Fraser T Smith announces new Future Utopia EP with Kae Tempest collaboration "We Were We Still Are"

20 January 2023, 12:28 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

(Future Utopia) (Kae Tempest)

Fraser T Smith has announced his forthcoming Future Utopia EP We Were We Still Are, and has joined forces with Kae Tempest for the title-track.

"We Were We Still Are" featuring Kae Tempest is Fraser T Smith's first outing as Future Utopia in 2023, and is also the lead outing from a new EP of the same name.

""We Were We Still Are" is about progression through time and space - what we keep hold of and what we leave behind," Fraser T Smith says. "I wanted my next body of work to encapsulate a lot of the elements of my first album, the experimental chords, the warm 70’s aesthetic and the collaborations but also to show some progress as an artist. This has been a huge turning point for me creatively. I’ve wanted to work with Kae Tempest for years and finally got the opportunity on the title track. Kae’s lyrical dexterity and flow knocked me sideways on this track and the subsequent interlude. It sets up the EP in a hugely confident, uplifting way."

The new EP will follow 2020's 12 Questions album, and will feature new collaborations with Biig Piig and Tomi.

Smith adds, "Working with Biig Piig was a great experience. We originally wrote "Your Love" over an electronic beat, but I felt the message was getting lost, so I toned the track down to let the song breathe. "This Time" is a song I wrote in Las Vegas. There’s a Paris Texas desert like theme running through a lot of my new music with the Americana guitars and Washington style breaks I’m using. The song is about not pushing your luck at the tables… Being able to walk away while you’re ahead. "Make It Home" came from a session a few years ago with the incredible artist Tomi. We wrote this in a day and spent most of the time laughing and joking. I’d never forgotten the track and really wanted to reimagine it for a Future Utopia release. The lyrics feel poignant for the last track on the EP where we come full circle back to where it all began."

Tracklist: