Thundercat – “Heartbreaks + Setbacks”
If you didn’t hear Thundercat (aka Stephen Bruner) on his fantastic 2011 album, you’ve probably heard his bass guitar brilliance on many of Flying Lotus’s best tracks Now Thundercat has a new album on the way, Apocalypse, which seems like a play on the former’s title, Golden Age Of Apocalypse. While Golden Age was mostly produced by Fly Lo, this new one will be entirely produced by him. The new single, “Heartbreaks + Setbacks,” has just been released, and while it’s tough to expect a collaboration like this not to sound good, it’s still hard to prepare for just how incredible the track is. This pairing of Bruner’s gorgeous voice and smooth basslines with Flying Lotus’s skittering and glitchy beats is one of the best things I’ve heard from either artist in a very long time. It works so well because Bruner is the star of the show the whole time; Flying Lotus generates a web of warped textures and sonic details beneath him and backs out at just the right time to allow Bruner’s bass to take the whole thing out. As for Flying Lotus, between his awesome DJ set for Earl at Coachella and this, it’s been more and more exciting to see him in a more supportive role. Listen below and look for the new album this summer.
Apocalypse is out 7/9 on Brainfeeder