Bleep

NYC singer Amy Douglas makes her official DFA debut with ‘Never Saw It Coming’, co-written and produced by Tim Wagner of 33Hz, with two remixes by Sheffield artist Crooked Man.

With a five-octave range and a diverse background in performance, ranging from rock to soul to jazz, Douglas’ voice is the heart of the song, lending heightened drama to the steady mechanical funk of Wagner’s production.

The two remixes by DFA artist Crooked Man let the track grow and build slowly with longer, lush arrangements, while his hypnotic dub doubles down on the woozy bassline and has Amy’s vocals echoing out into the ether.

Though this is Douglas’ first release on the label, she is no stranger to the DFA roster. She is the voice behind ‘Happiness’, the epic closing track on Crooked Man’s self- titled 2016 album and she also appears on the forthcoming Crooked Man album on DFA. Amy also works with Juan Maclean as one half of Peach Melba, who have released singles on both DFA and Defected / Classic. Crooked Man’s signature maximalist house sound has always been complemented by the support of strong female vocalists and together the pair take each other’s work to a new level for an impressive collaboration. Rumour has it they’re currently working on more tracks together.

Lots of artists these days aim to ‘reimagine’ the sounds of disco, house and soul but Amy Douglas and Crooked Man are creating something all their own that pulls from the best of times past, while also looking decidedly forward.