New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Iconic singer Ultra Naté taps into a rich new generation of British soul & jazz, hooking up with London duo Blue Lab Beats for her latest single FUN, from her #1 album ULTRA.
"It's all about sing-along vibes and deep groove when it comes to FUN," Ultra says. "This one is dripping in 70's hot buttered soul with a modern perspective from the seriously talented young British producers, NK-OK and Mr. DM.
"FUN is the story we all lived when our lives came to an abrupt halt as the pandemic swooped in," she continues. "One minute we were partying, hanging and connecting, the next we were in a dreadful isolation. FUN reminds us to enjoy and celebrate the small things, the moments and the adventures!
The track, a standout from her tenth studio album in a 30-year career, sees Ultra coming full circle collaboratively: "Writing this tune was like a family reunion," she says, "as one half of Blue Lab Beats is my long-time friend and collaborator Kwame Kwaten's (D-Influence) son!"
GRAMMY-winners Blue Lab Beats, have scored major critical acclaim for their work, including last year's album Motherland
Journey which featured an appearance by the late legend Fela Kuti. The pair are one of the most renowned producers in the British jazztronica and nu-soul genres, winning this year's coveted Jazz FM Innovation Award, and proved an instant connection musically for Ultra:
"In a way I've always connected with British soul vibes and when Kwame sent me the track from the boys, I immediately wrote FUN. It was so organic and rich with melody to tell the story and convey the emotion I felt at the time. FUN became a centrepiece of the ULTRA album early."
Ultra Naté & Blue Lab Beats FUN is out on full worldwide release November 1st, 2022 on Blufire / Peace Bisquit.
Named one of Billboard Magazine's Greatest Dance Artists Of All Time, and with a career spanning three decades and spawning massive crowd stompers such as Twisted, Automatic, Party Girl, New Kind Of Medicine, Found A Cure, How Long (Ultra Flava), If You Could Read My Mind, and the seminal, evergreen anthem Free, US singer, songwriter, DJ and producer Ultra Naté continues to be an integral force within the life blood of global House Music.
One of the first house music artists to sign a major label deal with she inked paper with Warner
Music UK, Ultra Naté's sound has continually embraced a variety of genres including House, Soul, Disco, Electro-Pop, R&B, HipHop and Rock. Her catalogue is one steeped in timeless classics, impressive accolades and creative highlights with everyone from The Basement Boys, Nellee Hooper, D-Influence, Mood II Swing, Nona Hendryx,
Lenny Kravitz and Frankie Knuckles, to N'Dea Davenport, NERVO, Todd Terry,
Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child), 4 Hero, Deee-lite, Masters At Work,
Roger Sanchez and more.
Ultra's biggest single 'Free' shows no sign of letting up, 25 years after its original release. Ultra a widely noted ally of the international LBGTQIA+ community, Free was universally named one of the Top Pride anthems of all time during 2019's unprecedented global World Pride celebrations. In 2020 Tomorrowland's influential One World
Radio included the track in the Top 10 of its 'Best Ibiza Anthems of All Time'. In 2021, Ultra was invited by dance maestro Pete Tong to close out his Ibiza Classics tour with Jules Buckley and the Heritage Orchestra, performing Free in front of crowds of up to 90,000. June 2022 saw Swedish Pop duo
Icona Pop collaborate with Ultra for a revised version of Free, titled You're Free and aptly released on Ultra Records. In July 2022 Ultra gave a historic performance of Free at a sold out Wembley Stadium for the Women's Euro 2022 final, alongside
Becky Hill and Stefflon Don. In October 2022, at the invitation of Pete Tong, Ultra returned to the UK to record a sensational new Orchestral version of Free (Do What U Want) with LP Giobbi and Jules Buckley that incorporates Rozalla's classic, Everybody's Free, exclusively for Amazon
Music on Ministry of Sound.
