The worlds of electronica and hip hop have always been interconnected in the world of The Neptunes (the legendary production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo), but now the production talents of EDM producer Deadmau5 have been thrown into the fray on their latest collaborative single “Pomegranate.” This latest mau5trap single was reportedly recorded at North Miami’s Criteria Recording Studios, ahead of Miami’s Art Basel event, and will be released on Deadmau5’s upcoming studio album.
“Pomegranate” has all the cues of a classic Neptunes hit, with a bouncy funk bassline infecting the track with grooves throughout the song, backed by the bright synthesizer tones Deadmau5 is known for. Williams’ vocals croon all over the seductive track, adding the final ingredient in this R&B and electronic dance track.
Hugo announced that he and Williams would be working full-time as The Neptunes at the beginning of the year, and revealed a list of performers they were looking to collaborate with. The duo were recently inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year alongside the likes of Eurythmics, Isley Brothers and Steve Miller.
“I’m focusing on The Neptunes stuff, getting back on The Neptunes grind,” Hugo stated in an interview. “We’re doing a couple of things. There’s a videogame soundtrack that’s in the works right now that I can’t speak about, I’m not supposed to, but uh, it’s in the works right now. We just did some work with Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, blink-182, Lil Uzi Vert, Brandy, Ray J, Snoh Aalegra, G-Eazy.”
Deadmau5 released three songs last fall which included “Fall,” “Coasted” and “Satrn.” Both “Fall” and “Satrn” debuted on his recent CubeV3 tour.
UPDATE (7/2): Deadmau5 and The Neptunes have shared a new video for their song “Pomegranate.” The highly stylized clip features the EDM DJ along with similarly-styled characters racing along a digitalized version of Venice Beach.
Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi