Band photo by Jim Louvau – Artwork by @insect_decay

I just got word about two cool things:  This new Authority Zero single and a community project they have going on around it.  Per the press release:

“Through ApocalypticSummer.com, musicians, producers and artists can download the song’s individual stems and create their own versions of “Apocalyptic Summer.” The always-open initiative is a just-for-fun, human-made community project built around independent creativity and collaboration.”

That human-made component is a nice touch and there are some rules to follow if you decide to dive in and take a shot at creating your own mix.  The short version is: “Participants are asked to build their versions using their own ideas, performances and conventional non-AI production tools.”  Everyone has their own opinions about the use of AI in our industry of course but I am all for initiatives that put things back more in the realm of us good humans 🙂 

For me, this new track hits right in my Authority Zero happy place.  This band has long been a favorite of mine due to the great rhythm foundations that they always have, the lyrics of Jason DeVore and guitars that hit at just the right moments.  “Apocalyptic Summer” has all of these as it winds through a slightly sarcastic end-of-the-world type lyrical journey.   The bass at the beginning is booming and continues to lead the way throughout.  The drums here provide a stark, bare sound that punches well against that bass line. Overall, a very good song and it has that summer vibe that makes you wish…well, that it was not September.

They already have two great dub mixes up that were created by Wayne Lothian (English Beat) and Ted Bowne (Passafire).  These are both excellent and worthy of a listen.  My favorite was Lothian’s but it was a close call – he gave the song a lighter feel which was an interesting take on it.  

Vote here to nominate this for my best of 2026 list: 

Streaming link  (including the Ted Browne and Wayne Lothian dub mixes):

If you are interested in the community project you can check here for info on the no AI rules and to get the stems: 

https://apocalypticsummer.com

Please let me know your opinion in the comment section below

Interested in more info on this Artist?

https://authorityzero.com

https://www.instagram.com/authorityzeromusic

Just a few ideas if you have the time:  purchase music when you can as streaming does not pay much even times a thousand, support and get to know your local community, live well and be a good neighbor 🙂