Thundercat - Drunk

The album is a 23-track epic journey into the often hilarious, sometimes dark mind of the Grammy-winning singer/bassist and finds a few of his friends joining him along the way including: Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Wiz Khalifa, Kamasi Washington and Brainfeeder mastermind Flying Lotus. “Drunk” is the follow up to his widely praised 2015 mini album “The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam”, and features fan favourite tracks ‘Bus In These Streets’ and ‘Them Changes’.

‘Show You The Way’ is the first single from “Drunk”, and the ballad features two of Thundercat’s heroes: iconic musicians Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. And how did this collaboration come to be? Thundercat mentioned his love of Loggins several times during his press tour for “The Beyond…” (Dinner Party Download, Billboard), leading to an introduction via his keyboard player Dennis Hamm. He tells Red Bull Music Academy Daily: “These are guys that I've listened to and where I felt that I've learned that honesty in the music. Kenny Loggins is one of my favourite songwriters.” Loggins was the one that suggested bringing McDonald in on the track and, Thundercat adds: “I think one of the most beautiful moments was realising how amazing Michael McDonald is. He would go through so many ideas and have so much to offer.”

Thundercat also notes: “That song to me is about going down the rabbit hole, taking you to another place… On the edge of dark, there's the brightest light. It means a lot to me in the sense of... the experience that I've had growing up with friends and people that I've been around where it's inviting them into where I come from emotionally. Sometimes it's a pretty intense thing. The point is how weird things can get. I feel like it's very funny that, in a way, of course Michael McDonald and Kenny would be there.”

The album title, like the rest of the album, is meant to be both humorous and serious. “I’ve always tried to hold true to what Erykah Badu and Flying Lotus told me: It has to come from an honest place. I feel like it’s a place that I’ve been in different ways, seen different angles of and it’s been a bit inspirational - the drinking,” he tells RBMA Daily. “It has its ups and downs and everything, but I felt like it showed the human side of what goes on behind things, something that I see with all of my friends… I felt like it was kind of interweaved in the music culture. And it’s something that’s never talked about.”

4 x Red 10” boxset

 4LP box set comprising four red vinyl 10”s housed in 3mm spined sleeves with artworked inners. Photography by Eddie Alcazar, artwork by Zack Fox and art direction by Adam Stover. MP3 download code included.