Two of dance music’s heavy hitters—HUGEL and Diplo—are teaming up for a track that is blowing up the internet as an ID.
A joint release between Insomniac Records and Diplo’s Higher Ground, ‘Forever (feat. Malou & Yuna)’ is available worldwide on September 20. HUGEL and Diplo will support “Forever” by playing a show together at Brooklyn Mirage on Sunday, September 22, during the release weekend.
“Forever” is a breathtaking afro house single anchored to an iridescent topline about sharing an eternal connection with a first love. Ebbing and flowing around the heart-melting delivery, the track glides along wistful circular piano chords, rolling tribal drums, vibrant percussive accents, and deep basslines. The song has generated significant buzz online pre-release and was used in this Reels post of Diplo scaling Mt. Fuji, which has received over 4.6M views.
“This original version of ‘Forever’ (by Adventure Club) was the anthem of Ultra Music Festival 2014, which was also my first time performing at the festival in Miami. This track has stayed with me over the years and holds a lot of memories around this moment. So, when I was looking for a new sample, I realized no one had produced a house track version of this song, so I decided I would be the one to do it. While Diplo and I send each other music all the time, Malou actually first introduced the demo to him during a studio session they were doing together. I then sent him my first version of the song, which he tested out during his Antarctic set – the response was big, so many people were asking about the track. From there, we worked through a couple of modifications, and now it’s ready to share with the world,” HUGEL says.
Revered as the instigator of the Latin House movement with his hit “Morenita”, HUGEL has earned global recognition for his category-blurring, sultry compositions that command movement. Drawing inspiration from his Mediterranean upbringing and time spent in the Balearic Islands and Ibiza, HUGEL masterfully blends Latin, Oriental, and tribal rhythms to create a distinct sound uniquely in a category of its own. Since bursting onto the scene in 2015, the serial chart-topper has amassed an international following and over 1 Billion cumulative streams for his widely adored releases ranging from “Marianela (Que Pasa)” and “Morenita,” to his recent viral rework of LATIN MAFIA’s “Patadas de Ahogado.”
Diplo is a multi-Grammy winning artist known for his era-defining labels Mad Decent and Higher Ground, his house imprint launched in 2019 that has spawned dozens of Billboard Dance/Electronic hits and sold-out parties all over the world. Following their first collaboration “Stay High,” Diplo and HUGEL reunite to answer their fans’ wishes with the release of their highly anticipated collaboration, “Forever,” which has been generating buzz since Diplo teased the track in a livestream recorded in Antarctica during his expedition there last year.
Accompanying HUGEL and Diplo on this bonafide smash are Malou & Yuna. Malou is a singer/songwriter from LA who has become a hot ticket in dance music, leaving her stamp on progressive house, melodic house & techno, trance, bass, and beyond (releases with Ben Böhmer, Reinier Zonneveld, Jan Blomqvist, Giuseppe Ottaviani). Based out of LA, Yuna is an R&B and soulful pop artist whose silky vocals have graced tracks from some of the biggest names in dance (previous tracks with ZHU, Adventure Club, Ekali, Big Wild).
HUGEL, Diplo – Forever (feat. Malou & Yuna) is out on September 20 via Insomniac Records X Higher Ground. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.
