Space Ghost & Teddy Bryant's quietly anticipated first album sees the California/South Carolina-based duo building on the transcendent street soul, boogie and new age funk sensibilities of their debut EP, Heaven Sent.

Although Conway, South Carolina singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Teddy Bryant and the Oakland, California producer and DJ Space Ghost have never met in person, you wouldn't guess it from the musical chemistry they show off across their debut EP Heaven Sent and their forthcoming first album, "Majestic Fantasies." Both children of the '80s and the '90s, the two file-transfer and instant messaging era collaborators are committed stylists with a deep love for the rich histories of Black dance music on both sides of the Atlantic. At the same time, however, they're forward-facing artists who, although they use nostalgia as part of their palette, are always looking for a new trick to deploy in the studio.

Written over the course of the last three years, "Majestic Fantasies" sees Teddy and Space Ghost taking a closer look at the possibilities and potential of a New R&B, UK Street Soul, New Jack Swing, House, and G-Funk aesthetic for the 2020s. There are nods to the songwriting and production techniques espoused by Teddy Riley, Jam & Lewis, Carl McIntosh, and DeVante Swing, but also having a passion for ambient music, Chicago classics, Italo house and floaty bangers of all forms of vapor, Space Ghost knows how to hit the sweet spot in the venn diagram overlap between peak time music and chilled out afterparty sounds. Similarly, vocal melodies flow effortlessly out of Teddy. He can go textural with it, or drop into a storytelling singer-songwriter mode at a moment's notice. Both of the bros have done their homework, but what they're really striving for is to be in the conversation in real time.

Opening with the breezy drum machine bossa-soul vibe of 'Teddy's Intro', "Majestic Fantasies" quickly expands with the lush vibe music textures and new jack swing bop of 'Some Things Last Forever', before dipping into a percussive Chicago beat house mode on the title track. Space Ghost's production is dripping in groove, but hearing Teddy hit an R&B pocket over uptempo drum machines is the real delight here. By the time we get to the chorus, he's literally moonwalking on the beat. From there, the dynamic duo hit a synth-ballad mode on 'Cheer Me Up' featuring Morgan (the music video for this one needs to involve Teddy and Morgan singing in the rain, I kid you not), before shifting back into a bouncy, boogie house mode on 'Unconditional'. Teddy singing about love over crystaline piano chords, shuffling drums, and a funked up bassline absolutely gets the job done here, but wait, there's more - a spoken word section in an affected British accent as well! I was gonna say I didn't see that coming, but if you know how much Teddy loves a broad spectrum of late 20th-century UK music, it's almost surprising it hasn't happened sooner.

On the flip side, Teddy ropes Morgan back in again for the woozy, wormy, g-funk low-rider sounds of 'Shine'. A note to the label: Can we get Joker to remix this one asap? 'I'll Be There' opens with a swirl of synthesiser pads, bubbly mid-tempo breaks and a beautiful piano figure/whistle-tone combo, before Teddy gets back into 'his signature '80s/90s RnB music video singer zone. This guy really loves singing about love. From there, they deploy a buoyant club mix of 'Unconditional' before shifting back into ballad mode on 'Lovers & Friends' and 'Ultimate Love' (again featuring Morgan). It's a smooth and sensitive conclusion to a smooth and sensitive album. Can we get these guys together in the same room soon? Honestly, this is all getting a little bit ridiculous.

Majestic Fantasies is due for release through Peace World Records on June 13 in vinyl and digital formats (pre-order here)