Drugdealer & Weyes Blood - Real Thing b/w The News

Drugdealer and Weyes Blood reunite on Real Thing, a collaboration years in the making and rooted in a friendship that began with an impromptu Oakland studio session back in 2014. Recorded across continents, the track distils the pair’s shared sensibility into warm, melodic pop — a chord progression Michael Collins carried for years finally finding its shape in a Paris studio with producer Max Baby. From there, he knew it was the right moment to bring Natalie Mering back into the fold, reconnecting a creative partnership that has underpinned several of their most beloved songs.

Collins describes Weyes Blood as part of his “musical family”, and that closeness is woven through Real Thing: effortless vocal interplay, classic pop inflections, and a gentle sense of return.

The B-side, ‘The News’, marks Drugdealer’s first collaboration with Robbie Chemical. What began as a simple harmony grew into a widescreen pop piece shaped by conversations about change and connection — a new angle for Collins, whose path has moved from experimental collage work to the classicist songwriting of Raw Honey and Hiding in Plain Sight. Mering continues her own ascent, crafting the expansive folk-pop worlds heard on Titanic Rising and And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow.