Listen: Mura Masa - Love For That feat. Shura

I first found UK-based producer Mura Masa last year, with his ferocious, competition-winning flip of Aryay's The Lawnmower (listen HERE). At only the age of 17 at the time, the young producer soared above his competition to produce a remix still dropped in clubs on the regular, a feat not easy done and since then, Mura Masa, real name Alex Crossan, has become one of my favourite producers. With singles like Firefly, a feel-good tune with one of the strongest hooks to date and who can foget Lotus Eater, bass-heavy remixes of Kreayshawn's Gucci Gucci (THAT KANYE SAMPLE THOUGH) and Flosstradamus' Mosh Pit and the sheer fragileness of Crossan's debut EP Someday Somewhere, one feature that has consistently struck out to me about Mura Masa's work is that no matter what genre the producer attempts with his work, he perfects it time and time again, better than anyone else in the game.

Now 19 years old, Crossan is embarking on his biggest project to date - his debut album. After what seemed like an eternity of build up and hype, the first taste of the album has finally dropped and it's in the form of Love For That, a remarkably smooth and gloomy single featuring Russian-born singer Shura. The single starts with a somber string section and ornate flutes, before letting Shura take over with one of the strongest voices I've heard to date. The production is crisp and charming, with the young producer exploring a mature sound years beyond his age and the arrangement of bells and strings making it one of the most beautifully produced singles I've heard all year. Speaking to The Fader, Mura Masa said that "Love For That is a sort of lament on falling in and staying in love for the wrong reasons", with the producer also speaking highly of his now London-based feature vocalist, saying that "Shura is so easy to work with: we just sat in her room for hours chain-smoking and talking about all sorts of things, and somehow this is the track that came out of it". Love For That is the first single from Mura Masa's upcoming debut album and if this sets the tone for things to come, I'm actually crying with excitement.

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