It’s easy to see why SZA, who only released her brilliant debut album Ctrl in June, would be eager to get back into the studio. She’d been sitting on that record for almost three years already, but setback after setback left it on the shelf. Now, with Ctrl getting the acclaim that it deserves, she seems to have plenty of new ideas to work out.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Friday, SZA casually said that she was working on a new record with ubiquitous indie/pop producer Mark Ronson and psychedelic Australian band Tame Impala.
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“People grapple with labeling me as hip-hop, R&B or pop, and it’s interesting to me. I’m just making music,” she told reporter Gerrick D. Kennedy. “I listen to Stevie Nicks. I love classical jazz. I love folk. I love rap. I love Modest Mouse. I’m making an album with Tame Impala and Mark Ronson. When you try to label it, you remove the option for it to be limitless. It diminishes the music.”
Ronson and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker last worked together on Lady Gaga’s Joanne single “Perfect Illusion” last year. Ronson’s most recent sole production credit came on Queens of the Stone Age’s new album, Villains.
The best case scenario here is SZA taking Parker’s trippy, R&B-friendly sounds (Rihanna covered Tame Impala, remember) and fusing them with Ronson’s almost unparalleled knack for write catchy-ass pop songs. And given how well Ctrl stands up in this busy year, there’s every reason to indulge in some best case scenarios.
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