Valentino Khan shares new single ‘Blackmail’ on Mad Decent

Valentino Khan’s new single ‘Blackmail’ opens on a four-on-the-floor bassline, works into a slow, dramatic build, and closes on a high. It’s a return, in tone, to the French electro that shaped his early listening — a rougher, more industrial register than the futuristic house of ‘Obsession,’ his April team-up with rising duo Ship Wrek and his only other original release so far this year. Out September 9 on Mad Decent, Diplo’s imprint, ‘Blackmail’ leads Khan’s forthcoming EP ‘French Fried.’ He’s been on the label since 2018.

“My introduction to dance music over a decade ago came from passing by my brother’s room and hearing the distorted electronic sounds that were coming overseas from Europe,” Khan said. He’s been releasing since 2012, breaking through three years later with ‘Deep Down Low’ — the single that built his reputation as a hitmaker.