Matthew E. White releases new single and video "Nested"

Matthew E. White today released the taut and vibrant new single “Nested” from his forthcoming solo album K Bay, due out on September 10. Out now alongside a video directed by Shawn Brackbill that features footage of K Bay’s recording process, the song’s music and lyrics radiate with happiness and ecstatic love.

"'Nested' is one of the most personal songs I’ve written, a song about whatever the opposite of coming-of-age is,” says White. “It was recorded after two intense, transformative days of rehearsal, in one magic take that showcases the distilled, in-the-moment, sledgehammer power of the band." Watch the video for "Nested" below.

“Nested” follows two other singles, “Genuine Hesitation” and “Electric,” which collectively earned praise and support via Pitchfork, NPR Music (All Songs Considered podcast), Stereogum, Under the Radar, BBC 6 Music, Double J, Brooklyn Vegan, and more.

K Bay—White’s first solo album in six years and second release of 2021, following a collaboration with Lonnie Holley—is the astounding record he has forever aspired to make. A bold reclamation of independence and identity, K Bay establishes White as one of his era’s most imaginative artists. These 11 pieces are retro-futurist magic tricks that feel instantly classic and contemporary, the product of a musical mind that has internalized the lessons of his idols and used them to build a brilliant world of his own.  

After his solo introduction Big Inner became a surprise hit and his 2015 debut for Domino, Fresh Blood, ascended him to late night TV performances and further critical acclaim, career demands nearly overwhelmed White. His record label/studio Spacebomb, for instance, ballooned into a bevy of obligations and expectations. White followed Fresh Blood with 2017’s Gentlewoman, Ruby Man, a set of duets with Flo Morrissey, and continued to produce records for the likes of Natalie Prass, Bedouine, and more—doubtless privileges that sometimes crowded out his ability to work on his own music. So he began building K Bay, a home studio where he could sequester himself with his thoughts. Newly married and starting to talk about children as he inched toward 40, White funneled a lifetime of experiences, enthusiasms, and obsessions into these new songs. 

More than love, romance, or self-reliance, this is the animating ideal of K Bay: that we can forever strive for something better, no matter how flawed or blessed we have already been. A decade ago, Matthew E. White made a classic beauty no one expected; on K Bay, he has made a masterpiece by harnessing what he’s learned from that community and life itself in entirely unexpected, electrifying, and reaffirming ways.