Calvin Harris is releasing a country song, ‘Smoke The Pain Away’
It marks his first return to singing in over a decade

Calvin Harris has teased the release of a new track, making a pivot from dance music into country music in an unpredictable return.
On March 6, the Scottish DJ and producer shared a clip on Instagram of him performing the new single – which features Calvin on both guitar and vocals – alongside a caption: “SMOKE THE PAIN AWAY. It’s coming.”
‘Smoke The Pain Away’ is said to “mark a step in his musical evolution, expanding beyond his DJ roots into a genre-blending space that reflects his desire to push creative boundaries”.
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While there’s currently no set release date for the new track, ‘Smoke The Pain Away’ will land “soon”, per Calvin, described as a “celebration of artistic freedom, weaving together influences from his past with exciting new sounds”.
The single also marks his first return to singing on his own tracks in more than a decade following 2014’s ‘Summer’, which appeared on his fourth studio album ‘Motion’.
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Since then, Calvin has leaned heavily into DJing and production, releasing two more dance music-focused albums, ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1’ and ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2’, as well as a compilation album, ‘96 Months’, which featured previously released tracks.
Last year, Calvin dropped a single alongside Ellie Goulding, ‘Free’, the fourth collaboration between the pair. It was played for the first time during a performance at Ushuaïa Ibiza, where Calvin has held down a residency for several years.
Listen to a teaser of his new track, ‘Smoke The Pain Away’, below.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter