Pastels, Ptelicans and Nic Hanson share a groove-rich, soulful new project “Driving Solo”

Some collaborations make immediate, intuitive sense. The moment you understand that "Driving Solo" is the product of a Philadelphia soul vocalist and a French-Polynesian producer who bonded over impromptu jam sessions in London, the track stops being surprising and starts feeling inevitable.

Ptelicans — alognside Nic Hanson and Pastel — have built their creative identity around a deliberate refusal to overthink. No chasing trends, no calculated positioning, just two musicians following the groove wherever it leads. On paper that philosophy can sound like an excuse for aimlessness. In practice, it sounds like this.

"Driving Solo" opens with a bassline that immediately establishes its intentions — warm, rolling, unhurried, the kind of low-end foundation that great funk records are built on rather than bolted onto. Hanson's vocal sits above it with the easy confidence of someone who has nothing to prove, drawing on a lineage that runs through classic Philadelphia soul without ever feeling like a museum piece. There's a looseness to his phrasing that gives the track its personality — he sounds like he's enjoying himself, and that enjoyment is genuinely contagious.

Pastel's production, meanwhile, does something quietly impressive: it creates space. For a track this groove-heavy, "Driving Solo" never feels cluttered or overworked. The arrangement serves the song rather than showcasing the producer, which is a discipline that takes real confidence to maintain.

The result sits comfortably alongside reference points like Anderson .Paak and Blue Lab Beats