According to Dork the producer’s new project marks a departure from the usual pop-oriented sound and a move towards something darker and more club oriented. According to Rolling Stone when discussing the new album in a statement Mura Masa said: “Curve 1 is ultimately a manifestation of an attitude I’ve been cultivating in my personal life; ignore everything. All the content, all of the attention economy, all of it. In doing that, the really meaningful and vital parts of what’s around you make themselves known and unignorable, demanding your energy.”

‘Curve 1′ is set to be Mura Masa’s first release as an independent artist via his own record label and he said that he “wanted it to be as free and anti-narrative as possible. Impressionistic.” He continued saying that “Music as entertainment has in many cases, to me, become very advertorial and excessively sentimental in terms of creating narrative around albums and artists. I wanted to strip this away as much as possible to leave room for the music to create its own meaning in the lives of people who form connections with it.”

It’s hard for me not to explain away the intricacies and ideas contained within these records after having theorised and tolled and executed them over the course of nearly three years, but I think it’s far more fitting of the album’s intent to say simply: listen to it in the dark.”

Curve 1 arrives August 23rd. ‘FLY’ is out now. Listen: https://t.co/tYPTQYVLTj pic.twitter.com/Nk6WKeiS2H

— xander (@mura_masa_) July 29, 2024

Leading up to this announcement of a new album Crossan has released a number of new singles including ‘Still’ back in March which saw British pop hero Griff provide vocals. He’s also released ‘We Are Making Out’ which saw him collaborate with yeule and he shared singles ‘rise/gimme’, ‘Drugs’, and ‘Whenever I Want’.

He also helped co-write and produce a number of songs for other artists in recent years as well as his own music. Including producing global hit ‘Boy’s a Liar pt.2′ by Ice Spice and Pink Pantheress as well as co-writing the latter’s single ‘Turn It Up’. He’s also recently opened a creative hub in Peckham, London called The Pond which is officially supposed to launch next year.

Elsewhere Mura Masa is set to be playing a DJ set at Field Day 2024 in Victoria Park, London next month. Justice and Pink Pantheress will be headlining this year’s event.

Speaking on the story behind the song, Bird said: “Burn The Hard Drive was a song I wrote while still in my last relationship. I think my subconscious knew before I did that it was over. But also, that the ending would be where so much more could begin. Working with Mura Masa has been the purest process. When I got emotional hearing it back after the breakup, he helped me finish it and not erase it, fittingly like everything else.”

“I wanted to get something close to the emotions I had been feeling this past 18 months, and when I see me, hand in hand with a ghost, it hits hard“, she added.

As Bird suggests, not only do we end up having to remove people from our physical spaces, but our digital ones too. For the best part of a decade, the internet was always viewed as a place to escape from the real world, but in recent years, it now seems that the real world offers an escape from the internet, especially during the aftermath of a relationship.

The accompanying music video expresses this very sentiment, presenting a world that is half physical and half pixelated, with momentary flashes of Bird, people and places, illustrating how photographs, video and social media are so deeply intertwined in our real lives, just as memories and past moments reappear in certain places that we walk or drive by. A summer picnic playing out on an icy, barren meadow; seeing someone’s silhouette in the corner of a once beloved pub, or holding hands with their ghost on a park bench. Bird posed an emotional question to fans about the video’s concept, asking them: “All those places have a new meaning now. Where’s a place you just can’t go to anymore?!”

Bird begins the video journeying in a car on a blistering, dirt road, looking back at her past self in the rear view mirror. Shot in various locations, she walks alongside the ghost of an ex-lover, watching as they slowly fade away. Expertly and lovingly crafted, the video was directed by Aries Moross, who Bird has previously worked with on her album visuals. The singer spoke on working with Moross in an Instagram post announcing the single, commenting: “Aries Moross has been my hero and favourite collaborator since my debut video ‘Lottery’ (they shot that too!), there’s something that feels amazing about shooting this new era with them. I’m floored by their work and ability to put together the most incredible people on the daily.”

The collaboration between the pair perfectly captures the same sense of longing and sorrow woven into Bird’s lyrics, while also demonstrating the power in being able to detach from these feelings, move on with your life in a healthy way and cherish new people and new memories.

‘Burn The Hard Drive’ is a glimpse into what is perhaps Bird’s most nuanced sound yet, beguiling us as she flits between softer and rockier vocals. Relishing in her signature raspy tone, Bird plays with a sultry, percussive folk melody no longer filled with darkness or yearning, but with acceptance, relief and new beginnings.

‘Burn The Hard Drive’ is out now.

Prior to release, PinkPantheress shared three singles: “Mosquito,”, “Capable of love” and “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” with Bronx rapper Ice Spice, the cutesy summer bop that vaulted up the charts earlier this year. While all three tracks maintained the signature glossy early-2000s club sound that had catapulted the singer to fame, they also unmistakably hinted at a new chapter in the artist’s musical journey.

