Lee Clarke enlists Kingsley Ibeneche and Ivy Sole for sleek future pop single “Evaporate”

Since the early teens, Philly multi-instrumentalist and producer Lee Clarke has teamed up with a range of Philadelphia musicians who occupy the ethereal future-pop space, from Kate Faust to Jasmine Cassell. On his latest solo single, “Evaporate,” Clarke teams up with regular collaborator Kingsley Ibeneche, as well as local rap luminary Ivy Sole, who is working with him for the first time here.

The song is essentially broken into two halves, based around a bed of breathy, spacious, James Blake-style arrangements and sampled sound effects. On the front half, the vibe is more spacious, with only a finger snap beat guiding us as Ibeneche sings of love and personal connection reaching such a point of ecstasy and transcendence that he likens it to touching the sky, and evaporating upon the object of one’s feelings.

The moment winds down, and Ivy Sole’s voice enters a cappella for a brief moment, followed by a swift beat kicking the song into double-time as she raps and sings of the other side of that level of intimacy, the apprehension one feels about giving away that much of themself away: “what shall I do when it all belongs to you?” When her verse is up, Clarke’s jazzy cosmic piano soloing carries the song to its conclusion.

Earlier this year, Ibeneche released his latest single, “My Freedom,” as part of the Astro Nautico Atlantics mutual aid singles series — which Clarke has done a lot of production work on. Ivy Sole also came out with new solo material this year, the pensive single “Bittersweet.” Listen to their collective work “Evaporate” below.