RCA RecordsWhen Justin Timberlake announced his new album Man of the Woods with a trailer that showed him in the wilderness, many people figured his new album would have a more rootsy, country flavor. But the first single, “Filthy,” sounds less backwoods, and more “SexyBack.” Now, one of Justin’s producers explains that “Filthy” is just there to “wipe the palette clean” for the rest of the disc.
Nate Hill, known as Danja, worked on Justin’s FutureSex/LoveSounds album, and also worked on Man of the Woods. He tells Complex, “I like to think of ‘Filthy’ as the disruption between the world we’re living in and [Justin’s] world…’Filthy’ was just that kick in the door: “I’m here, and oh by the way, let me erase everything that you’ve been listening to… and kind of create a new world order.”‘”
In other words, Danja says, “Filthy” is “that jump-off thing that kinda wipes the palette clean for [Justin] to be able to tell the story that he wants to tell.” He adds that he thinks the trailer is “very accurate to the landscape of the project.”
“I remember walking into the studio, and I’m like, ‘So, what’s the vibe?'” the producer explains. “[Justin] just raised his hands up like, ‘This is the vibe.’ And what he had on was a flannel, some Adidas, some jeans. He had his beard and a skully on. That was the vibe.”
Danja teases that Man of the Woods incorporates “country..blues…soul,” and cites Justin’s song “Drink You Away,” which he performed with Chris Stapleton on the 2015 CMA Awards, as “a preview” of what we can expect.
Says Danja, “If you want any idea, that would be the closest thing to what you might hear.”
Man of the Woods is out February 2.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
