultural – from Techno icon Carl Cox to Italian Rap giant Gué and German Rap heavyweight Haftbefehl – alongside dozens of EPs on labels like Ovum, Minus and Cocoon, and remixes for everyone from Moby and Disclosure to Black Coffee and Basement Jaxx. His DJ sets bring the same personality to underground basements and festival main stages alike – Time Warp, Sunwaves, Coachella – as well as era-defining Ibiza residencies at Circoloco (DC-10), the Amnesia Terrace and Space Miami.
In 2007 he founded Desolat, releasing classics from Dubfire, Moritz von Oswald, Martin Buttrich, DJ Sneak and Yaya, later followed by his En Coleur and SB Recordings imprints. Dice’s reach extends well beyond the booth. He appeared in the 2004 PlayStation 2 game “Decks & FX” and as a VJ on MTV’s Battle of the DJs, wrote runway soundtracks for Marcelo Burlon at Milan Men’s Fashion Week, and has moved into fashion through collaborations with Daily Paper and New Era and his own clothing brand, Seran Bendecidos – proof of a restless creative who thrives in the space between genres and styles.
Loco Dice’s forthcoming dates:
11 Jul – Blaues Wasser – Frankfurt, DE
31 Jul – Phi Beach – Sardinia, IT
01 Aug – Paradise – Jesolo, IT
01 Aug – Dreambeach Festival – Málaga, ES
06 Aug – with FISHER at [UNVRS] – Ibiza, ES
21 Aug – Pacha New York – New York City, US
28 Aug – It’ll Do – Dallas, US
02 Sep – with Mau P at Pacha Ibiza – Ibiza, ES
05 Sep – with Carl Cox at Parque Papa Francisco – Lisbon, PT
19 Sep – Carl Cox Invites – Milan, IT
30 Sep – Paradise at [UNVRS] – Ibiza, ES
CONNECT WITH LOCO DICE
References
Unfolded PR. (2026). Tech-House Icon Loco Dice Returns with “Hold Up (You Feel That)” – His First Release Since 2025’s “Purple Jam” Album, Out Now on Universal Music. Retrieved from [Email communication].
Hi, I’m Erick Ycaza — a music blogger with a BA in Advertising & Graphic Design. I created this blog to keep you updated with daily music news. Surprisingly, I’ve been writing about music since 2007. If you’re an artist and would like to be featured, feel free to reach out: info@electrowow.net