Listen to “Capable Of Love” below:

Indeed, on Heaven Knows, much of the new material feels more mature and complete. PinkPantheress, a homemade superstar who initially rose to fame with viral internet pop bites that clocked in at under two minutes to appeal to the short-form media zeitgeist, largely dispenses of her original approach on this new record.

In an interview with NME earlier this year, the singer had expressed a desire to make “a shift towards other styles of music” – a vision that has now materialised on Heaven Knows. Here, PinkPantheress reveals the depth of her artistic versatility, flexing her abilities as a writer, producer, and expert curator of guest spots.

The long-awaited 13-track project sees the Bath-born artist enlist a crew of both familiar and new collaborators on writing and production duties, including two-time Grammy producer of the year Greg Kurstin, Caroline Polacheck producer Danny L. Harle and “Boy’s a Liar” co-writer Mura Masa, whose contributions as an additional producer are manifest on most songs.

Listen to “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2”, co-written by Mura Masa and featuring rapper Ice Spice, below:

Upon announcing her debut LP in October, PinkPantheress explained:

“This album is an accumulation of music I’ve made over the last two years, with some beloved tunes that might sound familiar and some cutie features who I can’t wait to announce. I love everyone here, I cried the other day thinking of how lucky I am to have people willing to listen to me, you are never taken in vain.” 

A press release further revealed that Heaven Knows is about “grief for a loss, but being at peace with yourself in your aloneness. Journeying from hell into purgatory, but I’m OK with being there.”

“Whenever I Want”, which was released on the 3^rd April, is Mura Masa’s first material released as an independent artist since his 2015 debut EP Someday Somewhere. The track was released on Mura Masa’s new label Pond Recordings. The artist from Guernsey wrote on his Twitter that the single is the “first of a new series of records” and that it is the start of a “new era” for him.

new music tomorrow. Love u x pic.twitter.com/hNxpNMRyeH

— xander (@mura_masa_) April 2, 2023

The song samples vocals from the beginning of American hip hop collective Outsidaz’s track “Macosa” featuring rapper Eminem and sets it to a scatty jungle beat.

Sending the viewer on a nauseatingly dizzy trip, the music video features a 360-degree rotating camera rig and stars fans of the artist spinning in a warm-lit liminal rave setting. The video was shot by London-based directors known as the Reids, brothers Ed and Will, who have previously worked with brands such as Nike, Adidas, Converse, Stone Island, Dazed Magazine, i-D Magazine, and Hypebeast.

Watch the video for “Whenever I Want” below:

Mura Masa, aka Alexander Crossan, takes his alias from the legendary Japanese swordsman Sengo Muramasa. He first started making electronic music using Ableton Live at 16 and later uploaded it to Soundcloud where it was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJs. His self-titled debut LP was nominated Best Recording Package and Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018 and he took home the award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical the following year for his remix of Haim’s track “Walking Away“.

One of Crossan’s best-known tracks is 2016’s “Love$ick” featuring American rapper A$AP Rocky which skyrocketed to number one on the Spotify Viral charts in both the UK and the US. Recently, the artist achieved huge success with the single “Boy’s a Liar pt. 2” he co-produced for Pinkpantheress and Ice Spice, which peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Known for his collaborations, Crossan’s discography is crammed with a variety of other stars such as Charli XCX, Nile Rodgers, Christine and the Queens, Damon Albarn, Slowthai, Clario, Lil Uzi Vert, Shygirl, Ariana Grande, and Stormzy. For his LP demon time, he collaborated with Lil Uzi, Shygirl, & PinkPatheress on his cover of “Baby Cakes”  and with Pa Salieu & Skillbeng on his single “Blessing Me”.

Mura Masa also announced he’ll be playing two dates in California this month in between his performances at the Coachella weekends.

In a statement, Mura Masa – who from this point on I’ll refer to by his birthname Alexander Crossan – explained that the album’s title came from “those early morning hours at a party or with friends where a delivish yet innocent sense of mischief prevails”, elaborating, “It’s devil on the shoulder type fun. Not necessarily the most wholesome, but it’s a really good time.” He then went on to explain that people need, “vicarious, escapist music now. So that’s where this demon time idea came from – how do we soundtrack the 1am to 5am period where you start doing stupid shit that you don’t regret but wouldn’t do again when it emerges again post-lockdown?”

Aside from the features we’re already aware of – PinkPantheress, Shygirl etc. – Crossan is also boasting a few other high-profile artists on his album, no surprise there. Slowthai will be returning for another round after the great success that was their last hit single ‘Deal Wiv It’, Lil Yachty and Unknown T join forces for a moment on ‘No Ish’, Shygirl also made the cut for not one… but two tracks, with them as of yet unheard ‘Hollaback Bitch’. You can check out the full roster here.

