Gothenburg artist Sir Was, aka Joel Wästberg, has just announced he'll be releasing his new album Holding On To A Dream is set for release Sept. 20 via Memphis Industries. With that announcement comes the first single from the album "Deployed", a collaboration with fellow Swede, Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano. Together, the pair go back and forth with their delicate vocals above Wästberg's fragile, jazz-tinged electronics. Buoyed by the critical success of his first album in 2017, the extra confidence is palpable in the bright washes of colour and disarmingly soft melodies.
Speaking with Complex via email, Wästberg told Complex: "Me and Little Dragon go way back. I've been hanging out with them for many years, and they were very supportive with my first album. One day I was working in my small studio room, and Little Dragon were one floor up. Yukimi knocked on the door and asked if she could listen. I played her some of my songs and she said, 'This is great, go out and talk to the world!'
"Just when I thought I was done with this new album the song came along and took me by surprise. Straight away I could hear Yukimi's voice on it so I just felt like I had to ask her to do it. I sent her the track and she said she'd love to sing something on it, so I went to their studio and she wrote a few lines based on my verse and the chorus of the song. It all happened so fast and then we had this song. It was really fun."
Sir Was is set to play a headline London show at Scala on November 27.
