Clash Issue 133 - Thundercat

Thundercat is the second face of CLASH 133. 

Stephen Lee Bruner - professionally known as Thundercat - is back from a prolonged period of creative respite. Known by the masses as a time-travelling, space-hopping virtuoso and bassist - who transitioned from a session musician to a front-facing artist in the early 2010s - Thundercat returns recalibrated on new album, ‘Distracted’.

Coming six years after his grief-stricken, Grammy-winning epic ‘It Is What It Is’, ‘Distracted’ charts the period that comes after; the self-analysis and excavation. You’ll find the usual Thundercat hallmarks: the cosmic oddities and deviations, the zany character studies, romantic dissolution realised through acidic sketches, the genre-mutating sense of whimsy. But this is a broader, bolder and more pop-facing record than what’s come before.

The title ultimately honours the lateral ways in which Thundercat created the record. The clarity came not from the outcome, but the process. “‘Distracted’ felt true to what life is for me,” he tells CLASH. “It's about showing up for yourself and the music right now. Because frankly, it feels like the world wants you to fail.” 

Pre-order your copy now. Magazines will be shipping out from the UK from Wednesday 25th March 2025, please allow sufficient time for your copy to arrive if ordering internationally.

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