Blonde

Deep house duo Blonde (a.k.a. Jacob Manson and Adam Englefield) premiered in 2014 with “I Loved You”, which featured singer Melissa Steel asserting her right to be loved. Blonde met each other in Bristol, but unlike other renowned local acts (Massive Attack, Tricky) they weren’t ever really brooding or downcast—even their debut tune of heartbreak was a fist-pumping dance-floor stormer. Their specialty is keyboard-lit anthems tinged with the garage sound of '90s electronic dance music, played in the key of empowerment. As they moved into writing and producing for other acts, starting with singer and rapper Craig David on 2016’s “Nothing Like This”, the beats have diversified, but the sunny vibe remains. In 2020, they teamed up with Rudimental and Ed Sheeran to cowrite “Lay It All on Me”, a warm invitation to romance. Beat architects to the core, Blonde have helped erect garage in the arena.