Royce Wood Junior ft: Lucey Way - Beretta (Single)

Royce Wood Junior Returns with “Beretta” feat. Lucey Way.

Brighton’s own Royce Wood Junior the Grammy and Mercury nominated musician, songwriter and producer is back with “Beretta”, featuring newcomer Lucey Way. The track offers a taste of his forthcoming EP, Penny Ballads, out 21st November via First Word Records.

Kicking off with playful, squelchy synths, “Beretta” slides into a low slung funk groove, Lucey Way’s warm, carefree vocals adding a touch of sunshine to Royce’s sharp social commentary. As he puts it, the track is “a scathing look at a plummeting, polarised society... set to funk.”

Penny Ballads was written and recorded over two years using a stripped back, almost lo-fi approach one mic on the drums, minimal takes, and a focus on capturing raw feeling. The result is intimate and human, reflecting on life in an age where technology outpaces emotion.

Royce explains the concept behind the title: “In the 17 and 1800s, people sold Penny Ballads cheap, hastily written songs sung by firelight. Now, music lives in the digital ether, paid in micro cents. The new era of Penny Balladry is here, and it’s weird.”

A seasoned collaborator, Royce Wood Junior (aka Jim Wood) has worked with Disclosure, Jessie Ware, Olivia Dean, Joy Crookes, Jamie Lidell and Jordan Rakei, earning critical acclaim and award nods for his projects with Jamie Woon and Nao. His past albums The Ashen Tang (2015) and No Two Blue Ticks (2021) won praise from the BBC, Apple Radio and across the UK music press.

With “Beretta”, Royce delivers a bold slice of future funk and alternative soul thoughtful, playful, and entirely his own.