The Los Angeles-based producer and DJ Kingdom has had a long love affair with strong female vocalists, beginning with his early, euphoric diva house remixes on through his melancholic, R&B work with Kelela (2013’s “Bank Head”). “What Is Love,” the latest cut from his upcoming debut album Tears in the Club, finds Kingdom continuing to fuse emotional R&B and experimental club beats. He and vocalist SZA prove to be a fine pair; Kingdom’s gauzy production leaves room for SZA’s relaxed meditations on the elusive nature of love to break through booming, rapid bass stabs.

Kingdom embellishes SZA’s lucid voice with “woo” and “hey” samples that initially seem more fit for a Jersey club track than a moody R&B number, but Kingdom successfully recontextualizes these club hallmarks by pairing them with hazy, slow-moving synths. SZA’s ambiguous central lyric, “Break it down/Fuck it up/Now I see/What is love,” could be interpreted as a moment of clarity or the grim aftermath of a breakup; either way, this world, which Kingdom described as his “fantasy of an imagined club,” creates ample room for thought.