The Warp soul man explores new ground on the latest leak from his forthcoming self-titled album.

Press materials for Jamie Lidell promise that the album showcases “his ability to upend expectations of the ways man and machine can make music together.” But unlike the upfront electro-pop of ‘What A Shame’, Lidell’s main use of technology on this song appears to be that of a time machine.

While not surprising for an artist who made his bones with retro-soul stylings, ‘why_ya_why’ aims for entirely different nostalgia: think the bluesy weirdness of Parliament Funkadelic. The first half of ‘why_ya_why’ sounds like a funereal bayou cabaret number before the song closes with a patchwork of pneumatic synth work.

Warp will release Jamie Lidell on February 18; the album is one of our most anticipated of 2013.