One of the buzziest projects lately is the venture launched by composer and producer John Anthony Rodriguez, based in New Jersey. 54 Ultra has achieved enormous viral traction in collaboration with the Dutch electronic duo ANOTR: ‘Talk to You’ has racked up 150 million streams on Spotify at the time of writing. But the best part is that many of his other tracks are also exploding, such as the romantic and deeply soulful ‘Heaven Knows’ or ‘Upside Down’.
Influenced by the sounds of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, 54 Ultra enjoys cadences reminiscent of Marvin Gaye and also a certain indie air—Morrissey-esque. That blend of soul with indie rock, organic jazzy percussion typical of the 1960s, with synthesizers and metallic instruments, enriches his offering. A project that communicates in natural Spanglish, also defined by his devotion to love.
His 2025 EP ‘First Works’, featuring tracks such as ‘Talk 2 Me’ or ‘Upside Down’, has just this week been followed by a new cut titled ‘Tell Me’, which we selected as Song of the Day today. Moreover, with it, he unveils a sweeping North American and European tour, which will bring him to Madrid and Barcelona on October 20 and 21. It will take place at Copérnico and La Nau, and tickets are on sale through Primavera Tours.
‘Tell Me’ has all the ingredients that define 54 Ultra: the influence of soul in the harmonies and chords, but filtered through a guitar leaning toward indie pop, with half the lyrics in English and the other half in Spanish without you noticing. A verse recalls ‘I don’t know when I lost you, but I remember when I won you’, while the chorus begs ‘Tell me where it all went wrong’, before the song begins to disintegrate.
It’s a pleasurable disintegration, in any case, because his music carries a generous dose of hedonism as well. It’s no accident that ‘Tell Me’ premiered in the summer: there’s something distinctly tasty about 54 Ultra, even though it always wears that romantic glaze.
