Los Angeles producer and live coder DJ_Dave has officially released her debut album, Hardcore Software, out now via Mad Decent. Alongside the album, she has created an interactive m@lw@re application for “Give it 2 me,” turning the release into something listeners can experience far beyond a traditional music video.
Hardcore Software brings together the driving energy of trance and hardstyle with the delicate melodies associated with PC Music, creating a sound that can move between the rave and the radio without losing its club-focused identity. The album is designed to welcome listeners who may come from a pop background while still connecting with longtime electronic music fans.
Throughout the project, DJ_Dave works with live coding collaborators Switch Angel, c_robo_, and Lil Data, alongside electronic producers Ninajirachi and meat computer. Those collaborations allow her to explore new directions within her established sound, from the pulsating energy of “Await” to the more lyrical pop approach of “Alive Internet Theory.”
Drawing inspiration from Clams Casino and Aphex Twin, Dave also uses samples of her own breathy, ethereal vocals throughout the album. She carefully shapes and twists those recordings, giving the tracks an added sense of intimacy and texture while maintaining the icy electronic sound that runs through the project.
The album’s visual world is just as unconventional. For “Give it 2 me,” Dave built an interactive video as a Mac desktop application that fans can download to their own computers. The m@lw@re interacts with information from the computer, camera, and location, while also surfacing memories and asking questions. From there, it creates a version of the video built around the individual using it, all soundtracked by “Give it 2 me.”
Dave sees the unusual format as an opportunity to rethink what an interactive music video can be.
“Malware is an underrated yet extremely powerful medium. It can reach into your device, take over your screen, and perform on your own machine in a way no other video player ever could. Most of what we know about malware comes from the negative connotation of how it’s been used in the past, so with the “Give It 2 Me” video, I wanted to explore what it could be if used with completely different intentions: as a tool for connection, reflection, and discovery.”
She also sees a connection between the application and her approach to live coding.
“It reminds me of live coding in the way it can perform something for you in real time rather than play back a prerecorded experience. By interacting with your computer, camera, location, and memories, it creates something uniquely personal…which felt like the perfect visual accompaniment for this track and the album as a whole.”
The album arrives just one night after Dave launched The Hardcore Software Tour at El Rey in Los Angeles, marking her first headlining tour.
For Dave, the album represents years of work and experimentation finally coming together. Her growing profile has already led to opportunities with some major names across music and culture. Grimes booked her for a Met Gala afterparty, Frank Ocean selected her to guest curate his Homer Radio, and Beatport named her to its Next Class of 2026.
Dave introduced Hardcore Software through a series of six singles, beginning with “Hard Refresh” in 2025 and continuing with “Airglow“, “one4u,” and “Fail-safe,” which she wrote in just ten minutes. July’s “Next to U” came from a mistyped comma in Strudel, her live coding environment, which unexpectedly produced the track’s fifth lead melody.
The rollout continued with September’s “Await,” for which Dave filmed her own performance video at Homeboy Recycling, the Los Angeles electronics recycling facility operated by Homeboy Industries, the world’s largest reentry organization for formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people.
Between releases, Dave has continued bringing her music to audiences around the country, including appearances at Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle and North Coast Music Festival in Chicago.
Following headline dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Montreal, Dave will join horsegiirL for nine support dates on the Nature Is Healing Tour, beginning in Atlanta on October 21 and continuing through London’s O2 Academy Brixton on December 4. She will also headline Art Club in Houston on November 21.
With Hardcore Software now out in full, DJ_Dave is bringing together music, technology, live coding, and interactive art into one ambitious debut—one that reflects both where she has come from and how far she is willing to push her sound.
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