The Love Experiment

R&B/Soul artist A-natural returns from a two year hiatus to release a brand new album entitled The Love Experiment. Arriving on September 30th, the compact but concise 10-track project is packed with a wealth of insight into an unexpected whirlwind relationship he experienced during the pandemic. His first honest album project since 2020’s KWAMÉ, A-natural embarks on what he calls uncharted territory as he has offered that he wrote The Love Experiment almost in real-time as the relationship went through its ebbs and flows. “Where KWAMÉ was in response to various toxic relationships I’d been in, The Love Experiment is probably the first time I could write about love from a more optimistic view, even though the relationship still had to end”, he says.

Led by two singles, “Be With U” and “What U Get”, A-natural’s pen, as strong and descriptive as ever, details in stark openness and almost in chronological order how this relationship transpired. “Be With U” and “Killing Me” speak to the beginning of this romance while songs like “Life Support” (an instant gratification track delivered upon pre-order), and “Expectations” describe where things took an unexpected turn towards a breakup. Other songs such as “Alright” and “What U Get” allow A-natural to address his optimism with love and also what any new love should expect when encountering him.

Musically, A-natural calls this a triumphant return to confidence as a producer. A surprise to many who hear him tell it, part of A-natural’s retreat from the spotlight was due to his lack of courage in music production. To combat the industry’s demands for trendiness, A-natural took time to focus more on writing and constructing projects for artists solely under his Natural City Music, Inc. imprint. This hiatus allowed him to breathe again and truly experiment with a new way of producing his own records, so much so that that for The Love Experiment, A-natural helmed the production for 9 of the 10 tracks on the album (“What U Get” was produced by longtime friend and collaborator The IZM).

While there are no features on this project, A-natural welcomed the orchestral genius of Grammy-nominated composer and arranger Juan Arboleda who contributed the string section for “Expectations”. A-natural also brought in his father, Jay O. Foster, to add live bass to “The Truth”, their first musical collaboration on record since A-natural’s very first song written when he was just 6 years old with his dad on guitar.

The Love Experiment is an experiment in every sense as A-natural is also choosing to release the album his way. Taking a page from some of the greatest artists in history, this album and its rollout will begin on his official website, with social mediums and DSPs to follow after. In order to fight against algorithmic sabotage, he’s choosing to make sure that his true fans and followers have instant access to this music instead of allowing the algorithms to control its release, giving A-natural a chance to truly connect with his supporters.