Pan Amsterdam, the artist formerly known as Leron Thomas, has today announced his signing to Heavenly Recordings and released “White Ninja”, the song is his debut for the label (Bonobo, Floating Points). The track features a dialogue about cultural appropriation and instant gratification that bobs and weaves like a cruise liner floating across the Sea of Tranquility.

Talking about his hook up with Heavenly, he said: “I’m really thankful and grateful that Heavenly Recordings picked me up. I’ve been both a DIY recording artist and a signed recording artist at one time or another. In both cases there is one thing that was needed, some kind of genuine support. It’s very difficult to work around people who are skeptical about what you’re doing and Heavenly feels like one genuine loving person to me and they support bands and artists’ individuality.”

Thomas – aka Pan Amsterdam – is a New York based musical nomad. Rapper, jazz trumpeter, producer, musical director, thinker, often all at once. Thomas’ music traverses a woozy, nocturnal world where his many musical disciplines morph and merge into a deeply odd yet consistently coherent sound. It’s a world where Christopher Walken’s Pulp Fiction character Captain Koons is as key a collaborator as Doves’ Jimi Goodwin, Metronomy (Nice Town) or Iggy Pop (both on stage and on record). On his tracks, lyrics spiral in the way that the best after-hours hip-hop music does, making you feel like you’ve followed him all the way down the rabbit hole.

listen to “White Ninja” by Pan Amsterdam HERE