Rudimental have teamed up with Belgian drum’n’bass/elecronic producer Netsky and London-based hip-hop vocallist Afronaut Zu for the energetic new track ‘Blend‘. The single was released earlier today through the renowned UK label Hospital Records. An audio visualisation was uploaded immediately on UKF’s YouTube channel, with additional footage on social media hinting at potential official video coming soon.
Funky, stylish and uplifting, ‘Blend‘ more than meets the expectations of the stellar collaboration. The single perfectly captures Rudimental’s signature upbeat brass sections and positive pop vibes, Netsky’s smooth liquid funk and jazzy influences, and Afronaut’s afrobeat-infused rap vocals. A powerful blend of styles, one can hardly imagine a more fitting title for what is certain to be an upcoming chart entry.
On top of teaming up with Netsky, Rudimental also premiered an official live video of their recent track ‘Come Over‘. The single features Anne-Marie and Tion Wayne as guest vocals and was released in late August this year, making it their third new song of 2020 following the release of ‘Krazy‘ (ft. Afronaut Zu) and ‘Easy On Me‘. Rudimental’s last full studio album Taste To Our Differences came in January 2019 and was their first record failing to top the Official UK Albums Chart following the hugely succesful double platinum debut Home (2013) and its gold-certified successor We The Generation (2015).
‘Blend‘ is set to feature on Netsky’s fourth studio album Second Nature due out on 30th October through Hospital Records. Born Boris Daenen, the DJ has been active since late 2009 with his debut self-titled debut released the following year. Hugely successful in Belgium with two records topping the local charts, and a leading name in the European drum’n’bass scene, he is yet to land a commercially succesful release in the UK and the fresh collaboration with Rudimental might be just what he needed.
@netskymusic and @Rudimental have cooked up an absolute storm! ‘Blend‘ features live brass, a shredding bassline and @AfronautZu‘s infections vocal cuts. This is a certified D+B banger taken from Netsky’s forthcoming album ‘Second Nature‘ which lands at the end of the month! pic.twitter.com/WntorNjMtS
— Hospital Records (@HospitalRecords) October 2, 2020
In recent years Afronaut Zu has been gradually building his reputation as a popular solo artists with powerful collaborations and infectious live performances. Known as the former singer of Damian Lazarus & Thr Ancient Moons as well as being part of the hip-hop band Orphgang, he has been acting as the live singer for Rudimental and have recently featured on two of their official releases – ‘Krazy‘ and now ‘Blend‘. His debut EP MELANALIA came out in 2018 via OFF BALANCE and he is currently preparing a second release, following a productive 2020 which included recent featuring on Steam Down’s ‘Etcetera‘ that made it into the official soundtrack of FIFA 2021.
‘Blend‘ is the first time Rudimental and Netsky have collaborated on official track release. Earlier this week Netsky took it to Instagram to express his excitement of finally working together and enjoying the recording process. Talking about the track, he teased his followers to “expect live brass, [Piers Agget, Rudimental] taking you to church, [Amir Amor, Rudimental] taking you on a vibey trip and a drum & bass drop that’ll make you shake in public” and after dancing all day to it we couldn’t agree more.
