Mella Dee, New Order’s Bernard Sumner Unite On ‘Riptide’

Mella Dee links with New Order’s Bernard Sumner on new song ‘Riptide’.

The song is the title track on his new EP, which is out now in full. Mella Dee signalled his return with the emphatic club mover ‘Big Eff Off Groove’, which aptly sums up the lawless warehouse vibes he’s going for on this new EP.

Title cut ‘Riptide’ leans on those glistening Italo synths, with Mella Dee playing with notions of tension and release. The germ of the song came about during lockdown, a time when he wasn’t sure if clubs were ever going to open again. Reaching back towards the energy of his formative clubbing years, ‘Riptide’ yearns for collective experience, and it’s topped off with a vocal from one of Mella Dee’s heroes.

Bernard Sumner toasted the 40th anniversary of ‘Blue Monday’ during the week, and the New Order frontman is on fine form with this new guest vocal. He doesn’t do it for just anybody, y’know, and his effortlessly cool contribution veers between euphoria and melancholy.

Mella Dee comments…

It was originally written in a time when we weren’t able to celebrate life together, it was a release from the pressure of everything around us.

Bernard wrote and recorded the vocals after hearing what I’d put together and managed to bring a new life to the record. Adding a deeper meaning which resonated with me, the feeling of being caught up in a riptide with the world still moving around you. It’s a huge pleasure to have Bernard on a record with me; having listened to his voice on so much incredible music from an early age.

Check out ‘Riptide’ – alongside the full EP – below.

Photo Credit: Ewen Spencer