Kraak & Smaak Unveil Vibrant New Single ‘Heat’ Featuring Butter Bath
Dutch electronic trio Kraak & Smaak return with a fresh sonic masterpiece, Heat, a collaboration with rising Australian artist Butter Bath. Blending nu-disco, funk, jazz, and soul, the track delivers a sun-drenched groove that’s equal parts nostalgic and forward-thinking.
The partnership came together serendipitously—Butter Bath, known for his psychedelic-infused pop sound, initially wrote Heat as a rough demo. After sending it to Kraak & Smaak alongside another track, the trio immediately gravitated toward its raw energy. They took the skeletal piano-and-vocal demo and transformed it into a polished, infectious dance anthem.
“When Kraak & Smaak reached out to see if I’d be keen to write a track with them, I was immediately on board. I was already a fan of their work through their collaborations with artists like Parcels and Gavin Turek. I spent a day writing vocal parts over an instrumental that they sent me and got it to a place where it was feeling good. As I was about to send it off, I remembered a super rough sketch I’d made the day before called Heat. I figured I might as well send them that too. They instantly gravitated toward Heat, and within a few days, they had transformed my raw demo into a beautifully fleshed-out track. That’s what I love about collaboration—you never know which idea will resonate and take on a new life in someone else’s hand.” – Butter Bath.
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“Our manager Jordi was on the lookout – as he always is – this time for collaborators for the new Kraak & Smaak album. He came across Toby Anagnostis, aka Butter Bath, and we liked him right from the get-go. We sent him a demo, Toby liked it, and he said he’d send some ideas our way. And so it happened that on a cold, wet November morning, in the middle of a European tour – over breakfast, hungover, and running on just four hours of sleep – we listened to Toby’s recordings on our demos. Not bad. Not bad at all! But what really caught our attention was a little jam he sent along as a surprise. Just a song he had written and thought he’d share with us. Thank god he did. On the flight back home, it kept lingering in our heads. A few days later, we locked ourselves in the studio with just this demo—vocals and piano, that’s all—did the K&S thing, and nailed it in just a couple of days. Thus: Heat.” – Kraak & Smaak.
Driven by crisp synth pulses, deep basslines, and shimmering melodies, ‘Heat’ embodies the effortless cool that has defined Kraak & Smaak’s career, while Butter Bath’s laid-back yet evocative vocals add a fresh dynamic. The result is a radiant, groove-heavy track that channels the breezy warmth of vintage funk with a modern production twist.
With Kraak & Smaak’s next album on the horizon and Butter Bath gearing up for his debut LP in 2025, Heat is just the beginning of what’s shaping up to be an exciting year for both acts. Expect this track to dominate summer playlists and dancefloors worldwide.
