Canadian artist Ekkstacy has announced Forever and Always, a deluxe edition of his 2025 album Forever, set for release on 7th November. Alongside the news, he’s shared a new track, ‘i wish i could rip off this old face’.
The song, recorded during the Forever sessions, strips things back to their core. Just voice and acoustic guitar, it’s a stark and haunting reflection on self-image and identity. “When I was 10 I thought I was ugly,” Ekkstacy says. “I’m 23 now, I still find myself ugly. This song explores self-image issues that I’ve been dealing with since I can remember.”
The track opens the next chapter in what’s already been a huge year for the Vancouver musician. His latest record Forever earned acclaim, described by FLOOD as “a shifting mural of surf rock’s buoyancy, garage rock’s irreverence, SoundCloud rap’s hazy melancholy, and early punk’s conciseness.”
Across 2025, Ekkstacy has carved out a space entirely his own – melancholic, stylish, and unflinchingly honest. His sound, equally indebted to Joy Division and SoundCloud rap, continues to blur boundaries between genres and generations. With coverage from The Guardian, Dazed and GQ, he’s become one of alternative music’s most distinctive new voices.
He’ll take the record on tour through November and December, with dates in Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Milan, Dublin, Manchester and London. The shows mark the end of a whirlwind year of international festivals and headline performances that have seen his cult following grow into something much bigger.
EKKSTACY plays London’s The Dome on 10th December.
Editors’ Picks
- Deluxe Edition
- EKKSTACY
- Forever
- Forever and Always
- i wish i could rip off this old face
- Post-Punk
- UK tour
- Vancouver
