Marlon Hoffstadt & Niko Rubio Bring An After-Hours Invitation To "Water"
Written By: Big C
A song can spend a year in a DJ set before anyone gets to take it home. Marlon Hoffstadt and Niko Rubio release Water through Capitol Records in partnership with Goodlife Management and MC3. They wrote it with BURNS, Pablo Bowman and CASTLE, with Hoffstadt and BURNS producing. Rubio’s lyric offers shelter after sundown, giving the dance track a point of intimacy even in the setting of a festival. Hoffstadt had been playing it since ADE 2025 before the pair performed it together at Portola Festival in 2026. He explains why the release stands apart for him:
I’ve been playing ‘Water’ in my sets for over a year now, so I’m super excited it’s finally out! I wrote it in Los Angeles last September with some incredibly talented people, Niko Rubio, BURNS, Pablo Bowman and CASTLE, and it all came together so naturally in the room. It’s not a typical dance track and probably not what people expect from me, but it feels timeless, and I genuinely believe it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever made!
Hoffstadt’s previous collaboration with David Guetta on Caught Up brought his trance instincts into a house setting, while Rubio hears "Water" as an extension of her own album, late night swim. That difference in reference points helps explain the song’s place in both artists’ catalogs. They had already worked together on On My Mind for Das Ist Daddy, so the Portola performance brought an ongoing collaboration into the same room as its listeners. Watch "Water" below and check Rubio’s California headline dates in December. Follow Marlon Hoffstadt on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok and visit Niko Rubio on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for her upcoming shows.
Comments