It was only a matter of time before K.Flay and Whethan linked up on a track.

The “Blood in the Cut” singer and the DJ/producer — who share a number of mutual collaborators, including Tom Morello and grandson — have teamed up on a new single called “Hurting on Purpose.” As the two artists tell ABC Audio in a joint interview, the tune was first born out of a publishing company’s songwriting camp that K.Flay attended several years ago.  It then found its way to Whethan.

“[I] loved it right off the gate,” Whethan recalls. “I was immediately grabbed by the tone of [K.Flay’s] voice, and it just felt so special to me.”

The track went through several iterations before it became the track you can hear today — after much tinkering, Whethan ultimately decided a “simple is better” approach worked best.

“I wanted this just raw vocals and guitar feeling,” he explains. “It just felt really good the whole time. Every time I kept adding synths over it, it kinda just took away from the real feeling.”

Lyrically, “Hurting on Purpose” shares similar themes with “Blood in the Cut,” K.Flay’s 2016 breakout single. As she tells ABC Audio, she can feel a connection between the two tracks.

“Much of my, I think, personal reckoning has been determining how I am sort of the conductor or orchestrator of some of my own trouble,” K.Flay says.

“I think for a long time, for better or worse, I’ve been talking about the same s***,” she laughs. “I’m like a plane flying over the same city.”

“Hurting on Purpose” will appear on Whethan’s upcoming debut album, Fantasy.

By Josh Johnson
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