SBTRKT announces his third studio album The Rat Road which will be released on May 5th. The album signifies a pivotal period of evolution for the producer. The album announcement arrives hand in hand with a brand new track “Waiting” ft. Teezo Touchdown.

The new track features vocals from Texas-based artist Teezo Touchdown, his vocals deftly woven between SBTRKT’s melancholic chords, rising toward a crescendo of phasing drum patterns and glistening keys.

Speaking about The Rat Road and “Waiting” SBTRKT shares:

“This album has been my most sonically ambitious record to create, following my own musical path, which isn’t based on others’ perceptions of what SBTRKT should be.

“The Rat Road” is a play on the concept of “the rat race.” It’s partly based on my own challenging experiences within the music industry and life generally, though I realized the idea is not isolated from a much wider feeling of exhaustion—definitely true here in the UK with little sense of respite from ever increasing costs, decreasing opportunity, and a bold divide and conquer mentality. There is a juxtaposition in the record between determination and hopelessness.

I’m always listening to and looking out for new music, and I came across a song of Teezo’s, “I’m just a fan,” on October 21. By serendipity, he was heading to London the next week, so we connected in person. In some ways—although personal to Teezo too—it perfectly summed up everything I had been going through. It therefore felt like the most obvious song to then lead into my album with. Musically, it’s an expansion on my previous records, with a purposefully wider and more layered sound. All instruments on this song and the album were played, recorded, produced, and mixed by me.”

SBTRKT emerged onto the scene in the early 2010’s, going onto release two critically lauded albums. A prolific collaborator, he has worked with the likes of Ezra Koenig, ASAP Ferg, Little Dragon, Sampha, Drake, and The-Dream. His sound defines a generation, skillfully combining elements from a multitude of genres to create groundbreaking tracks that exist on the fringes of popular music.

SBTRKT 2023 Live Dates

Aug 19th – Field Day Festival – London, UK

Pre-order Rat Road by SBTRKT HERE