Easy Freak Went Back to 2016 to Find the Song That Points to Their Future

“Only Like You Do” began as a slow acoustic song when Easy Freak were just getting started. Nearly a decade later, Dom Hurd and Jude Kenrick have rebuilt it with the groove, live instrumentation and confidence of the band they have become.

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There is something fitting about Easy Freak beginning the next phase of their story by returning almost all the way to the beginning.

Sometimes an unfinished song is simply waiting for its musicians to catch up with it.

Their new single, “Only Like You Do,” did not start life during the sessions for their forthcoming album The Touch. It was first written in 2016, around the same time Dominic Hurd and Jude Kenrick were beginning to figure out what Easy Freak could be.

Back then, it was a very different song.

“Dom had written most of this track years ago when we first started EASY FREAK in 2016,” the duo explain. “It was originally written for acoustic guitar as a very slow and melancholic song.”

Ten years later, instead of simply dusting off the demo, they rebuilt it.

The time signature changed. The tempo found movement. Groove replaced some of the melancholy. Funk entered the frame. What had been an early songwriting idea became something that reflects the musicians and producers Easy Freak are now.

For a duo approaching a decade together, that makes “Only Like You Do” more than another single in an album rollout. It becomes a small measure of distance travelled.

“We’ve grown so much as songwriters and producers, and it’s always a fun time giving an older track a second chance,” they say.

The Old Song Needed the New Easy Freak

Easy Freak have spent years refining a sound that sits comfortably between funk, R&B, pop and soul without becoming particularly interested in the borders between them.

That identity is still present on “Only Like You Do”, but the forthcoming The Touch appears to be pushing the duo further into the musicianship behind the songs.

Dom and Jude continue to compose, write and produce their music themselves, while this era places a greater emphasis on live instrumentation and collaboration.

For the new single, they brought in Clem Carr for string arrangements, Freeman Gumede on bass, Gloria Boyi on strings and Zama Zwane on backing vocals. Josh Berry handled the mix, with mastering completed in the UK at Stardelta Audio Mastering.

It is an approach that suggests Easy Freak are interested in making an album that feels like an album — not merely a sequence of singles collected under one title.

“This body of work is so special to us,” the duo say. “There was a lot of time and thought put into this — with songs transitioning into each other and moments where the music truly speaks for itself.”

That sentence may reveal more about The Touch than any list of genres could.

In an era when releases are increasingly built around isolated tracks and individually optimised moments, Easy Freak appear to be leaning in the opposite direction: transitions, musicians in rooms, instrumental passages and songs designed to belong beside one another.

Almost Ten Years In, They Are Still Building

“Only Like You Do” also arrives after a relatively quiet stretch on the release front.

Easy Freak's previous single, “Rain Down,” arrived in December 2025. The months since, Jude says, have been filled with exactly what listeners might expect.

“A lot of music.”

The silence was not inactivity. It was preparation.

“As we gear up to the release of the album, there will be a lot of music and content leading up to it,” he says.

That album, The Touch, is scheduled for 11 December 2026 via Ultra Records, opening another chapter in a career Easy Freak spent most of its existence steering independently.

That independence matters to the way Dom and Jude speak about where they are now.

“We’ve always been fiercely independent since we started out,” they say. “That taught us a lot about how to remain self-sustaining, and that’s definitely played a big role in us being able to stick around for almost 10 years.”

Signing to Ultra Records brings the duo into a global label structure, but they are clear that it has not meant handing over the creative machinery they spent years building themselves.

“Even though we’re now signed to a major label, we’re still very involved in absolutely everything.”

It is perhaps why the story of “Only Like You Do” feels particularly appropriate for this moment.

A song from their independent beginnings has survived long enough to enter their major-label era — but not unchanged.

Easy Freak did not preserve the 2016 version simply because it carried sentimental value. They allowed the song to grow up with them.

What Comes After the Second Chance?

There is already movement beyond The Touch, too.

