Katy B paved the way for progressive pop artists like Charli XCX with her own brand of club-inflected pop music. She's released three splendid albums with the last one Honey arriving in 2016; since then, she hasn't released a solo single until today, breaking the five-year hiatus with "Under My Skin." It's a luxurious and pretty much perfect example of just how perfect house and pop can go together — those lead vocals from Katy B are some of the best I've heard on a chart-oriented song this month. It's the kind of song you'd hear at a fancy hotel bar and make paying for overpriced cocktails almost worth it.
In a statement, Katy B discussed working with P2J, co-writer and producer of "Under My Skin." Find it below via Pitchfork:
It was such a dream to work with P2J, he’s a fellow south Londoner like me and went to school with my brother. He told me back in the day my brother was always saying to him “you have to work with my sister” and when we met, I instantly felt at ease. We wrote the song in my studio in my house and it just flowed. He’s such a wizard with drums and even though the song is quite up tempo, the instrumentation had a pull of sadness too. I was feeling quite shocked and heartbroken at the time which is reflected in the song but I still wanted the lyrics to have a conclusion of hope, perseverance and self worth.