If there’s one thing Ultra Naté knows how to write, it’s an anthem for the ages. 25 years ago ‘Free’ captured the world’s imagination; a quarter century on the iconic artist has done it again, this time with new single, ‘UNBREAKABLE’.
Seized upon by the world’s biggest radio stations including BBC Radio 2 in the UK and Sirius XM’s new Utopia channel in the States, UNBREAKABLE was written by Ultra with the queer community specifically in mind. Speaking to presenters Paris Munro and Dave Cooper from UK station GAYDIO earlier this month, Ultra called UNBREAKABLE a “really direct message” and took the opportunity to share the reasons for writing the song and underline her well documented support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I open my social apps and I’m seeing, like everyone else is seeing, these attacks, this vitriol, just a vicious energy that’s going on out there. It really breaks my heart because the LGBTQIA+ community has always been a very special community to me. They’ve always been very supportive of my music, of me as an artist. I’ve always been an ally and I’ve always felt that they’ve given me a safe space as a woman of colour to experience what my creative art was going to be. Whatever that looked like, it was always accepted and appreciated. So I’ve always had this symbiotic relationship with the (LGBTQIA+) community.
“Any kind of injustice, to anyone, I’m not feeling that, I’m not going to stand for that, and I’m always going to use my platform and lend my voice. I’ve supported many initiatives in the LGBTQ space to bring awareness and funding through various projects over the years, through featuring on the album, Red Hot and Free (benefitting The Trevor Project ; The Ally Coalition and SAGE for the Red Hot Organization); Life Beat, and recently with the Top 10 song and video Fierce (a collaboration with trans activists and celebrities, Angelica Ross and Mila Jam benefiting the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) The Marsha P. Johnson Institute and the GLAAD Transgender Media Program). I really think it’s not just about what you say but what you do that matters, but I feel I’m always very vocal about it, always speaking on it, and always supporting the culture.”
Co-produced with regular collaborators Pirahnahead and John ‘J-C’ Carr, soaked in soaring strings, triumphant percussion, warm piano runs, and held together by her instantly recognisable vocal, the single is a beautiful and defiant call to arms from Ultra. At a time when minority communities are increasingly under attack, when the world seems bleak, and hope is fading, Ultra breaks through like strong sunshine, reminding us without a shadow of a doubt – together, we are UNBREAKABLE.
ULTRA NATÉ ‘UNBREAKABLE’ IS OUT NOW VIA BLUFIRE / PEACE BISQUIT
ABOUT ULTRA NATÉ:
Named one of Billboard Magazine’s Greatest Dance Artists Of All Time, and with a career spanning three decades and spawning massive crowd stompers such as Twisted, Automatic, Party Girl, New Kind Of Medicine, Found A Cure, How Long (Ultra Flava), If You Could Read My Mind, and the seminal, evergreen anthem Free, US singer, songwriter, DJ and producer Ultra Naté continues to be an integral force within the life blood of global House Music.
One of the first house music artists to sign a major label deal with she inked paper with Warner Music UK, Ultra Naté’s sound has continually embraced a variety of genres including House, Soul, Disco, Electro-Pop, R&B, HipHop and Rock. Her catalogue is one steeped in timeless classics, impressive accolades and creative highlights with everyone from The Basement Boys, Nellee Hooper, D-Influence, Mood II Swing, Nona Hendryx, Lenny Kravitz and Frankie Knuckles, to N’Dea Davenport, NERVO, Todd Terry, Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child), 4 Hero, Deee-lite, Masters At Work, Roger Sanchez and more.
Ultra’s biggest single ‘Free’ shows no sign of letting up, 25 years after its original release. Ultra a widely noted ally of the international LBGTQIA+ community, Free was universally named one of the Top Pride anthems of all time during 2019’s unprecedented global World Pride celebrations. In 2020 Tomorrowland’s influential One World Radio included the track in the Top 10 of its ‘Best Ibiza Anthems of All Time’. In 2021, Ultra was invited by dance maestro Pete Tong to close out his Ibiza Classics tour with Jules Buckley and the Heritage Orchestra, performing Free in front of crowds of up to 90,000. June 2022 saw Swedish Pop duo Icona Pop collaborate with Ultra for a revised version of Free, titled You’re Free and aptly released on Ultra Records. In July 2022 Ultra gave a historic performance of Free at a sold out Wembley Stadium for the Women’s Euro 2022 final, alongside Becky Hill and Stefflon Don. In October 2022, at the invitation of Pete Tong, Ultra returned to the UK to record a sensational new Orchestral version of Free (Do What U Want) with LP Giobbi and Jules Buckley that incorporates Rozalla’s classic, Everybody’s Free, exclusively for Amazon Music on Ministry of Sound.