American producer Whethan is preparing to release his debut album FANTASY, including collaborations with the likes of K.Flay, Oliver Tree, STRFKR and Grouplove, to name a few.
Whethan is no stranger to working with some amazing artists, and throughout his already-impressive discography has worked with artists from a range of genres. To celebrate his new collaboration with Oliver Tree, Freefall, we've taken a look at some of the best Whethan collaborations.
Freefall (feat. Oliver Tree)
Freefall mixes Oliver Tree's sound with Whethan's to perfection, which is no surprise. The pair have worked together before, and you won't be able to stop yourself bopping along to Freefall. It's also got one of our favourite Whethan drops to date, and we can see it quickly becoming a fan favourite. Those guitars are sounding so, so catchy. If you weren't desperate for Whethan to drop the album already, this track will have you hitting up Whethan to find out when it's set to drop.
Hurting On Purpose (feat. K.Flay)
Hurting On Purpose is one of Whethan's most exciting collaborations yet, and is a great example of Whethan's ability to leave his fingerprint on a track, while also giving his collaborator space to shine. The track has a bassline that'll get you moving, and K.Flay's rhymes bounce off the production - the track is a whole lot of fun. It seems like everyone wants to work with Whethan, and given his track record, why wouldn't they?
love gang (feat. Charli XCX)
Whethan and Charli XCX teamed up back in 2017 to release love gang, a poppy track that will make you want to dance. Both artists bring the best of their sounds to the table - Whethan with his upbeat production, and Charli with her talent for singing a killer hook.
Speaking about the track to The FADER, Whethan says it's one of his "favourite feel good tracks" he's made. It's clear the pair have great chemistry, with Whethan more recently remixing Charli's track Claws, and hopefully there's more to come from the pair in the future.
Be Like You (feat. Broods)
By 2018, everyone knew what Whethan was capable of, and wanted to work with him. Broods teamed up with Whethan to release Be Like You, a song that sees Broods lamenting how hard it can be to focus on making great music as a musician (though if you're working with Whethan, you're bound to make a hit).
Speaking about the track to Billboard, Broods said, "The song is about a stage when we felt that nothing was really about the music anymore, and that you have to be so many other things to be a pop artist these days other than just writing good songs.
"I guess it’s an expression of how frustrating it can be when you only want to do it for the music." Whethan added to this, saying, "This record is one of my personal favorite songs to date. Broods are amazing and I'm so happy that the world can finally hear this." Be Like You is a great example of forward-thinking pop, and it'll get you feeling ready to take on the world.
Radar (feat. HONNE)
Teaming up with UK duo HONNE on the track Radar, the song sees Whethan reaching into his bag of tricks to produce a pop song that's bursting with funk. Featured on his debut EP Life Of A Wallflower Vol. 1, Whethan says the track is a good example of what you can expect from the project - so if you like Radar, you'll want to check out the rest of the EP. "It's a great representation of the sound I've been inspired by, and I'm thrilled to finally show the world this song with HONNE," Whethan said.
HONNE said they'd been keeping on eye on Whethan, and were stoked to work with him. “Pardon the pun, but Whethan had been on our Radar for a long time. It was great to finally work together on something. We’re super excited about the track and the way it’s turned out.” The glitchy hook will stick in your brain long after you're done listening, and just like everything else Whethan works on, it's a ton of fun.
High (with Dua Lipa)
The soundtrack for the movie Fifty Shades Freed was packed full of some great tracks, but the standout was Whethan's collaboration with Dua Lipa, High. It's a steamy track, which given the context of the movie, is to be expected. There's no bones about it - it's a track to get down to.
Speaking about the collaboration, Whethan says it's a track that shows off his "alternative electronic direction." Dua's vocals are the perfect choice for the production, with the beat being driven along by an infectious bassline. Whatever you think of the Fifty Shades franchise, the soundtracks for all three films were top-notch.
Let Me Take You (feat. Jeremih)
Jeremih and Whethan weren't making music in the '90s, but Let Me Take You sounds like it could be ripped straight from the dance floor of a nightclub of that era. Jeremih's vocals float on a bed of bass, and if you're not moving by the time the chorus kicks in, then we're not sure what's holding you back.
Speaking about the track, Whethan says it's one that took a while to come to light, but he's stoked with the final result. "I had been sitting on this track with Jeremih for a while now and explored every possible version of the song before landing on this one.
"I've been really inspired by a lot of house music and wanted to find a way to bring that into my world. It was important to me that I made something that people could really dance to." With every release, Whethan shows off a new side of his production, and this track is one of our favourite collaborations of his yet.
Stay Forever (feat. STRFKR)
Stay Forever was the first song from Fantasy we heard, and it's fair to say it got us extremely excited for what is to come. STRFKR's vocals call to mind songs from decades past, before the drop hits - a drop to rival anything we've heard this year.
The track demonstrates how each collaborator slightly shifts Whethan's sound, with this track sounding more like an anthemic alt-rock song than an EDM banger. However, it's still a dancefloor filler, and we wouldn't expect anything less from Whethan.
