Dean Blunt Does More Than You Know
A guide to his complex (and incredible) discography
It’s winter, which means short days and long listless nights you can use to immerse yourself in the complex musical web of Dean Blunt.
One of the most prolific and enigmatic artists of the past two decades, Blunt has a sprawling catalog stretched over multiple aliases and genres, including rap, avant-garde electronic, ambient, R&B, and soft indie rock. Sound is characterized by its diverse sampling, and shaped by influences ranging from noise punk and soul to dream pop, folk, UK grime, R&B, Britpop, British indie rock, experimental electronic, and ambient.
One way to vet an artist is through their collaborators, and Blunt’s speaks for itself: Yung Lean, Arca, A$AP Rocky, Vegyn, Frank Ocean, Panda Bear, and many more, mainstream and underground alike. He has also partnered with prestigious cultural institutions like ICA London, Bourse de Commerce Paris, and Artist Space NYC to stage performance art exhibits that pair elements of theatre with music.
Ascertaining what makes Dean Blunt such an important and well-respected artist is an archaeological project. There is the hard evidence, such as tracks released on his World Music label, his confirmed collaborations, and the many musicians who admit the influence he has had on them. Then there are the apocryphal stories, the never-recorded projects like Teens of Thailand and American Spirit. Some Dean Blunt projects exist only as rumors.
In the interest of educating the public on this most fascinating man, we have put together a guide to the expanded Dean Blunt discography. It includes his various musical endeavors, aliases, collaborations, and inspired acts. A good companion to this guide is @world___music___’s in-depth timeline breakdown, which includes extensive documentation of specific projects, group exhibitions, live performances, and more.
Projects
The many aliases, groups, and titles Blunt has released music under
Dean Blunt
The bulk of Dean Blunt’s work has been produced under his own name. Between 2011 and 2025, he released 16 projects that are a part of his official discography. Many of these are not on major streaming platforms. While TikTok may lead you to believe ZUSHI is the most important solo release, our picks for essential solo projects include The Redeemer, Black Metal, and Black Metal 2.
Hype Williams (w/ Inga Copeland)
Before Dean Blunt, there was Hype Williams, a duo project with Inga Copeland. Blunt and Copeland famously dated during this time period, and continue to collaborate to this day. Oooverrr features a sneaky flip of Drake’s 2010 hit “Over”. Listen to One Nation and Black Is Beautiful.
Babyfather
Babyfather is a group consisting of Dean Blunt, DJ Escrow, and Gassman. Their sound blends UK grime with extended portions of spoken word, as well as avant-garde electronic and noise, including two Arca features. Skywalker is a highlight of Blunt’s sampling at its peak, flipping Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights”, and “bluey vuitton” features production from NYC producer evilgiane. BBF and 419 are recommended listening.
Blue Iverson
The most accessible project on the list, Blue Iverson’s single release blends smooth soul, funk, and Alternative R&B. Blunt worked with vocalists Jennah Bell and Akua on this project. A shocking testament to his sonic diversity; you’d almost never know this was a Dean Blunt project.
Bo Khat Eternal Troof Family Band
The lesser known Bo Khat Eternal Troof Band is a sparse and minimalist instrumental project. Think improvisational folky country meets electronic meets art rock. While sometimes cited as the origin of Hype Williams, the project reportedly had other members made up of London locals, including UK band Hounds of Hate.
Collaborators
Since 2011, many notable artists have been anointed with the Dean Bluntification of their sound. Here are some of our favorite collaborative products, all of which were produced or co-produced by Dean Blunt.
A$AP ROCKY
Dean Blunt produced two tracks on Rocky’s album Testing, and contributed to an eclectic mix of singles and album placements.
NINA
Dean Blunt also dated NINA, the lead vocalist of bar italia. After their breakup in 2023, he notoriously removed all the songs he had produced for her, though they have since returned to streaming.
bar italia
Despite being quite impressive in its own right, the online discourse surrounding bar italia’s new project wonders whether it lacks the moody Dean Blunt production of their earlier work.
Elias Rønnenfelt
Danish musician Elias Rønnenfelt (of Iceage) Dean Blunt collaboration lucre is one of the best releases of 2025, and even better live. Like Black Is Beautiful, the project’s song titles are numbers.
Joanne Robertson
One of the most celebrated musicians on critics lists the past two years, Joanne Robertson and Dean Blunt consistently bring out the best in one another, with Dean Blunt’s hazy understated production melting into Robertson’s hypnotizing words. In live performances, Robertson often re-tunes her guitar for every song, a unique testament to her attention to detail and unconventional process.
Vegyn
Experimental electronic artist Vegyn was one of the main producers of Frank Ocean’s Blonde. He’s known for his stripped back, clean production. “TROLL” features Joanne Robertson singing about tripping on acid, interspersed with spoken word excerpts about a troll.
Arca
Fans of electronic music should understand the gravity of Arca’s name holds, which makes it even more mindblowing that Dean Blunt and Arca have been working together since 2015.
Inga Copeland / lolina
Blunt’s collaborations with Copeland go beyond Hype Williams. Their incredible project Black Is Beautiful was just recently added to streaming. “2” features my favorite cover ever of Donnie & Joe Emerson’s “Baby”.
jonatan leandoer96 (Yung Lean)
jonaton leandoer96 is Yung Lean’s self-titled alias, typically used for non-rap releases. “Under Heaven” is a sleeper track, and might be as compelling as “Agony.”
POiSON ANNA
POiSON ANNA is a UK artist who has collaborated with Dean Blunt across several projects that land between experimental hip hop and dreamy trip-hop. Her track SUBMiSSiON is featured on GTA V’s Still Slipping Los Santos radio station, and she also contributed to an unreleased A$AP Rocky and Dean Blunt collaboration “Gucci Pradas”.
The Crying Nudes
While unconfirmed, The Crying Nudes is theorized to be a group consisting of Dean Blunt, Fine, and Vegyn. One of the more contemporary projects on this list, their single “Joyride” was released in December. A follow-up is on the horizon.
Panda Bear (of Animal Collective)
Selectively appearing on major electronic releases such as Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories and Jamie xx’s In Waves, Animal Collective’s founding member Panda Bear also lends his touch to two tracks on Dean Blunt’s ZUSHI, and, more recently, remixed The Crying Nudes’ song “Greaser”.
James Ferraro
Recorded in Soho House in West Hollywood, experimental artist James Ferraro and Dean Blunt’s live EP exists as a pretentious audiofile’s favorite virtue signal–albeit a strong one. A bonus pretentious talking point: James Ferraro’s collaboration with Bladee and Microsoft on an AI chatbot philosophy game called Sanctuary.
Recommended Listening
If you enjoy the sound, here are a few adjacent acts to check out. These artists either derive influence from, or exist in similar artist communities as, the aforementioned World Music musicians.
Good Sad Happy Bad
Delroy Edwards
Mica Levi
Mark William Lewis
Furniture Group
Fine
Eterna
Rita P
Written by Mikail Haroon (@mvkail)
The great dean blunt gentrification of 2024💔
DEAN BLUNT SUPREMACY