MNEK Is Betting on Himself With ‘Bulldozer!!’: ‘An Album That Only I Can Make’

There’s seemingly no end to MNEK ’s drive or creative reserves; over the past decade, the London singer, songwriter and producer’s fingerprints have been everywhere in modern pop and R&B, even when his name hasn’t.

The 31-year-old’s dedicated ‘Written By’ playlist on Spotify paints the picture of a studio auteur who has built a career around extreme multifacetedness: He’s penned tracks for cultural behemoths Beyoncé (“Hold Up”) and BTS (“Paradise”), as well as U.K.

No.

1 hits for Dua Lipa (“IDGAF”) and Little Mix (“Sweet Melody”).

Related MNEK Made One of the Year’s Most Ambitious Pop Albums — Why Aren’t People Paying Attention? Miley Cyrus Says Dolly Parton Helped Her 'Have a Persona & Still Be Who You Are': 'Dolly Was Just Always Right' Here's the Full Tracklist for Dexter and the Moonrocks' New Album Known for his abrasive-yet-glossy futurism equally as much as his ear for house-pop heaters, there have been co-writes with Madonna and a wealth of British dance supernovas (Becky Hill, Joel Corry).

More recently, he helped revitalize close collaborator Zara Larsson’s career with his work on the singer’s celestial slow-burn mega-hit “Midnight Sun” and her verse on the remix of PinkPantheress’ “Stateside,” which reached No.

1 on the Billboard Global 200 in March.

MNEK was just 14 when a set of vibrant, self-produced MySpace demos landed him his first publishing deal in 2009.

Since then, he’s rarely been far from the centre of the pop cosmos; with his sophomore LP, Bulldozer!! , released this September, he turns that decade-plus of experience back on himself.

The follow-up to 2018’s Language , the album takes in the invincible highs and lonely comedowns of partying, body image, the Wild West of dating apps and his conflicted relationship with the U.S.

It’s a portrait of a life lived both inside and adjacent to the industry, sticking proudly to a dancefloor-based mood with decadent tropical flourishes and skittering tempo switch-ups.

“I feel like there is no limit to where my music could go,” MNEK tells Billboard U.K. , speaking over a video call from his home studio.

“I can only worry about what my music makes me feel, and what the emotion I want people to feel is when they hear my music, whether that be happy and euphoric or sassy and confident.” That freedom feels pertinent this time around.

Language fell considerably short of commercial expectations, missing the Billboard 200 entirely and also failing to make a dent in the U.K. top 40.