Ptelicans groove alongside Pastel and Nic Hanson on the delicious funk energy of "Driving Solo"

Ptelicans are creating a serious level of funk..

There’s a particular kind of music that doesn’t ask anything of you except to move, and “Driving Solo” — the latest single from Franco-American duo Ptelicans, alongside Pastel and Nic Hanson — is a masterclass in exactly that. It’s the kind of track that makes the case for instinct over calculation, and it’s difficult to argue with the results.

This release is the meeting point of Philadelphia-born vocalist Nic Hanson and London-based French-Polynesian producer Pastel, and the chemistry between them is the kind you can’t manufacture. Formed through impromptu London jam sessions, the duo operates on a philosophy of deliberate under-thinking — making music for themselves first and trusting that the groove will do the rest. On “Driving Solo,” that approach pays off with disarming ease.

The track rides a bassline that feels genuinely lived-in rather than engineered, sitting alongside crisp rhythms and a chorus that lodges itself in your head without ever feeling like it’s trying to. Hanson’s voice is the obvious focal point — rich, unguarded, rooted in classic soul phrasing without being pastiche — but Pastel’s production deserves equal credit for knowing when to step back and let the arrangement breathe. The comparison points of Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic are well-earned rather than aspirational; this is music that belongs in that lineage without simply imitating it.

What “Driving Solo” captures most effectively is a feeling: open road, late night, the specific freedom of moving purely on your own terms. It’s a mood that’s harder to bottle than it sounds, and Ptelicans make it feel effortless.

As a preview of debut album Wasted, dropping October 16th, it sets a high bar. One worth clearing and undoubtedly, a tune worth getting your groove on for..