Last weekend I watched Scottish DJ/producer Hudson Mohawke close out the Fader Fort — the hottest ticket at SXSW thanks to free drinks and rampant surprise guests in addition to the generally high quality of the lineup — and he blew me away even though his buddy Kanye West never showed up like the whole crowd was hoping. (Travis $cott and Twista were nice, I guess?) And anyhow, Mohawke has become a superstar in his own right; he was absolutely deserving of that headline slot. As one half of of TNGHT, he perfected the trap-rave genre that dominated dance nights for a couple years there; as part of Kanye’s Yeezus team, he further shifted the shape of rap; and with last year’s Chimes EP, he showed that his solo career was ready to shift back into high gear. So many of us have been waiting anxiously for the first single from his star-studded upcoming album Lantern, and now it’s here, along with the cover art. The Irfane collaboration “Very First Breath” takes Mohawke’s signature sound into a pop direction, matching that familiar low-end wallop with abundant neon-tinted melody of a far friendlier variety than we’re used to hearing from HudMo. Listen below.

Check out Mohawke’s tour dates:

03/28 Miami, FL @ RBMA Guest House, Sagamore Hotel
05/23 Chicago, IL @ Chop Shop & 1st Ward
05/24 Detroit, MI @ Movement Electronic Music Festival
05/28 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
05/29 Washington DC @ U Street Music Hall
05/30 Philadelphia, PA @ The Roots Picnic
05/31 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
06/06 London, UK @ Field Day
06/06 London, UK @ XOYO – Field Day After-party
06/07 Manchester, UK @ Parklife
06/20 Eersel, Netherlands @ We Are Electric Outdoor
06/27 Madrid, Spain @ Mula Fest
07/17 Graefenhainchen, Germany @ Melt! Festival
07/18 Marley Park, Ireland @ Longitude
07/24 Niigata, Japan @ Fuji Rock
08/01 Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/21 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands @ Lowlands Festival
08/28 Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
08/30 Reading, UK @ Reading Festival

Lantern is out 6/16 on Warp. Pre-order it here.