American drum & bass producer Justin Hawkes has released his second studio album, Now Or Never, via Drumcaste Collective on August 14, 2026. His music has received support from artists including Sub Focus, Andy C, Wilkinson, RL Grime, Knife Party, Pendulum, Porter Robinson and Black Tiger Sex Machine, while his catalogue has surpassed 100 million streams. He has performed across more than 14 countries, with appearances at major events and venues including London’s Alexandra Palace, Electric Daisy Carnival and Tomorrowland in Belgium and Brazil.
Across the album, Hawkes moves between tech-driven drum & bass, future jungle, halftime, modern jump-up and progressive, anthemic passages. Rather than approaching the record as a collection of standalone singles, Now Or Never is structured around a narrative that develops from its opening moments through to its conclusion, balancing the impact of a club record with the detail of a headphone-focused listening experience.
The album follows Hawkes’ 2022 debut, Existential, which established his willingness to move beyond the conventional boundaries of drum & bass. While that record explored the tension between tragedy and harmony, Now Or Never focuses on passion as a force that carries through time, shaping identity, memory and instinct. Across its 12 chapters, Hawkes explores themes including resistance, attraction, discovery, dance, healing, love and self-realisation. 
“Now Or Never captures a complete cycle of time and transcendence; it narrates a continuous path of transformation within my life,” Hawkes explains. “The 12 chapters of this story walk a journey of discovery within myself, with each song as a lifetime leading into the next pivotal realization.”
The record also represents a deliberately human-made creative process. Hawkes wrote and produced every track, contributed vocals and lyrics throughout the album, and helped develop its accompanying visual world alongside Chase Yaws and Sadler Milbrath. At a time when artificial intelligence is increasingly influencing the production and visual sides of music, Hawkes says he intentionally kept the project human-created across its audio, text, photography and video.
Following the release of Now Or Never, Hawkes will continue touring through the remainder of 2026, with upcoming performances scheduled across North America and Europe. His next appearance comes on August 15 at Bass Canyon Festival in George, Washington, followed by a September European run and further North American festival dates.
Listen to Now Or Never below:
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