ACL Festival 2026 - Night Tapes

 NIGHT TAPES (W2)

London-based trio Night Tapes creates atmospheric dream pop that drifts between electronic music, ambient textures, trip-hop and new wave. The group features Estonian vocalist Iiris Vesik alongside Max Doohan and Sam Richards, who first began making music together during late-night jam sessions while sharing a house in South London. Since releasing their earliest music in 2019, Night Tapes has steadily built an international following with songs that feel immersive, intimate and slightly otherworldly. Their appearance at ACL Festival Weekend 2 offers the perfect opportunity to experience that hypnotic sound outside the confines of headphones.

Saturday October 10, 2026

Time: 1:00pm

Stage: T-Mobile

👂 First Impression
Night Tapes creates the kind of music that seems to alter the atmosphere around you. Iiris Vesik’s airy vocals float above layered electronics, deep basslines and subtle new-wave rhythms, creating songs that feel both calming and quietly intense. There are traces of Portishead’s shadowy trip-hop, Frou Frou’s intricate electronic pop and the soft, understated cool of Men I Trust, but Night Tapes turns those familiar elements into a world entirely their own.

▶ Start Here: “Humans”
“Humans” is an addicting and hypnotic track that begs to be listened to over and over again. The opening immediately creates a sense of mystery, but it is the combination of Iiris Vesik’s delicate vocals, the pulsing rhythm and the song’s seamless layers that keeps pulling me back. It feels dreamy and intimate without ever fading into the background. Instead, every replay reveals another detail hiding within the production.

Released in 2022, “Humans” later appeared on the band’s Perfect Kindness EP and received a remix from Franc Moody in 2023.

🎧 What I Hear
Night Tapes balances softness with movement. Their songs may feel weightless, but underneath the dreamy vocals are carefully constructed electronic rhythms, rich basslines, shoegaze textures and flashes of new wave. The result feels cinematic without becoming overly dramatic and relaxing without losing its emotional pull.

The nocturnal quality of the music is no accident. The group grew out of evening recording sessions, and their process continues to incorporate field recordings, tape textures and sounds collected from different locations. Their debut album includes recordings gathered everywhere from Estonian swamps to the mountains of Mexico.

💿 The Evolution
Night Tapes released Dream Forever in Glorious Stereo in 2019, followed by Download Spirit in 2020. Their 2023 EP Perfect Kindness helped introduce the trio to a wider audience, while 2024’s assisted memories continued expanding their blend of dream pop and electronic experimentation.

Their debut full-length album, portals//polarities, arrived on September 26, 2025. The 13-track release moves beyond the shared house where the band’s earliest music was created, weaving field recordings, live instrumentation and layered electronic production into a broader and more immersive sound.

The band has also grown significantly as a live act, completing extensive international touring and opening a European arena run for The Neighbourhood in 2026.

💜 WAALT Take
Night Tapes is exactly the kind of lower-lineup ACL discovery that makes exploring the festival bill worthwhile. Their music is subtle enough to get lost inside but distinctive enough to stop you in your tracks. “Humans” may have been my entry point, but the deeper I move into their catalog, the clearer it becomes that their music is built to be experienced as an entire atmosphere rather than a collection of individual songs.

They could easily become one of ACL’s most talked-about discoveries, especially for listeners drawn to dream pop, trip-hop and electronic music with a darker, more introspective edge.

🔁 Listen Next
“drifting”
Their biggest track and an essential example of Night Tapes’ ability to combine an instantly appealing melody with lush, transportive production.

“Forever”
An early song that captures the lo-fi intimacy and late-night spirit behind the band’s beginnings.

“projections”
A strong entry point into the more expansive world of portals//polarities.

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