Electronic neo-soul group and New Zealand music royalty Ladi6 have today announced the details of their forthcoming Royal Blue 3000 EP, set for release on June 2 via Low Key Source. Led by the spellbinding new single ‘Guru’, the 6-track EP was born out of live improvisation and jamming as part of The Alpha Sessions.

Listen to ‘Guru’ via Soundcloud here. Royal Blue 3000 EP is available to pre-order via iTunes with ‘Guru’ as an instant grat track.

Pairing minimalist futuristic production with Ladi’s soulful, smoky voice, Ladi6 have created an atmospheric soundscape on the Royal Blue 3000 EP that is entrancing and thrilling in equal measures, reframing their earlier hip-hop/future soul musical style in an invigorated and culturally significant way. Lead single ‘Guru’ shimmers through delicate flourishes while ‘Beffy’ bounces along an erratic, cosmic beat and ‘Long Way’ hypnotizes with a whimsical, rhythmic loop of the lyrics “a little goes a long way” to close out the record.

Inspired by the art of krautrock, the unconventional creation process of the Royal Blue 3000 EP saw Ladi6 partner with Red Bull to form The Alpha Sessions, where they brought the band’s studio set up to the stage for live performances around New Zealand. The band created, experimented and re-created new material live, feeling their way through the music as tracks developed, and forming the basis of the EP on pure instinct and freestyle before taking the best cuts into the studio to refine. On the experience, Ladi6 explained it served as “a reminder for ourselves to not take all this music shit too seriously, and to simply trust in our instincts that what we’re doing, is what we’re meant to be doing.”

Over an illustrious nine-year career, Auckland based four-piece Ladi6 – Ladi (vocals), Parks (producer),Julien Dyne (drummer) and Brandon Haru (keyboardist/co-producer) – have made a name as one of New Zealand’s most celebrated bands, wooing audiences around the globe with three critically acclaimed albums, namely Time Is Not Much (2008), The Liberation Of… (2010) and Automatic (2013). With roots in funk, soul and hip-hop plus a fearless philosophy regarding their musical evolution and innovation, the multi-award winning band have clocked up accolades such as the Taite Music Prize, ‘Best Female Solo Artist’ at the Pacific Music Awards and ‘Best Urban/Hip Hop Album’ at the New Zealand Music Awards, and graced the stage with esteemed music luminaries including Erykah Badu, Gil Scott-Heron and Mos Def.