The duo recently moved into a new studio space and have begun thinking about what they can create there, even as the current album campaign gathers momentum.

“We’re super excited to start writing new music here,” they say. “There’s also been a lot happening behind the scenes that we’re setting up for the future. It’s all been a blessing.”

For now, though, “Only Like You Do” offers the clearest introduction to what that future might sound like.

Not Easy Freak abandoning what made them Easy Freak.

Not a nostalgia exercise built around an old demo.

Something more interesting: two musicians taking an idea made by their younger selves and asking what it could become with another decade of experience behind it.

Sometimes an unfinished song is unfinished for a reason.

Sometimes it is simply waiting for its musicians to catch up with it.

“Only Like You Do” is out now. Easy Freak’s forthcoming album, The Touch, is set for release on 11 December 2026 via Ultra Records.

Reporting basis: Based primarily on press material supplied directly to Viranova for “Only Like You Do” and The Touch, including comments from Dom Hurd and Jude Kenrick and the recording credits supplied for the single. Release and career context was cross-checked against Easy Freak’s official channels, Spotify, Ultra Records-linked material, Kfm’s 24 August interview with the duo and previous reporting on their Ultra Records agreement.

Reporting & Standards

Human-written · Editor-reviewed · Corrections open

Written by Viranova Music Desk · South African R&B, Funk & Artist Development · More from Viranova Music Desk

Filed by Viranova Music Desk for the Music desk · Johannesburg, South Africa. Published 24 Aug 2026.

Sources

Primary material

Viranova obtained, attended or witnessed this directly.

1. Only Like You Do began as a song Dom Hurd had largely written when Easy Freak were starting out in 2016 Easy Freak / supplied press release accessed 24 August 2026
2. The original version of Only Like You Do was written for acoustic guitar as a very slow and melancholic song before the duo changed its time signature and rebuilt it with more groove and funk Easy Freak / supplied press release accessed 24 August 2026
3. Easy Freak say revisiting the song allowed them to hear how much they have developed as songwriters and producers Easy Freak / supplied press release accessed 24 August 2026
4. Clem Carr contributed string arrangements, Freeman Gumede played bass, Gloria Boyi contributed strings and Zama Zwane supplied backing vocals on Only Like You Do Easy Freak / supplied press release accessed 24 August 2026
5. Josh Berry mixed Only Like You Do and the track was mastered at Stardelta Audio Mastering in the United Kingdom Easy Freak / supplied press release accessed 24 August 2026
6. Easy Freak say The Touch was designed as a body of work with transitions between songs and instrumental moments rather than simply a collection of disconnected singles Easy Freak / supplied press release accessed 24 August 2026
7. Easy Freak say their years operating independently taught them how to remain self-sustaining and that they continue to be closely involved in their creative work after signing to Ultra Records Easy Freak / supplied press release accessed 24 August 2026
8. Easy Freak say they have moved into a new studio space and have already begun preparing future music beyond The Touch Easy Freak / supplied press release accessed 24 August 2026

Secondary material

Reported first by another publication or organisation, and credited here.

1. Easy Freak officially announced Only Like You Do as out now and confirmed The Touch for release on 11 December 2026 Easy Freak accessed 24 August 2026
2. Spotify lists Only Like You Do as a 2026 Easy Freak release with a duration of 3 minutes and 10 seconds Spotify accessed 24 August 2026
3. Spotify lists The Touch as an upcoming Easy Freak album released through Ultra Records LLC Spotify accessed 24 August 2026
4. Easy Freak signed an international record deal with Ultra Records USA in 2025 after increased international attention around their music and social media presence Texx and the City accessed 24 August 2026
5. Rain Down was released through Ultra Records on 12 December 2025 Shazam accessed 24 August 2026
6. Easy Freak discussed Only Like You Do beginning roughly ten years earlier and said The Touch returns them to live drums, guitars, strings and horns Kfm Top 40 accessed 24 August 2026

Further reading and references

• Primary source — facebook.com

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