There is something particularly satisfying about watching two musicians with very different artistic identities discover that they have an entirely separate identity together. That is what makes TOMORA, the collaboration between AURORA and The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands, considerably more interesting than the usual electronic producer-meets-vocalist arrangement. Neither artist seems particularly interested in simply borrowing the other’s audience. Instead, they have created something that allows both of them to operate outside the expectations attached to their respective careers.
Following their debut album COME CLOSER earlier this year, TOMORA are preparing to release their five-track EP CELEBRATION on October 16 through Capitol Records. The announcement arrives alongside the title track, a euphoric electronic production that leans into the duo’s shared fascination with psychedelia, repetition and the emotional possibilities of dance music.
“Celebration” builds around a driving electronic rhythm, with layers of hypnotic production gradually accumulating beneath AURORA’s distinctive vocals. Her voice has always possessed an almost otherworldly quality, but against Rowlands’ production, that quality becomes particularly effective. Rather than sitting neatly above the instrumental, her vocals feel woven into the machinery, moving between something intimate and something enormous.
What makes the collaboration work is the contrast. Rowlands has spent decades perfecting the art of creating tension and release through electronic music, while AURORA approaches songwriting with an almost spiritual curiosity about human behavior. Together, they make music that is simultaneously physical and philosophical, which is an interesting combination when the ultimate destination is a dance floor.
The title CELEBRATION might initially suggest something straightforwardly joyful, but TOMORA have a more complicated interpretation.
“Celebration is a privilege. Celebration is a person. Celebration is a funeral and celebration is a ritual. It’s human nature. And it’s a human need. We should all be celebrated, as real human beings,” the duo explains.
That perspective gives the project a little more substance than its title might imply. Dance music has always had a relationship with ritual, whether through underground club culture, communal gatherings or the simple experience of losing yourself in a crowd. TOMORA seem interested in the emotional reasons people seek those experiences in the first place.
The EP was recorded at RAR Studios in Sussex and includes two different versions of “Celebration,” alongside “Hold On Let Go,” “What Do We Got?” and an extended, 10-minute studio performance of “IN A MINUTE,” originally featured on COME CLOSER. The inclusion of alternate versions is particularly appropriate for a project rooted in electronic music, where a recording is not necessarily a definitive statement. A song can change dramatically depending on its arrangement, duration and the environment in which it is heard.
There is also an interesting history behind this partnership. AURORA and Rowlands first worked together during sessions for The Chemical Brothers’ 2019 album No Geography, with AURORA appearing on three tracks, including “Eve of Destruction.” Rowlands subsequently contributed to her 2024 album What Happened to the Heart?. TOMORA feels less like a sudden celebrity collaboration and more like the natural consequence of two artists realizing that their musical conversations deserved a project of their own.
Their timing is also worth considering. Electronic music continues to occupy an enormous space in festival culture, but TOMORA’s approach is more indebted to the psychedelic and experimental traditions that helped shape the genre than to the predictable formulas of contemporary festival EDM. After appearances at Coachella and Fuji Rock, the duo are now translating that identity into their own headline performances.
Among the newly announced dates is TOMORA’s first East Coast headline show, scheduled for March 24, 2027, at Brooklyn Paramount in New York, followed by a March 26 performance in Mexico City. Before then, the duo will perform across Asia, the United Kingdom and Europe, including London’s Roundhouse and Berlin’s UFO.
CELEBRATION arrives digitally October 16, with vinyl and CD editions following November 27. For listeners who already know what AURORA and The Chemical Brothers can accomplish separately, TOMORA offers something arguably more compelling: an opportunity to hear what happens when neither artist has to sound entirely like themselves.
Featured image credit: Capital Records
