PREMIERE – The single arrives with a visualizer by Gabriel Rollinos, known for work with Tame Impala and Toro y Moi

Featured image: © Henrique Barreto

Title: I Dreamt I Was Awake
Artist: Late Again
Release Date: 2026-09-04
Genres: Dream Pop
Description: Late Again premieres "Crazy or Stupid," a dream-pop single on deportation fears and AI anxiety, from his debut EP out Sept. 4.

Deportation and artificial intelligence takeovers are not the usual subjects of a dream-pop ballad, but Late Again turns both into casual asides on Crazy or Stupid, the new single premiering today, Wednesday, July 8, on RetroFuturista. The track wraps its social commentary in hazy electronic textures, synths, and phased-out guitars, using a humorous, observational tone that lets modern anxieties slide by almost unnoticed inside the melody.

Late Again is the musical moniker of Rafael Melo, a Brooklyn-based multi-hyphenate artist who was born and raised on the coast of São Paulo, Brazil. His professional background outside of music involves work in films and indie video games. Since debuting the musical project in April 2024, Melo has recorded tracks at Studio G in Brooklyn and Evil Twin in São Paulo. The new single features an accompanying visualizer made by visual artist Gabriel Rollinos, who has previously worked with Tame Impala, Toro y Moi, and Metronomy.

Crazy or Stupid is the third track on the upcoming six-song EP titled I Dreamt I Was Awake, scheduled for release on September 4. The tracklist opens with To Stop The Time, followed by If You Have A Bridge (I’m Buying). The remaining tracks after the new single are My Sore Throat, All My Exes Moved to the Countryside, and Every Time I Take Sudafed. The recordings for the EP include performances by drummer Thiago Dom and bassist John Lisi. Engineering duties were handled by Nelson Espinal, while the final mix was completed by Heal Mura, a longtime Brazilian collaborator of Melo.

retrofuturista

Retrofurista is a site on design, interesting things, audio visual arts, and food.