While the announcement hasn’t, yet, come with the news of an accompanying tour, Mura Masa has got a bunch of UK dates already lined up for the summer. With appearances at Loves Saves The Day, Glastonbury, and All Points East Festival, there is definitely a lot of empty space to fit in a few dates on a tour. You can check out all of the dates for UK and Europe here.

The song, which was released in 2004 by 3 of a Kind, reached number one in the UK charts and seemed to define a different era. Crossan explains that “I feel like ‘bbycakes’ is a future facing record. Clashing UK with US, hard drill music with cute UK garage culture …. Most of all it’s a mission statement for the vicarious and playful nature that I think popular music needs to be looking to in an increasingly cynical culture.“

It seems nostalgia has touched a nerve in this case, with him also saying the track represents a time “where all these new ideas were exciting and we were like ‘we’re living in the future’. And now we actually are and it’s really boring.“

And with all the names sat beside him, it seems he’s not alone in thinking this. Some of his collaborators are hardly a surprise choice. PinkPantheress is known for her own unique brand of nostalgia pop, looking back to dance and garage music from the noughties in her acclaimed 2021 mixtape To Hell With It. Crossan even helped out with her track “Just For Me“. As for Shygirl, she collaborated with Crossan last year on a remix of the Lady Gaga track “Sour Candy“.

The cover sees each guest adding their own original verse between each rendition of the chorus, the production being a proudly noughties affair; chiptune-esque cutesiness and vocals lathered in dream-pop after-effects. It’s Crossan’s latest single since last November’s “2gether“, and it’s a good sign of things to come concerning his third LP.

Crossan’s always had good luck with the collaborators he manages to get a hold of, with R.Y.C featuring the likes of Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, Slowthai and Clairo. And his work isn’t being ignored either. Having been nominated for three Grammy Awards (winning Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his remix of Haim’s “Walking away“), he’s the first artist to be nominated on the same album as both a creative director and musician, this being for his 2017 debut LP Mura Masa.

And it doesn’t stop there, with R.Y.C being awarded five stars by NME. The album was described as “at its most provocative and memorable when its larger-than-life characters and productions become unhinged and combustible with lust for life …. Yet Mura Masa’s anxious contemplation of modern-living – the highs, the lows, the lies we tell ourselves to make it all better – hits just as hard.”

If you’re interested in seeing noughties UK garage make a comeback, this single’s the one for you. And there’s a whole album of the stuff coming soon, so keep your fingers crossed.

Publishing groups such as Warner, Universal and Dirty Hit outlined plans to “disconnect from work and reconnect with our community” for the day, as quoted in NME - yet the event was instead utilised by Masa, aka Alex Crossan, to platform black women within the live music industry. Asking the industry to think against remaining silent, asserting that “silence is not what’s needed,” he called upon others to “share resources, allow space for others,” to educate themselves as to the ordeals of other minority groups.

As Masa proposed yesterday, in a tweet posted on his official Twitter page, @muru_masa_, the 24-year-old artist is assembling his management and touring to crew to organise “a free, 12-week weekend course for 10 black women to train in live music roles (specifically crew roles like front of house/mixing/monitor engineering, lighting technician).”

link is here: https://t.co/rr0HaZ85zc

please don’t be silent today music industry, silence is not what’s needed. Share resources, allow space for voices that need it, educate yourself and those around you. Love x pic.twitter.com/aXGfK7AvCP

— Mura Masa (@mura_masa_) June 2, 2020

Underlining the decision for this new initiative, Masa said it was due to the “serious, serious lack of women of colour occupying these roles,” an anomaly that he and his team “would love to have … change.” Within the post he shared a link to Native Management, the platform through which prospective applicants can submit their interest. Stating that he has “personally committed to funding for this project and can’t wait to commit my time and any help that I can give to this,” he urges his peers within the industry to similarly “investigate how they can put weight and funding into creating or assisting programmes like this.”

Tickets for the tour go on sale at 9am on Friday September 7, and you can pick them up here. Those who pre-order Its About Time will be able to access pre-sale tickets.

I am delighted to announce our first ever @NileRodgers & @CHICorg ARENA tour of the UK w @MistaJam on the wheels of steel and more to be announced!

Pre-order ‘It’s About Time’ to get access to pre-sale tickets.

Click here to pre-order! https://t.co/fFwpc7YDK2 pic.twitter.com/uGL0S2IXho

— Nile Rodgers (@nilerodgers) September 4, 2018

Chic also release the star-studded collaborative single ‘Till the World Falls,’ which featured Mura Masa, Cosha, and Vic Mensa, and was also co-written with Anderson .Paak, with Rodgers and Mura Masa handling production.

“I am delighted to announce our first ever ARENA tour of the UK. Christmas is indeed coming and we are putting together the party of the festive season!”, Rodgers said.