British soul artist Joel Culpepper unveils his funkiest release to date with ‘Thought About You’, a head-bopping tune with shades of Prince and David Bowie.

Culpepper explains: “Thought About You’ leads the charge for ‘The Love’ chapter on the record. This chapter represents a side of me that’s often seen on stage – impulsive, passionate and in the moment. I think this song is a reflection of all those things – I flipped the script from previous tracks in a nod to sensual psychedelic soul. We worked with producer Shawn Lee on this one – a real dude who completely understood that sound I was trying to go for authentically. Shawn actually put me on to Shuggie Otis – a song called ‘Aht Ah Mi Hed’, I had on loop forever. This track, along with Bowie’s take on soul in the 70s with ‘Young Americans’, both inspired ‘Thought About You’. I’d describe it as my take on a mid-70s head bop. We loved what Shawn did with this track so much, we asked them to drum on the record, so he’s on the entire album apart from two tracks.”

The song begins with a funky bassline over which Culpepper delivers staccato repetitions of ‘I heart you,‘ an initially disarming choice but one which powers the song with the romantic infatuation sitting at the core of the lyric. ‘Thought About You’ reaches its psychedelic headiness at the chorus where Culpepper wields his characteristic falsetto. The stylishly retro music video, starring viral comedian Munya Chawawa, is brilliant.