Los Angeles-born R&B and soul icon Thundercat has not released solo music since his 2020 LP, It Is What It Is. Tame Impala, the one-man psychedelic rock moniker for Kevin Parker, also has not put out a studio album since 2020 with The Slow Rush, even though he dropped The Slow Rush: B-Sides & Remixes in February 2022.
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Although both artists have worked with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Mac Miller, The Weeknd, and more, they’ve never made music together. Until now.
On Tuesday (April 25), the duo put out their first-ever collaborative single, “No More Lies.” Containing passionate drums and groovy synths, the track sees Thundercat and Parker both offer vocals where they sing about a significant other. The cover art for the song depicts an impala and a cheetah running simultaneously, making it pretty obvious which animal embodies which artist.
In an interview on the day of the song’s release, Thundercat spoke with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about how impactful working with Parker is for him, and how he’s always gravitated towards his type of music.
“This is one of the greater moments for me… From the day I heard Kevin’s music, I knew me and him could do something,” he said. “I knew it. I knew it from the minute I heard it. Personally, I was like, ‘Aw man I would’ve been in his band.'”
Later in the conversation with Lowe, though, Thundercat spoke about how he didn’t want the collaboration to feel manufactured.
“There’s that part where the ways you go about collaborating or working on music, sometimes people at the label try to set it up,” Thundercat said. “I remember saying something like, ‘I’m a fan of your music.’ It feels tongue-in-cheek. You say that just to, you know, you’re kind of fluffing (and) being weird.”
However, he continued by telling Lowe that he has always been a true fan of Tame Impala and that he told Parker his 2012 song “Apocalypse Dreams” was life-changing for him.
“But there’s a part to it where, genuinely being me, I own all your albums,” he said. “I expressed to Kevin how ‘Apocalypse Dreams’ got me through one of the hardest moments of my life. That was a genuine spiritual moment for me. I told him, ‘The minute you said ‘everything is changing,’ it just made me feel okay.’ I can distinctly remember being in the car, crying and screaming the lyrics to that song. It’s just one of those things where, maybe if I ever meet him one day, (I can tell him that). And now here we are.”
When putting “No More Lies” together, Thundercat said he resonated with Parker’s idea for the song right away, and the lyrics helped them establish chemistry even more.
“I had to make sure I wasn’t coming in too hot… I was like, ‘Hey Kevin, do you like me?’ (But) we genuinely warmed up to each other. The minute he played the idea he started working on, I pulled the bass out. I was immediately engaged… It kind of sparked his interest to want to delve into it more. It became like a game of ping pong for us.”
Even with “No More Lies” being their first joint release, Thundercat explained in an interview with NME that he wants to “create more with Kevin in the future.” But, this latest offering should surely hold fans over until then. Listen to “No More Lies” below.
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
