Night Beats Returns With New Single and Music Video "Hot Ghee," New Album "Rajan" Out On Jul. 14

Los Angeles-based psych-rock artist Night Beats has shared the lead single from his forthcoming new album Rajan, sharing the track and music video for “Hot Ghee.” Danny Lee Blackwell — the man behind the project — has had a rather prolific couple of years, releasing his album Outlaw R&B back in 2021 and the debut record Monte Carlo for his side-project Abraxas. Now he’s back pushing the boundaries of those eerily alluring soundscapes with his latest single.

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In a lot of ways, “Hot Ghee” represents a number of elements that make Night Beats’ creations so elusively compelling. For one there is his melding of genre after genre, creating a sizzling mixture of everything from psych-rock and jazz/blues to soul and hip-hop. As the track begins you’re guided by the enthralling glows of guitar riffs and fuzzy sonics, which coat the edges of Blackwell’s sauntering cries.

Scattered textures fold over one another as it starts to descend deeper into more warped and surreal revolutions of sound. The one constant is the singed guitar that cycles in eternity throughout, slipping in and out of dreamy funk and into something far more mind-bending. Like the hot butter that the song gets its name from the track melts into all the seemingly discordant parts that Night Beats harnesses to create music with a soulful delirium baked right into it.

The music video for “Hot Ghee,” directed by Chris Keller, plays on the psych flair embedded in Night Beats music. From its trippy visuals and retro-saturated chromatics, the video holds entirely on Blackwell’s face as it warps and casts vivid colorings over it. Everything from the color palette to the animation style screams the nostalgia of a different era. As the track nears its finale though things get Sgt. Pepper’s-esque real quick as the animations hit warp speed, sending a grid of duplicated Blackwell faces into infinity as different mind-boggling fade-ins and fade-outs send the whole video spiraling along to the song’s ending solo.

“Blending the elements of rare underground Anatolian deep funk with R&B and soul, with a sample-oriented mindset can be compared to the sound of hot ghee sizzling on a pan. Just like how the ghee melts and blends with the other ingredients, the fusion of these different music genres creates a unique and harmonious sound that melds in mysterious oneness,” Night Beats said of the single. “And just like how the sound of sizzling ghee adds a depth of flavor to the dish, the layered and sample-based approach to the creation adds different dimensions to the music that allows the listener’s imagination to run free. Ghee is also seen as an offering at the beginning of ceremonies, making this opening track of Rajan.”