Los Angeles duo RIO KOSTA only debuted in March with ‘Ancients’ / ‘It’s Starting’ but the self-described “intergalactic children at play” are beginning to entrance an international following. With ‘Ancients’ having exceeded 1.5 million streams and the pair already hitting 500,000 monthly listeners at Spotify alone, RIO KOSTA now unveil a new calling card for their talents with the single ‘Higher’. Their debut album ‘Unicorn’ then follows on July 18. LISTEN + WATCH ‘HIGHER’ HERE + PRE-SAVE ALBUM HERE.

How best to explain the growing appeal of RIO KOSTA… loose, languid grooves, celestial vocal harmonies and an out-of-time atmosphere contribute to a sound that will connect with a wide array of audiences. Whether you’re into the contemporary psychedelia scene, adore the tight rhythms of nostalgic ‘70s funk, or simply love the freewheeling musicianship of a jam band, ‘Higher’ casts a hypnotic allure to bring you into the RIO KOSTA universe.

RIO KOSTA commented, “We built the riff that accidentally occurred from a sample that’s not in the final song. We like to start with a sample sometimes, a foreign element that we both can react to and get excited about in real time. Whether it stays in the final version or not, it’s always produced the most exciting and interesting results for us. This one is a jammer. We were going after something alive and funky but also with a mystical feeling in some ways.”

Watch: ‘Higher’ (Official Video)

‘Higher’ is accompanied by a performance video shot in the same session as the ‘Ancients’ visual. It’s a vision of a band whose love of performing puts them in an almost trance-like state.

The duo – both multi-instrumentalists, vocals, songwriters and producers – share a rare creative connection that they only discovered by chance. They met backstage at a festival, but had to wait until Covid settled down until they could hit the studio together. That moment was worth the wait as they hit upon the idea for the album’s title track ‘Unicorn’ as soon as they played in the room together.

Before long they might be found in the midst of a stoned 2am jam or sharing vocal harmonies until the sun came up, their instant chemistry sparking a series of happy accidents, and – soon enough – the entire RIO KOSTA debut album. Their intuitive collaboration was surely heightened by Mike’s home studio Hotel Havana, which remains largely unchanged from when it was a garishly decadent hangout spot for numerous LA celebrities and creatives in the 1950s and ‘60s.

What was once personal is now going global, with support so far spanning Matt Wilkinson at Apple Music, triple j, RTÉ, The Line of Best Fit, The Independent, 1883 Magazine, House of Solo and KCRW.