After spending 2019 promoting her album On The Line, Jenny Lewis has mostly laid low in 2020. She dropped a charity single at the top of the year and did some Postal Service things in October, but in terms of public activity, not much went on between or since then. However, she returned with a new song today: “Unblu” is a downtempo collaboration with Chicago rapper Serengeti (real name David Cohn) on which they both provide hushed vocals.
The pair also shared a note about their collaboration, revealing that his is one of five songs they made while collaborating remotely during the pandemic. Lewis made the tracks on her phone, which were then further produced by Andrew Broder.
Watch the “Unblu” video above and read the duo’s note below.
“Jenny met Dave down a long hallway in a former Communist Media Center in East Berlin during the People Festival of 2018. Dave asked Jenny to sing on a song about Tom Selleck passing on the part of Indiana Jones. Can you imagine a world where Tom Selleck is Indiana Jones?
A fast friendship was born as they skulked about, cracking jokes and chatting about their mutual love for boxing.
Jenny threw a show for Dave at Dino’s in East Nashville when they returned from Europe. The bartenders said it was the best show they ever had. Jenny was among the 9 fans that attended and danced their asses off.
To cap the torrid evening, Dave said ‘J, I need 7 tracks! Just piano or guitar or whatever!’ Jenny inquired if one would do?
Then the world shut down and Jenny & Dave hunkered down in Los Angeles & Chicago, respectively. Jenny smoked weed every day and Dave stayed totally sober.
The result is five songs made on Jenny’s iPhone, for Dave. Beats, bass, drums, digital tanpura & topline, sent via text, ripe for Dave’s poetry. To accompany the music, Jenny made videos on her phone during the witching hours, editing while under the covers.
Then Jenny texted the tracks to another People alumnus — Andrew Broder in Minneapolis — who co-produced and mixed the songs, taking them from Garageband phone music to music that gently thumps you. Music to dance around your living room in a Day-Glo bathing suit to. Music to go bananas to while watching the news & Forensic Files on mute.
Thank you for reading this.
Enjoy, Jenny Lewis & Serengeti
P.S. It’s almost Christmas!”
Jenny Lewis is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.