AC (dot robot)'s 'London 2026' Turns Four Seasons Into a Techno Audio Diary

Some of the best new DJs right now are not headlining festivals yet — they are playing London basements and turning their own lives into records. AC (dot robot) is one of them. The Chinese-born, London-based DJ and producer's new EP London 2026 maps a year of change across four tracks, one for each season, and it is the most personal electronic record to cross our desk this week.

The EP in four tracks

• "No Regret" (autumn): conceived on a flight from China back to London, five years after AC first arrived in the city. It reflects on discrimination, harassment, heartbreak and self-doubt — and lands on freedom and the decision to keep pursuing the life she chose.
• "The Worst of Me" (winter): the EP's most exposed moment, confronting possessiveness, guilt and the damage caused within a relationship with another woman.
• "Rocky" (spring): folds the sound of the traditional Chinese pipa into melodic electronics — the record's most distinctive sonic idea.
• "Summertime Daydream" (summer): closes the record looking back at the seemingly endless summers of childhood, before warmth gives way to homesickness and the realities of growing older away from home.

Written between autumn 2025 and summer 2026 and released on October 16, 2026, the EP is what AC calls a "mini audio diary" — four seasons, four versions of herself, moving beyond student life into creative independence in London.

Why she is one to watch

AC (dot robot) emerged as a DJ in 2024 and has already played Village Underground, E1, Colour Factory, The Cause and XOYO, alongside appearances at SXSW and FKA twigs' album release party. Her production work includes releases with Adhesive and a remix of NLI-Riot premiered by Berlin platform MOTZ.

That trajectory is the interesting part. She is known on the London circuit for high-intensity techno, trance and hardcore — but London 2026 shows a far more reflective side, with pitched-up vocals, euphoric trance melodies and day-glo synths sitting next to genuinely vulnerable songwriting. The tension between the two is the point: a record that is frequently upbeat and full of energy, carrying themes you would never guess from the music alone.

Where to start

• "Rocky" first: the pipa gives it a sound nothing else in techno quite has right now, and it is the clearest window into what makes AC different.
• Then "No Regret", the EP's emotional anchor and the track that best explains the record's title.
• Listen to the full EP on the YouTube playlist.

Note: the EP's tracks are not linked to Spotify here — no verified Spotify page for the release could be found at the time of writing.

FAQ

Who is AC (dot robot)?

A London-based queer Asian DJ and producer who moved to the city from China aged 18. She emerged as a DJ in 2024, playing high-intensity techno, trance and hardcore across London clubs including Village Underground, E1 and XOYO.

When was London 2026 released?

October 16, 2026. It was written between autumn 2025 and summer 2026.

What is the EP about?

Four seasons of a formative year: independence, identity, heartbreak, homesickness and self-discovery, framed as a "mini audio diary" of AC's move beyond student life.

Read the full feature from EDM Cave and the in-depth interview in Magnetic Magazine.

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