The British DJ (real name Jamie Smith) tested the waters last December by anonymously debuting the track during a live mix for NTS radio (below), and it has since seen heavy rotation in sets from Bicep, Four Tet, and Caribou. Only now has Smith taken credit for producing the song and revealed its title: “Idontknow“. 

Despite a recent guest appearance on the Headie One and Fred again.. track “Smoke“, Smith hasn’t put out any new solo material since his 2015 debut In Colour. While “Idontknow” certainly puts a new spin on the producer’s signature sound, spend a few seconds in its stuttering breakbeats and you’ll feel his debut’s playful energy come flooding right back.

Alongside a short video posted on Instagram yesterday, Smith explained the song had come about by trying to “let go” from frustrations over his writing process. He followed up the statement with these words of encouragement: “Now, we can’t go out to dance and we need an outlet more than ever, I hope you dance to it at home and let go for a moment”.

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I made Idontknow as an outlet for my frustration over not being able to finish any music for a while. I tried to be less precious with my ideas and just let go. I then watched this translate onto the dance floor when I started playing it out last year. Now, we can’t go out to dance and we need an outlet more than ever, I hope you dance to it at home and let go for a moment. You can pre-order the 12″ now, available exclusively from independent record stores. They need our support more than ever. We’ve created a list so you can find out how you can get hold of the record via the link in bio. Special thanks to @dohertyoona. I reached out to Oona (in the blue polo shirt here) to be in my next video. She sent back these clips of her and her friends and a beautiful message that you can read here: https://youtu.be/U2NFjq5-JQM

A post shared by Jamie xx (@jamie___xx) on Apr 15, 2020 at 9:12am PDT

Since the new song hasn’t been announced as a part of an album release, it might be a while longer before we see In Colour’s long-anticipated follow-up (though fans of his band The xx might not have to wait so long). 

A 12-inch version of “Idontknow” will be released on 1st May via Young Turks. Stream the song’s official audio via YouTube below: