Tinlicker makes their return to Cercle Records with “Melancholia”, a melodic house track that does not let go. The fifth single from Dreams of the Machine opens across a vast atmospheric landscape before a driving energy pulls it forward, building tension through layered textures and the kind of emotional weight that Tinlicker have spent over a decade learning how to carry. It feels like the music at the end of an intense film, the kind that plays over the credits and makes you sit with everything you just experienced.
The Track
“Melancholia captures the vulnerability of human life and the rare feeling of a bond that feels unbreakable, a tiny sense of holding on to someone,” the group said of the release. “It is the fifth single of our new album Dreams of the Machine, which questions the future of humanity. We ask ourselves: are machines able to dream? And are we, as humans, heading in a direction where we can find more inner peace within ourselves?”
The track features a clear, singing indie guitar sound that runs through several of the album’s most emotionally resonant moments. A reminder that Tinlicker’s long-standing commitment to real instrumentation. From strings to keys to horns to guitar, is what separates their music from more conventional electronic acts.
Dreams of the Machine: The Album Behind the Single
Dreams of the Machine is Tinlicker’s fourth studio album and their first as a live Netherlands and UK trio, released on Remember The Future via PIAS. The 14-track record presents a compelling body of work centred on technology and its overwhelming presence in our daily lives.
“This era looks at technology and where it’s taking humans,” Jordi van Achthoven explained. “It’s a metaphor for computers or AI having human dreams and emotions , the machine wanting to be human, while people behave more like robots. There’s a shift happening.”
The album’s previous singles include “Release” described as high-energy dance fuel. Whereas, “Reborn,” carries a late 90s and early 2000s Eurodance energy. “I Want My Freedom” as a manifesto of independence, and “God In You,” a portentous dub techno and 90s synth exploration. “Melancholia” arrives as the album’s most emotionally exposed moment yet.
The Risk-Takers Who Keep Getting It Right
The Tinlicker that made Dreams of the Machine is not quite the same group that made Cold Enough For Snow in 2024. In October 2025, Hero Baldwin formally joined as a permanent live and studio member. She transformed the group from being a duo to being a trio and fundamentally shifting how they approach both recording and performance. “Making an album always feels like a fresh start,” van Achthoven said. “After touring the last one, you need something new to keep yourself interested.”
That restlessness has defined Tinlicker’s career. After their 2021 breakthrough with “Because You Move Me”, now past one billion streams — they left Anjunadeep for PIAS and moved from pure DJ sets into full live and band performances. Both were significant risks. Both paid off. Cold Enough For Snow was a masterclass in balancing innovation with quality. Dreams of the Machine pushes further still. A group asking harder questions, with their music and philosophically, than they have ever asked before.
Their biggest live show to date — Tinlicker In The Park at Crystal Palace Bowl in summer 2025 — was followed by a sold-out Melkweg Amsterdam performance. Presently they have a North America tour next on schedule
“We don’t like living safe,” one of the members once said. “There’s only one rule: we have to like it.”
“Melancholia” by Tinlicker is out now on Cercle Records. For more information check out their Instagram.
