Less than a year after Plectrumelectrum and Art Official Age, the indestructible Prince keeps his creative flow going with the grand unveiling of HITNRUN Phase One. This is a record of real sonic experimentation, possessing a creative madness to which perhaps only the extravagant American funk-wizard holds the key. The album’s thundering intro heralds a great show, hysterical cries paying homage to the Purple One’s now classic ‘Let’s Go Crazy’. Then, after this monumental start, the rest of the record plays out in a similar vein. HITNRUN Phase One reveals a Prince who continues to surprise, using his late career to explore the endless possibilities that the studio can offer. The presence of a new producer, one Joshua Welton, has clearly not mitigated the world’s most famous sonic adventurer’s thirst for new discoveries. This is an incredibly advanced album. It seems to take from the best of each genre to give birth to a new, explosive whole; Prince alternates between mystical funk (‘Ain’t About to Stop’), Latin music (‘Like a Mack’), ballads (‘This Could Be Us’), electronica, and rock. The music is always redolent with a pervasive sensuality – a sensuality wholly unique to Prince – and HITNRUN Phase One feels rooted in both the past and present, all at once. Guest appearances from Rita Ora, Judith Hill, Curly Fryz and Lianne La Havas add even more diversity to this opus.